Jer 36:21-31 | KingComments | STEP | What happens next is so shocking and upsetting that Jeremiah describes everything in detail. The officials go to the king ( ). They do not take the scroll with them, but put it away in the scribe’s chamber. They apparently know the contents so well that they can make what is written in the scroll known to the king. However, the king wants to see the scroll himself ( ). He sends Jehudi out to get the scroll. Jehudi takes it from the scribe Elishama’s chamber. Twice it is said that the scroll is there. When Jehudi is back with the king, he reads from it. The king and all the officials hear the contents again. The officials are confronted with it for the third time. The king sits in his winter palace ( ; ). He sits there doing nothing. Perhaps he is thinking about how he can assure himself of a good life. Then he is confronted with the Word of God, the thoughts of God, thoughts that go against his plans. It is winter time. The ninth month is our month of December. That explains why he is sitting at a fire burning in the brazier before him. Outside it is cold; but also his heart is as cold as ice. When Jehudi has read a portion of the LORD’s words, the king cuts that portion off and throws it into the fire that was in the brazier ( ). He does not have the patience that the officials have to listen to the reading until everything is read. When he has heard the contents of “three or four columns”, he cuts them off the scroll in anger with a scribe’s knife – the knife with which the scribe sharpens his pen – and throws the columns, one by one, into the fire. [Note: In the old days, people did not write on stone tablets or on clay tablets, but on papyrus. A scroll consisted of papyrus sheets glued together and was written on in columns. ] So it goes on until the entire roll is consumed by the fire and he is sure that there is nothing left of it. This is how thoroughly he proceeds. It is an act of supreme blasphemy and deepest contempt for God’s revelation in His written Word. Jehoiakim is doing the opposite of what God has said in the law, that the king himself should write for himself a copy of the law on a scroll in order to get to know it and rule in accordance with it ( ). In his folly he thinks that by doing so he is nullifying the threats that have been proclaimed against him, as if God cannot execute the verdict because the scroll is gone, in which the verdict was written down. What we think of the Bible and how we treat it has no effect on the Bible itself. What Jehoiakim does happens daily with all truths that do not please a man. Anything that hinders a man in his complacent life is cut out of God’s Word. Portions about the judgment of God are left out. A lot of preachers preach only pleasant things, nice promises, but refuse to speak about judgment. They speak of God as a God of love Who will not send anyone to hell. But no matter what we delete from the Bible, it does not change God’s Word. Our contempt does not change God’s judgment. Jezebel opposed God’s Word, but her opposition did not change the fact that she became, as God said, food for the dogs ( ). The coming of Christ to judge and establish His kingdom is not believed, but mocked ( ). This also cuts off the rapture of the church, which God’s Word clearly teaches ( ). The bodily resurrection is also denied ( ), as is the different place that man and woman have in God’s order of creation and also when the church comes together. The same goes for sexuality to be experienced only within marriage between that one man and that one woman, and for reverence for life at the beginning and the end. This is all being cut off. Man judges everything by his own standards. He does not realize that he is guided by satan in doing so. Everything is thrown into the fire of his own judgment. And what about the commission to preach the gospel to all people? Have we cut that off too? And always pray? Do we do that? That too is a command of the Lord. If we don’t, we’ve cut it off. Do we listen to what the Bible says about our tongue ( )? If not, we have cut it off. We all so easily wield the scribe’s knife of our own opinions, sometimes without even realizing it. The king cuts up God’s Word without batting an eye ( ). Even his servants stand by and do not turn pale because of the unprecedented disregard for the LORD’s words shown by the king, the king of God’s people! They do not rend their garments, as Josiah, this Jehoiakim’s own father, does, when the book of the law is read to him ( ). They do the opposite. What is for Josiah the find of his life is treated with the utmost contempt by Jehoiakim and all his servants. Even earlier, the officials looked at each other anxiously when they heard the words read out ( ). There is no sign that the word of the LORD has worked anything in them. That is the consequence of not separating oneself from evil. Jehoiakim and the officials resemble modern translators and modern theologians who also treat the Word of God without respect and with contempt. We are just as good Christians as we have love for the Bible. In other words, the measure of love for the Bible determines the measure or quality of being a Christian. A few servants still made a weak protest ( ). But people in the wrong position are powerless to act against a prevailing evil. Think of Lot in Sodom. The protest is more of a soothing of one’s own conscience. Those who are truly upset at the dishonor done to God will leave a fellowship that treats God and His Word with such contempt. Respect for God’s Word is demonstrated by obedience to God’s Word. God’s Word calls us to come out of a fellowship that refuses to judge evil, sin. It is either to remove the evil one ( ), or to leave that fellowship if the evil one is not removed ( ). Jehoiakim commands to seize Baruch and Jeremiah ( ). He has destroyed their penmanship, now he wants to kill them as well, so that they can no longer do their work. After destroying the written testimony, the witnesses themselves must then be killed. We also see this attitude with the chief priests regarding the gospel when the church has just come into existence ( ). The command of Jehoiakim cannot be carried out because Baruch and Jeremiah are untraceable because the LORD hid them. The officials can advise that they hide ( ), but they cannot and dare not provide safety and protection. That is what the LORD does ( ).

