Jeremiah 39:11 - Meaning and Application

Here we must sing of mercy, as the earlier part of the chapter sang of judgment. We should praise God for both. In this passage we see, first, God’s kind care for Jeremiah. When Jerusalem lay in ruins and everyone’s heart was failing from fear, Jeremiah could lift his head in hope, knowing that his rescue was near, like Christ’s followers when Jerusalem’s later destruction was approaching (Luke 21:28).

Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, had given special orders that Jeremiah should be protected and treated well (Jeremiah 39:11, 12). Nebuzaradan, the Babylonian commander, and the other royal officers carried out those orders. They freed Jeremiah from prison and did everything they could to make him comfortable (Jeremiah 39:13, 14). We can view this in several ways.

First, it was a generous act by Nebuchadnezzar. Though he was a proud ruler, he still paid attention to this poor prophet. He likely had heard from deserters that Jeremiah had spoken of Babylon’s success against Judah and other nations, urged his own people to submit, and suffered badly for saying those things. In view of all this, and perhaps even after hearing that Jeremiah had also foretold Babylon’s later destruction, the king showed him special favor. It is a mark of greatness to notice the service and suffering of even the humblest person. It was honorable for the king to give this order before the city was taken, and honorable for the captains to follow it even in the middle of battle. This record is meant to be copied.

Second, it was a shameful rebuke to Zedekiah, the king of Judah, and the leaders of Israel. They had put Jeremiah in prison, but the king of Babylon and his officers set him free. God’s people and ministers have often found kinder treatment from strangers and unbelievers than from those who claim to belong to the holy city. Paul found more fairness from King Agrippa than from Ananias the high priest.

Third, this was the keeping of God’s promise to Jeremiah in return for his faithful service. God had said, “I will make your enemies treat you well in the day of trouble” (Jeremiah 15:11). Jeremiah had been faithful as a prophet, and now God shows himself faithful to him and to his promise. He is comforted in the very time when he had been afflicted, and he sees many others fall while he himself is kept safe. The false prophets fell under the very judgments they had said would never come (Jeremiah 14:15), which made their ruin even more terrible. The true prophet escaped the judgments he had warned about, which made his rescue even sweeter. The same power that punished the persecutors became the means of helping the one they had persecuted. Jeremiah did not think less of his deliverance because it came through the king of Babylon. Instead, he saw the hand of God in it more clearly. A fuller account of this matter comes in the next chapter.

Second, we see a gracious message given to Ebed-melech, the Ethiopian official who had shown kindness to Jeremiah. Jeremiah himself delivered the message, and in thanking him for his help, he turned him over to God as his rewarder. Ebed-melech had helped a prophet in the name of a prophet, and so he received a prophet’s reward. This message was given right after he helped Jeremiah, but it is placed here after the city’s fall to show that, just as God was kind to Jeremiah then, he was also kind to Ebed-melech for Jeremiah’s sake. It was a special favor to both of them that they were not caught up in the common disaster, and they should take it that way.

Jeremiah was told to say, first, that God would surely bring on Jerusalem the ruin he had long and often warned about. For Ebed-melech’s comfort, he would now see that Jeremiah had spoken the truth and was truly a prophet (Jeremiah 39:16). Second, God had noticed the fear he felt at the coming judgment. Even though he had been brave in serving God, he still feared the sword of God’s judgment. He was afraid of the enemies as men. God knows how to fit his comfort to the fears and sorrows of his people, because he knows their hearts in trouble.

Third, God promised that Ebed-melech would be delivered from sharing in the disaster. “I will deliver you. I will surely deliver you.” He had helped rescue God’s prophet from the dungeon, and now God promised to rescue him. God does not forget anyone who serves his name, directly or indirectly. “You saved Jeremiah’s life, and now your life will be given to you as your prize.”

Fourth, the reason for this special favor was that Ebed-melech had trusted in God, says the Lord. When God rewards people’s service, he looks at the heart behind it. He rewards according to the principle they acted on. There is no principle of obedience more pleasing to God, or more helpful to us, than trusting confidence in him. Ebed-melech trusted that God would own him and stand by him, and so he was not afraid of men’s faces. Those who trust God as this good man did, while doing what is right, will find that their hope does not put them to shame, even in the greatest danger.