In the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, this word came to Jeremiah from Yahweh, saying, “Take a scroll of a book, and write in it all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke to you, from the days of Josiah, even to this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I intend to do to them; that they may each return from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all Yahweh’s words, which he had spoken to him, on a scroll of a book. Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, “I am restricted. I can’t go into Yahweh’s house. Therefore you go, and read from the scroll which you have written from my mouth, Yahweh’s words, in the ears of the people in Yahweh’s house on the fast day. Also you shall read them in the ears of all Judah who come out of their cities. It may be they will present their supplication before Yahweh, and will each return from his evil way; for Yahweh has pronounced great anger and wrath against this people.”
Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book Yahweh’s words in Yahweh’s house. Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem, and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before Yahweh. Then Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the book in Yahweh’s house, in the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan, the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of Yahweh’s house, in the ears of all the people.
When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all Yahweh’s words, he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s room: and behold, all the princes were sitting there, Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. Then Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll in which you have read in the ears of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand, and came to them.
They said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing.
Now when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.” They asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words at his mouth?”
Then Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.”
Then the princes said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah go hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”
They went in to the king into the court; but they had laid up the scroll in the room of Elishama the scribe. Then they told all the words in the hearing of the king. So the king sent Jehudi to get the scroll; and he took it out of the room of Elishama the scribe. Jehudi read it in the hearing of the king, and in the hearing of all the princes who stood beside the king. Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month; and there was a fire in the brazier burning before him. When Jehudi had read three or four leaves, the king cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was in the brazier, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was in the brazier. The king and his servants who heard all these words were not afraid, and didn’t tear their garments. Moreover Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them. The king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet; but Yahweh hid them.
Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, after the king had burned the scroll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, “Take again another scroll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah has burned. Concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah you shall say, ‘Yahweh says: “You have burned this scroll, saying, “Why have you written therein, saying, ‘The king of Babylon will certainly come and destroy this land, and will cause to cease from there man and animal?’ ” ’ Therefore Yahweh says concerning Jehoiakim king of Judah: “He will have no one to sit on David’s throne. His dead body will be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. I will punish him, his offspring, and his servants for their iniquity. I will bring on them, on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and on the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they didn’t listen.” ’ ”
Then took Jeremiah another scroll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 23, 24, 25, 26, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32 The Prophet relates in this chapter a history worthy…
The Prophet relates in this chapter a history worthy of being remembered, and very useful to us; for he says that he wrote down by God’s command what he had previously taught in the Temple, and also that he sent that summary by Baruch to be recited in the Temple, that the report of this spread, and that the king’s counsellors called to them Baruch, and that when they heard what was written in the volume, they brought word to the king, having, however, first admonished Baruch to conceal himself, together with Jeremiah, lest the king should be exasperated against them. And so it happened, for the king, being instantly filled with indignation, ordered Jeremiah and Baruch to be taken, that they might be put to death; but they were hidden and protected through God’s favor. We shall hereafter see what the king by his obduracy had effected, even to cause the Prophet to speak more boldly against him.
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 16, 19, 22, 24, 26, 28, 29, 30 Read Jer. 25:1.
Read Jer. 25:1.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv1–32 Jer 36:1 And it came to pass in the…
Jer 36:1 And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, [that] this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying,
Ver. 1. And it came to pass in the fourth year.] This whole chapter is historical and narrative, as also are some others besides this. Historias lege, ne fias historia.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32 Jehoiakim was three years a tributary to Nebuchadnezzar, as…
Jehoiakim was three years a tributary to Nebuchadnezzar, as we read, 2Ki 24:1, then he rebelled; which three years are judged to be the sixth, seventh, and eighth years of his reign, for Pharaoh-nechoh set him up, to whom he was first a tributary, as we read, 2Ki 23:35. Pharaoh-nechoh having conquered him, Jehoiakim became servant to the conqueror three years, then rebelled; upon which the armies of the Chaldeans, with the Syrians, &c., came up against him, and carried him away. This word of the Lord came to Jeremiah the first year that he was tributary to the king of Babylon, which was the fourth year of his reign.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Matthew Henry 1710 · Public Domain On vv1, 9, 20 In the beginning of Ezekiel's prophecy we meet with…
In the beginning of Ezekiel's prophecy we meet with a roll written in vision, for discovery of the things therein contained to the prophet himself, who was to receive and digest them, Eze 2:9, Eze 2:10; Eze 3:1. Here, in the latter end of Jeremiah's prophecy, we meet with a roll written in fact, for discovery of the things contained therein to the people, who were to hear and give heed to them; for the written word and other good books are of great use both to ministers and people. We have here,
I. The command which God gave to Jeremiah to write a summary of his sermons, of all the reproofs and all the warnings he had given in God's name to his people, ever since he first began to be a preacher, in the thirteenth year of Josiah, to this day, which was in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, Jer 36:2, Jer 36:3. What had been only spoken must now be written, that it might be reviewed, and that it might spread the further and last the longer. What had been spoken at large, with frequent repetitions of the same things, perhaps in the same words (which has its advantage one way), must now be contracted and put into less compass, that the several parts of it might be better compared together, which has its advantage another way. What they had heard once must be recapitulated, and rehearsed to them again, that what was forgotten might be called to mind again and what made no impression upon them at the first hearing might take hold of them when they heard it the second time. And what was perhaps already written, and published in single sermons, must be collected into one volume, that none might be lost. Note, The writing of the scripture is by divine appointment. And observe the reason here given for the writing of this roll (Jer 36:3): It may be the house of Judah will hear. Not that the divine prescience was at any uncertainty concerning the event: with that there is no peradventure; God knew certainly that they would deal very treacherously, Isa 48:8. But the divine wisdom directed to this as a proper means for attaining the desired end: and, if it failed, they would be the more inexcusable. And, though God foresaw that they would not hear, he did not tell the prophet so, but prescribed this method to him as a probably one to be used, in the hopes that they would hear, that is, heed and regard what they heard, take notice of it and mix faith with it: for otherwise our hearing the word, though an angel from heaven were to read or preach it to us, would stand us in no stead. Now observe here, 1. What it is hoped they will thus hear: All that evil which I purpose to do unto them. Note, The serious consideration of the certain fatal consequences of sin will be of great use to us to bring us to God. 2. What it is hoped will be produced thereby: They will hear, that they may return every man from his evil way. Note, The conversion of sinners from their evil courses is that which ministers should aim at in preaching; and people hear the word in vain if that point be not gained with them. To what purpose do we hear of the evil God will bring upon us for sin if we continue, notwithstanding, to do evil against him? 3. Of what vast advantage their consideration and conversion will be to them: That I may forgive their iniquity. This plainly implies the honour of God's justice, with which it is not consistent that he should forgive the sin unless the sinner repent of it and turn from it; but it plainly expresses the honour of his mercy, that he is very ready to forgive sin and only waits till the sinner be qualified to receive forgiveness, and therefore uses various means to bring us to repentance, that he may forgive.
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II. The instructions which Jeremiah gave to Baruch his scribe, pursuant to the command he had received from God, and the writing of the roll accordingly, Jer 36:4. God bade Jeremiah write, but, it should seem, he had not the pen of a ready writer, he could not write fast, or fair, so as Baruch could, and therefore he made use of him as his amanuensis. St. Paul wrote but few of his epistles with his own hand, Gal 6:11; Rom 16:22. God dispenses his gifts variously; some have a good faculty at speaking, others at writing, and neither can say to the other, We have no need of you, Co1 12:21. The Spirit of God dictated to Jeremiah, and he to Baruch, who had been employed by Jeremiah as trustee for him in his purchase of the field (Jer 32:12) and now was advanced to be his scribe and substitute in his prophetical office; and, if we may credit the apocryphal book that bears his name, he was afterwards himself a prophet to the captives in Babylon. Those that begin low are likely to rise high, and it is good for those that are designed for prophets to have their education under prophets and to be serviceable to them. Baruch wrote what Jeremiah dictated in a roll of a book on pieces of parchment, or vellum, which were joined together, the top of one to the bottom of the other, so making one long scroll, which was rolled perhaps upon a staff.
