At one point in the book of Jeremiah, God told him, “Get a scroll, and write down all my messages against Israel, Judah and the other nations. Begin with the first message back in the days of Josiah, and write down every message right up to the present time. Perhaps the people of Judah will repent when they hear again all the terrible things I have planned for them. Then I will be able to forgive their sins and wrongdoings.”
I stop here to reflect on the yearnings of God. His love and longing for the people to repent was evident in his attempts to remind them of the disaster they would face. How can one believe that our God is unjust? God wants only the best for us and in his way attempts to provide as much as possible for us to avoid our self-destruction.
God is a gentleman and will not intervene within us to make the appropriate choice; that’s up to each individual! He provides the wherewithal but in the long term each person decides for himself.
Jeremiah did as God told him to do. He dictated God’s message to his scribe, Baruch. Baruch wrote the words as Jeremiah dictated them. Later, Jeremiah asked him to read the scroll to the people in the Temple. Baruch did as he was told. He read it to the officials, who finally had it read to the king himself. The king burned the scroll for lack of fear and respect to God and for his foolish thinking that by doing so, nothing else would happen.
He destroyed the scroll but he could not destroy the word of the Lord! Foolishness is part of human nature then and part of human nature today. There are people who try to put God’s Word aside. They even foolishly say that it contains errors and cannot be trusted. People can and do reject God’s Word, but try as they may cannot destroy it.
“Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven.” Psalm 119:89
As the chapter continues only three people protested the burning of the scroll. It demonstrates the hearts of the people as insensitive and disrespectful to God. The three who protested demonstrated their courage. They are an example to those who serve God. We must be willing to stand for what is right even when all else turn away.
This is evident even today when many of us are mocked and scorned for believing and trusting the awesome God we serve. “As for me, I call to God, and the Lord saves me. Evening, morning, and noon I cry out in distress, and he hears my voice. He rescues me unharmed from the battle waged against me, even though many oppose me. God who is enthroned from of old, who does not change-he will hear them and humble them, because they have no fear of God.” Psalm 55:16-19
Oh, how blessed we are to know the God we serve! He is our refuge and our shield and his word is our source of hope!
ritasalomon 