Reflections on Jeremiah and Jehoiakim

The Old Testament is rich with intriguing tales of prophets and kings. One such prophet was Jeremiah, and the king was Jehoiakim. Jeremiah was active during a chaotic period in Israel’s history, a time that ultimately led to the nation’s downfall and subsequent captivity. His prophecies came when the northern kingdom was already in exile, and the southern kingdom of Judah was on a swift decline. Jehoiakim, one of Judah’s final kings, played a role in this decline, and perhaps it’s a bit reminiscent of how things often go in our own time.

He listened, cut, and baked.

The narrative kicks off with God instructing Jeremiah to deliver a dire prophecy, encapsulating all the messages God had given him thus far.

During Jehoiakim’s fourth year as king, God told Jeremiah, “Get a scroll and document all my messages for Israel, Judah, and other nations—everything from the time of Josiah to now. Maybe the people of Judah will reconsider upon hearing the serious plans I have for them, and I might just forgive them.”

Jeremiah followed through with the command. The scroll was read out loud, creating quite a reaction. The king himself summoned the scroll to be read in his presence. How did Jehoiakim respond to this?

He sent Jehudi to fetch the scroll, which was read to him while he sat by a fire to ward off the chill of late autumn. With each third or fourth paragraph read, Jehoiakim took a knife and cut out those sections of the scroll, tossing them into the flames until nothing remained.

And that was that. He dismissed what he didn’t like by destroying the very words meant to guide him.

He listened, cut, and baked.

This situation brings to mind what’s often referred to as the “Jefferson Bible.” Thomas Jefferson, the third U.S. president, found certain miracle accounts in the Bible unpalatable. So, he essentially edited them out, ending up with quite a slim volume.

We can achieve a similar effect when we discard things that don’t sit well with us. And, it’s not just about the text becoming thinner; it can become utterly devoid of strength. God’s word shouldn’t be judged by us; rather, it’s meant to judge us. The authority within the Christian faith is grounded in the Triune God, as revealed in Scripture, handed down through tradition, and made real through personal and communal experiences. That order matters.

While personal experience is valuable, it’s not as critical as corporate experience, which encompasses the collective wisdom of the church. That wisdom, in turn, must align with centuries of tradition and insight. Yet, that tradition ultimately lies beneath the ultimate authority of the living Triune God, who bestows undeniable truth in our lives.

However, today, this order seems flipped. Instead of the foundation being “the Triune God as revealed in the Bible,” we often begin with our own experiences. We pick and choose what we believe, disregarding what does not resonate with us. This leads to an unsettling pattern of simply discarding what we don’t like.

We listen, we cut, we burn.

This doesn’t imply that God’s Word completely vanishes from our existence. The psalmist notes, “Lord, your words are everlasting…” Or as Isaiah remarked, “The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of our God endures forever.” Not only does it persist, but it also stands as a form of judgment. The story doesn’t end here.

After Jehoiakim burned the scroll containing Jeremiah’s words, God instructed Jeremiah to create another scroll and rewrite everything that had been lost. He was to inform the king of ominous predictions concerning Babylon and Jehoiakim’s fate: he wouldn’t have a successor, and his body would be left unburied. God would unleash the promised plagues because they hadn’t heeded His warnings.

Jeremiah then dictated again to his secretary Baruch, who transcribed the content, including even more than what Jehoiakim had destroyed.

It’s striking how much of the Bible reveals our repeated rejection of God, followed by His consistent call for us to repent and embrace His blessings instead of pursuing disobedience and facing judgment. You might think listening to God’s Word would lead us to accept it entirely, allowing it to guide our steps and illuminate our path. Ideally, this should draw us into a deeply blessed life that God wishes for us.

But that’s not the reality, is it? More often than not…we listen, we cut, we burn.