The Unbreakable Word

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father,

we ask that you will speak through your word.

And that by your spirit, you'll open the eyes of our hearts

so that we might see and believe.

And we pray that you would transform us

into the people of God who tremble at your word.

And who seek to bring every aspect of our life

into conformity with your will.

We pray that you give us grace for that today

as we go through Jeremiah 34 and 36 together.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

My name is Sean.

For those of you who are visiting,

I'm one of the pastors of Trinity Cambridge Church.

And I have the privilege of preaching God's word to you this morning.

This is our 16th week in the book of Jeremiah.

And persistently up to this point,

Jeremiah has called the people of God to repent of their sins,

alternating between prophecies of judgment

and promises of restoration that will come after the judgment.

And today in chapters 34 to 36,

Jeremiah is really firing his final warning shots

before the judgment fully overtakes Judah and Jerusalem.

And we see three different responses to God's word in these chapters.

And the first, we see the Jerusalemites' disobedience.

And second, we see in chapter 35, Rechabites' obedience.

And third, we see in chapter 36,

the Jehoiakim, king of Judah's defiance.

And through all of this,

God teaches that we should turn from our sins in obedience to God's word

so that we might be forgiven of our sins.

That's really the main point of this passage.

And so in chapter 34,

deals with really the closing chapter of Judah's national existence.

It's the last days of Zedekiah's reign.

And verses 1 to 7,

Jeremiah kind of repeats the judgment that's coming against Judah

and then assures Zedekiah that he will not escape this confrontation

with king of Babylon no matter what he tries.

And Jerusalem was under the siege of the Babylonian army at this time.

And it appears that the Babylonian military strategy

was to keep the capital under siege to weaken all their networks.

And then while it's under siege,

to take out one fortified city out after another.

Kind of basically kind of suffocating them.

That seems to be the case because it says in verse 7

that only Lachish and Azekiah were left of all the fortified cities of Judah.

We know from 2 Chronicles 11

that there were 15 fortified cities in Judah

and now there's only two left.

So this is really the advanced stages

of the Babylonian siege and invasion in Judah.

And then in verse 8 and following,

we read about the prophecy that came to Jeremiah during that time.

Verses 8 to 10 give us the context for this prophecy.

It says, read with me,

the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord

after King Zedekiah had made a covenant

with all the people in Jerusalem

to make a proclamation of liberty to them

that everyone should set free his Hebrew slaves,

male and female,

so that no one should enslave a Jew, his brother.

And they obeyed all the officials

and all the people who had entered into the covenant

that everyone would set free his slave,

male or female,

so that they would not be enslaved again.

They obeyed and set them free.

But afterward,

they turned around

and took back the male and female slaves

they had set free

and brought them into subjection as slaves.

So apparently,

in a last-ditch effort

to avert this Babylonian conquest,

Zedekiah had attempted to renew

Judah's covenant with God,

and this included the emancipation

of all Hebrew slaves.

But they soon thereafter

reneged on that promise

and re-enslaved all their former slaves.

They were trying to obey Deuteronomy 15,

12 to 15,

which commanded the manumission

of all Hebrew slaves

on the seventh year of their servitude.

This is summarized in verses 13, 14

of our chapter, chapter 34.

Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel,

I myself made a covenant with your fathers

when I brought them out of the land of Egypt,

out of the house of slavery,

saying,

At the end of seven years,

each of you must set free the fellow Hebrew

who has been sold to you

and has served you six years.

You must set him free from your service.

But your fathers did not listen to me

or incline their ears to me.

So now,

if you actually go back

to the original context of that command

in Deuteronomy 15,

it gives us the rationale for this command.

And the rationale is this.

It's projected for you on the screen there.

You shall remember

that you were a slave

in the land of Egypt

and the Lord your God redeemed you.

Therefore,

I command you this today.

So they were supposed to free

all their Hebrew slaves.

They were not to enslave one another

because they were formerly slaves

and God had redeemed them from Egypt.

And that idea becomes clearer

if you look at the words

that God uses

as he is rescuing people from Egypt

in Exodus 8 verse 1.

Exodus 8:1

The Lord said to Moses,

Go into Pharaoh

and say to him,

Thus says the Lord,

Let my people go

that they may serve me.

Right?

That word serve

is the same word

that means to be enslaved to.

