I am reading the book of Jeremiah and he wrote down what God spoke to him to preach to the people for 23 years. They were not good listeners for they had wandered away from God, and Jeremiah was scoffed at and put in prison. Even then he had his friend Baruch write down what he dictated to him and it could be read to the people. Earlier when Josiah became King of Judah, he had the Book of the Law read to him. He tore his clothes in repentance when he realized how far they had strayed from God and even worshiped other gods. He humbled himself before the Lord, repented and then read the Book of the Covenant to the people. He promised to keep His commandments and statutes with all his heart and soul also and covenanted before the Lord to follow His ways.. (II King 23) The people all joined in as well.
But Josiah’s son, Jehoiakim, did not respond in the same way when he became king. When itt was told him that Jeremiah’s scroll had been read by Baruch, he commanded that it be sent for and read. But His response was one of ridicule and he took his penknife and every few columns read he would cut them off and toss them into the fire. He didn’t take the word seriously and joked and ignored the truth of the words. As a result, God spoke that his corpse would be thrown in the street and left unburied, exposed to the sun and freezing night. (Jer. 36)
What a difference in the responses made to the Word! Josiah obeyed and helped the nation return to God and they were blessed. Jehoiakim scoffed at it, and died as the nation went into exile. God’s word is powerful and it can’t be suppressed, discarded or destroyed and it is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword (Heb. 4:12). May we not make light of the Word but read and meditate on it and let it do its work in our hearts,
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