III. The orders which Jeremiah gave to Baruch to read what he had written to the people. Jeremiah, it seems was shut up, and could not go to the house of the Lord himself, Jer 36:5. Though he was not a close prisoner, for then there would have been no occasion to send officers to seize him (Jer 36:26), yet he was forbidden by the king to appear in the temple, was shut out thence where he might be serving God and doing good, which was as bad to him as if he had been shut up in a dungeon. Jehoiakim was ripening apace for ruin when he thus silenced God's faithful messengers. But, when Jeremiah could not go to the temple himself, he sent one that was deputed by him to read to the people what he would himself have said. Thus St. Paul wrote epistles to the churches which he could not visit in person. Nay, it was what he himself had often said to them. Note, The writing and repeating of the sermons that have been preached may contribute very much towards the answering of the great ends of preaching. what we have heard and known it is good for us to hear again, that we may know it better. To preach and write the same thing is safe and profitable, and many times very necessary (Phi 3:1), and we must be glad to hear a good word from God, though we have it, as here, at second hand. Both ministers and people must do what they can when they cannot do what they would. Observe, When God ordered the reading of the roll he said, It may be they will hear and return from their evil ways, Jer 36:3. When Jeremiah orders it, he says, It may be they will pray (they will present their supplications before the Lord) and will return from their evil way. Note, Prayer to God for grace to turn us is necessary in order to our turning; and those that are convinced by the word of God of the necessity of returning to him will present their supplications to him for that grace. And the consideration of this, that great is the anger which God has pronounced against us for sin, should quicken both our prayers and our endeavours. Now, according to these orders, Baruch did read out of the book the words of the Lord, whenever there was a holy convocation, Jer 36:8.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible (1708–1710) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv1–32 And it came to pass in the fourth year…
And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah,.... Eighteen years before the destruction of Jerusalem:
that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord; the following order to write in a roll all his prophecies he had hitherto delivered:
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saying; as follows:
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 6, 10, 18, 22, 23, 25, 26, 30 Jeremiah causes Baruch to write his prophecy; and publickly…
Jeremiah causes Baruch to write his prophecy; and publickly to read it, ver. 1-10. The princes send to fetch the roll and read it, ver. 11-18. They advise Baruch and Jeremiah to hide themselves, ver. 19. The king tears part of the roll, and burns it, ver. 20-26. Jeremiah denounces his judgment, ver. 27-31. Baruch writes a new copy, ver. 32.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 9, 10, 17, 19, 22, 23, 25, 26, 28, 30, 32 God commands Jeremiah to write down in one roll…
CHAPTER XXXVI
God commands Jeremiah to write down in one roll or volume all
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the predictions he had uttered against Israel and Judah, and
all the surrounding nations, from the day of his vocation to
the prophetic office, that the house of Judah might have
abundant warning of the dreadful calamities with which their
country was about to be visited, if not prevented by a timely
repentance, 1-3.
The prophet employs Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, to
write from his mouth all the words of the Lord, and then to
read them publicly upon a fast day in the Lord's house, 4-8.
A general fast is proclaimed in the following year, viz., the
fifth year of the reign of Jeheiakim; upon which occasion
Baruch, in obedience to the prophet's command, reads the words
of Jeremiah to all the people at the entry of the new gate of
the temple, 9, 10.
The princes, hearing of this, send for Baruch, who reads the
roll to them; at the contents of which they are greatly
alarmed, and solemnly resolve to give information to the king,
at the same time advising both the prophet and his scribe to
hide themselves, 11-19.
Jehoiakim likewise having sent for the roll, Jehudi reads to
him a part; and then the king, though advised to the contrary
by some of has princes, having cut the leaves, throws the whole
into the fire, 20-25,
and orders Jeremiah and Baruch to be seized; but they could not
be found, because a special providence of God had concealed
them, 26.
Jeremiah is commanded to re-write his prophecies, and to
denounce the judgments of God against the king who had
destroyed the first roll, 27-31.
Baruch accordingly writes from the mouth of Jeremiah a new
copy, with numerous additions, 32.
NOTES ON CHAP. XXXVI
Verse 1. And it came to pass in the fourth year] About the end of this year, see Jer 36:9. This discourse also bears its own date, and was probably delivered at a time when the people enjoyed peace, and were about to celebrate one of their annual fasts.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 9, 11, 16, 20, 22, 23, 24, 25, 27, 30, 32 Jer 36:1. And it came to pass, &c. —…
Jer 36:1. And it came to pass, &c. — Jeremiah here inserts a history of some things which related to, or had a connection with, his prophecies; (as we find Isaiah did with regard to his;) and, accordingly, we are here informed how they came to be written, namely, by the express order of God, that they might stand upon record before the things foretold came to pass; so that there might be no room to say he had never prophesied such and such things, or that the prophecies were made after the things they pretended to foretel had happened. In the fourth year of Jehoiakim this word came unto Jeremiah — It is uncertain whether what is related in this chapter happened during the siege of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar, (for the city was besieged in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, 2Ki 24:1-2,) or after the siege, when Jehoiakim was escaped from the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. It seems probable from what follows, particularly from Jer 36:9, that it happened at or near the end of the fourth year, when Nebuchadnezzar was retired. For Jeremiah says nothing of the siege, and he orders Baruch to read his prophecies before an assembly of the people who had come to Jerusalem out of their cities, Jer 36:6, which certainly implies that Jerusalem was not then in a state of siege. See Calmet.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 20, 22, 23, 25, 26, 29, 30, 32 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim - See Jer…
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim - See Jer 25:1 note. The present chapter belongs to the very end of that year. The capture of Jerusalem by Nebuchadnezzar took place early in Jehoiakim’s fourth year, long before the writing of Jehoiakim’s scroll. The humiliation seems to have sunk deeply into the heart of Jehoiakim, and when Jeremiah prophesied extended dominion to the Chaldaeans Jer 36:29, his anger knew no bounds. It was the fact that judgment had begun which made it expedient to gather Jeremiah’s predictions into one volume, with the object:
(1) of inducing the people to repent, and
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(2) of persuading the king to be a true subject of the Chaldaean empire.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 18, 19, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 30, 32 Fourth, towards the conclusion, after the siege was raised,…
Fourth, towards the conclusion, after the siege was raised, ver. 6, 9.
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures 1864 · Public Domain On vv1, 9, 19, 27 Historical Presentation of the most important Events from the…
SECOND DIVISION
Historical Presentation of the most important Events from the fourth year of Jehoiakim to the close of the Prophet’s ministry
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(B. C. 605–570)
Jeremiah 36-44
To the collection of discourses and its appendices are now added historical sections. These contain, with the exception of the beginning and the conclusion, a continuous historical narrative. The beginning is formed by a single but highly important event of the fourth and fifth years of Jehoiakim’s reign—the writing out of the prophecies (Jeremiah 36) The conclusion (ch 44) is formed by a portion, which, after a pause embracing 16–18 years, gives an account of Jeremiah’s last appearance, in the midst of the people even in Egypt still devoted to idolatry. From Jeremiah 37 to Jeremiah 43 the events are continuously narrated, which occurred from the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign up to the arrival of the fugitive remnant in Egypt. It should be remarked that the presentation begins indeed with the beginning of Zedekiah’s reign, but hurries rapidly over the first ten years (Jer_37:1-2) and begins the connected narrative with the imprisonment of the prophet, which took place in the tenth year of this king. The thread on which the events are hung is the personal experience of the prophet; the behaviour of the people towards the Lord’s servant being both the ground and consequence of the fate which befel them. The single portions of this section may be arranged as follows:
A. The events before the capture of Jerusalem, chh. 36–38
I. The writing out of the prophecies in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, Jeremiah 36
1. The command and first writing, Jer_36:1-8.
2. The reading to the people, Jer_36:9-18.
3. The reading to the king, Jer_36:19-26.
4. The prediction of punishment to Jehoiakim and the second writing, Jer_36:27-32.
II. The events in the tenth and eleventh years of Zedekiah, chh. 37 and 38
1. The embassy of the king and the imprisonment of the prophet in its first and second stages, Jeremiah 37
2. Jeremiah in the pit (third stage of imprisonment), his conference with the king and confinement in the court of the guard (fourth stage of imprisonment), Jeremiah 38
B. THE EVENTS AFTER THE CAPTURE OF JERUSALEM, CHH. 39–44
1. Jeremiah liberated from the court of the guard, and delivered to Gedaliah, Jer_38:28 to Jer_39:14.
2. Appendix to Jer_39:1-14; the promise made to Ebed-melech the Cushite, Jer_39:15-18.
3. Jeremiah liberated in Ramah and delivered the second time to Gedaliah, Jer_40:1-6.
4. The gathering of the people under Gedaliah, Jer_40:7-16.
5. The murder of Gedaliah and its consequences, Jeremiah 41.
6. The hypocritical inquiry, Jer_42:1-6.
7. The unwelcome answer, Jer_42:7-22.
8. The flight to Egypt, Jer_43:1-7.
9. Jeremiah in Tahpanhes, Jer_43:8-13.
10. Jeremiah at the festival of the Queen of Heaven in Pathros. The last act of his prophetic ministry, ch 44.
a. The charge against the obstinately idolatrous people, Jer_44:1-14
b. The replication of the people, Jer_44:15-19.
c. The recapitulation of the prophet, Jer_44:20-30.
α. The refutation of the people’s assertions, Jer_44:20-23.
β. The positive prediction of severest punishment, Jer_44:24-30.
A. The events before the capture of Jerusalem,(chh. 36–38)
I. The writing out of the prophecies in the fourth year of Jehoiakim(Jeremiah 36)
1.The Command and the first writing
Jer_36:1-8
1And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of2Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying, Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein1 all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto3thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return4every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin. Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth’ of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of5a book. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up [hindered]; I6cannot go into the house of the Lord. Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which thou hast written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord’s house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in7the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities. It may be they will present their supplication2 before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this8people. And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s [Jehovah’s] house.
EXEGETICAL AND CRITICAL
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign Jeremiah receives the command to commit to writing the prophecies delivered by him from the beginning of his prophetic ministry (therefore for twenty-three years). The fourth year of Jehoiakim, as frequently shown already, was a turning-point both in the political world and in Jeremiah’s ministry. It was then that in consequence of the battle of Carchemish both the call of Nebuchadnezzar to universal dominion was decided, and also the question, who were to be the northern executors of the judgment on Judah, so often predicted by the prophet. It was now clear that they would be the Chaldeans under Nebuchadnezzar. The way to Palestine and beyond was open to them. Their arrival was to be expected after a very brief interval. It was the last moment when Israel could still propitiate the Lord by sincere penitence, and avert the threatening danger. To determine Israel to make use of the last gracious respite thus granted a last attempt was to be made by the presentation of Jeremiah’s prophecies as a whole. They were now to hear at once, and in a concentrated form, what they had been hearing piece-meal in the course of twenty-three years, and that a powerful effect might be expected from the total impression, is seen from Jer_36:16. Jeremiah now, to discharge his exalted commission, dictates the words of Jehovah to his faithful Baruch, and commands him to read what he has written to the assembled people on the occasion of a fast-day, since he himself, Jeremiah, is hindered from being present.
Jer_36:1-3. And it came to pass … their sin. From the period before the fourth year of Jehoiakim, we find in the book of our prophet as we have it at present, chh. 2; 3–6; 7–10; 11–13; 14–17; 18–21; 11–14; Jer_22:1-23; Jeremiah 23; Jeremiah 26. Chh. 25 and Jer_46:1-12; Jeremiah 47; Jer_49:33 are also to be reckoned in here, since they certainly precede the writing, which extended into the fifth-year of Jehoiakim (Jer_36:9). Chh. 30. and 31. also belong here chronologically, but in subject they form a סֵפֶר by itself (comp. Jer_30:2), and cannot have been a part of the book here meant, which consisted only of minatory prophecies. The first writing however did not, according to Jer_36:32, contain all these passages, at least not in their present extent. The view of Hitzig, that Jeremiah was not to write out the discourses for the first time, but only from the scattered leaves to compile them into a book, because the former would not have been possible even for the most retentive memory, has been well refuted by Graf from Hitzig’s own point of view. From my own point of view I remark that the same supernatural factor which operated in the production of the prophecies must have acted also in their reproduction (comp. Joh_14:26). Here neither the much nor the little enters into consideration, nor must we lay too much weight on the similarity of the prophecies, for even the variations of the theme have their specific object and occasion, and could not be arbitrarily altered.
It is remarkable that the expression מְנִלָּה, apart from Psa_40:8, occurs only in Jeremiah and later writers (Eze_2:9; Eze_3:1; Zec_5:1-2), Psalms 40, however, as is well known, is ascribed by many to Jeremiah. But comp. Isa_34:4. Hengstenberg, Beiträge II., S. 494 sqq.—Leyrer in Herz. R.-Enc., XIV., S. 18.
Jer_36:3. It may be, etc. It is not expressly said, but may be understood, that the words of Jehovah were to be read after being written, as the effects mentioned could not be attributed to the mere writing, and so Jeremiah understood it, Jer_36:6-8.—That before they may return is difficult. We should expect and they will return, (comp. Jer_26:3). The prophet however distinguishes a nearer and a more remote object. The first is that they hear, not in a physical sense, for that was not problematic, but in a spiritual sense, i. e., in the sense of marking, observing, taking to heart. Comp. Jer_7:13; Jer_25:3-4, etc. The more remote and properly main object, to which the proclaiming and the marking were related only as means, was that they should be converted.
Jer_36:4-8. Then Jeremiah … in Jehovah’s house. Respecting Baruch comp. Jer_32:12. The reason why Jeremiah did not write himself is not necessarily that he could not. From Jer_32:10; Jer_51:60 on the contrary it seems to follow that Jeremiah was well able to write. At least it is not apparent why in these passages it should not be said that Jeremiah dictated, since such a minute statement would well accord with the particularity of his style elsewhere. It may however easily be conceived that in the discharge of so great a task, the aid of a writer to take the mechanical part, was a necessity to the prophet. As the reading, according to Jer_36:9, did not take place till the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the writing occupied nearly a year.—Shut up (עצור). As, according to Jer_36:19; Jer_36:26, Jeremiah and Baruch were able to hide themselves, this cannot mean “imprisoned” as it may well do in Jer_33:1; Jer_39:15. Jeremiah was therefore only detained or hindered. By what we have no means of ascertaining.—And read in the roll. Comp. Deu_17:19; Neh_8:8; Neh_8:18.—Upon the fasting day. The prophet does not mean either the regular yearly fast, which was observed in the seventh month (Lev_16:29; Lev_23:27), nor does he expect in the ninth month several (extraordinary) fasts, so that we should translate “on a fast-day.” The absence of the article is no more emphatic here than in Jer_3:2; Jer_6:16, etc.—Were the ordinary fast meant in Jer_36:6, and an extraordinary fast-day in Jer_36:9, as many of the older commentators suppose, we cannot conceive why only the second reading had results, but the first passed away without a trace.
