The enemies of Jeremiah could lock him up, but they couldn’t shut him up. At the end of the previous chapter, ungodly men not only reject the prophet’s word, they beat him and have him imprisoned. Though King Zedekiah grants a limited pardon, Jeremiah is still confined to the prison courtyard (37:14, 21). But as chapter 38 begins, the preacher is still going strong, fearlessly declaring the Word of God. Everyone who passed through the prison heard the same sermon: “Surrender or Die.” For several decades he was ignored or mocked as he warned of the imminent destruction of Jerusalem. But now that the city is surrounded by the mighty Babylonian army, Jeremiah’s credibility is at an all-time high. The situation is desperate and the citizens are doomed (v 1-3). It’s easy to understand why this sermon made people feel discouraged. He was saying that victory is impossible; defeat is inevitable. This is not a good locker room speech to deliver when your team is down at half-time! But this is what God told Jeremiah to say, even if it made people sad… or mad. The king’s staff was angry because this little sermon was bad for the morale of soldiers trying to defend their homeland. Jeremiah was hurting the war effort! “Whose side is he on, anyway? This man deserves to die; he’s a traitor!” (v 4). Cowardly King Zedekiah wasn’t going to stop them, so Jeremiah’s enemies decide to silence him by tossing him into a cistern, leaving him to die in the mud, some fifteen feet below ground. But God delivers His prophet through the courageous efforts of an African servant of the king. Ebed-melech publicly confronts his boss, taking a stand for righteousness and truth. And in typical fashion, Zedekiah changes his mind, approving the rescue operation (v 5-13). Jeremiah has barely cleaned the mud off of himself when is summoned to the temple. The king hopes that God might change His mind, but God insists that Zedekiah is the one who must do the repenting. If the previous sermon was “Surrender or Die,” Jeremiah’s new version is “Turn or Burn.” If the king would turn himself over to the Babylonians, he would be saved. If not, Jerusalem would be burned to the ground. This was actually a remarkable sign of God’s patience and grace. The way of salvation was made clear. But faith was required. Rebel kings who surrendered were usually mutilated and put to death, so Zedekiah was understandably fearful. Still, the consequences of disobedience are always worse than the consequences of obedience (v 14-23). Sadly, the king’s childish parting words—basically, “Don’t tell on me!”—show that God’s Word has not registered; he is living by fear, not by faith (v 24-28). For further meditation: