“So they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchiah, the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard, letting Jeremiah down by ropes. And there was no water in the cistern, but only mud, and Jeremiah sank in the mud.” (Jeremiah 38:6 ESV).
When the Judean officials heard Jeremiah preaching that those who stayed in Jerusalem would die by the sword, but those who surrendered to the Babylonians would live, they had him arrested for treason. They imprisoned him in a cistern where he sank in its muddy bottom.
The inhabitants of Jerusalem dug cisterns to collect rainwater. They were hewn out of the limestone rock prevalent there. They were usually pear-shaped, with a small 2 to 3 foot opening at the top and 15 to 20 feet deep at the bottom. It was into one of these cisterns that the prophet Jeremiah was imprisoned for preaching the Word of God. There was no place to sit nor sleep, just a muddy bottomed pit with a narrow ray of sunshine passing through the opening above.
But God didn’t forsake His prophet. One of the king’s eunuchs plead for Jeremiah’s life. And the king had him rescued. They drew Jeremiah up with ropes, lifting him up out of the miry clay.
Jeremiah’s rescue brings to mind the words of David’s psalm: “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand” (Psalm 40:1-2).
Do you feel like you’re in a pit today? No sunshine, only gray? Pray to the Lord for rescue. Cry out to the One who can lift you up from the mud and mire and set your feet on solid ground.
PRAYER: Dear Father, we may never have experienced the plight of Jeremiah, but there have been days when we have felt trapped in the depths of discouragement. On such dark days, we have learned to turn to You. For You are willing and able to lift us up out of the slimy pit. Lift us up today, Lord. Set our feet on the Rock, which is Jesus. For it’s in His name we pray, amen.