Now you can see

why Pharaoh was so upset

when Moses comes to him

and say,

Hey, let my people go

so that they may come

and be my slaves

is basically what God is saying.

And Pharaoh

wouldn't be so upset

if he were just claiming,

Oh, let's go.

Let us go.

Let his people go

so we can go

and worship him outside.

They were polytheists.

They worshipped all kinds of gods.

What's the problem

with going in

and worshipping another god?

No, Pharaoh is upset

because he's saying,

Let my people go

so that they may no longer

be your slaves

but be slaves

to the Lord God.

And of course,

it's not the same kind of slavery

because being a slave to God

is to be in

a state of perfect freedom

because God,

the Lord,

is our creator.

And we were designed

and created for this.

And so that's the crux of it

is that God's people

are those who have been redeemed

from their former slavery

and therefore,

they're not to be enslaved anymore

to another fellow man.

And for that reason,

this command was given

so that even if a Hebrew

had to enslave himself

because of his debt,

you know,

to repay the debt,

at the end of seven years,

he was supposed to be freed

and liberated.

But the people of Judah

were not following

this command.

And so in an attempt

to renew this covenant

and get God's favor,

they tried to do it again.

But then soon,

they turned back

on that promise

and took their slaves back.

So it says in verses 15 to 16,

God's assessment

of what they did,

you recently repented

and did what was right

in my eyes

by proclaiming liberty,

each to his neighbor.

And you made a covenant

before me in the house

that is called by my name.

But then you turned around

and profaned my name

when each of you

took back his male

and female slaves

whom you had set free

according to their desire

and you brought them

into subjection

to be your slaves.

So they had renewed

their covenant

in the temple,

but then they turned back

and broke the terms

of that covenant

soon thereafter.

And by doing this,

God says that they profaned

God's name.

Because according to

Isaiah 65, 16,

Israelites were only allowed

to make covenants

and to enter into solemn oaths

in the name of God.

And they believed

that that was the only sure basis

for an enduring covenant

because God is unchanging

and because he is eternal.

And so therefore,

to enter into a covenant

in his name

would to be make it binding

forever.

And really,

the third commandment

of the Ten Commandments

deals with this

when it says,

you shall not take

the name of the Lord

your God in vain.

You should not use

the name of the Lord

in vain.

And that's what they're doing.

They're profaning his name

because they took their oaths

to renew that covenant

in the name of the Lord,

but then violated

that covenant,

making God's name cheap

and making God

out to be someone

that you can take lightly.

So they profaned God's name.

And the punishment

that God inflicts on them

for this is fair

and exacting.

God says in verse 17,

Therefore,

thus says the Lord,

you have not obeyed me

by proclaiming liberty,

everyone to his brother

and to his neighbor.

Behold,

I proclaim to you

liberty

to the sword,

to pestilence,

and to famine,

declares the Lord.

I'll make you a horror

to all the kingdoms

of the earth

because all the Israelites

had failed to proclaim liberty

to their evil slaves.

God will proclaim

their liberty,

which is ironic,

of course,

because it's a liberty

to the sword,

pestilence,

and to famine.

Having been freed

from their perceived slavery

to servitude to God,

they thought they would be free,

but instead their freedom

is to be devoured

to the sword,

pestilence,

and famine.

They sought to be free

from the demands

of God's law,

but to be free

from the authority

of God's word.

But that freedom

that they sought

turns out to be

slavery to Babylon.

So God continues

in verses 18 to 19,

and the men

who transgressed

my covenant

and did not keep

the terms of the covenant

that they made before me,

I will make them

like the calf

that they cut in two

and passed between its parts.

The officials of Judah,

the officials of Jerusalem,

the eunuchs,

the priests,

and all the people

of the land

who passed between

the parts of the calf.

This is a little bit strange,

right, the reference,

but it's an allusion

to the covenant-making oath sign

that the officials of Judah

and Jerusalem

had gone through.

So in a typical

ancient Near Eastern

covenant ritual,

between a suzerain,

who is the covenant lord,

and a vassal,

who is the covenant's

subject, the servant,

they would cut up animals

and lay them down

in parallel lines,

and then the vassal,

the weaker party,

would then march through,

walk through these,

between these torn up

animal parts,

and invoke a curse

upon himself,

saying,

if I break the covenant,

may I become like these animals,

cut up in pieces.

That's what that covenant sign means.

