The Burning of The Scroll | Jeremiah 36 | Pastor William Hixson

And many Bible teachers believe chapter

36 closes out this particular section

of Jeremiah.

So, we've come a long way.

My guess is that you know something

about this chapter and it's rather well

known.

This is another flashback.

Another flashback in the book

from King Zedekiah, the last king's

reign. We're back to Jehakim.

So, we're about 18 years before

the other section.

Let's look to the Lord. in prayer.

Father, we thank you for another

opportunity

to look into your word. We ask your

blessing on our time together tonight.

We thank you for the privilege of

intercession that we enjoyed. And now we

ask that as we wanted you to hear us,

then we want to hear you. We want to

hear what you have to say to us in your

word. So blessed father, we pray. Amen.

Amen.

um

going to be introduced to a new person

that we've already looked at a little

bit. His name is Baroo

and he was Jeremiah's secretary

and

he's very busy in this chapter.

Jeremiah has a message that he wants to

give, but he's restrained. Probably, if

Arnold Gabal is correct, and others that

there was probably a

uh ceremonial

uh reason why he couldn't go into the

temple. So, he sends Baroo as well

uh to do it for him. But boy, he really

got into it when he uh

got to the temple with this message. So,

let's uh look at the section

and uh I think you'll

be familiar with it once we get through.

It came to pass in the fourth year of

Jehoakim, the son of Josiah, king of

Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah

from the Lord. Now, this king had a very

good father, right?

King Josiah was one of the best fathers,

best kings and no doubt best fathers in

the Old Testament. He was killed in

battle. A very godly king, but he had

very ungodly children.

And so

we're in the four now we're flashing

back to the fourth year of Jehoakim.

This is 18 years back. the son of

Josiah, king of Judah, that this word

came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Take thee a scroll of a book, and write

in it all the words that I've spoken

unto thee against Israel and against

Judah and against all the nations from

the day I spoke to you from the days of

Josiah, even to this day. That's a big

assignment.

So now we've got the assignment to

write, put in writing what was given out

verbally.

It may be that the house of Judah will

hear all the evil which I purposed to do

to them, that they may return every man

from his evil way, that I may forgive

their iniquity and their sin.

Well, that's a very big subject here in

this section of Jeremiah, right?

forgiveness of sin and so forth. Uh and

so uh then Jeremiah called Baroo the son

of Nariah and Baroo wrote from the mouth

of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord

which he'd spoken unto him upon a scroll

of the book. A lot of the Bible writers

had secretaries or emanuenzas that they

would write for them. They would dictate

the words and somebody else would be

writing them down. And Baroo was

Jeremiah's secretary.

And Jeremiah commanded Baroo, saying, "I

am restrained. I cannot go into the

house of the Lord." Again, probably for

some reason ceremony unclean. He

couldn't go. But he uh wanted Baroo to

go.

Isn't God sovereign? Sometimes we want

to do something, but we can't. God uses

somebody else instead of us. And there's

there's sovereignty in this. And so

Jeremiah commanded Debbrook saying, "I'm

restrained. I cannot go to the house of

the Lord. Therefore, go and read in the

scroll." So the first is uh I want you

to record

uh my prophecies and then I want you to

read my prophecies. Right? So the first

thing is Baroo recorded Jeremiah's

prophecies which are in which are book

of Jeremiah. And then he was to go into

the temp temple and read them. Everybody

knowing it was Jeremiah's prophecies,

but being read by Baroo.

And so that's what happened. Therefore,

go and read in the scroll which you've

written from my mouth the words of the

Lord in the hearing of the people in the

Lord's house upon the fast day. And

also, thou shalt read them in the

hearing of all Judah who come out of

their cities. So, it was a big holiday

or a holy day is a better word for it. A

lot of people are going to be there.

Jeremiah couldn't go, but he sent him.

He sent Baroo.

You never know how God's going to use

somebody, right? And sometimes he puts

aside for whatever reason the major

individual and uses a relatively minor

individual.

And if if there is such a thing, Baroo

was not a major individual, but he was a

very good sidekick. Uh and that's what

happened.

And it says in verse 7, "It may be that

they will present their supplication

before the Lord and will turn every man

from his evil way. For great is the

anger and the fury that the Lord has

pronounced on this people."