Jer_36:7. They will present. Comp. Jer_37:20; Jer_42:2 coll. Jer_38:26; Jer_42:9; Dan_9:18; Dan_9:20, where we find the Hiphil. The expression is evidently a stronger form of “come before thee” (Psa_79:11; Psa_88:3; Psa_119:170 coll. Job_34:28) in so far as it involves the idea of humble petitioning, and at the same time the collateral idea of prevailing, being heard. For that which falls down before one, can as little remain unobserved as that which comes before one.—And will return. The prophet presupposes that the words of Jehovah will render clear to the people above all the necessity of repentance, and that accordingly their prayer will above all have reference to power for the fulfilment of this indispensable condition. He also hopes that this effect will be produced by the reading, as by this the greatness of God’s anger will be brought vividly before the minds of the people, and must produce a wholesome fear in them. In Jer_36:8 the accomplishment of the task is reported in general. The particulars follow. Comp. Hitzig in loc.
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer_36:2. The object of the writing was not only that “litera scripta manet” (Cramer: “the mouth speaks only to those who are present, but the pen to the absent; the mouth speaks only to the present hours and times, the pen many hundred years afterwards also.” Comp. Exo_34:27; Deu_10:4-5; Deu_17:18; Isa_30:8; Hab_2:2), but also to collect all the single lightning strokes into one grand prophetic tempest. Moreover, it is a matter of course that the written word was of special use, not only to posterity, but also to the contemporaries in so far as it rendered possible continued study, repeated quiet contemplation, and careful comparison. Jeremiah certainly prevented no one from taking copies of his book.
2. On Jer_36:4. Did Jeremiah hold such a relation to the Spirit of God as Baruch to Jeremiah when dictating? Then it was a matter of indifference to whom the dictation was made. Then a Saul would do as well as a Samuel, if he could only write. The best writer would be the most chosen instrument. There was no mingling of the individuality of the prophet except in the MS., and that is lost to us with the original. All prophetic writings must have the same type as to form and purport, which, as is well known, is so little the case that according to the saying of Buffon, le stylec’est l’homme, the portrait of a prophet might almost be drawn from his style.
3. On Jer_36:5. “God’s word is not bound; 2Ti_2:9. Paul for example wrote his most beautiful epistles from prison, as those to the Galatians, the Ephesians, the Philippians, the Colossians, to Philemon, and the second to Timothy.” Cramer.
4. On Jer_36:14. “It is a good state of things when rulers ask for God’s Word, and cannot be answered or helped promptly and quickly enough to the fulfilment of their purpose. So it was a joy to Paul that he could tell Agrippa what the Lord had done for his soul, and his heart yearned after Agrippa, Festus and all those around them.” Zinzendorf.
5. On Jer_36:16. “When a true servant of God gets his superiors so far that they hear him, he may surely not doubt, that he will also bring them to obedience. It is then not his, but the Lord’s affair.” Zinzendorf.
6. On Jer_36:23. “The higher the enemies of God are, the more dangerous; the greater, the more bitterly opposed to the work of the Lord, and the general patience with respect to the wickedness and unrighteousness of men, has certainly given something special to the δόξαις. Procul a Jove procul a fulmine.” Zinzendorf.
7. On Jer_36:23. “Locus maxime principalis in præsenti hoc textu est de combustione sacrorum librorum, quale fatum illi experti sunt non tantum Jeremiah 36, verum etiam 1Ma_1:59 sub Antiocho Epiphane; nec non tempore Diocleliani, qui et ipse multa bibliorum sacrorum exemplaria undiquaque conquisita comburi jussit; quorum vestigiis insistere non dubitarunt Pontifices romani et præsertim Leo X. qui anno 1520 binos legatos emisit ad Fridericum Sapienlem, postulantes ab ipso, ut libros Lutheri combureret … Quid hodie Jesuitæ de librorum combustione, qui a Lutheranis eduntur, sentiant, peculiari scripto Gretserus aperuit, quod de hoc argumento consarcinavit de jure et more prohibendi, expurgandi et abolendi libros hæreticos et noxios. Ingolst. 1603, 40).” Förster.
8. On Jer_36:25. “When John’s head was in question, Herod did not understand how he could resist his magnates. When Daniel is to go into the lions’ den, Darius has not the heart to refuse his princes. When Jeremiah is to be delivered up, Zedekiah says with great modesty to his princes: the king can do nothing against you’ (Jer_38:5). But when anything evil is to be done, the rulers can insist on having their own way. Here we have an instance: he hearkened not unto them.” Zinzendorf.
9. On Jer_36:26. “Dominus eos abscondidisse dicilur, quaratione olim Eliam (1 Reg. xvii. 2 sqq. et xvii. 12), nec non Elisæum (2 Reg. vi.), itemque Athanasium et Augustinum et nostro tempore Lutherum abscondidit.” Förster.
10. On Jer_36:27. [“Here is a sublime specimen of the triumph of God’s Word, when repressed by the power, and burnt by the rage of this world, whether it be in the suppression of the Scriptures, or in preventing their circulation, or in casting copies of them into the fire, or in the imprisonment and martyrdom of God’s preachers. That Word rises more gloriously out of all its persecutions.” Wordsworth.—S. R. A.]
HOMILETICAL AND PRACTICAL
1. On Jer_36:2-3. Sermon at a Bible Society Anniversary. The blessing of the written word. 1. That which it has in common with the spoken word (Jer_36:3): preparation of the heart for the reception of salvation. 2. That which it brings in distinction from the written Word: (a) it is present for every one: (b) it is present at every time and at every place: (c) it is present in all its parts (comparison).
2. On Jer_36:21-32. The majesty of the Word. 1. The power, which the word exercises. 2. The independence, which it maintains. 3. The self-verification which it continually effects. Sermons in Berlin by Fr. Wilh. Krummacher. Berlin, 1849.
3. On Jer_36:24. [“The guilt of indifference to the divine threatenings. It involves: 1, contempt of God; 2, unbelief, making God a liar; 3, extreme hardness of heart.” Payson.—S. R. A.]
Footnotes:
[1]Jer_36:2.—אֵל for עַל (comp. rems. on Jer_10:1) as is evident from Jer_36:4; Jer_36:29. In על ישׂרֹאל however עַל has the meaning of “against,” as we see from Jer_36:3, “all the evil.”
[2]Jer_36:7.—Naegelsb.: Their supplication will come (prevail) before Jehovah.]
Lange's Commentary on the Holy Scriptures (Critical, Doctrinal, and Homiletical), ed. John Peter Lange, English translation edited by Philip Schaff (1864–1880) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 32 roll of a book--a book formed of prepared skins…
roll of a book--a book formed of prepared skins made into a roll. Compare "volume of the book," that is, the Pentateuch (Psa 40:7). It does not follow that his prophecies were not before committed to writing; what is implied is, they were now written together in one volume, so as to be read continuously to the Jews in the temple.
against . . . nations-- (Jer 25:15, &c.).
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from . . . days of Josiah-- (Jer 25:3). From Josiah's thirteenth year (Jer 1:2).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 30, 32 1. Fourth year of Jehoiakim — This is also…
1. Fourth year of Jehoiakim — This is also the date of chapter 25. (See Jer_25:1.) But probably the twenty-fifth chapter belongs in the beginning of this year, while this chapter should fall near its close. For the reading “in the ears of the people,” did not take place until the ninth month of the following year. (See Jer_36:9.) From the first verse of Daniel we learn that the capture of Jerusalem took place in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. It is not unlikely that this event falls between the two chapters above mentioned.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 29, 30, 32 2. Take thee a roll of a book] Several…
2. Take thee a roll of a book] Several skins were stitched together and attached to a roller of wood at one or both ends. The writing was arranged in columns parallel to the rollers, so that as the parchment was gradually unrolled from one end to the other, the successive columns could be read. Our word volume (that which is rolled up) points by its derivation to this older form of book.
write therein all the words] The prophet’s memory would supply him with the substance at any rate of the prophecies which he had uttered for the twenty-three years of his mission. But we may well believe, from the vivid style in which some of the earlier prophecies have come down to us, that he was able to draw upon some contemporary records of the exact language he had used, occasionally modifying it so as to adapt it to new circumstances.
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Israel] Jeremiah addresses the Northern kingdom with promises only (Jer_3:6 ff., Jer_31:2 ff.). Accordingly it is better to read, with considerable support from MSS. of LXX, Jerusalem.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14, 16, 17, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 32 (1) The fourth year of Jehoiakim . . .—The…
XXXVI.
(1) The fourth year of Jehoiakim . . .—The prophetic message that follows is brought by the date thus given into close contact with Jeremiah 25, and it is a reasonable inference that we have in that chapter the substance of part, at least, of what was written by Baruch from the prophet’s dictation in Jer_36:4. The contents exactly agree with the description of the prophecy given here in Jer_36:2.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 26, 29, 30, 31, 32 In the fourth year of Jehoiakim (which, it is…
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim (which, it is important to remember, was the first of Nebuchadnezzar) Jeremiah was directed to write down all his previous revelations, from the beginning of his ministry to the present day. Such, at least, is the literal meaning of vers. 1, 2; but it would seem that the literal meaning can hardly be the right one. First of all, a historically accurate reproduction of the prophecies would not have suited Jeremiah"s object, which was not historical, but practical; he desired to give a salutary shock to the people by bringing before them the fatal consequences of their evil deeds. And next, it appears from ver. 29 that the purport of the roll which the king burned was that the King of Babylon should "come and destroy this land;" whereas it is clear that Jeremiah had uttered many other important declarations in the course of his already long ministry.
Now, it is remarkable, and points the way to a solution of the problem, that Jer 25 is said (ver. 1) to have been written in the very same year to which the narrative before us refers, and that it is mainly concerned with the invasion of Nebuchadnezzar and its consequences (indeed, entirely so, if we admit that Jer_25:12, 26 have received interpolation).
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Is not this the prophecy which Jeremiah dictated to Baruch? and is not ver. 2 a loose, inaccurate statement due to a later editor? That the prophetic as well as the historical books have passed through various phases (without detriment to their religious value) is becoming more and more evident. The seventh and eighth chapters of Isaiah, and the thirty-seventh and thirty-eighth of the same book, have demonstrably been brought into their present shape by an editor (see Cheyne"s "Prophecies of Isaiah," vol. 1.); is it not highly reasonable to conjecture that these narrative chapters of Jeremiah have, to a greater or less extent, passed through a similar process (see below on ver. 6)? (The main point of this theory that relative to Jer 25 has been brought forward by Dr. H. Gratz, in his "Monatsschrift fur Geschichte und Wissenschaft des Judenthums," vol. 23, p. 298, etc.)
Vers. 1-4. The writing of the roll.
I WHO WERE ENGAGED IN THE WRITING OF THE ROLL?
1. God.
(1) The thoughts of the prophecies to be recorded were inspired by God. "Prophecy" means "inspired utterance." Jeremiah was to write the words that I have spoken unto thee. We should seek in the Bible chiefly, not the scribe"s letters (grammatical study), nor the prophet"s words (historical theology), but God"s thoughts (spiritual truth).
(2) God commanded the writing of the roll (ver. 2). The Bible is given to us by God. It is his will that the sayings of ancient prophets and apostles should be the lamp for all ages. Therefore
(a) he will bless the right reading of the Bible, and
(b) he will call us to account for the use we make of it.
1. Jeremiah. God does not speak to mankind by a direct and audible voice as with the thunder tones of Sinai. He speaks through an instrument a man, a prophet. And this prophet is plainly not just a mechanical mouthpiece to the Divine voice. His personality counts for something. His style, mode of thought, experience, general knowledge, spiritual condition, etc., all mould his utterances of inspired truth. Jeremiah"s prophecies are characteristic of Jeremiah.
2. Baruch. The scribe has neither the genius to conceive the thought, nor the oratorical and literary gifts to clothe it in language. He is a simple amanuensis. Yet his work is important. For some reason not expressed, possibly like St. Paul on account of bodily weakness, Jeremiah did not write out his prophecies with his own hand. Thus work was found for Baruch. God finds offices corresponding to all varieties of gifts. But the less gifted are too often ambitious to per, form the more honoured tasks of greater men, or, fading in these, they are often reluctant to fulfil their more lowly calling.
II WHY WAS THE ROLL WRITTEN? This roll was not to contain a new composition. It was to be only a writing of utterances which had already been made public. Why, then, was it written?
1. That the prophecies might be preserved. Truth is eternal. A truth once discovered should be cherished as a lasting possession. It may be lost, but it can never decay. "The Word of the Lord endureth forever;" therefore the record of it should be preserved as of permanent value.
2. That the prophecies might reach a larger audience. The roll could be frequently perused and by various readers. Revelation is not for the few initiated; it is for all who need its light.
3. That the prophecies might be reread to those who had already heard them. The use of them was not expended when they were first spoken. We are too ready to be attracted by mere novelty. The latest books and the latest ideas are run after to the neglect of greater thoughts and greater works of older date. But truth is more important than novelty. And old truths need to be repeated, because
(1) they may have been received with inattention at the first hearing;
(2) they may be better understood or newly applicable under fresh circumstances, and after the hearer has gained larger powers of insight by his growing experience;
(3) they may be so profound as to be practically inexhaustible, or so eternally fresh and inspiring as to be always useful;
(4) they fail of their end till they affect our conduct, and must be repeated "line upon line" while men fail to do what they know.
4. That the prophecies might he studied carefully and compared together. So we should study the Bible, searching the Scriptures and comparing parts together, as we can only do when the whole lies written before us.
III WHAT WAS THE SCOPE AND AIM OF THE ROLL?
1. It was a record of God"s wrath against sin and a denunciation of judgment. The words so important that they needed to be thus recorded were spoken "against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations" (ver. 2). People like to forget disagreeable ideas and cherish only those that please them. Yet there are times when it is for our own profit to face them. Surely it is best to know our danger if by the knowledge of it we can find a
2. means to escape it, or, at the worst, be prepared to meet it. But if the revelation of judgment, and of temporal judgment, contained in Jeremiah"s prophecies was so precious as to be committed to writing under a solemn Divine commission, what value shall we set on the revelations of heavenly things and declarations of the glad tidings of salvation that are written in other parts of the Bible?
3. It aimed at leading the people to repentance. (Ver. 3) The threats of future calamities were first uttered with this end, and they were to be repeated for the same object. Thus the darkest words of revelation are spoken in mercy. If they are repeated, it is because God is so forbearing and anxious to save that he will not give his people up. The aim of revelation is practical. It is a lamp to our feet. (Psa_119:105) The chief purpose of its warnings and its words of grace is to lead us back from sin to God. Thus the Bible, though the crowning work of all literature, should not be regarded chiefly from a literary point of view, but rather as containing messages from our Father to guide and help our conduct.
HOMILIES BY A.F. MUIR Vers. 1-4. Vide Jer_30:1-3 M.
HOMILIES BY S. CONWAY Vers. 1-32. Hearers of God"s Word.
This chapter brings before us an instructive variety of these hearers.
I SUCH AS THE PROPHET. To him and such as he the Word of God came, and was received with reverent submission and diligently obeyed at all costs. They could say, "Speak, Lord; for thy servant heareth.
II SUCH AS THE PEOPLE GENERALLY. (Ver. 10) The mass seemed unaffected. We do not read of their being in any wise wrought upon by what they had heard. But there was an exception (ver. 11). Michaiah was really aroused, impressed, and alarmed. Often it is thus; the general congregation unmoved, but one here, one there, touched and led to God.
