John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 38:10

"Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, Take from hence thirty men with thee, and take up Jeremiah the prophet out of the dungeon, before he die." — Jeremiah 38:10 (ASV)

We see here, as I have already said, that the Prophet’s deliverance was entirely from above. The king, stricken with fear, had recently handed over the holy Prophet to the cruelty of his princes and had confessed that he no longer had any authority: “For it is not the king,” he said, “who now governs you.”

Since, then, the king had not dared to contend resolutely against his princes, how was it that he now ventured to extricate Jeremiah from the pit? We therefore see that the king’s mind had been changed. This is clear because he was recently so stunned by fear that he did not dare to plead the cause of the holy man; yet now he commands the Ethiopian to take him out from the pit. It appears, then, that this was overruled by a divine power.

But let us learn from this to be courageous when necessity requires, even if there may not be hope of a favorable outcome. Ebedmelech might have thought to himself that his attempt would be in vain, however strenuously he might have pleaded for Jeremiah.

He might, then, have therefore relinquished the purpose he had so boldly undertaken. For in this way, those who are overly wise are often led, as it were, into inaction, thinking: “What can you accomplish? You are but one, and they are many; and then the matter is already settled. If the king himself has been forced to yield to their fury, and you, being a private individual, with what confidence can you resist them? Furthermore, a tumult will be raised, and you will perish in it; and in the meantime, they will perhaps stone that unfortunate man whom you seek to help.” All these things might have occurred to Ebedmelech, and thus he might have desisted.

But we see that he rested confidently in God’s favor.

Let us, then, remembering his example, hope beyond hope when God requires us to do something—that is, when faith or the obligation of duty demands anything from us. This can be done if we close our eyes to all obstacles and continue in our work, for events are in God’s hands alone, and they will turn out as He pleases.

Meanwhile, it is simply our duty to proceed in our course, even if we may think that our efforts will be in vain and fruitless.

Ebedmelech happily succeeded, and how? Because he acted as a pious and upright man. Thus, God will extend His hand to us; whatever difficulties we may encounter, we will overcome them all by His power and aid.

Then the king commanded Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, Take hence thirty men with thee and extricate Jeremiah from the well. Ebedmelech might even then have relinquished his undertaking, for he might not have been able to overcome so great a power with thirty men, because all the king’s counselors had united, and no doubt they had enlisted many others to their side.

Thus, we see that Ebedmelech did not rely on human aid but, strengthened by invincible confidence, he undertook this task, so that he dared to draw Jeremiah out of the pit.