So the matter was so serious

it couldn't wait.

I can't go, but I'm giving you all this

so you go. And Baroo went.

and Baroo the son of Nariah did

according to all that Jeremiah the

prophet commanded him reading in the

book the words of the Lord in the Lord's

house

and it came to pass in the fifth year of

Jehookim son of Josiah king of Judah in

the ninth month that that they

proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all

the people in Jerusalem to all the

people who came from all the cities of

Judah un under Jerusalem then read Baroo

in the book, the words of Jeremiah in

the house of the Lord.

So Jeremiah is not there in person, but

his book is there

and Baroo is reading it

in the chamber of the son of Chaon, the

scribe, in the higher court at the

entrance of the new gate of the Lord's

house in the hearing of all the people.

When Micaiah the son of Jemariah the son

of Chafon had heard out of the words all

the words of the Lord.

Then he went down into the king's house

into the king's chamber. And lo, all the

princes sat there, even Elishama the

scribe, and Delia the son of

Shemallayiah, and Elnathon the son of

Akmor, and Gemiah the son of Chaon, and

Zedekiah, the son of Haniah, and all the

princes.

And Micaiah declared to them all the

words that he heard when Baroo read the

book in the ha hearing of the people.

Now Micaiah is a key person here and

he's actually the grandson of somebody

else that was very important earlier

who is a very godly man.

And so in verse 14, therefore all the

princes sent Jehudai the son of

Nethaniah and the son of Shemaliah

Shemliah the son of Cushi unto Baroo,

saying, Take in hand the scroll from

which you've read in the hearing of the

people and come. So Baroo the son of

Mariah took the scroll in his hand and

came to them.

And they said to him, sit down now and

read it in our hearing.

So Baroo read it in their hearing. This

is getting interesting. Uh

Micaiah hears it and he says, "This

can't wait. I've got to tell the

everybody important people got to hear

this." And so he he gets them all to

hear it. So Baroo is reading it again.

The book of Jeremiah was read three

times in one day.

first in the temple and then to the uh

big shots uh the princes and then to the

king.

Now the reception of these princes was

fairly positive.

The reception of the king was horribly

negative.

There was a big difference.

So in verse 16, now it came to pass when

they heard all the words, they turned in

fear toward one another and said unto

Boog, "We will surely tell the king all

these words. We we can't keep this from

the king. We have to tell him."

And I think they knew how he would act.

They realized we got to tell him this,

but it's not going to he's not going to

he's not going to likely react in a good

way.

It's not going to end well.

Now, we know people like that, right?

Don't don't tell don't open that book to

me. Don't talk to me about that. And

they get all upset and you know and so

forth. So, they ask Baroo saying, "Tell

us how and how did you write all these

words at his mouth?" So, the princes are

saying, "Where did you get this? How how

did you is it really Jeremiah you got

this from?" They're they didn't they're

they're investigating to make sure this

just wasn't Baroo. It is Jeremiah behind

it. Then Baroo answered them, "He

pronounced all these words to me with

his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in

the book."

Then the princess then said the princess

to Baroo, "Go hide. Go hide thou

Jeremiah. Let no man know where you

are."

What are they doing? They're trying to

save his neck. They're trying to save

Jeremiah's neck. Now, why are they

saying that? Because they know that

whatever has been written by Jeremiah

and what was read in the temple and what

was read to the princes, when the king

hears it, it's going to go over like a

concrete cloud, it's not going to it's

not going to be a good thing as far as

the king. They knew him well, didn't

they?

You know people like that. I know people

like that.

They'd rather go to the dentist and have

all their teeth pulled out than hear you

talk about the Lord for 10 minutes.

They just don't want to hear it.

Then said the princess to Baroo, "Go

hide thou and Jeremiah, and let no man

know where you are." And they went into

the king into the court, but they laid

up the scroll in the chamber of Elisha

the scribe, and told all the words in

the hearing of the king. They didn't

take the scroll in.

They were trying to protect the scroll.

So, they went in and uh talked to the

king.

They laid up the scroll in the chamber

of Elisha scribe and told all the words

in the hearing of the king. So, they

told the king what the scroll said. They

didn't bring the scroll in.

So the king sent to Jehudah to fetch the

scroll. Oh boy,

it's getting out of hand now.

