By Stephen Wolemonwu

God raised up one man and by name Ebed-Melech, an Ethiopian, a stranger, and not even a Jew. He touched his heart. While the princes sat in the palace, God positioned His servant at the gate. The same God who allows the pit also provides the Ebed-Melech as the unlikely deliverer. An Ethiopian eunuch, an outsider, became God’s instrument. Christ Jesus likewise is able to save His faithful servants, even when their own people abandon them.
Ebed-Melech is a perfect picture of Christ:

• He interceded with the king for Jeremiah; Christ intercedes for us at the right hand of God.

• He went down into the pit to lift Jeremiah up; Christ came down from heaven into our sinful pit to raise us.

• He saved Jeremiah with rags and cords; Christ saves us not with gold, but with His own torn body.

You are not forgotten in your pit. Christ knows you are there. He is able. Hebrews 7:25 declares, “He is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by Him.” As Jeremiah was lifted from the muddy cistern with ropes and old rags. It was a picture of tender care of how Christ was lifted from the grave, and He lifts us. Our Saviour entered the ultimate pit of death and rose again, so every pit we face is temporary.

Second, James says in verse 4: “Let patience have her perfect work.” God has a purpose. The trial is a tool, not a punishment. And when the work is done, the tool is laid aside. Verse 11 reminds us that like the hot sun that scorches the flower, the heat is fierce but it passes.

Our elders say, “No matter how long the night lasts, morning will come.” The pit was Jeremiah’s night, but morning came through Ebed-Melech. Whatever you are enduring has an expiry date. Do not make a permanent decision in a temporary pit.

Do not abandon your faith because of a passing trial.

• The Crown Of Our Endurance (Jer 38:13; James 1:12, 15)

The Bible does not say, “Blessed is the man who enters temptation,” but rather, “Blessed is the man who endures.” Many begin faithfully, but few endure faithfully. Endurance is the mark of true discipleship.

James speaks of two crowns. The crown of life is promised to those who endure (James 1:12). This crown is not something beyond eternal life, but it is the crown of enduring, the honour given to those who prove their love for God under pressure. Endure truth and live; follow sin and die (v.15). Jeremiah endured and remained in the court of the prison (v.13). He lived, and his ministry continued after the pit. His persecutors were judged, but his word came to pass exactly as God declared. God vindicated him.

A soldier does not receive a medal for wearing a uniform in the barracks. He receives it for holding his ground in battle. Your trial is your battlefield, and your endurance is your medal. The crown of life is reserved for those who refuse to quit, but remain steadfast when tested, and who prove their love for God by standing firm in the fire.
Conclusion

So, child of God, where are you today? Are you in the palace of the princes, tempted to compromise just to remain comfortable? Step out and stand for truth. Or are you in the pit, sinking in the mire because you dared to stand for truth?

Hold on. The trial is temporary. Your Deliverer lives. He has already sent help, and will pull you out with tender hands. Your faithfulness will not end in shame, but ends in a crown. The pit is not your grave; it is only a passage. The palace is not your refuge; Christ is. And the crown is not for those who avoid the battle, but for those who endure it.

• The Venerable Stephen Wolemonwu is the Rector Ibru Ecumenical Centre, Agbarha-Otor, Delta State (08035413812)