Daily Devotional For Saturday, August 15, 2026
Good morning Southside! Our daily devotional for today comes from Jeremiah 38:1-6:
“Now Shephatiah son of Mattan, Gedaliah son of Pashhur, Jehucal* son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur son of Malkijah heard what Jeremiah had been telling the people. He had been saying, (2) “This is what the LORD says: ‘Everyone who stays in Jerusalem will die from war, famine, or disease, but those who surrender to the Babylonians* will live. Their reward will be life. They will live!’ (3) The LORD also says: ‘The city of Jerusalem will certainly be handed over to the army of the king of Babylon, who will capture it.’” (4) So these officials went to the king and said, “Sir, this man must die! That kind of talk will undermine the morale of the few fighting men we have left, as well as that of all the people. This man is a traitor!” (5) King Zedekiah agreed. “All right,” he said. “Do as you like. I can’t stop you.” (6) So the officials took Jeremiah from his cell and lowered him by ropes into an empty cistern in the prison yard. It belonged to Malkijah, a member of the royal family. There was no water in the cistern, but there was a thick layer of mud at the bottom, and Jeremiah sank down into it” (NLT).
Poor, poor Jeremiah. It seems that every time he makes prophecies for the Lord, he is punished for it. Ever felt like that no matter what good you do, it is never good enough? You try, but you are shot down for it no matter what your good intentions were or are. Jeremiah is only doing what the Lord told him to do. All the food in Jerusalem is just about gone and no one, not even the king and his court will read the handwriting on the wall and what is that? They are now conquered people by Babylon and King Nebuchadnezzar.
We are told at least 3 times that it is a non-Jew who is reading their situation well. His name is Ebed-melech and as a foreigner (like Ruth, Rahab and Uriah), he is possibly a servant in the king’s court. He knows the end is near for Judah. Any further attempts to defend the wall around Jerusalem and the city, will not be successful. Though Jeremiah’s prophecy from God about this is a discouraging word to the soldiers, it does not eliminate the truth – the end is near for Judah.
Jeremiah is also an official in King Zedekiah’s court and he continues to serve valiantly. In fulfilling his duties, he places his life in danger. In our story for today, this is not the first time Jeremiah’s life was in danger. The first time occurred in Jeremiah 26 at the beginning of Jehoiakim's reign. This means this has been a real threat for the last 20 years. King Zedekiah, like Pilate, attempted to appease his royal court while at the same time attempting to save Jeremiah’s life.
Zedekiah’s royal court is not wrong in how Jeremiah’s prophecies are demoralizing the troops. Jeremiah’s prophecy here is not the same prophecy he gave in Jeremiah 29:11. No one likes to be the bearer of bad news (doctors, lawyers, and etc.). And no one likes to hear bad news. We want a Gospel of good news and joy. We want uplifting and encouraging sermons, not any that talk about our sin, our hardened hearts and our pride. We want Norman Vincent Peele sermons. We do not want sermons that convict, but sermons that console.
Poor Jeremiah has to deal with the wicked Gang of Four: Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jehucal, and Pashhur were conspiring to murder God’s prophet, but they did not want his blood on their hands. So they arranged for a bloodless execution. Just put Jeremiah down in a cistern deep in mud. As he sank down into it, he would be stuck and could not get out on his own. Without someone extending him a rope (which is what happens later, see Jer. 38:7-13), he could not escape. His fate was set in this mud.
They saw Jeremiah as “damaged goods” and one who was causing others to be “damaged goods” through his prophecies. I can understand how Jeremiah felt. It is always easy to put a label on someone and hope it sticks. The truth is: everyone is damaged goods. And the ones who know they are, are the ones the Lord wants to use because they know they have to totally depend on the Lord. As we read Jeremiah, we see he battle chronic depression. He is labeled “The Weeping Prophet” by scholars. I have always felt that was an unfair label. He wept and was depressed because he saw how God’s people were so rebellious, sinful and idolatrous, how they refused to listen to warning after warning from God about impending judgment by God and how he was living to see this judgment unfold.
Reflection Assignment: What is an area in your life in the past where God’s Word has warned you to change and you did? What blessings did you experience? What is an area in your life where you refused to repent and God disciplined you? What did you learn from that? What is a time in your life where you felt you were stuck and had no escape until God sent you help? What did you learn from that experience? Or, where like Pilate and King Zedekiah did you wash your hands of being responsible for someone (see Matt. 27:24)? Why and what happened?
Scripture To Meditate On: Psalms 69:14-15, “Deliver me from the mire and do not let me sink; May I be delivered from my foes and from the deep waters. (15) May the flood of water not overflow me; Nor the deep swallow me up, Nor the pit shut its mouth on me” (NASB).
Prayer To Pray: “Lord, I do not want to “wash my hands” of my role and/or responsibility to listen to Your word, the ones You use to bring Your word. Help me not to put labels on people, but to see them as You do. I love You Lord. In Jesus’ name, Amen!”
I love you Southside! – Pastor Kelly