Though King Zedekiah knew in his heart that Jeremiah spoke God's words, he was too fearful to stand up for him. When some officials demanded that Jeremiah be killed for speaking God's message of judgment, Zedekiah let them put Jeremiah into a cistern to die of thirst (1-6). It took a Cushite official, Ebed-Melek, to make the king acknowledge how wicked these men were and bring Jeremiah out of the cistern (7-13).

In spite of all this, Jeremiah still acted as a shepherd for this cowardly king who wouldn't stand on the side of truth. When Zedekiah came to Jeremiah for counsel, promising to protect him, Jeremiah told the king how to save his family's life by surrendering to the king of Babylon (14-18). But Zedekiah was still too afraid of people to follow Jeremiah's direction (19).

Jeremiah has the image of a true shepherd, who is able to help even his persecutors. He resembles Jesus, who preached the truth to Pontius Pilate even while he was on trial.


Application: Father, thank you for examples of to serve even wicked people with your word. Help me be a shepherd for whomever you send me.
One Word: Faithless people need shepherds