Knowing When and How to Speak Out for Justice

“He has shown you, O man what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.” Micah 6:8

There was once a man who had a heart for justice…

We know very little about him, but what we do know is that he found himself at just the right time, in the right place, to speak up and save a man’s life. He was hundreds of miles from home, living in a foreign land and working in the court of a foreign king.

We don’t know what happened, we are not told his life story. I’m not even sure we know his name. He was called Ebed-Melek, which means the ‘king’s servant’ — so what was really his name? We’ll never know, but Ebed-Melek was working in the king’s palace in Jerusalem when the city was under siege and threat from the king of Babylon.

God’s word to the king through his prophet was to surrender, but this was a word that no-one in Jerusalem wanted to hear. And so there were men, officials in the court, who plotted to get rid of God’s prophet. They had him beaten and thrown into a dungeon, to silence him.

The prophet was Jeremiah. The king had temporarily intervened as he wanted a private word with Jeremiah, and so, briefly, conditions improved for him. But he could not stay silent; he was commissioned by God to bring a word of impending judgement on the city. So the men acted again, they made a move to get rid of Jeremiah once and for all, and with the king’s consent they lowered ‘the troublemaker’ into an empty cistern. Although there was no water in it, the bottom of the cistern was full of deep mud – a dark, damp, and dismal place to be.

Such a cruel and cowardly act, to leave a man to starve to death in such appalling conditions. And what do Jeremiah’s own people do when they hear, when the word gets out as to what has happened to him? Nothing, they stay silent. Instead, it is the king’s servant, a Cushite, from modern day Ethiopia, with a heart for justice, who hears what has happened and decides to respond, to do something.

He speaks up, to the king, to the one who has the authority to do something about the situation, respectfully and with wisdom, choosing his words carefully.

He speaks out, clearly stating the injustice of what has happened, in a public place, with other officials present, so that the king is accountable.

He speaks for, the one who is unable to speak for himself. He speaks for Jeremiah affirming him as God’s prophet, and clearly stating the consequences of leaving the situation as it is – Jeremiah will die.

Ebed-Melek was a man who ultimately trusted in God, even to the point of risking his own life, to speak out against injustice. There is so much that we can learn and reflect on from this story; it still has the power to speak to us today, as we encounter injustice in our communities.

Knowing when and how to speak is a great gift – our words are powerful. It is likely that we will all, at some time or other, be challenged in our daily conversations. The small injustices when someone is criticized or treated unfairly, when someone’s reputation is being attacked, is it easier to say nothing, to agree with everyone else? If, like me, you find confrontation difficult, it is a challenge – but a challenge that we need to respond to. We are called to act justly. We are called to be peacemakers.

“Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.” Matthew 5:9

In this time, wherever we are, we are called to reflect the love of our heavenly Father.

To promote peace, it is important to speak respectfully. Our attitude when we speak either creates an opportunity for our voice to be heard, or firmly closes the mind of the listener and prevents them from hearing what we really have to say.

To promote peace, it is important to speak strategically, not just grumbling or complaining to anyone who will listen, but to those who have the power to act.

We can have a voice on a local or national level with the power of our online words. We can join organizations that work for justice and support their campaigns. There are so many ways that we can use our voice, to make ourselves heard, to promote justice, to bring peace and to fulfill our calling…

And for those who are not familiar with the story¹, Ebed-Melek saved Jeremiah’s life, he rescued him from the cistern. When Jerusalem finally fell to the Babylonians, God rewarded him and his life was spared. He had showed himself to be a true servant of the King of kings.

¹Jeremiah Chapters 38 & 39