III SUCH AS MICHAIAH. We have seen how it affected him. He could not keep it to himself, but went to tell the princes of it (ver. 12). He unfeignedly believed. Now, he came of a godly house. It was his grandfather who, in King Josiah"s day, had first received the book of the Law which had been found in the temple. Hilkiah the high priest gave it to him, knowing, no doubt, that it would be reverently dealt with. And so it was; for first he read it himself, and then read it aloud to the young king, and that led to the reformation which the king carried out. And the father of this Michaiah was a man of a like spirit. From the balcony of his house Baruch had read his book to the people; Michaiah"s father had lent him a pulpit. And it was this same man who, with two others, tried, but in vain, to stay the king"s hand when about to burn the book (ver. 25). Hence Michaiah came of a godly stock. It is the training of such homes that more than aught else prepares and predisposes the heart to receive the Word of God.
IV SUCH AS THE PRINCES. These are a very instructive group, (vers. 11-26). They listened patiently to the Word, and gave it much attention. They were much moved, and desired to hear it over again exactly as it had been given, and so they sent for Baruch, and listened in like manner to him. They seriously deliberate, and resolve to go and warn the king; for that in all probability was their motive. They show affection to God"s servants, and desire to protect both them and the written Word. They go in to the king, notwithstanding they must have known the peril of so doing. And some of them endeavour to stay the king from his evil intent to destroy the book. But there they stop. The king"s rage overpower them, and they keep silence when they ought to utter strong protest. They are an illustration of "the fear of man which bringeth a snare." How often the like cause leads to like unfaithfulness still!
V SUCH AS THE KING. The words fix his attention, but they excite his rage and then they ensure his doom. He comes to hate both the Word and the writers of the Word, and he disregards the feeble remonstrances of its timid friends. Thus he seals his own destruction, as such ever do. We are hearers of the Word. To which class do we belong? C.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv3, 4, 6, 20, 24, 26, 27 It may be.
Jer_36:3
It may be.
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It may be
I. This word shows us the heart of God. Displeased because of sin, but longing to show mercy to the sinner. All His counsels and warnings, promises and threatenings, are for good (Deu_5:29-33; Deu_32:44-47; Isa_1:18-20; Jer_8:7-11; Eze_12:3; Eze_18:31; Hos_11:1-8; Joh_3:16-17; Luk_19:10; Luk_19:41-42).
II. This word reveals the grand possibilities of human life.
1. Earnest attention (Jer_36:3).
2. Penitential prayer (Jer_36:7).
3. Moral reconciliation. The hindrances to peace are not with God, but with us.
III. This word holds out encouragement to all true workers for Christ.
1. Prayer.
2. Holy endeavour.
3. Missionary enterprise. (W. Forsyth, M. A.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Expositor's Bible 1887 · Public Domain On v1 Jeremiah 36
CHAPTER III
THE ROLL
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Jeremiah 36
"Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee."- Jer_36:2
THE incidents which form so large a proportion of the contents of our book do not make up a connected narrative; they are merely a series of detached pictures: we can only conjecture the doings and experiences of Jeremiah during the intervals. Chapter 26 leaves him still exposed to the persistent hostility of the priests and prophets, who had apparently succeeded in once more directing popular feeling against their antagonist. At the same time, though the princes were not ill-disposed towards him, they were not inclined to resist the strong pressure brought to bear upon them. Probably the attitude of the populace varied from time to time, according to the presence among them of the friends or enemies of the prophet; and, in the same way, we cannot think of "the princes" as a united body, governed by a single impulse. The action of this group of notables might be determined by the accidental preponderance of one or other of two opposing parties. Jeremiahs only real assurance of safety lay in the personal protection extended to him by Ahikam ben Shaphan. Doubtless other princes associated themselves with Ahikam in his friendly action on behalf of the prophet.
Under these circumstances, Jeremiah would find it necessary to restrict his activity. Utter indifference to danger was one of the most ordinary characteristics of Hebrew prophets, and Jeremiah was certainly not wanting in the desperate courage which may be found in any Mohammedan dervish. At the same time he was far too practical, too free from morbid self-consciousness, to court martyrdom for its own sake. If he had presented himself again in the Temple when it was crowded with worshippers, his life might have been taken in a popular tumult, while his mission was still only half accomplished. Possibly his priestly enemies had found means to exclude him from the sacred precincts.
Mans extremity was Gods opportunity; this temporary and partial silencing of Jeremiah led to a new departure, which made the influence of his teaching more extensive and permanent. He was commanded to commit his prophecies to writing. The restriction of his active ministry was to bear rich fruit, like Pauls imprisonment, and Athanasius exile, and Luthers sojourn in the Wartburg. A short time since there was great danger that Jeremiah and the Divine message entrusted to him would perish together. He did not know how soon he might become once more the mark of popular fury, nor whether Ahikam would still be able to protect him. The roll of the book could speak even if he were put to death.
But Jeremiah was not thinking chiefly abort what would become of his teaching if he himself perished. He had an immediate and particular end in view. His tenacious persistence was not to be baffled by the prospect of mob violence, or by exclusion from the most favourable vantage ground. Renan is fond of comparing the prophets to modern journalists; and this incident is an early and striking instance of the substitution of pen, ink, and paper for the orators tribune. Perhaps the closest modern parallel is that of the speaker who is howled down at a public meeting and hands his manuscript to the reporters.
In the record of the Divine command to Jeremiah, there is no express statement as to what was to be done with the roll; but as the object of writing it was that "perchance the house of Judah might hear and repent," it is evident that from the first it was intended to be read to the people.
There is considerable difference of opinion as to the contents of the roll. They are described as: "All that I have spoken unto thee concerning Jerusalem and Judah, and all the nations, since I (first) spake unto thee, from the time of Josiah until now." At first sight this would seem to include all previous utterances, and therefore all the extant prophecies of a date earlier than B.C. 605, i.e., those contained in chapters 1-12, and some portions of 14-20 (we cannot determine which with any exactness), and probably most of those dated in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, i.e., 25 and parts of 45-49. Cheyne, however, holds that the roll simply contained the striking and comprehensive prophecy in chapter 25. The whole series of chapters might very well be described as dealing with Jerusalem, Judah, and the nations; but at the same time 25 might be considered equivalent, by way of summary, to all that had been spoken on these subjects. From various considerations which will appear as we proceed with the narrative, it seems probable that the larger estimate is the more correct, i.e., that the roll contained a large fraction of our Book of Jeremiah, and not merely one or two chapters. We need not, however, suppose that every previous utterance of the prophet, even though still extant, must have been included in the roll; the "all" would of course be understood to be conditioned by relevancy; and the narratives of various incidents are obviously not part of what Jehovah had spoken.
Jeremiah dictated his prophecies, as St. Paul did his epistles, to an amanuensis; he called his disciple Baruch ben Neriah, and dictated to him "all that Jehovah had spoken, upon a book, in the form of a roll."
It seems clear that, as in 26, the narrative does not exactly follow the order of events, and that Jer_36:9, which records the proclamation of a fast in the ninth month of Jehoiakims fifth year, should be read before Jer_36:5, which begins the account of the circumstances leading up to the actual reading of the roll. We are not told in what month of Jehoiakims fourth year Jeremiah received this command to write his prophecies in a roll, but as they were not read till the ninth month of the fifth year, there must have been an interval of at least ten months or a year between the Divine command and the reading by Baruch. We can scarcely suppose that all or nearly all this delay was caused by Jeremiah and Baruchs waiting for a suitable occasion. The long interval suggests that the dictation took some time, and that therefore the roll was somewhat voluminous in its contents, and that it was carefully compiled, not without a certain amount of revision.