And he took it out of Elishima of the

scribes chamber. And Jehudai read it in

the hearing of the king, in the hearing

of all the princes who stood beside the

king.

Aren't you glad God reaches out to

upandouters and not just downers?

This guy was an up andouter,

but God was reaching out to him. You

probably know an upand-out.

They're big in this world, but they got

nothing for the next.

And often people that are big in this

world have no interest in the next world

or have no interest in spiritual things.

It's very sad. Not all the time, but

many times. Not many wise, not many

mighty called. God's chosen the foolish

things of the world. Confound the

mighty. you know those passages.

Now the king sat in the winter house in

the ninth month. This is December

in their calendar.

And now the king sat in the winter house

in the ninth month. And there was a fire

in the hearth burning before him. And it

came to pass when Jehudai had read three

or four columns,

he cut it with a pen knife.

He cut it with a pen knife. A pen knife

is a knife that's used to sharpen a pen,

feathered pens,

whatever writing instrument you're

using, and cast it into the fire that

was on the hearth until all the scroll

was consumed in the fire that was on the

hearth.

So basically what happened to Hudai got

three or four lines, three or four

columns out and the king is is cutting

them off as he as he's reading it. He's

cutting them up and then he's tossing it

in the fire.

Do you think this king is sensitive or

respectful to the word of God?

>> Wonder he listened to it at all.

>> It is. It's a wonder he listened to it

at all. But remember this king is the

son of a king who did.

King Josiah his dad when he heard the

book of Deuteronomy read he rent his

clothes he repented

became a good king. This is this is not

a case of like father like son. This is

completely different.

And everybody knew the kind of man he

was. And the reason he didn't like what

Jeremiah was saying, he had another

plan. He was trusting in Egypt. He was

trusting in Egypt to deliver him from

Babylon. That's the same old thing they

tried a lot of times. Uh and uh he he he

didn't want God's plan. He wanted his

plan.

Now, there's probably any other uh

there's other reasons for it, but that

was part of it. But the shocking thing

is now I don't think he read through the

whole book of Jeremiah and everybody

watched him cut it up. I I I think what

really happened is he started cutting it

up and people started asking him don't

do that, don't do that. And he did it

anyway. Pretty soon the whole thing went

in the fire.

I don't think they were waiting for him

to do it the whole time.

Text doesn't say exactly, but I believe

that's it. It says until all the scroll

was consumed in the fire that was on the

hearth.

Yet they were not afraid. That's the

unsaved people in the room. Nor tore

their garments. Neither the king nor any

of his servants that heard all these

words. There were people that just were

afraid to say anything. They didn't say

anything. They just put up with it.

Nevertheless, Elnathan and Delilah and

Gemiah had made intercession to the king

that he would not burn the scroll, but

he would not but he would not hear them.

So some were saying, "Don't do that.

Don't do that." And he did it anyway.

This is life, isn't it? There are some

people that are sensitive to the word of

God and when God speaks, they're hearing

it. And there are other people

the whole business is repugnant to them.

I've told these stories before.

I'm going to tell them again

twice.

the the these first two stories are a

contrast. Uh one was a fella and one was

one was a young man, one was a young

girl.

The young man I was in Indiana. We're in

a park and I'm we're witnessing to

people and handing out tracks and it was

snowing. The snow was coming down and

I'm standing in that park and this young

man's about this close to me and he's

acting like he's really interested. I

handed him a track and he's acting like

he's pretending he's really interested.

He's got the track and he's tearing it

up

even while he's ask asking he's acting

interested. So when he looked down the

whole track was torn up and all thrown.

He was not interested.

So he he despised the word of God. He

despised everything that we were trying

to do that night. I went into a

restaurant to get warm later and I had

witnessed a whole restaurant full of

people and handed out tracks and they

were receptive. But that guy, he didn't

want to hear it.

There's another story and this happened

in Athens before I was here. Uh there

was a youth student that um someone was

passing tracks out and witnessing took

the track and tore it up and threw it in

their face.

And she went home,

got under conviction and got saved

and married a fellow who was an elder in

our church.

later went to seminary.

So, you never know, right? There are

sometimes people are very antagonistic,

but God's working in their heart. Other

people just, you know, they're

antagonistic and they're antagonistic

and that's all there is to it. They have

no respect for the word of God.