It's picturing.

And God's saying that

that's the covenant

that they made for themselves,

and God's going to make good

on that covenant oath

that they had made.

This passage doesn't give us

details into the owners,

the slave owners' motivations.

We know that they were attempting

to renew their covenant with God,

but why did they then

so quickly turn back

from the covenant

and reclaim their slaves?

A significant clue

may be found

in verses 20 to 22.

Read with me.

God says there,

Behold, I will command,

declares the Lord,

and will bring them

back to this city,

and they will fight against it

and take it

and burn it with fire.

I will make the cities of Judah

a desolation

without inhabitant.

It turns out

that as this passage

tells us right there,

at some point,

the Babylonian siege

against Jerusalem

was lifted.

We learn why

in Jeremiah 37, verse 5,

Jeremiah 37:5

tells us that

the army of Pharaoh

had come out of Egypt,

and when the Chaldeans

who were besieging Jerusalem

heard news about them,

they withdrew from Jerusalem.

So Zedekiah was trying

to play both parties,

Egypt and Babylon.

He was trying to be

covenant subject

to both Egypt and Babylon,

and at one point,

he rebelled against Babylon,

which is why he's coming

to enforce the terms

of his covenant,

and then Zedekiah

goes to Egypt for aid,

and basically,

it's the Egyptian army

comes and divert the attention

of the Babylonian army

so that for a little while,

the siege on Jerusalem

is lifted.

And while that's happening,

it seems,

that's,

they were making

that covenant with the Lord,

renewing that covenant,

releasing the Hebrew slaves

at the time

under the Babylonian siege,

but when things seem

to be looking up,

when the army seems

to be withdrawing

from Jerusalem,

they quickly take back

their slaves

because the economic costs

are too high,

because they weren't

really obeying God,

because they loved God,

but because they feared

the punishment,

they didn't want

what they were experiencing,

the siege.

They weren't sincere

in their repentance.

They were motivated

not by God's word,

but by their circumstances.

And so that's what,

and how often

it serves to ask,

is our own obedience

to God

a matter of expedience

rather than conviction?

Do we only pray to God

when there is something

that we desperately want

for ourselves?

Do we obey God's word

not because it is right

and true,

but because it is expedient

for us to obey?

Because it serves

our own interest to obey?

Do you tell the truth

as God teaches us

to only when it's

to your advantage?

What if it would hurt you

to tell the truth?

What if you damaged

someone else's car

while no one was looking?

Would you still tell the truth?

Do you only proclaim

parts of God's word

that would make you

well-liked by others

and popular,

but not the parts

that would offend

people's sensibilities?

Do you follow God's word

only where it agrees

with your own sensibilities?

Do we seek to free ourselves

from the constraints

of God's word

not knowing that

that freedom

leads to spiritual

enslavement?

The Jerusalemites'

disobedience in chapter 34

teaches us

that we should obey

God's word

not because it suits us,

but because it's true,

because it's good,

because it's God's word.

In chapter 35,

we have a scene change.

Verse 1 says,

The word that came to Jeremiah

from the Lord

in the days of Jehoiakim,

the son of Josiah,

king of Judah.

So let me review

the royal genealogy briefly

because Jehoiakim

was a pro-Egypt king of Judah,

and when he refused

to pay tribute to Babylon,

Nebuchadnezzar came down

and besieged Jerusalem.

Sounds similar,

but this is a different siege.

This is the first siege

of Jerusalem.

Zedekiah was reigning

under the second siege.

During the siege,

Jehoiakim died,

and his son Jehoiachin

became king of Judah,

but his reign was short-lived

because Judah was soon defeated.

It only lasted a few months,

and then Babylon put Zedekiah

on the throne of Judah,

and then 10 years later,

Zedekiah rebelled again

against Jerusalem,

and that's what we saw

in chapter 34.

So we're kind of going back

a little over a decade

in Judah's history

in chapter 35

before the first Babylonian

siege of Jerusalem.

During that time,

God instructed Jeremiah

this way in verse 2.

Go to the house

of the Rechabites,

and speak with them

and bring them

to the house of the Lord

into one of the chambers.

Then offer them

wine to drink.

Interesting instructions, right?

Jeremiah does this.

He invites the whole house

of the Rechabites

to a chamber

within the temple

and then sets before them

pitchers full of wine.

That's a lot of wine.

