Daily Devotion Friday | February 27, 2026

Happy Friday! It’s time for your daily devotion. Sometimes God uses people to step in and right a wrong. Regardless of whether one has a Jewish or Gentile background, certain individuals are in influential positions to fulfill God’s purpose. It requires courage to do what God directs, but God has promised to be your strength and shield. 

An Evil Plot

In Jeremiah 38, four men become so angry at Jeremiah for prophesying against Jerusalem and its inhabitants that they go before the king, insisting that he be put to death. In verse 4, they accuse Jeremiah of destroying the soldiers’ and citizens’ morale, maintaining, “This man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt.” Instead of protecting Jeremiah, the king turns him over into their hands. In your daily devotion, it may seem as though your enemies have won, but God has a different plan.

A Miry Situation

Then these four men cast Jeremiah into a dungeon located in the prison’s court. It’s deep, so they let him down with cords. There’s no water there, just mud, so Jeremiah begins to sink. This situation seems hopeless without divine intervention. There have been plots against Jeremiah since the start of his prophetic ministry, but this time it seems they have him. No doubt Jeremiah is crying out to God for deliverance. In your daily devotion, no matter how dark it gets, call on your Heavenly Father. He’s been the fourth man in the fire time after time. 

An Unlikely Rescuer

In verse 8, Ebedmelech, an Ethiopian turned Jewish proselyte, is an officer in the king’s palace, and hears that Jeremiah has been lowered into the dungeon. Outraged, he leaves the royal house and goes to the king, who is sitting and carrying out his official duties at the gate of Benjamin. Ebedmelech approaches the king, saying, “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.”

At this, the king tells Ebedmelech to take thirty men and retrieve Jeremiah from the dungeon before he dies. Obviously, God-fearing and wise, Ebedmelech cares about doing what’s right. In this daily devotion, be willing to speak out against wrong instead of ignoring it or pretending it doesn’t exist. 

A Padded Escape

Ebedmelech, who’s not from Jewish ancestry, steps up to help Jeremiah when none of his Israelite countrymen are willing to do so. He takes men with him and goes into a storage room under the palace treasury to gather rags and old garments. Commandeering this operation, Edebmelech instructs the men to lower them by ropes into the dungeon.

Then he tells Jeremiah to place the old rags and garments under his armpits to pad them. Jeremiah does this, and he’s pulled to safety. In your daily devotion, determine that it’s never a time to throw in the towel. In Psalm 91, God says, “Because he hath set his love upon me, therefore will I deliver him.”

Be a Willing Vessel

In Friday’s daily devotion, rejoice in Jeremiah’s rescue, knowing that God will rescue you, too. From thereon, he “remained in the court of the guard,” because Ebedmelech was brave enough to risk his personal safety to deliver God’s servant. Not being Jewish by birth didn’t stop him from being faithful to the God of Israel; he stepped in, trusting the Lord to be his shield and strength. In your daily devotion, be a vessel God can use today.