Spared on the ground of faith.
I. THE MAN.
1. He is an Ethiopian. "God is no respecter of persons." This man, with his heathen nationality, his negro countenance, and his humiliated state, is selected for deliverance in the general destruction, because in him is found the right spiritual condition, whilst men with the pure blood of Abraham in their veins perish. We have not to wait for St. Paul to teach us the breadth of God's grace and the spirituality of its requirements.
2. He is a court servant. There were Christians in Caesar's household. A king's favour is no substitute for the grace of God. Ebed-Melech felt that he needed more than the protection of the royal guard, even when all was fair in the outside world.
3. He stands alone. He is alone in his faith. So much the more real and vital must his faith be. He is alone in his reward. A special message and a special promise are accorded to this man. God does not overlook any solitary servant of his. All religion is individual—individual faith, individual grace.
II. THE FAITH. Ebed-Melech had befriended Jeremiah. Yet it is remarkable that this fact is not mentioned here. His act of kindliness by itself would not have been enough to have secured him a Divine promise of special safety. But the act evinced faith. It is implied that Ebed-Melech befriended Jeremiah because he had faith in God, and therefore acknowledged the Divine message of the prophet and accepted the truth of it. We are saved on account of our faith. Faith must show itself in deeds or it is dead and worthless. But the personal trust in God and in Christ is the sole and universal condition through which God's mercy is bestowed.
III. THE REWARD. Ebed-Melech is to be spared in the general wreck of the Jewish state. His presence in the scene of destruction will enhance his sense of the providential character of his escape. We must all revolt from the heartless doctrine of Thomas Aquinas, that one of the elements of the joy of the redeemed in heaven will be the contemplation of the agonies of the lost. Nevertheless, to have escaped from a terrible fate that has been brought very near to us is a source of greater joy than never to have known danger. This is the Christian's condition. He can have only pare in witness no the suffering of others. But he has large ground for thankfulness when he sees how near he was to ruin, and how God has plucked him as a brand from the burning.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR
The poor better off than the rich.
I. IN WHAT SENSE THEY WERE SO.
1. They were spared because of their insignificance.
2. Pitied because of their helplessness and privations.
3. Their condition could hardly be altered otherwise than for the better.
II. OF WHAT THESE WERE THE TYPE.
1. They represent the meek who inherit the earth, and the poor in spirit whose is the kingdom of heaven. Christ the Conqueror will enrich them.
2. Their fortune represented the law of reversal in the kingdom of God. The first shall be last, and the last first; but not universally. "Many that are first," etc. Christ's servants will be most numerous amongst the poor and the despised. They will be recognized and honoured by him, when others are put to shame. But it will not be their poverty, but the virtues of their poverty, which shall be rewarded. They who know themselves poor will receive all things at his hands (cf. Revelation 3:17, Revelation 3:18).—M.