Jeremiah 36:1-31 Jehoiakim

Jehoiakim burns the scrolls Jeremiah is writing. His contempt for God’s words did NOT make them any less true. And it condemned him.

We are stepping backwards in the line of kings today. We stepped backwards yesterday but I failed to mention it. Jeremiah takes us back to Jehoiakim, Josiah’s second son to sit on the throne. His first son lasted three months before Pharaoh Necho took him away to Egypt and installed his brother in his place.

Jehoiakim is NOTHING like his father! Jehoiakim has NO regard for the words or statutes of God. I would say he has a hard heart AND head. But our story doesn’t start off with him. It begins with God and Jeremiah. God gives Jeremiah another way to reach out to the people to prevent the punishment that is coming. God reaches out with the written word, read in the hearing of even the regular people.

I have a couple of questions here. First of all, why didn’t Jeremiah write it himself? Did he know how to write? Was it easier to dictate it? Was God repeating all He had earlier said so that Jeremiah could get it down word for word?

The second question deals with the fact that Jeremiah had Baruch read it for him. Why wasn’t Jeremiah allowed into the House of the Lord? Was this the king’s directive or God’s? How long was this ban in place? Was he also banned from seeing the king? Baruch read the scroll everywhere, not just in the House of the Lord.

It looks like it took a year to compile this scroll. There was a LOT of information in it. From the first day God had spoken to Jeremiah up until the present day for him. Imagine how long it took to read it! Sitting through it required a lot of patience on the part of the hearer AND reader. And I will guarantee that Baruch didn’t leave ANYTHING out. Not that I was there, but that God wouldn’t have allowed it!

God moved in the hearts of the people to proclaim a fast in the nineth month. I was curious whether there was a holiday that required a fast at that time, so I checked out the Hebrew calendar. Chanukah is the only holiday I found but it didn’t come into being until the time of the Greek empire. There was no other reason to proclaim a fast before the Lord than that the people were moved to do so.

Jeremiah had Baruch wait until there was a fast to read the scroll. That meant that the people’s hearts were turned towards God and open to what God had to say to them. We aren’t told what the ‘common man’ felt about God’s words but we see that the king’s secretary took careful note of them. He brought word to the officials who were in the secretary’s chambers. These men were moved enough to have Baruch bring the scroll and read it to them.

Baruch read them the scroll and THEY were afraid. They recognized God’s word and how far they were from Him. But they didn’t repent or tear their clothing. They looked to the one higher than they in the kingdom; the king himself. They also knew that things might not go well with the king so they told Baruch to hide himself and Jeremiah and they put the scroll in a safe place.

Jehoiakim listened to the abbreviated version of the scroll but asked for the whole thing to be brought to him so he could ‘hear’ it all firsthand. But that wasn’t Jehoiakim’s intent. He wanted to destroy the scroll, all it said, and Jeremiah and Baruch to! As the secretary would read a section, the king would cut off the part that had just been read, crumple it and throw it in the fire. The officials who were present tried to talk him out of this course of action.

Jehoiakim did NOT repent. He did NOT humble himself before the Lord. Instead, he thumbed his nose at God. Did he REALLY think that destroying the scroll would keep God from following through on what was written? I will call him what he was; a FOOL.

Jehoiakim also wanted to kill Jeremiah and Baruch but they were nowhere to be found. They were told to hide by the king’s secretary and God covered them where they were so completely that they were not found. I have no doubt that the king had every rock turned over in search of them.

I have another question. WHY didn’t the people repent and turn back to God? It could have been a ‘grass roots movement’ instead of waiting for the direction of the king. But they let his attitude determine theirs. Talk about following someone over a cliff; Lemings! Would God have honored their repentance if it wasn’t from the top down?

I was just wondering what I could take from this message for my life and the people’s lack of change is what stuck out to me. I don’t need the approval of those higher than me when it comes to serving my Lord. It doesn’t matter how unpopular serving Him is in this world. I choose to serve the Lord! I can see this world heading towards the place of disdain that Jehoiakim held for the Lord and I want NO part of it. Even if it means standing ALL ALONE, I will serve the Lord. Will you stand with me?

Father God, Your word speaks of MUCH MORE difficult times ahead that what was facing Judah. They can no more be stopped than those You spoke to Jeremiah. BUT You were willing to postpone what was coming IF the people listened. I have no doubt that You hold that same option out to the world today. IF we all were to repent, You would likely relent. There would be no need of punishment if all repented.

I know that is a ‘pipe dream’ in this world. The world is drowning in sin and is NOT looking for a way out. It is looking for a way to go deeper. Thank You for keeping me safe in this environment and for protecting my heart. “Keep me as the apple of Your eye; hide me in the shadow of Your wings” (Psalm 17:8).