Breaking to Heal: Finding Redemption in Life's Destruction

Introduction

So far, we have studied Jeremiah’s call and the assurance from God that He will be with him. Then we saw Jeremiah in full prophetic ministry, telling Judah that their worship is unacceptable as they insist on combining it with active unrepentant sin.

They ignored that, so judgment came and Jeremiah told them how they were to live in exile in the midst of God’s Judgment. But by this time the city had not fallen yet.

Those who had surrendered started settling in in Babylon, one of them would have been the would be prophet Daniel. This is per the letter that Jeremiah sent to them which, by this time as we enter chapter 38, would have been around a decade earlier.

Now, as Jerusalem is under siege, Jeremiah is still proclaiming the same message: surrender to God’s judgment, be obedient to God’s judgment, because resisting only leads to destruction. But the leaders despise his counsel.

They saw themselves as surrendering to Babylon, but it was not Babylon, for Babylon was just a tool, an instrument of God’s discipline, to reject it, would be to reject Him. To reject God’s means, is to reject God Himself.

Today we will examine the first 6 verses of chapter 38 already read in context where we will see how sometimes standing for truth means being cast down, misunderstood, and even broken. Yet God uses the breaking to heal. Let’s consider this context in light of two essential realities in the life of every believer:

I. The Truth of God Will Be Opposed (vv. 1-3)

II. Faithfulness to God May Lead to Suffering (vv. 4-6)

I. The Truth of God Will Be Opposed (vv. 1-3)

Jeremiah 38:1–3 LSB

1 And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah heard the words that Jeremiah was speaking to all the people, saying, 2 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘He who stays in this city will die by the sword and by the famine and by the pestilence, but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live and have his own life as spoil and stay alive.’ 3 “Thus says Yahweh, ‘This city will certainly be given into the hand of the military force of the king of Babylon, and he will capture it.’”

Let me catch you up a bit. Earlier, Jeremiah had been in the land of Benjamin attending to some personal business—reminding us that he was a real man with ordinary responsibilities, not some eccentric saint sitting in a trance waiting for visions. While there, he was arrested and thrown into a pit, a vaulted cell. Later, after a private meeting with King Zedekiah—kept secret because the king feared his officials. Jeremiah begged the king to get him out of there because the conditions were horrendous, and Jeremiah feared for his life.

The king granted his request and brought him to the court of the guard. It was still jail, but it was not a pit, it was a royal prison courtyard attached to the kings palace. This was not a dungeon, Jeremiah could now have visitors and people had access to him.

Here Jeremiah could receive visitors and speak freely with people, and he used that opportunity to deliver God’s message to any who would listen. This message was overheard by four high ranking officials: Shephatiah, Gedaliah, Jucal, and Pashhur. All they chose to hear was,

“He who stays in this city will die … but he who goes out to the Chaldeans will live.” (v. 2)

They paid no attention to the beginning of Jeremiah’s words which were, “Thus says Yahweh”. To the leaders this was treason, a national betrayal. Notice the contrast

What the world calls betrayal is often faithfulness to God

Jeremiah was just being obedient to God, and his obedience incited the hatred of those who oppose God. The interesting thing is that these people would not have thought of themselves as opposing God. They were proud Jews, “the temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh, the temple of Yahweh”. But Jesus, quoting Isaiah said,

Matthew 15:8 LSB

8 ‘This people honors Me with their lips, But their heart is far away from Me.

If a person’s heart is far from God, it does not matter that His name is on their lips. In truth they will end up hating Him and hating all who are His because they are of the world. They live like the world, they reason like the world. Consider Jesus’ words,

John 15:18–20 LSB

18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before it hated you. 19 “If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. 20 “Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also.

All you have to do is reason with people based on the truth of Scripture and you will no doubt have opposition. The apostle Paul warns,

2 Timothy 4:3–4 LSB

3 For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires, 4 and will turn away their ears from the truth and will turn aside to myths.

The prophet Amos was told by Amaziah, a priest, to go prophesy elsewhere because the message was unwelcome. It did not matter that the message was from the Lord. (Amos 7:10-13).

Theological Reflection

God’s Word will always confront human pride and false sense of security. And because of the sinful nature of man, that confrontation is bound to stir opposition.

No matter how much Jeremiah tried, they would not listen: “this is not about Babylon; your problem is not Babylon, your problem is God.” The problem was not that Babylon was formidable enemy, their problem was that they had made themselves an enemy of God.

But this rejection of Jeremiah foreshadows an even greater rejection, the rejection of Christ Himself. Jesus spoke the truth about the kingdom and was accused of blasphemy, treason, and even demon-possession, and ultimately caused unimaginable suffering and death.

Faithfulness to God will often provoke resistance so do not be surprised when obedience brings pushback. If you are holding firm to Scripture, opposition is a pretty good sign of faithfulness not failure. So extrapolate all of this and bring it into the context of your own life and ask yourself the question,

Where in my life am I tempted to soften or silence God’s Word to avoid conflict?

