31 And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.

Jeremiah and King Jehoiakim

Jerusalem, B.C. 607.

Last year, the prophet Jeremiah received instructions from the Lord to take a parchment roll and write on it all that had previously been revealed to him concerning the judgments threatened against Israel, Judah, and the surrounding nations. The object was to give unto us, the house of Judah, another opportunity of turning from our unrighteous ways.

In the fulfilment of this command, Jeremiah called in the assistance of Baruch the Scribe, to whom he dictated the words of the Lord that were to be written down. Being unable to go into the house of the Lord himself, he instructed Baruch to go there on a fast day, and to read the contents of the scroll before the large multitude assembled on such occasions.

The opportunity for carrying out this injunction did not occur until the recent fast. Among those present was Michaiah, who, after hearing Baruch read the prophetic message, proceeded to the Scribe's chamber in the king's house, where he found all the princes sitting, and to whom he rehearsed the contents of the scroll.

Their curiosity was excited to such an extent that they immediately sent for Baruch, and requested him to read the scroll to them. He did so, and it produced great fear in their minds. After asking him how the scroll had been written, they took possession of it, and placed it in the chamber of Elishama the Scribe. Then they repeated its contents to the king, who, not satisfied with a secondhand account, sent Jehudi for the scroll.

It being winter, the king was, according to custom, occupying the winter palace. Before Jehudi had read aloud more than three or four leaves of it, the king became either so enraged or wearied with it, that he cut it with his penknife and threw it into the fire which was burning on the hearth before him. No fear was outwardly manifested by either the king or any of his courtiers. Nevertheless, three of the latter beseeched the king not to commit such an outrageous act.

For their timely protest they are deserving of having their names made known; and, therefore, we commemorate them: Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah. But their counsel was wholly unheeded; the king persisted in burning the scroll.

After treating the words of Yahweh in such a disrespectful manner, it is not a matter for wonder that the king should issue commands for Jeremiah and Baruch to be taken captive. But this was more easily said than done. Jehoiakim has yet to learn that the Lord's faithful prophets and scribes are watched over and protected by One who is more powerful than any earthly king.

Jeremiah and Baruch have just realised this divine truth; for the Lord hid them from the wrath of Jehoiakim. Moreover, He instructed Jeremiah to write another scroll, containing all that was in the former one, and in addition, many other things of like import. With the aid of his amanuensis, Baruch the prophet has faithfully carried out this divine command.

By this literary reproduction, our godless king is shown how futile it is to attempt to destroy a revelation from God. To suppose that by burning the prophetic scroll he could prevent the fulfilment of any of the judgments it contained is childish in the extreme. What an infinitesimal conception of the Deity must anyone have who acts in such a foolish and irreverent way!

All the divine communications we have received since our deliverance from Egypt to the present time, clearly show that we cannot more readily offend the God whom Abraham worshipped than by treating His words with neglect or contempt. Jehoiakim has been guilty of this in a very gross degree. For there can be no doubt that his outward action is a correct index of the inward state of his mind. The whole course of his reign shows that he has little or no regard for the word of the Lord.

What would any of the surrounding kings think if he were scornfully to burn any written communication sent to him by them? Would they not be roused to the highest pitch of indignation, and demand reparation, supporting it, probably, by a display of military power? If such would be the result of a breach of royal courtesy in the case of a Gentile king, what must we expect from Him who has far higher claims on our veneration? The answer to this is to be found in the awful punishment which Jeremiah has been commissioned to announce to Jehoiakim:—

"Thus saith the Lord of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, he shall have none to sit upon the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they hearkened not."

It may be thought by some that it is unjust for any besides the king to be punished. But the principle of this divine action is not far to seek. The conduct of Jehoiakim in burning the scroll is only one incident in a continuous course of defiance against the Majesty of the heavens—not by the king merely, but by the great majority of his subjects.

The object of the Lord in communicating to us the contents of the scroll was, if possible, to produce a change of mind in His king and His people. But this well-intentioned effort has been unsuccessful. The mind of the present generation is too hardened to be influenced by the wisdom that cometh from above.

Under these circumstances the only course for all God-fearing men and women is to avow their disapproval of the wickedness of the king and his followers, and quietly but steadily to pursue the way of righteousness, in the hope that they may escape the judgments which are impending over our people.

The Christadelphian, Jan 1875