The Claims of the Bible
Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe,
the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the
words of the book which Jehoiakim, king of Judah had burned in the fire:
and there were added besides unto them many like words.
Jeremiah 36:32
Read Jeremiah 36:15-32
Jeremiah was regarded as a traitor by his fellow man. His advice was that
they should give themselves up to the king of Babylon, to submit themselves
to the judgments of God which were coming because of Judah’s sins. With
the purpose of bringing the king and the nation to repentance, Baruch, Jeremiah’s
secretary, had written this message on a scroll. This message of God’s
coming judgment was given that Judah might begin to seek the Lord, but it
was all to no avail.
When King Jehoiakim received the scroll and heard what was written in
it, he took a knife, cut it in pieces and threw it into a fire. By doing so he
thought he could free himself from the claims of God’s Word. He did not
want to bother with them any longer. But whoever comes into contact with
God’s Word will never be able to free himself from its message, even if he
pitches it into a fire. The Bible stands on its own merits. Heaven and earth
will pass away, but the Word of the Lord will remain forever. Since this was
true, a second scroll was written with the same message.
Maybe you have never torn a page out of the Bible because you disliked its
content, but have you ever skipped over some sections that did not suit you?
If this is true, then you have done basically the same thing that Jehoiakim
did. You were trying to silence the Lord, but you will never be able to!
Thought: Are you ever in disagreement with what you read in God’s Word?
How do you deal with any disagreement or questioning?
Psalter 428:9 (based on Psalm 119)
Great peace have they who love Thy perfect law;
They shall not swerve from paths of consecration;
Their happiness shall be without a flaw.
Lord, I have ever hoped for Thy salvation;
All Thy commandments I have kept with awe;
Thy precepts are my daily meditation.
