“Never,” you say. “It would be an act of blasphemy!” Can you imagine someone slicing up the pages of the Word of God with a pocket knife and then heaving them into the fire? That’s exactly what King Jehoiakim did.
Jeremiah’s God-given prophecies were written on a scroll and then read aloud to the public in the temple precincts. The princes got wind of it and asked for a private ‘royal’ reading. They themselves wanted to hear the written word. Just in case the King reacted negatively, they advised Jeremiah to make himself scarce.
King Jehoiakim was sitting in his winter house, warming his toes at the fire-pot when they arrived with the scroll. Jehudi was the reader. You can almost see the wrinkles being reconfigured on the King’s face as a curious expression turned into a scowl of contempt.
Several columns into the scroll, the King lurched forward and grabbed his sharp penknife. He yanked the scroll away from Jehudi, sliced it up and then heaved each piece into the fire. The flame brightened for a few seconds as the Written Word ignited and burned.
It was the ninth month, and the King was sitting in the winter house, and there was a fire burning in the fire pot before him. (23) As Jehudi read three or four columns, the King would cut them off with a knife and throw them into the fire in the fire pot, until the entire scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the fire pot. (24) Yet neither the King nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their garments. Jeremiah 36:22-24
To hear the Bible being read and then to burn it – is horrendous! What’s the next worst thing to burning the Bible? Reading it but then ignoring it.
The King didn’t like Jeremiah’s God-given prophecies and showed his disdain and utter disregard for the words by setting them ablaze in his winter wood stove. But what about me? Are there parts of the Bible I read but then dismiss or ignore? Do I use the penknife of my mind to selectively sliver off verses I don’t like or choose to believe are unessential? Do I mentally click on certain verses and then press ‘delete’ if they bother me or remind me of something I’m doing or failing to do?
Here’s what Paul wrote to Timothy:
Every Scripture is God-breathed, given by His inspiration and profitable for instruction, for reproof and conviction of sin, for correction of error and discipline in obedience, and for training in righteousness in holy living, in conformity to God’s will in thought, purpose, and action, So that the man of God may be complete and proficient, well fitted and thoroughly equipped for every good work.” 2Timothy 3:16-17 (Amplified)
The happiest believers are those who delight in both reading and obeying the Word of God. When they read their Bible today, they are the ones who first breathe a little prayer:
“Lord, I am about to read my Bible. Speak to me as I read. Show me the direction I should take. I want to do Your will. My desire is to obey and submit to the Word of God. Speak to me as I read. I am listening. I love Your Word.”
Walk carefully and closely with the Lord today.
Warmly in Christ,
Peter Ramsay
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