‏ Jeremiah 36:21-31

Jehoiakim Hears the Scroll and Burns It

What happens next is so shocking and upsetting that Jeremiah describes everything in detail. The officials go to the king (Jer 36:20). They do not take the scroll with them, but put it away in the scribe’s chamber. They apparently know the contents so well that they can make what is written in the scroll known to the king. However, the king wants to see the scroll himself (Jer 36:21). He sends Jehudi out to get the scroll. Jehudi takes it from the scribe Elishama’s chamber. Twice it is said that the scroll is there. When Jehudi is back with the king, he reads from it. The king and all the officials hear the contents again. The officials are confronted with it for the third time.

The king sits in his winter palace (Jer 36:22; Amos 3:15). He sits there doing nothing. Perhaps he is thinking about how he can assure himself of a good life. Then he is confronted with the Word of God, the thoughts of God, thoughts that go against his plans. It is winter time. The ninth month is our month of December. That explains why he is sitting at a fire burning in the brazier before him. Outside it is cold; but also his heart is as cold as ice.

When Jehudi has read a portion of the LORD’s words, the king cuts that portion off and throws it into the fire that was in the brazier (Jer 36:23). He does not have the patience that the officials have to listen to the reading until everything is read. When he has heard the contents of “three or four columns”, he cuts them off the scroll in anger with a scribe’s knife – the knife with which the scribe sharpens his pen – and throws the columns, one by one, into the fire. [Note: In the old days, people did not write on stone tablets or on clay tablets, but on papyrus. A scroll consisted of papyrus sheets glued together and was written on in columns. ]

So it goes on until the entire roll is consumed by the fire and he is sure that there is nothing left of it. This is how thoroughly he proceeds. It is an act of supreme blasphemy and deepest contempt for God’s revelation in His written Word. Jehoiakim is doing the opposite of what God has said in the law, that the king himself should write for himself a copy of the law on a scroll in order to get to know it and rule in accordance with it (Deu 17:18).

In his folly he thinks that by doing so he is nullifying the threats that have been proclaimed against him, as if God cannot execute the verdict because the scroll is gone, in which the verdict was written down. What we think of the Bible and how we treat it has no effect on the Bible itself. What Jehoiakim does happens daily with all truths that do not please a man. Anything that hinders a man in his complacent life is cut out of God’s Word. Portions about the judgment of God are left out.

A lot of preachers preach only pleasant things, nice promises, but refuse to speak about judgment. They speak of God as a God of love Who will not send anyone to hell. But no matter what we delete from the Bible, it does not change God’s Word. Our contempt does not change God’s judgment. Jezebel opposed God’s Word, but her opposition did not change the fact that she became, as God said, food for the dogs (2Kgs 9:10 ; 35-36).

The coming of Christ to judge and establish His kingdom is not believed, but mocked (2Pet 3:3). This also cuts off the rapture of the church, which God’s Word clearly teaches (1Thes 4:15-18). The bodily resurrection is also denied (1Cor 15:12-23), as is the different place that man and woman have in God’s order of creation and also when the church comes together. The same goes for sexuality to be experienced only within marriage between that one man and that one woman, and for reverence for life at the beginning and the end. This is all being cut off.