And cups.

And he invites them

to drink.

To be a guest

at the house of the Lord

at the invitation

of the prophet of the Lord

is an honor,

but the response

of the Rechabites

is curious.

They respond in

verses 6 to 11

this way.

Read with me.

We will drink no wine

for Jonadab,

the son of Rechab,

our father,

commanded us,

you shall not drink wine,

neither you nor your sons

forever.

You shall not build a house.

You shall not sow seed.

You shall not plant

or have a vineyard,

but you shall live in tents

all your days

that you may live many days

in the land

where you sojourn.

We have obeyed

the voice of Jonadab,

the son of Rechab,

our father,

in all that he commanded us

to drink no wine

all our days,

ourselves,

our wives,

our sons,

or our daughters,

and not to build houses

to dwell in.

We have no vineyard

or field or seed,

but we have lived in tents

and have obeyed

and done all that

Jonadab,

our father,

commanded us.

But when Nebuchadnezzar,

king of Babylon,

came up against the land,

we said,

come and let us go

to Jerusalem

for fear of the army

of the Chaldeans

and the army of the Syrians.

So,

we are living in Jerusalem.

This is the most extensive

description of the Rechabites

that we find in scripture.

They were apparently nomads

that were opposed

to settled living

on principle.

They lived in tents

instead of building houses

and they did not plant vineyards

or drink wine

because wine and vineyards

represented the sedentary life.

So,

by inviting the Rechabites

to drink,

Jeremiah was testing

their adherence

to their founding principles

as a community.

And the Rechabites

responded strongly

by saying,

we will drink no wine.

And then they explained

why they can't drink it

lest they be rude

to their hosts.

So,

even though they were living

in Jerusalem

a settled life at the time,

they were explaining

that we're only here

because of the Babylonian invasion.

Otherwise,

we would still be living

as nomads

outside the city gates.

This is a temporary arrangement.

So,

the Rechabites

remained faithful

to the commands

of their fathers

by refusing to drink.

And this

then becomes

an illustration

for Jeremiah's

next prophecy.

Because in verses

13 to 17,

God contrasts

the Rechabites'

obedience

from the Jerusalemites'

disobedience.

He says in verses

14 to 16,

the command that

Jonadab,

the son of Rechab,

gave to his sons

to drink no wine

has been kept

and they drink none

to this day

for they have obeyed

their father's command.

I have spoken

to you persistently

but you have not

listened to me.

I have sent to you

all my servants,

the prophets,

sending them persistently

saying,

turn now every one

of you from

his evil way

and amend your deeds

and do not go after

other gods

to serve them

and then you shall

dwell in the land

that I gave to you

and your fathers.

But you did not

incline your ear

or listen to me.

The sons of Jonadab,

the son of Rechab,

have kept the command

that their father

gave them

but this people

has not obeyed me.

You can see

the sense of grievance

that God has

against the Judahites here.

The Rechabites

were careful to obey

Jonadab but Israel

who has many more reasons

to obey the Lord

and has been given

many chances to do so

refused to listen to him.

And so in verse 17,

God pronounces

his judgment

upon the people of Judah

but in verses 18 to 19,

God says to the Rechabites,

Thus says the Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel,

because you have obeyed

the command of Jonadab,

your father,

and kept all his precepts

and done all

that he commanded you.

Therefore,

thus says the Lord of hosts,

the God of Israel,

Jonadab,

the son of Rechab,

shall never lack a man

to stand before me.

God's not necessarily

endorsing

and enjoining

the nomadic life

of the Rechabites

for everyone.

He clearly says

earlier in verses 14 to 16

that if they would obey him,

he wants them to dwell

in the land

that God gave them.

So that's not,

he's not endorsing

the Rechabite lifestyle

necessarily,

but he is using them

as an example

of faithfulness

to his commands.

There's a lesson for us here

in the obedience

to the Rechabites

because of course

the Rechabites

were not exactly

in the right

about their rejection

of settling

in the promised land

that God had given

to his people,

but they did get

something right,

didn't they?

When Israelites

settled in Canaan

and began to live

a sedentary life

centered around agriculture,

they encountered

Canaanite culture

and religion

and they were

irresistibly drawn

to the fertility god

Baal of the Canaanites.

So repeatedly

they were unfaithful

to the true God

and worshipped Baal

an idol.

