What is the meaning of Jeremiah 36:3? Perhaps when the people of Judah hear Jeremiah has just finished dictating a scroll to Baruch (Jeremiah 36:1–2). God’s first hope is that “hearing” His Word will pierce stubborn hearts. • Hearing has always been the first step toward faith—“Faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ” (Romans 10:17). • Earlier, Moses anticipated a moment when Israel, “when you and your children return to the LORD and obey His voice,” would experience restoration (Deuteronomy 30:2-3). • God still speaks before He strikes, underscoring His mercy (Jeremiah 25:4-5). All the calamity I plan to bring upon them The “calamity” is Babylon’s siege, famine, exile, and temple destruction (Jeremiah 25:8-11; 39:1-10). • God’s warnings are not idle threats; they are loving alerts (Amos 3:6-7). • Yet judgment is conditional—“If that nation I warned repents of its evil, then I will relent concerning the disaster” (Jeremiah 18:7-8). • Even God’s discipline aims at correction, not annihilation (Hebrews 12:10-11). Each of them will turn from his wicked way Personal responsibility is in view: “each of them.” Corporate sin is broken only when individuals repent. • Ezekiel echoes this call—“Repent and turn from all your transgressions... Why should you die, O house of Israel?” (Ezekiel 18:30-31). • Nineveh stands as proof that an entire city can turn when confronted by prophecy (Jonah 3:5-10). • God’s patience “means salvation” (2 Peter 3:9), but it waits for an actual turning, not mere regret. Then I will forgive their iniquity God’s willingness to forgive is immediate once repentance is genuine. • “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins” (1 John 1:9). • The promise of a New Covenant—“I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sins no more” (Jeremiah 31:34)—shines through the old scroll already. And their sin “Iniquity” stresses crookedness; “sin” highlights missing the mark. Together, they cover every moral failure. God pledges to wipe both away. • “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). • Complete pardon points ultimately to Christ, who bears the full weight of both iniquity and sin (Isaiah 53:5-6). summary Jeremiah 36:3 shows God’s heart: He warns so that His people might hear, fear impending judgment, personally repent, and receive total forgiveness. Judgment is real, yet mercy is God’s preferred outcome. The verse invites every listener—then and now—to respond while grace still extends the offer. |
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