My first Bible,

my not a little one, not a little kids

Bible, was a first Bible. wasn't as big

as the one I'm wasn't as big as this

one, but almost. And I'd had it for

several years. And uh

uh I I remember what happened. I was

just getting to the place where I was

starting to read the Bible and get

serious about it. And don't you know,

the family dog got a hold of that Bible

and chewed up the corners. I mean, he

ate through the whole corner of that

Bible

just for fun.

He had no respect for it. He had no

knowledge of what he was doing. It was

just something to chew on. Well, I

wasn't very happy with him.

But you know, this man here, this king,

kings were to study the Bible every day

of their life according to Deuteronomy

17.

This guy couldn't hear it for

couple hours.

even a couple of minutes.

And so it's rather sad what was going on

here.

And so in verse 25, there's people that

are trying to stop it. But in verse 26,

the king commanded Jeremiah, the son of

Halecch, and Sariah the son of Azrael,

and Shemaliah, the son of Abdel, to take

Baroo, the scribe, and Jeremiah the

prophet. But the Lord hid them. So

instead of listening and repenting, he

wants to arrest Baroo and Jeremiah both.

But it says the Lord hit him. So somehow

Baroo got out of there and Jeremiah

wasn't even there and they were able to

go underground where they weren't

arrested.

Interesting, isn't it? Now remember

who's doing this? This is not the king

of Babylon or the king of Persia or the

king of Greece. This is the theocratic

king

of the Old Testament kingdom.

He has no use for God's word.

Just think about that.

He not only doesn't have any appetite

for it, he has antagonism.

And the sad thing is he had a very good

father.

And the man was in was encouraging all

this with him was the grandson of that

man that read the Bible that pointed out

the Bible to his father.

It's interesting. It's just fascinating

to me what's going on here.

So as we move through this section, we

have the first uh we have the uh

recording of Jeremiah's prophecies by

Baroo. Then we have the reading of

Jeremiah's prophecies by Baroo.

And then the third thing we have the

recopying of those prophecies by Baroo.

So what happened? They rewrote it.

This is all very interesting.

Verse 27. Then the word of the Lord came

to Jeremiah after the king had burned

the scroll, and the words which Baroo

wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,

"Take thee again another scroll,

and write in it all the former words

that were in the first scroll, which

Jooakim, the king of Judah, had burned."

And thou shalt say to Jehookim, king of

Judah, thus says the Lord, thou hast

burned this scroll, saying, Why hast

thou written in it, saying, The king of

Babylon shall certainly come and destroy

this land, and shall cause to cease in

it man and beast. Therefore, thus says

the Lord of Jehoakim, King of Judah, he

shall have none.

He shall have none to sit on 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'll punish him and his

seed and his servants for their

iniquity. And I will bring upon them and

upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem and on

the upon the men of Judah all the evil I

pronounced against them, but they

hearken not.

Then took Jeremiah another scroll and

gave it to Baroo the scribe, the son of

he wrote in it from the mouth of

Jeremiah all the words which the Jehakim

the king had burned in the fire. And

there were added besides unto them many

like words. In other words, he didn't

burn the whole book of Jeremiah. He just

burned the part that was written up to

that point. Everybody follow me?

So,

three readings of the same material and

then a recopying of the same material.

Three readings in the same day.

This is fascinating. And we see these

reactions to the word of God. The

amazing thing is the reactions then is

like the reactions now.

The first reaction was apathy

on the part of the people who were in

the temple when it was read the first

time. They were totally lethargic. It

was so what we read of no response on

their part. Verse six, apathy. They

heard it. They didn't get mad. They just

ignored it. There's nothing

except one man, this Micaiah, whose

grandfather took the Bible seriously.

The grandfather was the one that brought

the Deuteronomy to King uh to King um

Josiah and uh uh the revival started

then because of his grandfather. So his

grandfather must have passed the word on

to the grand to his son and to this man.

So we almost we we've got this apathy on

the part of the people. Uh zero got

saved. Just one man got but one person

got moved. It was Micaiah. I got to do

something. I got to I can't just let

this go on and I'm going to report it to

the princes. And he started the ball

rolling. It's not just the preacher.