The Rechabite reluctance

to adopt

the sedentary life

was seemingly justified.

While the people

of Jerusalem

were unfaithful,

the Rechabites

remained faithful.

A modern day

equivalent to

these Rechabites

might be

the Amish people,

if you've heard of them.

Amish people

are Christians

who prioritize

their faith,

family, and farm

above all other things.

And they believe

strongly that

worldliness

can keep them

from being close to God.

So they try

to eliminate

all worldly influences

from their lives,

which includes

limiting the infiltration

of technology.

technology.

So instead of using

modern machines,

they rely on the horses

to farm.

And they ride

horse-drawn carriages

instead of riding cars.

They restrict their access

to TV, radio,

telephones.

And most modern people,

like us,

we wonder how they can

survive in their

backward ways.

And we're so fascinated

with these people

that Amish people

have themselves

become a tourist

attraction in parts

of Pennsylvania.

Sure, there's nothing

evil in TVs

and radios

and mobile phones

and cars

in and of themselves,

but they did come

with significant

sacrifices,

didn't they?

The Amish,

for example,

tends to have

very strong family ties

and a deep sense

of community.

Because when there

aren't cars

and planes

available to enable

long-distance travel,

families tend

to stay together.

When there aren't

TVs to watch

and radios to listen to,

they tend to watch

and listen to each other.

When there are no

mobile phones

to keep them in touch

with people far away,

they tend to keep

in better touch

with people nearby.

Instead of bonding

with celebrities

on Instagram,

they tend to bond

with each other,

their families

and friends.

Apprehensions

about the pervasiveness

and invasiveness

of technology

are on the rise today

and a lot of books

are being written.

One such book

is entitled

Tech Wise Family,

which I read,

I recommend it to you,

written by a Christian author,

Andy Crouch.

And he says

that in order to put

technology in its proper place,

quote,

you don't have to become Amish,

but you probably have to become

closer to Amish

than you think.

Before we speak

dismissively

and derisively

of Amish people

or the Rechabites

or people like them,

calling them

religious fanatics

or Luddites,

we need to ask ourselves,

what are some

modern amenities

and modern anxieties

that have creeped

into our hearts

to preoccupy us

and make us

unfaithful

to God?

In Mark 4,

Jesus tells the parable

of the seeds

and in the parable

some of the seeds

fell among the thorns

and the thorns

grew up

and choked the seeds

so that they yielded

no grain

and Jesus describes

these seeds

that they are those

who hear the word

but the cares

of the world

and the deceitfulness

of riches

and the desires

for other things

enter in

and choke the word

and it proves

unfruitful.

Are the cares

of the world

the deceitfulness

of riches

and the desires

for other things

choking out

the gospel

in your life

and making you fruitless?

Have the gifts

of modern life

distracted you

from the giver

of all good gifts?

In chapter 36,

so that's the response

to the Rechabites.

In chapter 36,

we see yet another response

to the word of the Lord

and this time

by the king of Judah.

So we're still

in the reign of Jehoiakim

here in chapter 36

as verse 1 tells us

and God says to Jeremiah

in verses 2-3

of chapter 36,

take a scroll

and write on it

all the words

that I have spoken

to you

against Israel

and Judah

and all the nations.

From the day

I spoke to you,

I have spoken to you

against Israel

from the day

I spoke to you

from the days

of Josiah

until today.

It may be

that the house

of Judah

will hear

all the disaster

that I intend

to do to them

so that everyone

may turn

from his evil way

and that I may

forgive their iniquity

and their sin.

We may wonder

why Jeremiah

dictated this prophecy

to be written down

on a scroll

because all the

previous times

he simply went

in person

and spoke

these prophecies.

The simple answer

of course

is God

told him to.

He did tell him

to in verse 2.

But why did God

tell him to write

it down this time?

We may find a clue

in verses 5-7.

Jeremiah ordered

Baruch saying,

I am banned

from going

to the house

of the Lord

so you are to go

and on a day

of fasting

in the hearing

of all the people

in the Lord's house

you shall read

the words of the Lord

from the scroll

that you have written

at my dictation.

You shall read them

also in the hearing

of all the men

of Judah

who come out

of their city.

It may be

that their plea

for mercy

will come

before the world.

Is that me?

You guys hear that?

Yeah.

It's amazing

how I use this thing

every week

and I still haven't

figured out

how to use it.

