Picture a king sitting in his winter house in December. A fire is burning on the hearth in front of him. In his hand is a scroll of God’s Word. On his lap is a scribe’s knife. Every three or four columns his servant reads, the king cuts the scroll and throws that piece into the fire. He is telling God what he thinks of God’s judgment.
That is Jeremiah 36.
Jeremiah 36:2-3 “Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
Notice the words “it may be.” God’s desire is for the people to respond to the coming judgment. Judgment preaching always starts with mercy before it becomes a verdict. If they responded, He would forgive. If they refused, the judgment would stand.
So Jeremiah dictates 23 years of preaching to Baruch, and Baruch reads it publicly on a fast day when all of Jerusalem is gathered. That scroll made its way through four audiences before the sun went down.
The Indifferent
Jeremiah 36:10 “Then read Baruch in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’S house, in the ears of all the people.”
The people were the first audience. The text does not record a single response from them. No trembling, repentance or mocking. They heard 23 years of judgment preaching read aloud on a fast day, and they went home.
That is the most common response to God’s warnings. Not opposition or conviction. Just silence. The people were already fasting. They looked religiously busy and they listened but did nothing with the message. Isaiah 58 warned about this exact thing. You can bow your head, skip your meal, put on the right face, and still be hardened.
The Respectful
Jeremiah 36:16 “Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words.”
The princes in the scribe’s chamber heard the scroll and trembled. They were afraid. They knew what they had just heard was heavier than they were. The Word had authority whether they liked it or not.
The respectful may not obey yet, but they know they are dealing with something bigger than themselves. Isaiah 66:2 says God looks to this heart. “But to this man will I look, even to him that is poor and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word.” But trembling alone is not enough.
The Curious
The same princes asked Baruch a question. Jeremiah 36:17 “And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth?”
They wanted to understand the process. They studied and investigated. They believed enough to warn Baruch to hide because of God’s word (v. 19), but they did not believe enough to stand publicly with the message.
The curious lean in. But leaning in is not the same as bowing down.
Felix leaned in: Acts 24:25 “And as he reasoned of righteousness, temperance, and judgment to come, Felix trembled, and answered, Go thy way for this time; when I have a convenient season, I will call for thee.” Felix trembled and was curious. The convenient season never came. Agrippa did the same thing in Acts 26:28. “Almost thou persuadest me to be a Christian.” Almost is not enough when God’s judgment is coming.
The Hardened
Jeremiah 36:23-24 “And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.”
The king did not misunderstand what he was hearing. He understood it and burned it anyway. The hardened do not lack information, they lack fear of the Lord. Jehoiakim heard the same warning his people heard. His response was to turn God’s Word into fuel for his fire.
The Repentant
The frightening thing about Jehoiakim is that his own father knew a better way. Two generations earlier, Josiah stood in that same palace and heard the book of the law read for the first time.
2 Kings 22:11 “And it came to pass, when the king had heard the words of the book of the law, that he rent his clothes.”
2 Kings 22:19 “Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the LORD… I also have heard thee, saith the LORD.”
Two kings from the same family, with two very different responses.
* Josiah tore his clothes. Jehoiakim tore the scroll.
* Josiah repented and God delayed the judgment.
* Jehoiakim burned the scroll and God cursed his line.
The only response to God’s judgment that actually works is repentance.
The Decision You Have to Make
Every response is a habit before it is a decision. Jehoiakim did not wake up planning to burn a scroll. He had been ignoring Jeremiah for 20 years. By the time the scroll reached his fire, his hand had been practicing the cut for two decades. Josiah did not wake up planning to tear his robe. He had been seeking the LORD since he was a boy. By the time the book was read to him, his heart had been practicing tenderness for years.
Hebrews 4:7 “Today if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts.”
Proverbs 1:23 “Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you.”
Proverbs 28:13 “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy.”
Proverbs 28:14 “Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.”
Proverbs 29:1 “He, that being often reproved hardeneth his neck, shall suddenly be destroyed, and that without remedy.”
Four groups heard the same warning on the same day. The people went home unchanged. The princes trembled and hid. The king burned the message. Only Josiah two generations earlier showed what God was really looking for.
