Jeremuddy (or, Surrender 201)

So they threw Jeremiah into the cistern. It was full of mud, and he sank in.

Oh yuck.

And that's the Gospel truth. You can read about it in Jeremiah 38. Spoiler alert: they pull him out. But not until throwing down some old rags to buffer his armpits from the rope.

What?! Armpits?!

No disrespect to Jerry and his plight; I'm sure it would be terrifying to fall into a pit and then sink into another. But part of me wishes the anecdote about the third and fourth pits of the story would have been something a bit more relevant to my life. For instance, God could throw in a sentence about which presidential candidate I'm supposed to vote for.

Needless to say, my Bible commentary had nothing to say about the significance of Jeremiah's armpits, but it did have something to say about ol' Ebed-melech, the guy who headed up the rescue party. Probably a eunuch and head of the King's harem, Ebed-melech had something nobody else in Jerusalem seemed to have at that time, the oft-cited and under-appreciated fear of the Lord. The guy had respect for God, and therefore, His servant. He made sure Jeremiah was as well cared-for as the war-ravaged city could afford.

Jerry told them all over and over again that Jerusalem would fall to the Babylonians if they didn't shape up and stop insulting their relentlessly loving God. Nobody listened. Jeremiah is known as the "Weeping Prophet." I would cry too if a city hated me and God told me to wear a diaper. "But that's not fair!" you say. "The guy's only trying to help, and God makes him do the stupidest things!" Well yeah, but its nothing Jesus didn't do.

Because of Ebed-melech's fear of the Lord, God saved his life, a privilege that God only offered to those who surrendered to the Babylonians. But Ebed-melech did surrender, and even before he stepped outside the city. True surrender is a heart attitude.

Isn't that what God wanted anyway? Heart surrender? He made Jeremiah tell the Israelites again and again that their lives would be spared if they surrendered. Easy, right? Surrender 101. Just walk outside, toss up a white flag, and get your one-way ticket to Babylon. But with a temple, a Holy City, and honor to defend, the white flag wasn't the most popular option. Plus, who was gunna guarantee that you would live as soon as you stepped out from behind the safety of the city walls? If you weren't killed for defecting, it was war out there. It was a risk, but God promised them life. By surrendering to the enemy, they showed they trusted God to save them. It was God's last call for the faithful. And he saved those who were faithful.

God is Just and patient. People say the Old Testament portrays a ruthless, hateful God, quick to kill. But have you read the whole thing? What about the way God, time after time after time, gives second chances, third chances, hundredth chances to a  group of people who treat their Creator as a hobby? Surrender 201 is the art of stepping out and trusting the loving God of second chances, whether that means stepping out in a war zone, wearing a loincloth, or risking your reputation to toss some extra padding to the weird old guy in the hole. Surrender 201 is open to students of any age or major. The only prerequisite is a willingness to put your trust in God. To surrender your life to Him.