Day 164: Saved by Faith

Jeremiah 39:15-18

Now Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah while he was shut up in the court of the guard, saying, “Go, and speak to Ebedmelech the Ethiopian, saying, ‘Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel, says: “Behold, I will bring my words on this city for evil, and not for good; and they will be accomplished before you in that day. But I will deliver you in that day,” says Yahweh; “and you will not be given into the hand of the men of whom you are afraid. For I will surely save you. You won’t fall by the sword, but you will escape with your life, because you have put your trust in me,” says Yahweh.’ ”

Now we know why Ebedmelech the Ethiopian tried to save Jeremiah. He did it because he actually believed that what Jeremiah was saying was coming from God Himself. God makes it clear that Ebedmelech had put his trust in God. As I mentioned before, Ebedmelech’s life was crumbling around him as Jerusalem was under attack.

God makes it clear that because Ebedmelech trusted in God, he would not die like the others. This is God’s pattern and it is obvious by how He has dealt with us. Because we have believed in God’s message and put our trust in Him, we have been given life too.

I believe that it’s important to for us to take note of the fact that Ebedmelech’s faith wasn’t merely an internal affair. He didn’t privately believe on the inside and pretend to not believe on the outside. His faith in the inside turned into action as he did all he could to save Jeremiah from dying in the well. Even though it was his faith that saved him, his faith was real and it eventually became obvious by the good works that he did. This doesn’t mean that we don’t have faith if we sin, but it does mean that our faith will be made evident by what we do eventually. That’s because we act on what we actually believe in. It’s important to understand, however, that it wasn’t Ebedmelech’s good works that saved him. It was his trust in God.