The Scroll Is Burned
20 So they went to the king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they reported all the words to the king. 21 Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king. 22 Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. 23 When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. 24 Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments. 25 Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.
The Scroll Is Replaced
27 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words which Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, 28 “Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. 29 And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it [j]that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make man and beast to cease from it?’” 30 Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. 31 I will also punish him and his [k]descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.”’”
32 Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many [l]similar words were added to them.
We now get a little more insight into the hearts of the scribes who listened to Baruch, and see a couple things. First, it seems they did indeed fear/respect God more than the king, for they pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll (v. 25). Second, they were dead on with the king’s response. Not only did he burn the scroll, as it was being read, but then he commanded his son and a few others to seize Baruch and Jeremiah (v. 26).
Fortunately, they had warned Baruch and Jeremiah to hide. And if that wasn’t enough–and it probably wasn’t–God “hid them” and ensured their safety. But what happens next is what draws my attention the most. Jeremiah could have said, “Oh well, did what you asked Lord. Guess that didn’t work…” Instead, God asks Jeremiah to take another scroll and have Baruch write it all down again (v. 28).
They did what God asked (v. 32), and I find it interesting that God wasn’t content to make a copy, but added “many similar words” in the second version. The king thought he could just make the uncomfortable message go away with a handy fire, but God’s word doesn’t disappear so easily. He might have thought, and we might think also, that Jeremiah had to have a great memory to recreate such a document.
But Jeremiah didn’t need that the first time, and he didn’t need it now. God’s words hadn’t vanished because the scroll was burned. God could just as easily tell Jeremiah what to write, since He had no trouble remembering any of it.
In the same way, many in our world would like to rewrite what God said, or burn it, or make it disappear. Yet this isn’t limited to wicked or despicable people, even if they lead the charge. In our own lives, it is easy to want to cherry-pick just the things we want to hear, and ignore the uncomfortable parts. However, God’s Word doesn’t bend to our will.
What He is speaking to us doesn’t change because we wish it away, and we would do well to listen better. And as I’ve heard often in recent years, we would do better to ask God what He wants to do, than beg and plead for Him to do what we want. It takes more trust, and more time, and more intentionality, but all of those are good things. So listen for His voice and read His Word, let your agenda fade, and His become priority #1.