What is the meaning of Jeremiah 36:31? I will punish him Jeremiah is speaking of King Jehoiakim, who had defiantly cut up and burned the scroll that contained God’s word (Jeremiah 36:23). The Lord answers that contempt with personal judgment. • God’s justice is personal: every leader is accountable (2 Kings 23:36-37; 2 Chronicles 36:5). • Jehoiakim’s end—“the burial of a donkey” (Jeremiah 22:19)—shows the certainty of this punishment. • The warning reminds us that “each of us will give an account of himself to God” (Romans 14:12). and his descendants and servants Judgment spreads to the royal family and palace officials who shared Jehoiakim’s rebellion. • Jehoiakim’s son Coniah (Jehoiachin) loses the throne and goes into exile (Jeremiah 22:30; 2 Kings 24:6-12). • Palace servants who helped suppress the word share the same fate (Jeremiah 36:24-25; 2 Chronicles 36:15-17). • Exodus 20:5 shows how sin can ripple through generations when repentance is refused. for their iniquity God names the cause: persistent, willful sin. • “Iniquity” covers idolatry, oppression, and contempt for God’s revelation (Jeremiah 25:5-7). • Sin always earns a wage—“the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). • God never punishes capriciously; judgment is the righteous response to unrepented evil (1 Samuel 15:23). I will bring on them The calamities are not random; the Lord Himself orchestrates them. • “As calamity comes to a city, has not the LORD done it?” (Amos 3:6). • God’s active role underscores both His sovereignty (Isaiah 45:7) and His faithfulness to His word. on the residents of Jerusalem The capital city, the spiritual heart of the nation, is first in line. • Judgment begins where light has been greatest (Jeremiah 25:29). • Lamentations 2:5-7 records the later siege, famine, and temple destruction that fulfilled this word. and on the men of Judah The whole kingdom shares corporate responsibility. • “Break up your fallow ground… circumcise yourselves to the LORD” (Jeremiah 4:3-4)—warnings they ignored. • The Babylonian invasion sweeps through every town (2 Chronicles 36:17). all the calamity about which I warned them Nothing arrives unannounced; God had laid it all out in advance. • The covenant curses of Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28 spell out siege, exile, and disease in detail. • Jeremiah had already proclaimed sword, famine, and plague (Jeremiah 14:12; 25:11). but they did not listen The root issue is hardness of heart, not lack of information. • “Yet they did not obey or incline their ear” (Jeremiah 7:24-26). • Stephen later tells Israel, “You always resist the Holy Spirit” (Acts 7:51). • Hebrews 3:7-8 warns every generation: “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” summary Jeremiah 36:31 is God’s measured verdict on King Jehoiakim’s brazen rejection of His word. The Lord promises: 1. Personal accountability for the king. 2. Extended judgment on family and officials who shared his sin. 3. Nation-wide calamity fulfilling earlier covenant warnings. Because they refused to listen, the disaster God had long described would now become history. The verse stands as a sober reminder that God’s word is certain, His patience has limits, and repentance is the only safe response to divine warning. |
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