Truth is, as we will see in our second reality,

II. Faithfulness to God May Lead to Suffering (vv. 4-6)

Jeremiah 38:4–6 LSB

4 Then the officials said to the king, “Now let this man be put to death, inasmuch as he is making the hands of the men of war who remain in this city as well as the hands of all the people limp, by speaking such words to them; for this man is not seeking peace for this people but rather calamity.” 5 So King Zedekiah said, “Behold, he is in your hands; for the king can do nothing against you.” 6 Then they took Jeremiah and cast him into the cistern of Malchijah the king’s son, which was in the court of the guard; and they let Jeremiah down with ropes. Now in the cistern there was no water but only mire, and Jeremiah sank into the mire.

After hearing Jeremiah’s words, which should have sounded like a broken record by now, these officials go to Zedekiah demanding his death. By the way, the concept of Jeremiah’s execution has been on the table since chapter 26. Jeremiah has been living with this threat over his head for 20 years.

Zedekiah is obviously a weak ruler. I suspect that Jeremiah’s demise would be the last thing Zedekiah wanted. I truly believe that Zedekiah, at least partially believed Jeremiah’s message. However, he feared others more than he feared God. Remember what God said to Jeremiah,

Jeremiah 1:17 NIV

17 “Get yourself ready! Stand up and say to them whatever I command you. Do not be terrified by them, or I will terrify you before them.

There is something to be said about knowing what is right and yet refusing to do it because of the fear of the consequences. It did not matter that Zedekiah had the right instincts here, he feared men more than he feared God. Consider the Master’s words,

Luke 12:4–5 LSB

4 “But I say to you, My friends, do not fear those who kill the body and after that have no more that they can do. 5 “But I will show you whom to fear: fear the One who, after He has killed, has authority to cast into hell; yes, I tell you, fear Him!

Zedekiah feared men more than God, and that fear made him weak. Jeremiah feared God more than men, and that fear made him strong.

So Zedekiah, weak and fearful, hands Jeremiah over. And they lower him into a cistern, a hole filled with mud and he sinks down into it. This is humiliation, isolation, and a near death experience.

Theological reflection

Are we ready for this? Is our anchor in Christ so steadfast that we would react like Jeremiah? Or would we give in like Zedekiah. After all, faithfulness to God does not guarantee safety or comfort. In fact, it often invites opposition and suffering.

Jeremiah’s faithfulness brought him to the pit, a literal one. Sometimes obedience leads us into the “pits” of life: rejection, loss, humiliation, loneliness…

Which is a reminder that suffering is not always punishment, sometimes it is the price of faithfulness. Jeremiah went into that pit, but God did not leave him there.

Psalm 40:1–2 LSB

1 I hoped earnestly for Yahweh; And He inclined to me and heard my cry for help. 2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a high rock, He established my steps.

This is outside of the scope of our text but I want you to know what happened,

Jeremiah 38:10 LSB

10 Then the king commanded Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, saying, “Take in your hand thirty men from here and bring up Jeremiah the prophet from the cistern before he dies.”

The apostle Paul testifies,

2 Corinthians 4:8–10 LSB

8 in every way afflicted, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body.

why? because

“to you it has been granted for Christ’s sake, not only to believe in Him, but also to suffer for His sake.” (Philippians 1:29)

The church has long recognized this reality. In the 17th century, Thomas Shepherd wrote…

“Must Jesus bear the cross alone, and all the world go free? No, there’s a cross for everyone, and there’s a cross for me”

Thomas Shepherd

But Jeremiah is a type for Christ, his pit foreshadows Christ’s descent into rejection and death. He was betrayed, mocked, and cast out of the city to die.

Just as Jeremiah sank into the mud, Jesus was laid in the grave. And yet out of that humiliation came God’s redemption.

The pit was not the end for Jeremiah, the grave was not the end for Christ, and the suffering you are in now is not the end for you. Because He lives, all of your suffering is filled with hope. All of our suffering has divine purpose.

Within the sound of my voice some of you are facing the pit of suffering. Where is it? is it your family? At work? among your friends?

Don’t mistake opposition for failure. Sometimes the mud is where God does His most glorious work.

Trust that God’s presence is with you in the pit, and that He will lift you out in His time. Remember the words of the psalmist:

“Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me…” (Psalm 23:4)

Lift up your head and say,

Habakkuk 3:17–18 LSB

17 Though the fig tree should not blossom And there be no produce on the vines, Though the yield of the olive should fail And the fields yield no food, Though the flock should be cut off from the fold And there be no cattle in the stalls, 18 Yet I will exult in Yahweh; I will rejoice in the God of my salvation.

Conclusion

Jeremiah’s faithfulness led him into the mud of a cistern. Christ’s faithfulness led Him to the cross and the grave. And sometimes, our faithfulness will lead us into pits of our own—rejection, loss, or suffering. But the pit is never the end. What looks like breaking in the moment is often God’s way of bringing deeper healing. Hosea says,

“He has torn us, but He will heal us; He has wounded us, but He will bandage us.” (Hos 6:1).

God breaks down pride to give humility, He breaks false security to anchor us in His truth, and He breaks our self-reliance so that we might lean fully on Christ. And because Jesus Himself was broken for us—pierced for our transgressions—every wound we carry in Him becomes a place of healing.

So don’t mistake opposition or suffering for failure. The same God who was with Jeremiah in the mud and who raised Christ from the grave is with you in your pit. And if He is breaking you, it is only so that His redemption might take root in you. Trust Him, even in the breaking—because the pit is not the end.