Yeah.

I hope we're good now.

We're in verses

5-7 of chapter 36.

And so it turns out

that Jeremiah

because,

probably because

he had been

basically prophesying

about judgment

for so long

and so persistently

he had been banned.

He's become

an unwelcome person

in the temple precincts

and so that's

likely why

he had to have

his prophecy

written down

to be delivered

by his scribe

Baruch

to be read

in public

during one of the

public fasts

when a large congregation

is gathered

from all over Judah.

The fact that

Jeremiah has been

banned

shows how persistently

he has preached

this message

and how stubbornly

the people of Judah

have refused

to listen.

And yet even now

the goal

of

this

threat of judgment

is repentance.

look at verse 3

again with me.

God says,

it may be

that the house

of Judah

will hear

all that disaster

that I intend

to do to them

so that everyone

may turn

from his evil way

and that I may

forgive their

iniquity

and their sin.

Similarly,

Jeremiah says

in verse 7,

it may be

that their plea

for mercy

will come before

the Lord

and that everyone

will turn

from his evil way

for great

is the anger

and wrath

that the Lord

has pronounced

against his people.

When God

pronounces his judgment

over his people,

he doesn't do it

with smug satisfaction

nor are his prophets

gloating over

God's people

as they pronounce

and announce

God's judgment.

The goal

of this warning

of judgment

is repentance

that they may

turn from their sins,

that they may be

restored to God

into right relationship

with him

so that judgment

might be averted.

That's the goal.

And we should see

in these pronouncements

of judgments

not God's vindictiveness

but God's love

and his desire

to show mercy

and therefore

his persistent warning

of judgment

so that they would

repent of their sins.

In verses 9 to 20

we see Baruch

follow Jeremiah's

instructions.

He reads the entirety

of the scroll

in the temple.

Within it says

the chamber of Gemariah

the son of Shaphan

the secretary.

And when Micaiah

Gemariah's son

and Shaphan's grandson

hears the words

of the Lord

from the scroll

he goes to the king's house

to relate to the officials

that were there

and then they send

for Baruch

to have him come

and read the scroll

again to them

and at which point

they say in verse 16

when they heard

all the words

they turned one

to another

in fear

and they said

to Baruch

we must report

all these words

to the king.

So far so good

right?

The scroll

is being read

is being heard

and it seems to be

traveling up

the chain of command

and hopefully

it will get to the king

eventually

and he will bring

some reform

and change

to this nation.

But verses 19 to 20

tell us that perhaps

things will not go so well

because the officials

say to Baruch

go and hide

you and Jeremiah

and let no one

know where you are.

And then instead

of taking the scroll

directly to the king

they leave it

in the chamber

of Elishamah

the secretary

for safekeeping

and then simply

report the words

to the king.

Before we proceed

further in this chapter

it's interesting

to note the similarities

between this passage

and 2 Kings 22

8-20.

That's the passage

where Hilkiah

or Hilkiah

finds the book

of the law

inside the temple

and then delivers

that book

to King Josiah.

The word book

and word scroll

in Hebrew

are the same.

So both passages

involve a scroll

which contains

the word of the Lord

and both stories

feature officials

actually from

the same noble families.

So in 2 Kings

for example

Shaphan the secretary

is present

when the scroll

is read

here in Jeremiah

and the scroll

is read

in the chamber

of Gemariah

the son of Shaphan

the secretary

and Micaiah

the grandson

of Shaphan

the secretary

is in the audience.

So again

same noble family

present.

Similarly

in 2 Kings

Akbar

is among

the officials

present in the royal courts

and here in Jeremiah

Elnathan

the son of Akbar

is among

the officials

present in the royal courts.

So all these similarities

I think

are deliberately

noted

by the editor

of Jeremiah

to invite

comparison

between the two accounts.

So let's compare

how King Josiah

and King Jehoiakim

his son

respond to the reading

of this scroll.

Read verses 21 to 26

with me.

Then the king

sent Jehudi

to get the scroll

and he took it

from the chamber

of Elishamah

the secretary

and Jehudi

read it to the king

and all the officials

who stood before the king.

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.

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.

Yet neither the king

nor any of his servants

who heard all these words

was afraid

nor did they

tear their garments

even when Elnathan

and Deliah

and Gemariah

urged the king

not to burn the scroll

he would not listen

to them

and the king commanded

Jeremiel

the king's son

and Saraiah

the son of Azrael

and Shalamiah

the son of Abdiel

to seize Baruch

the secretary

and Jeremiah the prophet

but the Lord hid them.

