Jehoiakim's Penknife
Jeremiah 36:20-26
And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe…


A homely writer says, "Jehoiakim's patent has expired, and a whole army of followers of his are fond of cutting at God's Word." God gives very sharp, earnest, forcible warnings. He gives them in Scripture; He gives them in our daily lives. Do not let us handle Jehoiakim's penknife to pare down the long dark columns of warning against sin and heedlessness and godlessness, which are written in His book. Shall I tell you how this absurd childish folly comes about? It comes of small pieces of heedlessness, gentle warnings not heeded, then stronger ones are sent, and they too are soon tossed aside. I cannot believe that Jehoiakim became such a downright fighter against God by any sudden visitation; he probably went on from smaller neglects to greater; from neglects to rejections; from rejections to defiance, till at last he thought as little of cutting God's Word into fragments, as he once would have thought of putting off a serious thought to a more convenient season.

(J. Kempthorne, M. A.)



Parallel Verses
KJV: And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.

WEB: They went in to the king into the court; but they had laid up the scroll in the room of Elishama the scribe; and they told all the words in the ears of the king.




Burning the Roll
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