"11So 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. 12And Ebedmelech the Ethiopian said unto Jeremiah, Put now these old cast clouts and rotten rags under thine armholes under the cords. And Jeremiah did so. 13So they drew up Jeremiah with cords, and took him up out of the dungeon: and Jeremiah remained in the court of the prison." (Jeremiah 38:11-13)
Ebedmelech was a wise and honest man. Times were hard, and resources were not abundant. Although Ebedmelech had access to the king's treasury, he took old rags and made a rope from them to pull Jeremiah up out of the dungeon. Although Ebedmelech knew that putting Jeremiah in the dungeon was wrong, he still spoke respectfully to the king and did his job with care and thoughtfulness. He did not take advantage of his position; nor did he waste any materials. He showed wisdom and uprightness in his actions.
We can learn a lesson from Ebedmelech. Sometimes today we see our leaders do wrong. This wrong hurts other people. Perhaps it is our President, our representatives, our police, or someone else in authority. Ebedmelech was not ashamed to say the princes had done wrong, and we should not be ashamed to point out when those over us are doing wrong. However, Ebedmelech spoke and acted with respect. If we think someone over us is wrong or the police are bad, we can point that out. We can point out when they fail. In the American system of government, it is the people’s responsibility to hold the leaders accountable when they do wrong. But speaking evil of the leaders, threatening them, saying they should not get pay and protection due them, or wishing that they were hurt or dead, is not right. Doing these things just makes us as evil as they are. We should speak up about evil, but we should do so with respect to those in positions over us and we should carry out our responsibilities with care, thoughtfulness, wisdom, and uprightness. If we mistreat, disrespect, and rebel against our authorities, we have no right to expect them to be of help to us or to give us aid or protection.