The contrast

between Josiah's response

and Jehoiakim's response

can't be more striking

in 2 Kings 23.11

it says

when the king Josiah

heard the words

of the book of the law

he tore his clothes.

Tearing one's clothes

is a sign

of profound sorrow

and mourning.

Josiah was so grieved

by his nation's

failure to obey the Lord

that he tore his clothes

in sorrowful demonstration

of his repentance.

But notice

what verse 24

of our passage says.

Yet neither the king

nor any of his servants

who heard all these words

was afraid

nor did they tear

their garments.

Taylor is my hairdresser.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Taylor.

I heard.

Just don't touch it.

Okay.

Sorry.

Yeah.

It's like a

like a child

that's entrusted

with something sensitive

that he doesn't know

how to take care of.

So there's a deliberate

contrast being drawn here

because Josiah tore his clothes

but Jehoiakim

and his officials

did not tear their clothes.

It's the

Jeremiah notes that specifically.

And instead of tearing

their clothes

what did they tear apart?

Yeah.

Jehoiakim methodically

cut the scroll off

with the knife.

The word cut

is the same in Hebrew

as the word tear.

What he should have done

with his clothes

Jehoiakim did

to the scroll

that contained

the word of the Lord.

And the parallels

do not end there.

In 2 Kings 22-13

after the scroll is read

Josiah remarked

great is the wrath

of the Lord

that is kindled

against us

because our fathers

have not obeyed

the words of this book

to do according to all

that is written

concerning us.

Kindle.

Burn.

Great is the wrath

of the Lord

that burns against us

because of this.

Instead of fearing

the wrath of the Lord

that's burning against them

Jehoiakim instead

burns in his fire pot

the entire scroll

of the Lord.

This is really the height

of disobedience

and defiance.

By cutting up

and burning

the scroll of the Lord

Jehoiakim showed

utter contempt

for the word

of the Lord.

And as if that weren't enough

he orders the arrest

of Baruch and Jeremiah.

Thankfully the Lord

has hidden them

and they're nowhere

to be found

but we know

what he would have done

if he had found them

because we were told

in chapter 26

what he did

to another prophet

of the Lord

who prophesied judgment

against Jerusalem.

His name was Uriah

trying to arrest him

and kill him

and Uriah heard of it

and escaped to Egypt

and then Jehoiakim

had him extradited

from Egypt

and then executed him

and then

unceremoniously

threw his body out.

That's likely

what he would have done

to Jeremiah.

Many people

throughout history

have tried

like Jehoiakim

to stuff out

God's word

but in the end

God's word

always gets

the last word

because as Isaiah 48

says the grass withers

the flower fades

but the word of our God

will stand forever.

Because as Matthew 24

35 says

Jesus says

heaven and earth

will pass away

but my words

will not pass away.

God speaks to Jeremiah

this way

in verses 28 to 31.

Take another scroll

and write on it

all the former words

that were in the first scroll

which Jehoiakim

the king of Judah

has burned

and concerning Jehoiakim

king of Judah

you shall say

thus says the Lord

you have burned

this scroll

saying

why have you written in it

that the king of Babylon

will certainly come

and destroy this land

and will cut off from it

man and beast.

Therefore thus says the Lord

concerning Jehoiakim

king of Judah

he shall have none

to sit on the throne

of David

and his dead body

shall be cast out

to the heat by day

and the frost by night.

Even though Jehoiakim

defied God's word

he cannot escape

its power

and the word of God

will be fulfilled

regardless of Jehoiakim's

obedience.

The Babylonians

will indeed come

and destroy Jerusalem

that was fulfilled

and Jehoiakim

will have none

to sit on his throne

of David.

After his son

after his death

his son

Jeconiah

also called Jehoiachin

succeeds him

for a brief

three months

and then God

sees through

this promise

that he will not

have anyone left

to sit on his throne.

In the same way

that Jehoiakim

threw the scroll

of the Lord

into the fire

Jehoiakim's corpse

will now be cast out.

It's the same word.

There may be parts

of scripture

which is

the written word

of God

that all of us

some of us

may want

to cut out

and burn

but that will

in no way

diminish

its truth

and power.

