“Now God
Allowed Daniel
To receive favor
As well as compassion
From the palace master.”
Instead of a big deal, Ashpenaz said okay. God allowed Daniel to receive compassion and a favor from this palace master.
okay
Ishmael goes to Mizpah (Jer 41:1-41:1)
“In the seventh month,
Ishmael,
The son of Nethaniah,
The son of Elishama,
Of the royal family,
One of the chief officers
Of the king,
Came with ten men
To Gedaliah,
The son of Ahikam,
At Mizpah.
They ate bread together
There at Mizpah.”
Next Ishmael, the son of Nethaniah and grandson of Elishama, who was a royal family member, came to Mizpah in the seventh month that may have been the feast of Tents. Ishmael was an officer of the king also. He came with 10 men to greet Governor Gedaliah. They even ate a meal together at Mizpah. Thus this seems like everything was okay. Ishmael was mad either because he was passed over by not being named governor or he was mad at the Babylonians for taking his king, King Zedekiah.
Ebed-melech the Ethiopian (Jer 38:7-38:9)
“Ebed-melech
The Ethiopian,
A eunuch,
In the king’s house,
Heard
That they had put Jeremiah
Into the cistern.
The king happened
To be sitting
At the Benjamin Gate.
Ebed-melech left
The king’s house.
He spoke to the king.
‘My lord king!
These men have acted
Wickedly in all
That they did
To the prophet Jeremiah.
They have cast him
Into the cistern
To die there of hunger.
There is no bread
Left in the city.’”
Ebed-melech was an Ethiopian or Cushite eunuch in King Zedekiah’s house. Eunuchs normally controlled the harem for the king. Thus he was a foreign confidant of the king. When he heard about what happened to Jeremiah, he went to the king who was sitting at the Benjamin Gate on the north side of Jerusalem. He told the king that these officials had acted wickedly by casting the prophet Jeremiah into a well to starve him to death. He was not aware that the king had given his okay to these royal officials. Ebed-melech was afraid that Jeremiah would starve to death, since there was so little bread in the city of Jerusalem.
The discussion about Jeremiah (Jer 38:4-38:5)
“Then the officials said
To the king.
‘This man ought
To be put to death.
Because he is discouraging
The soldiers
Who are left in this city.
He is discouraging
All the people,
By speaking such words
To them.
This man is not seeking
The welfare of this people,
But their harm.’
King Zedekiah said.
‘Here he is.
He is in your hands.
The king is powerless
Against you.’”
These four royal officials went to the king and said that Jeremiah ought to be put to death. They said that Jeremiah was discouraging the soldiers who were left in the city, since so many had died already. He was, in fact, discouraging everyone by talking the way he does about the fall of Jerusalem. He was not seeking to help the people, but to harm them. Then King Zedekiah said okay. He left all this in their hands. He would not object to anything that they did. However, he did not say that Jeremiah should die.
Do not worry about the evildoers (Ps 37:1-37:2)
“A psalm of David
Alep
Do not fret because of the wicked!
Do not be envious of wrongdoers!
They will soon fade like the grass.
They will wither like the green herbs.”
Once again, Psalm 37 is a long acrostic psalm with the letters of the Hebrew alphabet starting each verse, like Psalms 9, 10, 25, and 34. Thus it is a little incoherent as a simple wisdom psalm of David. The evildoers seem to be doing okay. We should not fret, worry, or be envious about wicked evildoers. They would soon fade like the grass and wither up like the green herbs.
Eugene Finnegan Bible Project 