FAITH CASULE: Telling the truth is threatening and it is bitter for man to accept.
Jeremiah 38
Delivering God’s message is nothing but telling absolute truth. Are you one that has been delivering the truth as directed by God? It is important to know that telling the truth is threatening and it is bitter for man to accept. Jeremiah was delivering God’s message telling the people what the Lord had shown him while Zedekiah was King. The people did not like the prophecy that was coming forth to them from God through His servant, Jeremiah. The truth through Jeremiah was, “Thus says the Lord: ‘He who remains in this city shall die by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence; but he who goes over to the Chaldeans shall live; his life shall be as a prize to him, and he shall live.Thus says the Lord: ‘This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.’” (Jeremiah 38:2-3) Truth was too bitter for the people to accept it as a result Jeremiah was taken captive under the permission of the king. It is written, “So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the king’s son, which was in the court of the prison, and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire. So Jeremiah sank in the mire.” (Jeremiah 38:6)
They did not realize that to silence the messenger of God does not silence the message. The messenger of God only experience silence if God allows it. Jeremiah was doing the work of God, while the people were doing the work of the wicked one. The enemy wanted to terminate the work of God in Jeremiah’s life. Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian and one of the eunuchs in the king’s house, went to the king and presented to him the grounds for Jeremiah’s release. It is written, “Then the king commanded Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Take from here thirty men with you, and lift Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon before he dies.’”(Jeremiah 38:10) Jeremiah was released from the dungeon which would have been the pit of his untimely death. Are you one that is experiencing life and death challenge because of telling the truth? Trust in the Lord with all your heart. God in His goodness and mercy will send your Ebed-Melech, and you will be lifted out of every dungeon of the wicked one, to the glory of God. When God sends His messenger He backs them up with deliverance and preservation.
Prayer for today:As a child of the Almighty God, rebuke every representative of an untimely death in your work for God.