John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 38:7-9

"Now when Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch, who was in the king`s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah in the dungeon (the king then sitting in the gate of Benjamin,) Ebed-melech went forth out of the king`s house, and spake to the king, saying, My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die in the place where he is, because of the famine; for there is no more bread in the city." — Jeremiah 38:7-9 (ASV)

Jeremiah relates here how he was delivered from death, for he could not have lived long in the mire; partly because he would have died from lack, and partly because he would have perished from the cold and suffocated from the filth of the dungeon. But God rescued him in a wonderful manner through the aid of Ebed-melech, an Ethiopian. He was a foreigner, and this is expressly stated so that we may know that among the king’s counselors, there was no one who resisted such great wickedness. But one was found, an Ethiopian, who came to the aid of God’s Prophet.

A comparison is therefore implied here between an Ethiopian, a foreigner, and all the Jews, who professed to be the holy seed of Abraham, who had been circumcised, and boasted loudly of God’s law and covenant. Yet, there was not one among them who would stretch out his hand to the holy servant of God!

Perhaps there were some who pitied him, but they lacked courage, so no one dared to open his mouth, for it was considered a disgrace to support the holy man. Therefore, they preferred the favor of the ungodly to their own duty. But there was an Ethiopian so courageous that he dared to accuse all the king’s officials and the other princes.

Undoubtedly, then, the Spirit, by the mouth of the Ethiopian, brought perpetual disgrace upon the king’s princes, who styled themselves as the children of Abraham and boasted greatly of God’s covenant. A similar case is presented by Christ in a parable, where He says that a Levite and a priest passed by a wounded man and disregarded him, but that help was brought to him by a Samaritan (Luke 10:30–35).

Christ’s purpose, no doubt, was to condemn the Jews, even the Levites and the priests, for their barbarity in showing no concern for the life of a miserable man in his extreme distress. So also, in this passage, the Ethiopian is presented to us as an example, for he alone had feelings of kindness and humanity, enough to bring help to the holy Prophet and to rescue him, as it were, from immediate death and the grave.

But we see all the king’s officials either utterly indifferent or influenced by the same spirit of rage and cruelty, so that they were mortal enemies to the holy man because he freely and openly declared to them the command of God.

And Jeremiah says that Ebed-melech heard, etc. From this, we may conclude that he was anxious about the safety of the holy Prophet and that he had friends who watched the proceedings.

It is then added that Ebed-melech was in the palace, but that the king was sitting in the gate of Benjamin. Kings were accustomed to administer justice in the gates, and their tribunal was there; it was also there that the people held their regular assemblies.

The king, then, was sitting in the gate of Benjamin. But, in the meantime, his palace was a place of execution and a den of robbers. We therefore see that the king’s indolence is indicated here, for he apparently performed the proper duties of a king but neglected the principal part of them, as he allowed a holy man to be cast into a pit. Since, then, he thus exposed the Prophet’s life to the will of the princes, it is evident that he was merely an empty shadow, though he stood there as the judge of the people and had a sacred tribunal there.

It now follows that Ebed-melech went forth from the palace and came to the king’s tribunal, so that he might plead the Prophet's cause there. It is right to note this circumstance as well as the previous one. For if Ebed-melech had met the king accidentally, he might have spoken to him in passing. But since he went forth from the palace, it is clear that he had been contemplating his actions and had not felt only a sudden impulse of compassion. Instead, when he could have rested quietly in the palace, he went of his own accord to the king to make his complaint known.

Furthermore, he did not address the king in a room or in some private corner of the palace, but spoke to him in the gate, that is, in a public assembly. Thus, we see that the first circumstance highlights for us this man’s perseverance, for he was not only suddenly moved but persevered in his holy purpose. The second circumstance highlights for us his magnanimity, for he did not shrink from incurring ill-will but openly and boldly spoke for Jeremiah before the people, and he highlighted the Prophet’s excellence by bringing an accusation against the princes.

He no doubt knew that he was bringing himself into danger, but he exposed his own life so that he might aid the Prophet.

He then said that the king’s counselors had done wickedly in all the things which they had done against Jeremiah the Prophet, because they had cast him into the well. Ebed-melech added, There he will die under himself, or as some render it, and rightly, “in” his own place. The expression is striking but cannot be fully conveyed in our language, for Ebed-melech meant that Jeremiah would die even if no one disturbed him, even if no evil or harm were done to him by another.

He will, then, die in his own place, that is, he will die if left where he is, because he lay, as has been shown, sunk in mire. And then Ebed-melech said, He will die through famine; for he had been cast into the pit as into a grave. As scarcity prevailed among all the people, Jeremiah could not have hoped for any aid, and bread, as we shall see later, could not have been thrown to him.

Then Ebed-melech says here, first, that Jeremiah had been unworthily treated because he was God’s Prophet; for Ebed-melech honors him with this title so that he might expose the impiety of the princes. Second, he shows how miserably Jeremiah lay in the pit, because no one could supply him with food, and there was no more bread in the city.