Man judges everything by his own standards. He does not realize that he is guided by satan in doing so. Everything is thrown into the fire of his own judgment. And what about the commission to preach the gospel to all people? Have we cut that off too? And always pray? Do we do that? That too is a command of the Lord. If we don’t, we’ve cut it off. Do we listen to what the Bible says about our tongue (Jam 3:1-12)? If not, we have cut it off. We all so easily wield the scribe’s knife of our own opinions, sometimes without even realizing it.

The king cuts up God’s Word without batting an eye (Jer 36:24). Even his servants stand by and do not turn pale because of the unprecedented disregard for the LORD’s words shown by the king, the king of God’s people! They do not rend their garments, as Josiah, this Jehoiakim’s own father, does, when the book of the law is read to him (2Kgs 22:11). They do the opposite. What is for Josiah the find of his life is treated with the utmost contempt by Jehoiakim and all his servants.

Even earlier, the officials looked at each other anxiously when they heard the words read out (Jer 36:16). There is no sign that the word of the LORD has worked anything in them. That is the consequence of not separating oneself from evil. Jehoiakim and the officials resemble modern translators and modern theologians who also treat the Word of God without respect and with contempt. We are just as good Christians as we have love for the Bible. In other words, the measure of love for the Bible determines the measure or quality of being a Christian.

A few servants still made a weak protest (Jer 36:25). But people in the wrong position are powerless to act against a prevailing evil. Think of Lot in Sodom. The protest is more of a soothing of one’s own conscience. Those who are truly upset at the dishonor done to God will leave a fellowship that treats God and His Word with such contempt. Respect for God’s Word is demonstrated by obedience to God’s Word. God’s Word calls us to come out of a fellowship that refuses to judge evil, sin. It is either to remove the evil one (1Cor 5:13b), or to leave that fellowship if the evil one is not removed (2Tim 2:19-21).

Jehoiakim commands to seize Baruch and Jeremiah (Jer 36:26). He has destroyed their penmanship, now he wants to kill them as well, so that they can no longer do their work. After destroying the written testimony, the witnesses themselves must then be killed. We also see this attitude with the chief priests regarding the gospel when the church has just come into existence (Acts 4:17). The command of Jehoiakim cannot be carried out because Baruch and Jeremiah are untraceable because the LORD hid them. The officials can advise that they hide (Jer 36:19), but they cannot and dare not provide safety and protection. That is what the LORD does (Psa 31:20).

The Command to Write Again

The LORD is not embarrassed by the action of Jehoiakim. When the king has done His devastating work of burning the words from Jeremiah’s mouth that Baruch wrote down, He speaks again to Jeremiah (Jer 36:27). He has hidden both of His servants to use them again. He instructs them to take another scroll and write on it “all the former words that were on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned” (Jer 36:28). It is with it as with the broken stone tablets of the law: on the two new stone tablets come all the words of the first tablets (Deu 10:4a).

The scroll rises again from the ashes, as it were, as a symbol of the indestructibility of God’s Word and that it is ineradicable. Throughout the history of mankind enemies of God have all tried by all means to remove God’s Word from the world. All attempts have failed. It is both futile and foolish to oppose the Word of God.

The Condemnation of Jehoiakim

Jeremiah is also instructed to tell Jehoiakim of the judgment. We hear here why Jehoiakim burned the scroll (Jer 36:29). He has accused Jeremiah that he has written that the king of Babylon will bring judgment on “this land” and on man and beast living in the land. He does not want such a message. He wants to hear of no judgment. The judgment on Jehoiakim speaks of the LORD’s great contempt for the man who has so scorned Him (Jer 36:30). Those who scorn Him will be scorned by Him.

Jehoiakim will have no successor on the throne and he himself will have no burial. The fact that his son Jeconiah reigned for three months after him cannot be called a reign. Nebuchadnezzar takes him captive after three months and carries him off to Babylon

He, his descendants, and his servants, all of whom have shared in his evil, will all be punished by the LORD (Jer 36:31). Over them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah the LORD brings the calamity that He has spoken, but to which they have not listened. God’s Word abides forever. It cannot be burned.