Rev. Waltrina Middleton
Jeremiah 38: 6-13

The Power of One
Day 37: Counting down to our Jubilee! 

Bob Marley probed, “…How long shall they kill our prophets, while we stand aside and look?” Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian or Nubian eunuch, was not a gazer and neither was he silent in the face of oppression. With courageous indignation, Ebedmelech helped bridge the gap between church and state when he urged King Zedekiah to intervene on behalf of the prophet Jeremiah who was thrown into a pit and left to die.

Ebedmelech was lowly in class—a eunuch, a position that does not come with great social status. This made him quite dispensable, but also the most unsuspecting dissident. Ebedmelech, as a eunuch, would have been classified as one without influence or power and because of his role of submission and loyalty to the governing rule, Ebedmelech was unquestionably unmarried.

Eunuchs would have been considered unclean and not presentable before God because of their “disfiguration.” (Deut. 23:1) At the same time, because of their physical condition, they were not considered a threat and had great access to the royal court.

Given the reality of Ebedmelech’s social position—single, poor, a foreigner, and lowly in status, he courageously counseled the king to go against his pro-Egyptian advisors and rescue Jeremiah from the wrath of his own people. Ebedmelech, a disinherited eunuch, could have been killed or thrown in the pit to starve to death alongside Jeremiah. Undaunted, and acting alone, he decided to not remain silent and watch the prophet of God die.

Ebedmelech’s action may have inspired others who were “invisibles” in society because of singlehood, orientation, ethnicity, citizenship, socio-economic status or physical ability. Ebedmelech’s victory was a triumph for all who are disinherited and disenfranchised, and demonstrates the power and invaluable contributions of one. It took one voice to speak out against injustice and a singular act of faith to rescue the prophet Jeremiah from death! Singles of the church and community are a part of the movement to keep the prophetic word of God alive!

Prayer 

Christ was single. Amen.

Thought for the day 

Never underestimate the power and influence of one.