When the manuscript was ready, its authors had to determine the right time at which to read it; they found their desired opportunity in the fast proclaimed in the ninth month. This was evidently an extraordinary fast, appointed in view of some pressing danger; and, in the year following the battle of Carehemish, this would naturally be the advance of Nebuchadnezzar. As our incident took place in the depth of winter, the months must be reckoned according to the Babylonian year, which began in April; and the ninth month, Kisleu, would roughly correspond to our December. The dreaded invasion would be looked for early in the following spring, "at the time when kings go out to battle." {1Ch_20:1}
Jeremiah does not seem to have absolutely determined from the first that the reading of the roll by Baruch was to be a substitute for his own presence. He had probably hoped that some change for the better in the situation might justify his appearance before a great gathering in the Temple. But when the time came he was "hindered"-we are not told how-and could not go into the Temple. He may have been restrained by his own prudence, or dissuaded by his friends, like Paul when he would have faced the mob in the theatre at Ephesus; the hindrance may have been some ban under which he had been placed by the priesthood, or it may have been some unexpected illness, or legal uncleanness, or some other passing accident, such as Providence often uses to protect its soldiers till their warfare is accomplished.
Accordingly it was Baruch who went up to the Temple. Though he is said to have read the book "in the ears of all the people," he does not seem to have challenged universal attention as openly as Jeremiah had done; he did not stand forth in the court of the Temple, {Jer_26:2} but betook himself to the "chamber" of the scribe, or secretary of state, Gemariah ben Shaphan, the brother of Jeremiahs protector Ahikam. This chamber would be one of the cells built round the upper court, from which the "new gate" {Cf. Jer_26:10} led into an inner court of the Temple. Thus Baruch placed himself formally under the protection of the owner of the apartment, and any violence offered to him would have been resented and avenged by this powerful noble with his kinsmen and allies. Jeremiahs disciple and representative took his seat at the door of the chamber, and, in full view of the crowds who passed and repassed through the new gate, opened his roll and began to read aloud from its contents. His reading was yet another repetition of the exhortations, warnings, and threats which Jeremiah had rehearsed on the feast day when he spake to the people "all that Jehovah had commanded him"; and still both Jehovah and His prophet promised deliverance as the reward of repentance. Evidently the head and front of the nations offence had been no open desertion of Jehovah for idols, else His servants would not have selected for their audience His enthusiastic worshippers as they thronged to His Temple. The fast itself might have seemed a token of penitence, but it was not accepted by Jeremiah, or put forward by the people, as a reason why the prophecies of ruin should not be fulfilled. No one offers the very natural plea: "In this fast we are humbling ourselves under the mighty hand of God, we are confessing our sins, and consecrating ourselves afresh to service of Jehovah. What more does He expect of us? Why does He still withhold His mercy and forgiveness? Wherefore have we fasted, and Thou seest not? Wherefore have we afflicted our soul, and Thou takest no knowledge?" Such a plea would probably have received an answer similar to that given by one of Jeremiahs successors: "Behold, in the day of your fast ye find your own pleasure, and oppress all your labourers. Behold, ye fast for strife and contention, and to smite with the fist of wickedness: ye fast not this day so as to make your voice to be heard on high. Is such the fast that I have chosen? the day for a man to afflict his soul? Is it to bow down his head as a rush, and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him? wilt thou call this a fast, and a day acceptable to Jehovah?"
"Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the bands of the yoke, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh? Then shall thy light break forth as the morning, and thy healing shall spring forth speedily: and thy righteousness shall go before thee; the glory of Jehovah shall be thy rearward." {Isa_58:3-8}
Jeremiahs opponents did not grudge Jehovah His burnt offerings and calves of a year old; He was welcome to thousands of rams, and ten thousands of rivers of oil. They were even willing to give their firstborn for their transgression, the whether the title "scribe" refers to the fruit of their body for the sin of their soul; but they were not prepared "to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with their God." {Mic_6:6-8}
We are not told how Jeremiah and the priests and prophets formulated the points at issue between them, which were so thoroughly and universally understood that the record takes them for granted. Possibly Jeremiah contended for the recognition of Deuteronomy, with its lofty ideals of pure religion and a humanitarian order of society. But, in any case, these incidents were an early phase of the age long struggle of the prophets of God against the popular attempt to make ritual and sensuous emotion into excuses for ignoring morality, and to offer the cheap sacrifice of a few unforbidden pleasures, rather than surrender the greed of gain, the lust of power, and the sweetness of revenge.
When the multitudes caught the sound of Baruchs voice and saw him sitting in the doorway of Gemariahs chamber, they knew exactly what they would hear. To them he was almost as antagonistic as a Protestant evangelist would be to the worshippers at some great Romanist feast; or perhaps we might find a closer parallel in a Low Church bishop addressing a ritualistic audience. For the hearts of these hearers were not steeled by the consciousness of any formal schism. Baruch and the great prophet whom he represented did not stand outside the recognised limits of Divine inspiration. While the priests and prophets and their adherents repudiated his teaching as heretical, they were still haunted by the fear that, at any rate, his threats might have some Divine authority. Apart from all theology, the prophet of evil always finds an ally in the nervous fears and guilty conscience of his hearer.
The feelings of the people would be similar to those with which they had heard the same threats against Judah, the city and the Temple, from Jeremiah himself. But the excitement aroused by the defeat of Pharaoh and the hasty return of Nebuchadnezzar to Babylon had died away. The imminence of a new invasion made it evident that this had not been the Divine deliverance of Judah. The people were cowed by what must have seemed to many the approaching fulfilments of former threatenings; the ritual of a fast was in itself depressing; so that they had little spirit to resent the message of doom. Perhaps too there was less to resent: the prophecies were the same, but Baruch may have been less unpopular than Jeremiah, and his reading would be tame and ineffective compared to the fiery eloquence of his master. Moreover the powerful protection which shielded him was indicated not only by the place he occupied, but also by the presence of Gemariahs son, Micaiah.
The reading passed off without any hostile demonstration on the part of the people, and Micaiah went in search of his father to describe to him the scene he had just witnessed. He found him in the palace, in the chamber of the secretary of state, Elishama, attending a council of the princes. There were present, amongst others, Elnathan ben Achbor, who brought Uriah back from Egypt, Delaiah ben Shemaiah, and Zedekiah ben Hananiah. Micaiah told them what he had heard. They at once sent for Baruch and the roll. Their messenger, Jehudi ben Nethaniah, seems to have been a kind of court usher. His name signifies "the Jew," and as his great-grandfather was Cushi, "the Ethiopian," it has been suggested that he came of a family of Ethiopian descent, which had only attained in his generation to Jewish citizenship.
When Baruch arrived, the princes greeted him with the courtesy and even deference due to the favourite disciple of a distinguished prophet. They invited him to sit down and read them the roll. Baruch obeyed; the method of reading suited the enclosed room and the quiet, interested audience of responsible men, better than the swaying crowd gathered round the door of Gemariahs chamber. Baruch now had before him ministers of state who knew from their official information and experience how extremely probable it was that the words to which they were listening would find a speedy and complete fulfilment. Baruch must almost have seemed to them like a doomster who announces to a condemned criminal the ghastly details of his coming execution. They exchanged looks of dismay and horror, and when the reading was over, they said to one another, "We must tell the king of all these words." First, however, they inquired concerning the exact circumstances under which the roll had been written, that they might know how far responsibility in this matter was to be divided between the prophet and his disciple, and also whether all the contents rested upon the full authority of Jeremiah. Baruch assured them that it was simply a case of dictation: Jeremiah had uttered every word with his own mouth, and he had faithfully written it down; everything was Jeremiahs own.
