What is the meaning of Jeremiah 36:23? And as soon as Jehudi had read three or four columns • The scene is set in Jehoiakim’s winter palace (Jeremiah 36:22). God’s word is being proclaimed through the scroll Baruch wrote at Jeremiah’s dictation (Jeremiah 36:4). • Reading “three or four columns” shows the message came in measured segments, giving the king repeated chances to hear, ponder, and repent—mirroring how God “rises early” to send His prophets (Jeremiah 7:25-26). • Each new portion exposed more of Judah’s sin and God’s impending judgment (Jeremiah 25:8-11). Jehoiakim would cut them off with a scribe’s knife • Instead of humility, the king responds with calculated contempt. He literally slices away the parts he dislikes, symbolizing his desire to edit out divine authority (2 Kings 23:37; 2 Chronicles 36:5). • This act fulfills the pattern of rulers who “tear the covenant” (Hosea 8:1) and ignore the requirements laid upon them in Deuteronomy 17:18-20 to revere every word of the Law. • It warns how the human heart can attempt to sever itself from conviction (Hebrews 4:12-13). And throw them into the firepot • Burning the scroll is Jehoiakim’s public declaration that God’s warnings are worthless to him (Jeremiah 36:24). • Fire, meant for warmth, becomes an instrument of rebellion—echoing other times people used what God provided for sinful ends (Exodus 32:4). • The image anticipates his own future: Nebuchadnezzar will cast Jehoiakim’s nation into the furnace of exile (2 Chronicles 36:17-20). Until the entire scroll had been consumed by the fire • Systematic destruction signals persistence in sin; Jehoiakim does not stop until every line is gone. Yet God’s word is indestructible: “The grass withers…the word of our God stands forever” (Isaiah 40:8; see also Matthew 24:35). • Immediately, the Lord commands Jeremiah to rewrite the scroll “with all the former words” and even add “many similar words” (Jeremiah 36:28-32). Attempted annihilation leads to amplification. • The completed canon we hold today proves that earthly fires cannot silence divine revelation (1 Peter 1:24-25). summary Jeremiah 36:23 pictures a king who repeatedly hears God’s warning, physically slices it away, and consigns it to flames—acting out the rebellion lodged in the human heart. His contempt invites judgment, yet the incident showcases the Lord’s unstoppable commitment to preserve and proclaim His word. Rejecters may burn pages, but the Sovereign Author always rewrites, reasserts, and ultimately fulfills every syllable He has spoken. |
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