Sunday, November 3, 2024
“For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD” (Jeremiah 39:18 KJV).
What is this, “thy life shall be for a prey unto thee?”
The Hebrew word for “prey” here is “salal” (pronounced “shaw-lawl”). Usually, in our King James Bible, it was translated “spoil/spoils”—as in the spoils or plunder of war, treasures the victor takes from the loser. See, for example, Numbers 31:11,12; Deuteronomy 2:35; Deuteronomy 3:7; Deuteronomy 20:14; Joshua 7:21; Joshua 8:2,27; Joshua 11:14; Joshua 22:8; Judges 5:30; Judges 8:24,25; 1 Samuel 14:32; 1 Samuel 30:19,20,22; 2 Samuel 12:30; 1 Chronicles 20:2; 1 Chronicles 26:27; 2 Chronicles 15:11; 2 Chronicles 28:15; Psalm 119:162; Proverbs 1:13; Jeremiah 49:32.
In the case of Jeremiah 21:9 and Jeremiah 38:2 (cf. Jeremiah 45:5), the idea is how a man’s life will be spared if he surrenders to the Babylonians as they overthrow the city of Jerusalem. His life itself is a “prey” or spoil—something gained instead of lost in the war. Think of it like this: “I have escaped such extreme peril with my life, so I will gladly run away with it as I would scurry off with gold, silver, precious stones, fine apparel, or any other valuables I found on the battlefield or in the town I plundered!”
With this in mind, see today’s Scripture again: “For I will surely deliver thee, and thou shalt not fall by the sword, but thy life shall be for a prey unto thee: because thou hast put thy trust in me, saith the LORD.” Here are God’s words to Ebedmelech, the king’s official who had treated the Prophet Jeremiah (God’s messenger or spokesman) with compassion in chapter 38. You may re-read Jeremiah 39:15-18, today’s Scripture in context. The LORD states, “because thou hast put thy trust in me.” God promised to protect believing Ebedmelech—ensure his survival—as the dreadful Babylonian troops terrorized and leveled Jerusalem. Whatever became of Ebedmelech is unknown, for he never appears in Scripture again, but we are sure God was faithful to him in this regard.
333 Words of Grace 