Life of Jeremiah Providentially Saved by Ebed-Melech

    Jeremiah must soon have perished in the mire of the pit. God could have delivered him by the hands of hosts of angels, or he could have delivered him without man. Even in his situation, he could have preserved him for years, without injury or pain. But God usually works by means; and his Providence always provides the means that are necessary. When Jeremiah was cast into the pit, Providence directed that Ebed-melech applied to the king, and succeeded in the deliverance of the servant of God. How did it happen that in so profligate a time such a man as Ebed-melech was about the person of the king? How did it happen that so good a man had such interest with such an enemy of God? Consider, also, how seasonably the fact comes to the ears of Ebed-melech. It might not have reached him till the man of God had died. Providence! Providence! Verily there is a God who ruleth in the earth.