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Daily Bible Studywith SEEDS OF THE KINGDOM

Updated: Saturday, 22 November 2008, 12:06 (GMT)

15 August 2008 | Jeremiah 36:1-4,8-28

During the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah, the LORD said to me, "Jeremiah, since the time Josiah was king, I have been speaking to you about Israel, Judah, and the other nations. Now, get a scroll and write down everything I have told you, then read it to the people of Judah. Maybe they will stop sinning when they hear what terrible things I plan for them. And if they turn to me, I will forgive them." I sent for Baruch son of Neriah and asked him to help me. I repeated everything the LORD had told me, and Baruch wrote it all down on a scroll.

In the ninth month of the fifth year that Jehoiakim was king, the leaders set a day when everyone who lived in Jerusalem or who was visiting here had to pray and go without eating. So Baruch took the scroll to the upper courtyard of the temple. He went over to the side of the courtyard and stood in a covered area near New Gate, where he read the scroll aloud. This covered area belonged to Gemariah, one of the king's highest officials. Gemariah's son Micaiah was there and heard Baruch read what the LORD had said. When Baruch finished reading, Micaiah went down to the palace. His father Gemariah was in the officials' room, meeting with the rest of the king's officials, including Elishama, Delaiah, Elnathan, and Zedekiah. Micaiah told them what he had heard Baruch reading to the people. Then the officials sent Jehudi and Shelemiah to tell Baruch, "Bring us that scroll." When Baruch arrived with the scroll, the officials said, "Please sit down and read it to us," which he did. After they heard what was written on the scroll, they were worried and said to each other, "The king needs to hear this!" Turning to Baruch, they asked, "Did someone tell you what to write on this scroll?" "Yes, Jeremiah did," Baruch replied. "I wrote down just what he told me." The officials said, "You and Jeremiah must go into hiding, and don't tell anyone where you are."

The officials put the scroll in Elishama's room and went to see the king, who was in one of the rooms where he lived and worked during the winter. It was the ninth month of the year, so there was a fire burning in the fireplace, and the king was sitting nearby. After the officials told the king about the scroll, he sent Jehudi to get it. Then Jehudi started reading the scroll to the king and his officials. But every time Jehudi finished reading three or four columns, the king would tell him to cut them off with his penknife and throw them in the fire. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah begged the king not to burn the scroll, but he ignored them, and soon there was nothing left of it. The king and his servants listened to what was written on the scroll, but they were not afraid, and they did not tear their clothes in sorrow. The king told his son Jerahmeel to take Seraiah and Shelemiah and to go arrest Baruch and me. But the LORD kept them from finding us. I had told Baruch what to write on that first scroll, but King Jehoiakim had burned it. So the LORD told me to get another scroll and write down everything that had been on the first one.

Notes

Confused?! Jeremiah's prophecies are arranged by theme, not chronologically, so today's text predates what we've read so far this week. It helps us understand events which made God 'hide his face' and so led to the nation's downfall.

God asks Jeremiah to record on a scroll all he has said about the nation since Josiah's reign. Baruch, Jeremiah's assistant and scribe, then takes the scroll to the temple and reads it aloud there. Micaiah hears it and goes to tell the temple officials that they must hear it too. They understand straightaway that this is a matter for King Jehoiakim.

So Jehudi, from among them, reads the scroll to him. Yet in an act of gross arrogance, King Jehoiakim cuts it up and burns it! He also commands Jeremiah and Baruch's arrest - but God has hidden them.

So even God's Word is not guaranteed an easy passage.

Undeterred, God requires Jeremiah and Baruch to rewrite the scroll. When truth confronts power, power may sometimes win the day. But God's Word has a momentum that is absolutely unstoppable!

Is God's Word being listened to... or ignored? Pray for those in power and authority in your own nation.

Prayer

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Today's Writer

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