It's sometimes the hearers

they get get encouraged to do something

because something is said

and uh so that's what's going on. So the

respon the apathy of people the response

was zero as far as they were concerned.

Just one person really responded. But

one responding is something one

responding is good.

Better than none.

But it tells you something of how far

the apostasy and the rot in Jerusalem

was. They had inability to be roused up

by God's word. Hosea 8:12 says, "I've

Hosea 8:12

written to them the great things of my

law, but they were counted a strange

thing."

The Bible didn't stir them uh up to

repentance.

It it they were still bored with it.

And David said in Psalm 119:53, "Horror

Psalms 119:53

has taken hold of me because of the

wicked who forsake your law."

It really hurt to see people. You

probably have family like that. You

probably have friends like that. You

probably have, you've tried to talk to

them about the Bible. They they couldn't

be less interested.

Just apathy.

And so that's the picture. A lack of

enthusiasm, interest, or concern. Hoham,

insensibility

to the word of God. Callous and cold.

That was the crowd. It's not a good it's

not a good place.

So the first reaction was apathy on the

part of the people in the temple. The

second reaction was uh was uh

um one of the princes. One of was the

the Micaiah took it to the princes and

the princess said we got to take this to

the king. They feared they were in

trouble. They felt the responsibility

and they realized it was something

significant. Thank God for one person to

get stirred up that can stir stir other

people up.

By the way, this king had already killed

the prophet Uriah. He was dangerous.

And so it was right to go to the princes

before it would go to the king.

So apathy on the part of the people,

action on the part of this one man, and

then antagonism on the part of the king.

It wasn't he wasn't passive at all. He

was antagonistic.

Cutting it up. Cutting it up

publicly, the theocratic king.

And he cut it up and burned it.

So by the way, it's sad, isn't it? how

many times the Bible's been burned.

>> Think of early days when it took a lot

to copy the Bible and then the burning

of the Bible. People burned up

hours and hours and days and weeks and

months and years of work.

Uh

the Nazis burned the Bible.

Ministers were imprisoned

and so forth. uh Roman Dialesian in 303

burned the Bible

and ministers were imprisoned

and so forth. But 50 years later,

Constantine the Roman governor at

government expense printed 50 Bibles.

So God has a way of getting back at the

people burn his Bible. The Catholic

Church burned Bibles.

Tinddale Wliffe

and uh so forth. Uh, Cuban soldiers

burned Bibles. Pakistan burned 1500

Bibles one time. Uh, you know, there's a

lot of times in church history Bibles

are burned or either

removed from circulation or burned.

Uh, Satan doesn't want people to hear

the word of God. Surprise, surprise,

surprise.

And so,

but this was a shocking thing. And

Matthew Henry called it a piece of

daring impiiety. I mean, really, really

daring impiiety to burn the Bible when

you're the theocratic king the Bible's

talking. Heidenberg called an appalling

act of blasphemy and contempt for God's

revelation.

That this man was preoccupied with

politics and pleasure. That was his

thing, politics and pleasure.

He had no spiritual interest. Alexander

McLaren said he was covetous, cruel,

tyrannical, lawless, heartless. He had

neither value valor or goodness. And he

had little political savvy. He was

trusting in Egypt.

Everybody trusts in something. If you

don't trust in God, you're going to

trust in something else, right?

You're either trusting in a man over

here or something here and so forth.

And so, and this king is building a

palace when his kingdom's fallen apart.

It's 20 years from destruction.

And what a contrast. Now, I want you to

go, and many, many Bible teachers have

pointed this out. Go to Second Kings

2 Kings 22:12

22:12.

I want you to look at this king's

father.

2 Kings

2 Kings 22:12

22:12

verse eight. Let's go back to verse

eight. And Hilkaya the high priest said

to Chafan the scribe, I found the book

of the law in the house of the Lord. And

Hilkaya gave the book to Chafan and he

read it. This is the book of

Deuteronomy.

And Chfan the scribe came to the king

and brought the king word again and

said, "Thy servants have gathered the

money that was found in the house and

have delivered it into the hand of those

who do the work." Remember they're

remodeling the temple who've over the

oversight of the house and Chapan the

scribe showed the king saying the priest

has delivered to me a book and Chfan

read it before the king.

Now watch the reaction this time.

This is the reaction of the father when

he's young is very different than the

reaction of his son.

