“So Ebedmelech took the men with him, and went into the house of the king under the treasury, and took thence old cast clouts and old rotten rags, and let them down by cords into the dungeon to Jeremiah.” (Jer 38:11 AV)
When the Bible tells us a detail more than once, it would be good to stop and think about it. The clouts and old rage is mentioned twice in connection with the cords being the means by which Jeremiah was hauled out of the dungeon. Why the detail? What would it matter? Amid this small detail is a great truth. But first, let me give you a bit of information. Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, by the command of the leadership of Judah, was let down into a slimy and mud-filled pit they called a dungeon. I got a glimpse of what that might have looked like when I visited a castle in Ireland. They showed what the castle considered a dungeon and it was a hole barely big enough for one person. It was usually dug into a wall that went down at an angle into the ground. Not quite wide enough to sit, the prisoner would stand most of the time up to his mid-calf in silt, slim, and human feces. Cast clouts were strips of leather or cloth used with cattle. The rags were worn out and useless garments were worn by people. We all have that collection, don’t we? We have a large bag filled with old towels, t-shirts, or other cloth whose only purpose is the grimiest of all jobs. What the men did was they either wrapped the cords with these old, worn-out, and smell rags or they tied them together. These make-shift straps would keep the ropes from digging into the armpits of the prophet as he was hauled out. The point to be made here is these men use worn-out, smelly, rejects means to deliver the prophet. We don’t need the best. We need God’s best.
Jamieson-Fausset-Brown references, “But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; And base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, [yea], and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are: That no flesh should glory in his presence.” (1Co 1:27-29 AV) A very apt application indeed. God uses imperfect people to reach the rejected souls of the world. They are tied to the perfect Holy Spirit and His word, making the connection to the sinner in order to pull him from the pits of a sin-sick life. This is certainly an encouraging application to all who wish to make a difference in the world. God will use that which man and beast have cast off and the means of deliverance for those who have no other choice. God can and will use You if You allow Him to.
However, would rather look at this from Jeremiah’s point of view. Looking at his condition, I don’t think he was too picky with the means by which he was pulled out. I don’t think he really cared if the harness that touched him was manufactured with rejected material. I don’t think he cared how they smelled because chances are, he smelled worse. I don’t think he cared if they held together and were guaranteed to be safe. The risk was well worth it. I don’t think he cared if the old leather touched and unclean animal according to the law. The means of deliverance was what God had sent to him and he will take it. It is hard to accept what God sends, sometimes. We want a perfect answer for a horrible situation and sometimes, God does not send the answer we want. We want brand-new straps that are OSHA certified and have never been used by another human being in the same predicament. Sometimes, we cannot choose between the better of two evils because we think we can have the best. The problem is, the best is not available. That which works is. Being satisfied with the means of God’s deliverance is something we can work at. God always provides for our needs. Even if it isn’t what we truly wanted.
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