Today's Scripture Reading (September 5, 2026): Jeremiah 39
On August 22, 1572, Gaspard II de
Coligny was shot by a man called Maurevert. The shot missed taking Coligny's
life, but it did cost the French Nobleman and admiral one of his fingers. No
one is sure who ordered Coligny to be shot, but the assassination attempt
caused French Catholics a problem. Coligny was a prominent Huguenot
(Protestant), and the fear was that the attempted assassination would be seen
as being religiously motivated. So the French Catholics made a fateful
decision. They decided to make a pre-emptive strike against the Huguenots. Many
of the Protestant leaders, including Gaspard II de Coligny, were executed on
August 24, 1572. After the execution, mob violence would claim as many as
another 70,000 Huguenots in what has become known as the St. Bartholomew's Day
Massacre.
Part of what we know about the
Massacre comes from a Huguenot who narrowly escaped the violence with his life.
His name was Maximilien de Bethune, the Duke of Sully. The Duke escaped death
by walking out of Paris with a Catholic book of prayer under his arm. At the
height of the violence, Maximilien de Bethune's possession of the book of
prayer allowed the attacking Catholics to overlook the Huguenot Duke.
As Jerusalem prepares to fall, the
city's inhabitants face a very uncertain future. However, for the leaders in
the city, what happens next is relatively certain: death at the hands of the
Babylonians. One of these leaders was a man named Ebed-Melek. Ebed-Melek was a
Cushite who served in the court of King Zedekiah. One reason we believe
Ebed-Melek was a leader in Jerusalem is that Jeremiah says Ebed-Melek went to
the king to ask for Jeremiah's release from the cistern where the prophet had
been imprisoned and, rather than brushing away the request, the king responded
positively to Ebed-Melek's request.
Another reason we believe Ebed-Melek
was a leader in the court of Zedekiah is that Jeremiah also tells us the
Cushite was worried about his future when the city fell. So Jeremiah assures this
leader that because he honored God by getting his prophet out of the cistern,
when the city fell, God would find a way to get him out to a place of safety.
All because he dared to trust in God.
Amazing things still happen when we
dare to trust God. Even when things look bleak, we can trust that God has a plan,
and we honor God when we are willing to follow the example of Ebed- Melek and
place ourselves in the middle of that plan.
Tomorrow's
Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 40
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