You can reject the word

“I’m Not Listening To You”

Have you ever heard that before? Why would someone not listen to you? Or not want you to hear something? (pause for answer)

Have you ever stopped someone hearing a message —-maybe you knew they wouldn’t like it? Or has someone ever tried to stop you from hearing something important? This is the setting for our chapter tonight, kings, officials attempt to silence God’s word, yet the word keeps breaking through.

Jeremiah had been prophesying for decades by this time. God now calls for him to write down all the words spoken on a scroll from the days of Josiah until down. Baruch becomes his scribe and his mouthpiece since he is a prisoner. Baruch reads the scroll publically, then privately, and then before King Jehoiakim who cuts up the scroll into pieces and burns them. But God’s word is not destroyed; it is rewritten with even more added to it.

Big Idea: Gods word cannot be silenced - - human resistance cannot stop divine revelation.

Another way you may put it is Faithfulness to God’s word amidst opposition is crucial for spiritual renewal and growth, embodying Christ-like courage in our lives. With an application we find as we go through this lesson of Christians are to value and uphold the word of God amid a culture that often disregards or dismisses it.

God Commands the Word to be Written

Jeremiah 36:1–3 “In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, “Take a scroll and write on it all the words which I have spoken to you concerning Israel and concerning Judah, and concerning all the nations, from the day I first spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. “Perhaps the house of Judah will hear all the calamity which I plan to bring on them, in order that every man will turn from his evil way; then I will forgive their iniquity and their sin.””

Jeremiah 36:4–7 “Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which He had spoken to him. Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am restricted; I cannot go into the house of the Lord. “So you go and read from the scroll which you have written at my dictation the words of the Lord to the people in the Lord’s house on a fast day. And also you shall read them to all the people of Judah who come from their cities. “Perhaps their supplication will come before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and the wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.””

Jeremiah is still under lock and key. God commands Jeremiah to write, to document these things, showing the importance of God’s voice being recorded and shared. - Yes, God speaks even in very dark times. He communicates clearly and purposefully.

The Timing: In the forth year of Jehoiakim the Son of Josiah, king of Judah (about 605/604 BC); this is about 20 years into Jeremiah’s ministry. Just after Babylon has return from defeating Carchemish.

The Purpose: To Compile all the prophesies from the time of Josiah onward (640-609) so Judah may hear, repent, and return from their evil ways, and that God may forgive their iniquity.

Key point/actions: Jeremiah dictates to Baruch the scribe and Baruch prepares to publically read the scroll since Jeremiah is confined to quarters as a prisoner and cannot go to the house of the Lord.

Baruch Delivers the Message

Jeremiah 36:8–19 “Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading from the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house. Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem proclaimed a fast before the Lord. Then Baruch read from the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the New Gate of the Lord’s house, to all the people. Now when Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard all the words of the Lord from the book, he went down to the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber. And behold, all the officials were sitting there—Elishama the scribe, and Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, and Elnathan the son of Achbor, and Gemariah the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the other officials. Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read from the book to the people. Then all the officials sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll from which you have read to the people and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand and went to them. They said to him, “Sit down, please, and read it to us.” So Baruch read it to them. When they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one to another and said to Baruch, “We will surely report all these words to the king.” And they asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us, please, how did you write all these words? Was it at his dictation?” Then Baruch said to them, “He dictated all these words to me, and I wrote them with ink on the book.” Then the officials said to Baruch, “Go, hide yourself, you and Jeremiah, and do not let anyone know where you are.””

Baruch is bold, Baruch is obedient, and he reads the scroll publically which mirrors our call to proclaim God’s call to proclaim God’s truth. Just like today, there is a mixed reaction, some were moved, and others remained indifferent. Be ready, be willing, and share your faith even when it seems unpopular or risky. Trust that God’s word will not return void (Isa55:11).

Timing: fifth year, ninth month, on fast day (winter of 603 BC) Baruch reads scroll publically, officials tremble in fear and report to the king. . A key point here is that God’s word creates a division: Some fear and respond; others will not.

Questions arise: How did the scroll come to be? It was dictated by Jeremiah. It is a prophetic message from God. They advice Baruch to hide, showing some respect for the message.

Micaiah reports: What he heard. God’s word spreads through witnesses. And then the officials request a private meeting. Officials fear the message does not equal obedience though.

The Word Confronts the King

Jeremiah 36:20–26 “So they went to the king in the court, but they had deposited the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and they reported all the words to the king. Then the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and he took it out of the chamber of Elishama the scribe. And Jehudi read it to the king as well as to all the officials who stood beside the king. Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning in the brazier before him. When Jehudi had read three or four columns, the king cut it with a scribe’s knife and threw it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. Yet the king and all his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, nor did they rend their garments. Even though Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.”

King Jehoiakim has the scroll read to him and he does not like what he hears. . He is defying God’s truth and now rejects God’s word and that can lead to dire consequences. We need to be regular in heart checks to make sure we are not rejecting God’s word or being resistant to Him and to pursue faithfulness to His commands and not be like Jehoiakim and make grave mistakes by ignoring divine instructions.

Setting: The king sits in his winter palace with a fire brazier. The scroll is is read to him, and he responds with contempt. He cuts and burns the scoll piece by piece, showing no fear or repentance.

Response: Orders the arrest of Jeremiah and Baruch (but God, protects them)

Lesson: Rejecting God’s Word does not make it go away, it reveals the hardness of the heart.

God Commands a Rewrite and more

Jeremiah 36:27–32 “Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll and the words which Baruch had written at the dictation of Jeremiah, saying, “Take again another scroll and write on it all the former words that were on the first scroll which Jehoiakim the king of Judah burned. “And concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Thus says the Lord, “You have burned this scroll, saying, ‘Why have you written on it that the king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will make man and beast to cease from it?’ ” ‘Therefore thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah, “He shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day and the frost of the night. “I will also punish him and his descendants and his servants for their iniquity, and I will bring on them and the inhabitants of Jerusalem and the men of Judah all the calamity that I have declared to them—but they did not listen.” ’ ” Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the son of Neriah, the scribe, and he wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them.”

You cannot stop God’s plan by man’s hand. This is a foreshadow of Christ’s unyielding mission of salvation, undeterred by humanity’s resistance. Hope and reassurance are found in God’s persistent pursuit of His people and His determination to reveal truth. Trust in God’s sovereign plan, stay anchored in God’s word and His unwavering promises.

God commands Jeremiah for the scrolls to be rewritten

Human opposition cannot stop divine truth

Judgment against Jehoiakim pronounced

His body will be cast out; His dynasty will end; disaster will come upon Judah

The outcome: The second scroll becomes the basis for the book of Jeremiah we have today. God’s word multiplies despite opposition. Key point: God’s message becomes even stronger when resisted.

Application, the “so what” section

God’s word still confronts us today How we respond to it matters.

Faithfulness matters more than visibility. While Jeremiah and Baruch were hidden, God still used them powerfully. Quiet obedience is still obedience.

God’s Word cannot be destroyed, attempts to silence scripture culturally, politically, or personally will never succeed. God preserves His Word.

Hearing must lead to responding. Officials feared the message but did not repent. Fear without obedience is incomplete.

(Conclusion) - This is a vivid reminder to us that God’s word stands firm even when it is opposed. A king may burn a scroll, a government may outlaw it, individual may reject it, but God’s word remains, returns, and accomplishes its purpose.

Major Takeaway: “You can resist God’s word, but you cannot stop it. The only faithful response is humble obedience.