Jehoiakim

as the king

of Judah

should have known

that he is

reigning

at God's behest

as his representative

but instead

he sought to reign

for himself

instead of upholding

God's word

as the king

of Judah

he wanted

his will

to prevail

in Judah

and the question

we need to ask

ourselves is

is the word

of God

the final authority

in your life

or is your will

your judgment

the final authority

of your life?

As Christian pastor

Tim Keller

often says

and I've quoted

this before

if your God

never disagrees

with you

you might just

be worshipping

an idealized

version of yourself.

Verse 32

tells us

Jeremiah took

another scroll

and gave it

to Baruch

the scribe

the son of Neriah

who wrote on it

at the dictation

of Jeremiah

all the words

of the scroll

that Jehoiakim

king of Judah

had burned

in the fire

and many similar

words were added

to them.

We're never told

exactly what words

were on this scroll

but it's possible

as many think

perhaps even likely

that this scroll

that was written down

is the basis

for the book

of Jeremiah

as we currently

have it.

As we then

almost 1600 years

later read God's word

in Jeremiah

we are faced

with the same

choice.

Will we respond

like Josiah

in repentance

and faith

or will we respond

like Jehoiakim

in rebellion

and defiance?

In Matthew 21

33 to 42

Jesus tells

his disciples

the parable

of the tenants.

In the parable

God is the master

of the house

the owner

of the vineyard

and the vineyard

represents the people

of God

the church

and the tenants

represent

those who

have been entrusted

with taking care

of the vineyard

and harvesting

its fruit.

In the Old Testament

it was the Jewish leaders

like Jehoiakim

and the servants

that the owner

sends to the vineyard

to collect the fruit

are the prophets

whom God sends

like Jeremiah.

Now listen to this parable

with the backdrop

of Jeremiah in mind.

There was a master

of a house

who planted

a vineyard

and put a fence

around it

and dug a wine press

in it

and built a tower

and leased it

to tenants

and went into

another country.

When the season

for fruit

drew near

he sent his servants

to the tenants

to get his fruit

and the tenants

took his servants

and beat one

killed another

and stoned another.

Again

he sent other servants

more than the first

and they did

the same to them.

Finally

he sent his son

to them

saying

they will respect

my son.

But when the tenants

saw the son

they said to themselves

this is the heir

come

let us kill him

and take

his inheritance.

And they took him

and threw him

out of the vineyard

and killed him.

When therefore

the owner of the vineyard

comes what will he do

to those tenants?

They said to him

he will put

those wretches

to a miserable death

and let out the vineyard

to other tenants

who will give him

the fruits

in their seasons.

Jesus said to them

have you never read

in the scriptures

the stone that the builders

rejected has become

the cornerstone?

This was the Lord's doing

and it is marvelous

in our eyes.

Jesus Christ

is the son

who came to the vineyard.

He is God's last resort

the ultimate

final messenger

to reclaim

his vineyard.

But in the same way

that Jeremiah

declared the word

of the Lord

and was rejected

Jesus too

was rejected

by his own people

and he was killed

on the cross.

But on that cross

even though

he was the stone

that the builders

rejected

he became the cornerstone

of the house of God.

Because on that cross

Jesus bore

the sins

of all those

who would trust

in him

for salvation.

all of us

are sinners

and all of us

at one point

were persistent sinners

unrepentant sinners

and though we may not

have burned the scroll

of the Lord

like Jehoiakim

we are not less

dismissive

and defiant

toward the word

of the Lord.

And we deserved

all the disaster

that Jeremiah

had proclaimed

against Judah.

We were the insubordinate

tenants

the wretched

who deserved

a miserable death

as Jesus' own

disciples put it.

That's us.

Yet Jesus

came

in the same

way that God's word

came

as it says

in chapter 36

verse 3

so that

everyone

may turn

from his evil way

and that God

may forgive

their iniquity

and their sin.

Jesus died

on the cross

for our sins

so that we no longer

have to bear

the punishment

for ourselves

for our own sins

and can instead

receive the forgiveness

of God.

And then Jesus

was raised

from the dead

to give us new life

eternal life

resurrection life

so that we will no longer

live for ourselves

but live for God

by the power of the spirit

for the glory of God.

And in the same way

that their different

responses to the word

of the Lord

divided

Josiah and Jehoiakim

how you respond