Jeremiah-Ahikim and Influence

Welcome to Every Thought Captive, I’m Phil Steiger.

At the very end of Jeremiah chapter 26 we read this innocuous verse, “But the hand of Ahikam the son of Shaphan was with Jeremiah so that he was not given over to the people to be put to death.” This comes as the resolution to a court case in which the priests and prophets wanted to kill Jeremiah. The man Ahikam steps in and helps save his life.

This verse would be unexceptional if it were not for the phrase, “son of Shaphan.” It turns out Shaphan was a religious reformer a generation earlier. We also learn later in Jeremiah that two more sons of Shaphan stand up for Jeremiah, save his writing and save his life a second time. This little “throw-away” verse is about influence-the influence of a godly father that literally saves Jeremiah’s life at least twice through the actions of his sons. It causes me to reflect on my influence-will it have those kinds of long term results?

This has been Every Thought Captive. I’m Phil Steiger, pastor at Quail Lake Community Church and Director for Dayspring Center for Christian Studies. For more information please visit, everythoughtcaptive.org.