Ebed-Melech: Another Forgotten Hero of the Bible

Scripture: Jeremiah 39:18 – “For I will surely save you, and you shall not fall by the sword, but you shall have your life as a prize of war, because you have trusted in me, says the Lord.” (NRSVUE)

There are thousands of characters across the Bible, and a lot of them, especially those who don’t often get mentioned on Sundays, can escape our notice. One such character is Ebed-Melech the Cushite. He shows us how courage and compassion when it would have been easier just to ignore the suffering around us.

Ebed-Melech appears in the Book of Jeremiah. Jeremiah (the prophet, not the bullfrog) was one of the greatest preachers of God’s word, but his sermons were not popular. God showed him how conflict with the Babylonian Empire would lead to the destruction of Jerusalem. Jeremiah preached and preached this message, even though it made him hated by pretty much everyone.

When the Babylonians finally arrived and besieged the city, Jeremiah continued to promise doom and destruction. Finally, some of the king’s officials had enough. Saying that Jeremiah was discouraging the soldiers defending the city, they convinced the king to allow them to throw Jeremiah into an empty cistern to die. There was no water, but enough mud for Jeremiah to be trapped and unable to escape.

Jeremiah was a troublemaker who said things nobody liked. He also was an enemy of the most powerful people: the king, the officials, and the army. But someone still had compassion for him. Ebed-Melech was a eunuch in the king’s household. He was a black man with no family whose only social status came from being a servant to the king. He could ill afford to make trouble. But Ebed-Melech knew that what had happened to Jeremiah was wrong, and he bravely convinced the king to let him rescue Jeremiah from death.

After the fall of the city, the Babylonians freed Jeremiah from prison and instructed him to go home to his kin a few miles away from the city. But before he did, God called him to find Ebed-Melech and promise him salvation. Even though many in the king’s household had been killed or taken into exile, God would deliver Ebed-Melech because of the kindness he did to someone that everyone else would have been happy to see dead.

It has always been true that people do things to benefit themselves. Even kind acts can have advantages, such as looking good in the eyes of others. But Ebed-Melech acted selflessly, putting his life on the line for someone who would probably be dead soon anyway. He did the right thing regardless of the consequences.

How can you be more like Ebed-Melech? Can you show kindness toward and even sacrifice for someone that everyone hates? Can you see the face of God in your enemy? God’s call to love is not always easy, but it is part of envisioning the world we all want, where fear and hatred are forgotten.

Prayer: God, help me to act out of compassion for others, even if I get nothing in return, for that is how Jesus acted toward people like me. Amen.