Truth: Stronger Than a King's Penknife

Sunday Morning June 4, 2006

Jeremiah 36

            In the fourth year of King Jehoiakim’s reign, the Lord commanded Jeremiah to compile a list of all the prophecies he had been given concerning the fate of Judah, Israel, and all the other nations of the region.  The things Jeremiah had to say were not pretty.  They were a condemnation of the chosen people and a promise that God would cause all their scheming to fail.  Josiah had called the people to repentance.  His son chose to ignore God’s words and lead the people into alliance with Egypt. 

            Jeremiah’s scribe wrote the words that the prophet gave him on a scroll.  He then waited for the next official fast day (approx. 3 months) to enter the Temple area and read the words aloud.  You can imagine the stir that his actions caused!  Some of the king’s advisers overheard Baruch’s discourse and asked for a private reading.  The king had already ordered the execution of Uriah the prophet for stating the truth and the nobles fully expected that Baruch and Jeremiah would receive the same treatment!

            As the prophecies were read in the hearing of the king, he took a penknife and cut them one by one from the scroll and threw them into the fire.  I must point out that the king’s actions served only to condemn himself, his courtiers, and ultimately his people.  The Word of God is not subject to the whims of man.  Nor can God’s words be destroyed by any means.  Jeremiah had Baruch write the prophecies again and add judgment against Jehoiakim.  The very next chapter tells us that the prophecy concerning Jehoiakim’s lineage came true, for Zedekiah was made king rather than Coniah.

            While the history of Jeremiah and of Judah may not mean very much to you, the truth made clear in this passage should bring a shout to your lips! The Word of God is not bound, hindered, nor destroyed by the efforts of sinners.  It will produce the fruit God intends and any that stand in the way will suffer grievous consequences.

            Years ago, a Russian cosmonaut said he had seen no sign of God in space.  But then, astronaut Jim Irwin, while walking on the moon, said that he felt God’s presence with Him the entire time.  The Word of God is not limited by time or men’s efforts because God Himself has no limit!

I.                    Sinners Still Attempt To Diminish the Word of God

A.    Looking for contradictions

B.     Hoping to find one falsehood

C.    They have never and will never succeed

1.      France in the 18th century, a man asked to buy a Bible and was told that within years an enlightened populace would see that no copy existed anywhere on earth.  The reply he received was that a thousand years and more after that man and his ilk were burning in Hell the Bible would still be accomplishing God’s purpose.

II.                 The Power of the Bible Is Immeasurable

A.    Changing the human heart and thereby the course of nations

1.      Nineveh at the preaching of Jonah

2.      Israel in the time of Hezekiah

3.      Rome in the days of Constantine

4.      England at the preaching of Spurgeon

5.      America at the preaching of Wesley

B.     Altering your life and mine

1.      Let us mine it’s resources

2.      Let us make it our primer and purpose

The Word of God is a Devouring Flame (Jeremiah 5:14), a Crushing hammer (Jeremiah 23:29), a Saving Power (Romans 1:16, and a Weapon of Defense (Ephesians 6:17).