God is in the pit with you
It’s a guarantee that when you preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, you will be challenged by unbelievers. You will be ridiculed and mocked as was Jesus. Because you call upon the name of the Lord, you will be hated and rejected. All of these experiences are what you will experience while in a spiritual pit. You are not in the pit because of sin, but because you choose not to sin. The pit is not an enjoyable place to be, but it is a place that identifies you as one who has a relationship with Christ. There is a reassuring fact that provision and deliverance will come while you are in the pit because God is right there with you.
Called to be a Prophet
God called Jeremiah to be a prophet before he was born
“Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.” Jeremiah 1:4
Little did Jeremiah know that his calling would involve being thrown in a cistern or muddy pit because he was doing what God told him to do. He preached against those who were full of unbelief. Even though his heart went out to those to whom he preached God’s message of condemnation, he was on a mission to tear down pride while also building God’s kingdom.
God’s people had turned their backs on Him toward other gods. They had been set apart from the other pagan nations and their idol worship, but God wanted them to return to Him. God commissioned Jerimiah to preach His Word to the nation of Judah and assured him that He would be with him.
“Thou therefore gird up thy loins, and arise, and speak unto them all that I command thee: be not dismayed at their faces, lest I confound thee before them.” Jeremiah 1:17
Gird up your loins
When God calls us for an assignment, we must gird up our loins or prepare ourselves to do the work He calls us to do; it’s an appointment God expects us to complete. God expects us to be diligent and speak what He commands us to speak. He told Jerimiah to “be not dismayed at their faces.” When we stand in the presence of the proud and unbelieving to deliver God’s Word, we can’t be fearful of their ridicule or rejection. It is better to be rejected by an unbeliever than God because we fail to do what God called us to do.
Jeremiah boldly preached this message to God’s people who had turned to idolatry:
“Thus saith the Lord, He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. Thus saith the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon’s army, which shall take it.” Jeremiah 38:2-3
As a result of their rebellion and idol worship, God was going to send His people into Babylonian captivity. The princes and army commanders considered Jeremiah’s message an act of treason, so they made a request to Zedekiah, the King of Judah:
“We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.” Jeremiah 38:4
Thrown into a pit
When you are on an assignment for the Lord, you will be a threat to your enemies. They will hate you. The messages you preach will condemn them, revealing to them their wickedness and unwillingness to repent. Neither the princes nor the king had the courage to condemn Jeremiah to death, so instead, they threw him into a pit. Jeremiah was thrown into the pit for preaching God’s Word. He gave the nation of Judah a chance to repent and turn away from sin and idol worship but found himself inside a muddy pit.
Word got to a slave named Ebedmelech that Jerimiah had been thrown in a pit. Ebedmelech was an Ethiopian among God’s people who had earned the king’s respect and was made a part of the king’s court. He was the only one in Jerusalem who was willing to be obedient to God’s command and the message He gave Jeremiah.
God will use the least expected
Out of compassion and honor for Jeremiah, God used a foreigner, not a Hebrew, priest, or prince, to plead to the king that because of the famine in the land, Jeremiah was going to die without bread.
“My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon; and he is like to die for hunger in the place where he is: for there is no more bread in the city.” Jeremiah 38:9
King Zedekiah was not about to have the blood of Jeremiah on his hands. He commanded Ebedmelech to take men and get Jeremiah out of the pit.
We must not only look at how Ebedmelech risked his position and life by appealing to the king on Jeremiah’s behalf in public, but also at the actions of love, concern, and compassion he took to rescue Jeremiah. He knew Jeremiah would be weak, hungry, and thirsty. He assumed Jeremiah might be stuck in the mud inside the pit. If he simply lowered a rope down to pull him up, Jeremiah’s weak body might be injured by the toughness of the rope while pulling him out of the mud. Ebedmelech wrapped the rope in some old rags and worn-out clothes. After lowering the wrapped rope, he told Jeremiah to put the padded rope under his arms to prevent injury.
Be instant in season and out of season
Jeremiah was in a pit he could not get out of on his own, but God had someone interceding for him. You may be in a pit right now for doing what God called you to do. You may not know who, but someone is interceding for you. It may not be a fellow brother or sister, but it may be someone you least expect.
As you move forward tearing down walls of pride and unbelief, you will be called many derogatory names and find yourself in a pit. Why? Simply because you have a relationship with God. There is a scripture that says:
“Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.” 2 Timothy 4:2
Most individuals don’t have a problem delivering God’s Word in season or when conditions are favorable, but what about when conditions are not favorable? Unfavorable times are out-of-season times, the times you are in the pit because you have done nothing wrong. When your preaching leads you into a pit, rest assured, God sees you. He’s a God who sees all. Just keep looking up, because there is no other direction but to look for your deliverance. Criticism and insults will come your way, dropping you into a pit, but God is right there with you. God will sustain you while you are in the pit. Then, at an appointed time, He will lift you out.