Narrative Lectionary Key Verse for Today
“Ebed-melech the Ethiopian, a eunuch in the king’s house, heard that they had put Jeremiah into the cistern. The king happened to be sitting at the Benjamin Gate, So Ebed-melech left the king’s house and spoke to the king, ‘My lord king, these men have acted wickedly in all they did to the prophet Jeremiah by throwing him into the cistern to die there of hunger, for there is no bread left in the ”
NL Daily Devotion for Friday, July 25, 2025
by R. M. Fergus, Clergy Stuff
It takes an outside voice to point out the truth. Jeremiah’s own people are dead set against him. They’ve thrown him in a pit and are just waiting for him to starve to death. It takes an Ethiopian eunuch, someone clearly seen as “other” by the Judeans, to draw attention to the atrociousness of their actions. In our current context, there’s a strong urge to discount anyone who doesn’t look like, act like, or believe exactly what a small group of people do. When we isolate ourselves we cut ourselves off from an unbelievable amount of wisdom, perspective, and truth. Ultimately, the king agrees with Ebed-melech, and Jeremiah is freed. Let this be a lesson to us to be open to the opinions of different voices—our own lives may one day depend on it.
What is my experience with people from other countries? What have they taught me?
