What about Ebed-Melech?

 

Photo courtesy of O'Reilly Lewis

There are people in the bible who everyone knows because we hear about them over and over from pulpits, at Sunday School and in bible study.

Then there are those persons that are entirely unfamiliar; oftentimes appearing only once in the bible, their stories aren’t preached neither are they celebrated and so they remain on the pages of our bibles languishing in obscurity.

Ebed-Melech is one of those in the unfamiliar group of persons. He is an overlooked hero who stood when others fell. His name first appears in Jeremiah 38:7.

But Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, an important court official…

Long story short…

Ebed-Melech was an Ethiopian in the court of king Zedekiah. His name carries the meaning “servant of the king”, so it wasn’t just his name, but it echoed his position.

Though a foreigner in the land, Ebed-Melech held a position of great responsibility in the royal court of Judah.

At that time Jeremiah was a well-established prophet and spoke a prophecy which those in authority despised, as it spoke of Israel’s surrender to the Babylonians,

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!” – Jeremiah 38:4 (NLT)

The king agreed and, Jeremiah, who had been imprisoned, was taken from his cell and lowered by ropes into a waterless, mud-filled cistern by the ones who were intent on silencing him. Jeremiah sank down into the mud.

Enter Ebed-Melech. He heard that Jeremiah was in the cistern (Jeremiah 38:7 NLT) and without fear for his own life, implored the king not to leave Jeremiah there. The king relented and gave Ebed-Melech permission to rescue Jeremiah.

So the king told Ebed-Melech, “Take thirty of my men with you, and pull Jeremiah out of the cistern before he dies.” – Jeremiah 38:10 (NLT)

Ebed-Melech and the men went to the cistern, lowered a rope together with some old rags and discarded clothes and called out to Jeremiah saying, “Put these rags under your armpits to protect you from the ropes.”  (Jeremiah 38:12 NLT). Now, how thoughtful was that?

Ebed-Melech’s actions epitomized all the characteristics of love as Apostle Paul outlined in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8. For all intents and purposes, as “servant of the king”, and as loyalty subscribes, Ebed-Melech should have been Jeremiah’s opponent but instead, Ebed-Melech was “servant of the King”, the King of Creation.

Ebed-Melech honoured God by honouring His prophet. He could have chosen to remain silent, but he spoke up even at the risk of death.

While the voice of God had become an irritation to those in power, Ebed-Melech became a vessel of courage, compassion and righteousness.

His brief story invites us to recognize that God will use anyone even those whom society overlooks; His choices are not reserved for the powerful but for the willing.

Ebed-Melech was a man of great character and moral integrity who stood for truth when it was unpopular; he stood for what was right and he stood up for Jeremiah when everyone else was against him.

An outsider who had more going on inside him, because greater was He who was in him than he who was in the world (ref. 1 John 4:4). And just like that Ebed-Melech was woven into the fabric of the divine plan.

We may not have known his name, but God knows his name just as He knows yours.

Beloved, James 4:17 (TPT) says, if you know of an opportunity to do the right thing today, yet you refrain from doing it, you’re guilty of sin. Ebed-Melech knew of such an opportunity, and he did the right thing. He did not do the right thing for recognition, but he did what he did because it was the right thing to do.

Ebed-Melech chose courage over comfort, conviction over convenience and the King over the king and because of that, God rewarded him.

You see, Jeremiah’s despised prophecy did come to pass and the Babylonians besieged Jerusalem, captured king Zedekiah, pronounced judgment upon him, slaughtered his sons, slaughtered all the nobles of Judah, gouged out the king’s eyes, bound him in chains, burnt the palace and all the houses and tore down the walls of the city of Jerusalem (see Jeremiah 39:1-10).

Then God gave Jeremiah a message for Ebed-Melech, the Ethiopian who recognized Jeremiah as authentic, and took a stand for righteousness, the foreigner who did not compromise his character for clout, the outsider who recognized the voice of God when others rejected it,

“Say to Ebed-Melech the Ethiopian, ‘This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: I will do to this city everything I have threatened. I will send disaster, not prosperity. You will see its destruction, but I will rescue you from those you fear so much. Because you trusted me, I will give you your life as a reward. I will rescue you and keep you safe. I, the Lord, have spoken!’” – Jeremiah 39:16-18 (NLT)

Beloved, Ebed-Melech rescued Jeremiah and in turn, when disaster struck, God rescued him. God rewarded his faithfulness to Him. Ebed-Melech was left standing tall, while leaders who had hardened their hearts against God and manipulated truth and schemed for political and personal gain would fall.

Amen †

Shelley Johnson “What about Ebed-Melech?” ©2026 April 22, 2026