It came to pass when the king heard and

the words of the law that he tore his

clothes.

That's repentance, right?

That's a that's a showing of repentance.

It's a visual way of showing your

repentance. The king commanded Hilkaya

the priest and Iim the son of Chafan and

Acher the son of Micaiah and Chapan the

scribe and Assiah the king's servant

saying go ye inquire the Lord for me and

for the people and for all Judah

concerning the words that's found for

great is the wrath of the Lord that's

kindled against us because our fathers

have not hearkened to the words of this

book and do according to all that's

written in the written concerning us. So

Hilkaya the priest and Ahikim and Horfan

and Isiah went to hold the prophec

prophetist the wife of Shalom the son of

Tikba the son of Ha

Haras keeper of the wardrobe now she

dwelt in Jerusalem in the second quarter

and they talked with her and it goes on

and on but that's the picture right

there was a difference there was

repentance there was uh tearing of their

garments instead of tearing up the Bible

What is Jeremiah 36 therefore saying?

Things have changed.

They've changed fast.

Here is the son of someone who was

tender-hearted, and that son is

hard-hearted.

Nation is ripening for judgment. And

this man's trying to kill Baroo and

Jeremiah.

Uh Alexander McLaren said Jehoakim's

behavior is very human and like what we

all do.

You might sing hiding in thee, but

really we're hiding from thee until we

get saved, right?

And you don't alter facts by ignoring

them or by uh neglecting them or try to

destroy them.

And so that's what's going on.

Philip Reichen said, "Johim

did not even wait for Jehudai to finish.

As soon as Jehudai unrolled each section

of the scroll, the king begins his

outrageous act of censorship." The shock

shocking thing was not so much Johakim's

uh

stupidity as to his audacity. Joh was

was uh almost nonchalant in his defiance

of God's word,

the arrogance of the contrast, the

insolence

of the whole thing. He should have read

his garments in repentance, but he was

deaf to his counselors and tried to

arrest the prophets. Very difficult,

very different than the days of King

Josiah.

So you know DL Moody's famous statement

either the Bible will keep you from sin

or sin will keep you from the Bible

and there was a man that be given over

to wickedness and so forth and so on and

Ji Packer said the privilege and I'm

quoting Packer from Reichen the

privilege of knowing God's truth with

certainty and precision precision

carries with it the responsibility

obeying that truth truth with equal

precision.

That wasn't what the king did. Why was

the king to read in the Bible all the

days of his life?

The king of the theocracy was to be a

Bible student.

This king

is destroying the Bible he was supposed

to be studying every day of his life.

Isn't that what the Isn't that what the

scriptures say? Turn with me to

Deuteronomy 17

and verse 14.

There's a lot of people that should be

Bible students that aren't Bible

students.

They got something else going on. Some

of them are in pulpit,

you know, and uh they really don't know

the word. They don't want to know the

word. They got they got something

another priority going on for them. But

notice what it says in Deuteronomy 17

Deuteronomy 17:14

verse 14.

When you come into the land which the

Lord your God gives thee, and shall

possess it, and shall dwell therein, and

shall say, I'll set a king over me like

all the nations that are about thee. You

shall surely set him king over the of of

thee, whom the Lord your God shall

choose. one from among your brethren.

Shall you set a king over thee? You may

not set a foreigner over thee, who's not

your brother, but he shall not multiply

horses to himself, nor cause the people

to return to Egypt to the end that he

should multiply horses. For as much as

the Lord said, you'll not henceforth

return there that no more that way.

Neither shall he multiply wives to

himself that his heart not turn away,

neither shall he greatly multiply to

himself silver and gold. Of course,

Solomon did all that, didn't he?

He did all that. And it shall come to

pass when he sits on the throne, this is

one. This is the one I want you to get.

His job as king.

When he sits on on the throne

of his kingdom, he shall write him a

copy of this law in the book that which

is before the priests and the Levites.

The king was to copy the Bible himself.

He was to read it with such uh intensity

that he could actually write it, write a

copy himself,

which what that assignment forced him to

do is either have someone else write it

or himself write it. He had to be

occupied with it.

If you're copying something, you have to

be intent. You have to be uh attentive,

right? Whether you're typing or whether

you're writing.

