WE CAN DO THIS ALL DAY!
Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. Jeremiah 36:23 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. Jeremiah 36:24
After the king burned the scroll containing the words that Baruch had written at
Jeremiah’s dictation, the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: Jeremiah 36:27
“Take another scroll and write on it all the words that were on the first scroll,
which Jehoiakim king of Judah burned up. Jeremiah 36:28
What a powerful passage this is. Jeremiah, banned from entering the House of God (yep, he’s the Prophet), has to work around his band to make sure the people receive the Word of God. He send Baruch in his place with the scroll and has him read them on a day where everyone is fasting. They hear the word of the Lord and those in power decide that this declaration from the Lord is 1. Not Acceptable 2. Dangerous to their Cause .
I know, how foolish of them. How dare these leaders hear the word of the Lord and rebel against it. How could they hear the Word from the Prophet, a warning at that, and ignore it and continue doing business as usual? How could they be instructed to return to the Lord, and make pretend that they didn’t hear it?
We Don’t Agree with God’s Word! We Want it to Agree with Us!
First, they didn’t agree with it. They had made up their minds on how they would handle Babylon. They didn’t want God to give them instructions on what to do, they wanted God to give them favor on what they were doing. They realized that their plan was risky, but had decided that it was the best and most feasible option to defeat their enemy. Besides, the other route suggested by God would leave them carrying out the remainder of the 70 of bondage God had given them for being disobedient and disrespectful to God. They thought teaming with Pharaoh was a better option than remaining partnered with the one that delivered them from Pharaoh.
Next, they feared the people will hear the Word of God, and return to God. This would reveal their error and wickedness, as well as remove warriors from the fight. They will need each citizen to rally around their cause, and they must keep them united around their plan and not God’s instructions.
Sadly, this is happening today. There are some that have received God’s instructions but refuse to tell the people what they know the Spirit of God has spoken. They press through their own agendas and hide behind the revelation to leverage the power of the scripture to complete agendas. Sadly, these agendas often place people outside of the will of God and other times in harms way. ( I will keep a mask on my examples because unmasking it would reveal the tension of this current political climate).
Ignoring God’s Word Doesn’t
Change God’s Mind!
Jehoiakim burns the scroll up! Yep, he burns the Word of God in a firepot. He burns it column by column. Line by Line. He watches as the ink and the scroll are reduced to ashes. Sadly, Jehoiakim did not know that the Words of God were alive. They were true in ink on the scroll, but lived beyond the scroll. Burning the Word removed it from his sight, and prevented others from hearing it, but it would not alter his fate, nor would it change the Lords mind. The King of all people knew the statement burning an official document would have. In this, he burned the document as though he was above the law, and beyond punishment. He was the King, and he displayed his power and authority in this singular act.
Let’s Change God’s Word so We don’t Have to Change!
Again, there are some that believe making alterations to the Word of God are in order for today. We read what has been written, and find it unacceptable for the times in which we live. We are saddened greater by those who are impacted by God’s Word than they way the acts of those who are disobedient to the Word impact our God. We have become pleaser of man, and have distanced ourselves from our God. Yep, it is no surprise we find ourselves being placed out of the temple, and experiencing suffering on every hand.
Some of us are foolish enough to believe that burning it or reediting will will actually change the voice and mind of God. We believe we know what God wants, and are foolish enough with our intelligent self to believe we know what’s best for ourselves, others and even for God. This will only lead us and others astray. On judgement day, the Word of God will be what we are judged by, not the alterations made and customizations given to the religion.
Help Me Fill in the Blank of Romans 11:34 & Isaiah 40:13!!!!
We have read the scripture, and have decided to fill in some of these blanks.
Who has known the mind of the Lord? __________________ Who has given Him counsel?________________
I know many of you are foolish enough to write your name in the margins, but let me speak truth to you, flesh and blood revealed that to you! This my friends, when you see it (multiple times old and new testament) is a rhetorical question. And even if you answer in the form of a question, “Who is Johnny?” “Who is Sue? You wouldn’t be dead wrong (seeing as though you are living), but you would be a liar!
You don’t give God counsel, you listen to God’s counsel, and thus are considered wise because His Words are on your lips and His Holy Spirit on your tongue.
God Was the CEO; Now He’s Just a Sponsor!
The text says they were so wicked and far from God, that the didn’t even tear their clothes when the Word of God was cut and reduced to ashes. They had lost their connection to God’s Word and were not intimately involved with Him. God was more sponsor that partner. He once was the CEO, but had been reduced, Silent Partner. Now to them, God was a wealthy donor and or powerful benefactor who could navigate and negotiate to achieve for the company.
Yet in still, God reaffirms His CEO status. Though His Word was burned to ashes, He has Jeremiah and Baruch, Dictate and Document, His will for the people. God tells Jeremiah to get another scroll and write all the Words on it that were on the first. Again people, God is not like man. He knows His Words and keeps His covenant. You speaking His Word to Him shows that you know His Word, not teaches Him what He does not know are reminds Him what He has forgotten.
We Can Do this All Day, Jehoiakim!
Call me crazy, but I believe God could have reproduced this scroll a hundred times over and not missed one word or piece of punctuation. Jehoiakim could have kept burning, and Jeremiah and Baruch would have kept writing. Remember, all that’s needed to make a copy is the original (I’m referring to God as the source and original copy).
God knows everything! He doesn’t have Jeremiah collect the ashes from the Firepot. He doesn’t ask Baruch to interview people in the city. God knew His Word and would stand by His Word! Again, it was so right, He wrote it Twice! He brings the same Word back to the people and the leaders. The Word of God still stood after their rebellion and protests! God stayed true to His Word.
They walked away from the fire pit convinced that they would not hear or see the scroll with that prophecy on it. They foolishly believed it would not manifest because it had been destroyed. Sadly, we too believe that God’s Word is alive through the ink on the page. If every printed copy was reduced to ashes, I believe that our God would simply speak to a new set of Prophets and reproduce His Word, word for word, line for line, chapter by chapter. It would live, because it is alive. Not just in our preaching and in the application of our lives, but its alive because it is with Him and is Him! It has and always has been.
It was before the ink touched the pages!
We seem to forget this. Jeremiah was dictating what God was speaking, not creating what God was speaking. Again, the Bible is not the words of men that new God, its the Words of God spoken through men. The ink and scroll are documentation of what was breathed through man. This, from a creative God, who has started and continues to execute His perfect plan for you, and for me! We mustn’t harden our hearts to what He has proclaimed, and though not in agreement with each line, we must believe that it is not only true, but it is what is best for us all.
Pastor’s and Prophets, I am calling us back to the sovereignty of God’s Word! Like Jeremiah, we must be committed to capturing and proclaiming what God says, even if we are unpopular. We must be committed to His Word, because it is life, and the source of who we are and who we have been called to be. Elevation will be found in obedience, not in popularity. Our consistency with speaking the truth will send those who are disobedient back to us. Speak with a listening audience! Speak with a rebellious audience. Speak a Word of faith, even amidst an audience of doubters. Stand by the truth, when the reject truth and pursue the lies of false prophets. Remember, we will all have to stand before Him, just like those we are called to lead. The judgment on those called to lead and deliver His Word will be much higher than those who are called to study and follow.
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