And it'll be with him and he'll read

therein all the days of his life. All

the days of his life. Every day.

All the days means every day.

So, here's a man that's not reading the

Bible. He's he's burning the Bible.

He's tearing it up. He has no interest.

He's doing the exact opposite. He's

avoiding the word of God that he may

learn to fear the Lord his God and keep

all the words of this law and these

statutes to do them that his heart be

not lifted up above his brethren and

that he turn not aside from the

commandments to the right hand and the

left to the end that he may prolong his

days in his kingdom, he and his children

in the midst of Israel. Well, this king

did exactly the opposite. And therefore,

no man of his is going to reign on the

throne of Israel,

throne of David, excuse me.

Now, he had a son and this this king

died and his son uh uh followed him for

three months, but then Babylon was at

the doors every and his son, but you

can't really say he was reigning on the

throne of David because he was too busy

fighting fighting the uh the uh

Babylonians. He really didn't have any

kind of reign at all.

What a fascinating business all this is.

And then of course he's gone.

So it's an interesting business and the

prophecy came true.

One writer said,

"Baroo was struck with the lack of

reverence of men for the scriptures."

Time passed when Josiah heard the scroll

read, he rent his clothes. It seems that

Baroo reopened when he open when he

that Baroo regarded Jeremiah's scroll to

be equal scripture with the law of Moses

that had been ignored. And so he's doing

the very thing the Jeremiah book of

Jeremiah that uh the very opposite thing

as he was to do with God's law.

And no other descendant of Jehoakim ever

ascended to the throne.

Zedekiah was was three months fighting

the Babylonians and taken away.

It's a very sad ending, isn't it, for

that?

So,

uh, one writer said,

uh, said this and it was an interesting

comment. He's quoting Thomas Watson. In

fact, this is Philip Praen. We may know

the scripture to be the word of God by

its miraculous preservation in all ages.

The holy scriptures are the richest

jewel that Christ has left us. The

church of God has so kept these public

records of heaven that they have not

been lost. The word of God has never

wanted enemies to oppose and it is

possible to extrapate it. But God has

preserved this blessed book inviable in

to this day. The devil and his agents

have been blowing the at scripture light

but could never blow it out. A clear

sign that it was lighted from heaven.

U this is kind of fascinating.

Let me go through the steps that some of

you have heard me teach before. Alpha J.

Mlan teaches it about the Bible. First

God chose the the writer.

He chose individual writers of the

Bible. Then he revealed the material.

So he chose the writer. Then he

revealed, you know, there's several

writers of the Bible. Uh and he chose

the writer. He revealed the material.

Then he in he uh inspired the writing.

Step three.

So uh those three steps. Then the fourth

he preserved the record.

Preservation is providential

not supernatural.

This was a providential

uh preservation to the book of Jeremiah.

God preserved Baroo and Jeremiah so that

they weren't killed. So they could

rewrite the book of Jeremiah.

Are you with me? So he preserved the

writer in the secretary uh so that the

book could be preserved and we'd have it

in our Bible.

So the work of preservation is a

providential work. And then the final

thing is a work of illumination. God

interprets the meaning.

You have the Holy Spirit.

And so it's good for us to know these

things. And nobody's going to destroy

the Bible. No, people have tried.

Satan's been against it from the very

beginning. Anything God's for, Satan's

against.

From Adam and Eve on,

Satan has been misu misquing the Bible,

misusing the Bible, doing anything to

separate people from God's word from

Adam and Eve on. Now, it was a spoken

word. Then we have a written word, but

it's the same a thing as that.

And so, uh, this flashback is a very

good one, isn't it?

And Douglas Jones says, "It seems clear

that the narrator wished to contrast the

tculent Johiah."

And that's right.

Now, you don't have to burn the Bible to

come under condemnation.

Uh, how about just neglect the Bible,

ignore the Bible,

misinterpret the Bible, uh, misrepresent

the Bible, or say you uh, believe the

Bible, but you ignore the Bible.

You know, none of those are good things,

are they? And you certainly don't add to

the Bible, and you certainly don't take

away from the Bible.

Book of Revelation couldn't be clearer

in that in Revelation 22:18 and 19.

Revelation 22:18

You're in big trouble if you take away

from the Bible

or you add to the Bible something that

shouldn't be there. And Deuteronomy 4:2

Deuteronomy 4:2

and Deuteronomy 12:32 say it about the

Deuteronomy 12:32

Old Testament and the and Revelation

Revelation 22:18

22:18 and 19 say it about the uh book of

Revelation. Don't you are in big trouble

if you try to add to this book.

And so God help us to hear what this

particular section

is saying.

Arnold Gabeline wrote something

interesting on this. A couple of things.

Um he says what Jehoakim did has been

done over and over again.

Now remember Arnold Gabrieline's writing

in the uh mid or the early 20th century.

What Jehoakim did has been done over and

over again. It's being done today as

never before in the history of

Christendom. It's being done by the

destructive critics in colleges and

universities.

Certainly that's true.

I've said this so many times. I had a

very good New Testament professor at

Ohio University. I had a very terrible

Old Testament professor at Ohio

University. He wouldn't let any

Christian respond to anything he said.

As soon as he found out you were a

Christian, you never got to say anything

in his class after that.

There's a 20 of us in that 20 people in

the class. Probably about seven or eight

of us were Christians. And mo many of us

held our hand up the whole period and he

wouldn't call us many times. Guy was

smooth as silk, brought donuts to the

students every every class period,

but he fed them poison.

And my Old Testament professor in Greece

seminary refuted everything he said in

one class, period.

But anyway,

you know, uh he didn't want to be fair.

He he said he said, "Now disprove the

Bible. Well, now we're going to study

Marxism. That's what he said the last

year.

He had an agenda.

That was a long time ago.

That was 1970.

So those things have gone on for a long

time. So M Arnold Gable knew about that.

He knew about the the critics in Germany

that were tearing apart the Bible with

the Jed hypothesis and so forth and uh

JedPothesis.

It's an evolutionary view of the Bible.

Nobody wrote what's really right.

Somebody else put it all together and

they cut up the they cut up the Bible as

bad as as this king ever did scholarly.

And as I said, dear Dr. Bes who had a

PhD from Michigan University. Well, well

read in Hebrew and Semitics. He refuted

the whole the whole thing in one

cluster.

Thankful I got to hear both of them.

And so,

but he said Joh's work is nothing in

comparison with the uh 20th century

infidels because they aim at a most

Precious, most blessed revelation of

God, the doctrine of Christ, their

condemnation will be greater. Words, the

sins going on now are greater than the

sins then.

Both bad.

I feel bad for people like that. They're

like my old dog didn't have any respect

for the Bible that you are.

No understanding of what they were

doing.

Yet, it's a sad business.

Well, I hope this has been somewhat

helpful to you. And uh I I I

uh

I want to go to Psalm 1 and Psalm 19 and

Psalm 119 and David's love for the word

of God.

And let's just go to Psalm 1 and then

I'll I'll close this.

Remember

Peter warned about people that twist the

scriptures. Twist the scriptures to

their own destruction.

But notice this wonderful psalm.

Blessed is the man who walks not in the

counsel of the ungodly, nor stands in

the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat

of the scornful.

This king we're looking at is sitting in

the seat of the scornful, right?

But his delight is in the law of the

Lord,

and in his law does he meditate day and

night.

He shall be like a tree planted by

rivers of water that brings forth fruit

in its season. Its leaf shall not wither

and whatever he does shall prosper. The

ungodly are not so. That's about the

worst thing you can be say about them.

They're not like the tree. They're not

like uh that uh bring a tree that brings

forth fruit. They're like chaff which

the wind drives away. Therefore, the

ungodly shall not stand in the judgment,

nor sinners in the congregation of the

righteous. For the Lord knows the way of

the righteous, but the way of the

ungodly shall perish. Father, we thank

you for what we've looked at today. And

oh God, we live in a time where your

word, your most precious word is being

despised again.

And um

some despise it, some hate it, some

repudiate it, uh disdain it, others

others uh do their best to twist it.

They twist the scriptures to their own

destruction.

Anything but just hearing God's word.

And so, Father, help us as a church to

be a real Bible church where we can say,

"Oh, how I love your law. It's my

meditation day and night in Jesus name.

Amen.

>> Thank you

Lord. As we go from this place

loving you more,

trusting you more.

May the power of your love and the light

of your word shine to a sin darkened

world as we go from this