The princes were well aware that the prophets action would probably be resented and punished by Jehoiakim. They said to Baruch: "Do you and Jeremiah go and hide yourselves, and let no one know where you are." They kept the roll and laid it up in Elishamas room; then they went to the king. They found him in his winter room, in the inner court of the palace, sitting in front of a brasier of burning charcoal. On this fast day the kings mind might well be careful and troubled, as he meditated on the kind of treatment that he, the nominee of Pharaoh Necho, was likely to receive from Nebuchadnezzar. We cannot tell whether he contemplated resistance or had already resolved to submit to the conqueror. In either case he would wish to act on his own initiative, and might be anxious lest a Chaldean party should get the upper hand in Jerusalem and surrender him and the city to the invader.
When the princes entered, their number and their manner would at once indicate to him that their errand was both serious and disagreeable. He seems to have listened in silence while they made their report of the incident at the door of Gemariahs chamber and their own interview with Baruch. The king sent for the roll by Jehudi, who had accompanied the princes into the presence chamber; and on his return the same serviceable official read its contents before Jehoiakim and the princes, whose number was now augmented by the nobles in attendance upon the king. Jehudi had had the advantage of hearing Baruch read the roll, but ancient Hebrew manuscripts were not easy to decipher, and probably Jehudi stumbled somewhat; altogether the reading of prophecies by a court usher would not be a very edifying performance, or very gratifying to Jeremiahs friends. Jehoiakim treated the matter with deliberate and ostentatious contempt. At the end of every three or four columns, he put out his hand for the roll, cut away the portion that had been read, and threw it on the fire; then he handed the remainder back to Jehudi, and the reading was resumed till the king thought fit to repeat the process. It at once appeared that the audience was divided into two parties. When Gemariahs father, Shaphan, had read Deuteronomy to Josiah, the king rent his clothes; but now the writer tells us, half aghast, that neither Jehoiakim nor any of his servants were afraid or rent their clothes, but the audience, including doubtless both court officials and some of the princes, looked on with calm indifference. Not so the princes who had been present at Baruchs reading: they had probably induced him to leave the roll with them, by promising that it should be kept safely; they had tried to keep it out of the kings hands by leaving it in Elishamas room, and now they made another attempt to save it from destruction. They entreated Jehoiakim to refrain from open and insolent defiance of a prophet who might after all be speaking in the name of Jehovah. But the king persevered. The alternate reading and burning went on; the unfortunate ushers fluency and clearness would not be improved by the extraordinary conditions under which he had to read; and we may well suppose that the concluding columns were hurried over in a somewhat perfunctory fashion, if they were read at all. As soon as the last shred of parchment was shrivelling on the charcoal, Jehoiakim commanded three of his officers to arrest Jeremiah and Baruch. But they had taken the advice of the princes and were not to be found: "Jehovah hid them."
Thus the career of Baruchs roll was summarily cut short. But it had done its work; it had been read on three separate occasions, first before the people, then before the princes, and last of all before the king and his court. If Jeremiah had appeared in person, he might have been at once arrested, and put to death like Uriah. No doubt this threefold recital was, on the whole, a failure; Jeremiahs party among the princes had listened with anxious deference, but the appeal had been received by the people with indifference and by the king with contempt. Nevertheless it must have strengthened individuals in the true faith, and it had proclaimed afresh that the religion of Jehovah gave no sanction to the policy of Jehoiakim: the ruin of Judah would be a proof of the sovereignty of Jehovah and not of His impotence. But probably this incident had more immediate influence over the king than we might at first sight suppose. When Nebuchadnezzar arrived in Palestine, Jehoiakim submitted to him a policy entirely in accordance with the views of Jeremiah. We may well believe that the experiences of this fast day had strengthened the hands of the prophets friends, and cooled the enthusiasm of the court for more desperate and adventurous courses. Every years respite for Judah fostered the growth of the true religion of Jehovah.
The sequel showed how much more prudent it was to risk the existence of a roll rather than the life of a prophet. Jeremiah was only encouraged to persevere. By the Divine command, he dictated his prophecies afresh to Baruch, adding besides unto them many like words. Possibly other copies were made of the whole or parts of this roll, and were secretly circulated, read, and talked about. We are not told whether Jehoiakim ever heard this new roll; but, as one of the many like things added to the older prophecies was a terrible personal condemnation of the king, we may be sure that he was not allowed to remain in ignorance, at any rate, of this portion of it.
The second roll was, doubtless, one of the main sources of our present Book of Jeremiah, and the narrative of this chapter is of considerable importance for Old Testament criticism. It shows that a prophetic book may not go back to any prophetic autograph at all; its most original sources may be manuscripts written at the prophets dictation, and liable to all the errors which are apt to creep into the most faithful work of an amanuensis. It shows further that, even when a prophets utterances were written down during his lifetime, the manuscript may contain only his recollections of what he said years before, and that these might be either expanded or abbreviated, sometimes even unconsciously modified, in the light of subsequent events. Jer_36:32 shows that Jeremiah did not hesitate to add to the record of his former prophecies "many like words": there is no reason to suppose that these were all contained in an appendix; they would often take the form of annotations.
The important part played by Baruch as Jeremiahs secretary and representative must have invested him with full authority to speak for his master and expound his views; such authority points to Baruch as the natural editor of our present book, which is virtually the "Life and Writings" of the prophet. The last words of our chapter are ambiguous, perhaps intentionally. They simply state that many like words were added, and do not say by whom; they might even include additions made later on by Baruch from his own reminiscences.
In conclusion, we may notice that both the first and second copies of the roll were written by the direct Divine command, just as in the Hexateuch and the Book of Samuel we read of Moses, Joshua, and Samuel committing certain matters to writing at the bidding of Jehovah. We have here the recognition of the inspiration of the scribe, as ancillary to that of the prophet. Jehovah not only gives His word to His servants, but watches over its preservation and transmission. But there is no inspiration to write any new revelation: the spoken word, the consecrated life, are inspired; the book is only a record of inspired speech and action.
William Robertson Nicoll, ed., The Expositor's Bible (London: Hodder & Stoughton, 1887–1910) — public domain. 65 of 66 books (1 Corinthians is not separately keyed, as that volume carries no machine-parseable verse references); section-level commentary keyed to the opening verse. Introductory and overview sections not keyed to a specific passage are excluded.
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary 1892 · Public Domain On v1 CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—1. Chronology of the Chapter.—“Fourth of…
CRITICAL AND EXEGETICAL NOTES.—1. Chronology of the Chapter.—“Fourth of Jehoiakim.” See Note on chap. 25.
2. National Affairs.—Jehoiakim was at that time vassal of Pharoah-Necho; but Nebuchadnezzar invaded Jerusalem, carried off a few prisoners and some of the Temple treasures (Dan_1:1-2), and compelled Jehoiakim to become his vassal, thus subjugating the nation to Babylon instead of Egypt. This was a sore pang and degradation to Jehoiakim; and when Jeremiah prophesied (Jer_36:29) that “the king of Babylon would again come to destroy the land and make man and beast cease from it,” the king’s wrath became ungovernable.
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In this critical condition of the nation, invasion begun, conquest sure, and captivity imminent, it became urgent that Jeremiah should collect all his prophecies—covering a period of twenty-three years—into “a book” (Jer_36:2), for their preservation as a witness of God’s pleadings and warnings with the nation. This writing was completed in “the ninth month:” our December.
For Contemporaneous Scriptures and Contemporaneous History, vide Notes in loc. on chap. 25.
3. Manners and Customs.—Jer_36:2. “Take thee a roll of a book and write.” It was a roll of parchment skins. Jer_36:9. “Proclaimed a fast.” The ordinary fast was in the seventh month (Lev_16:29); but this was “the ninth month” (Jer_36:9), and was therefore an extra and special fast. Keil thinks this fast was to commemorate by a national humiliation the capture of Jerusalem by the Chaldeans the previous year. Jer_36:22. “The king sat in the winter-house.” A separate portion of the palace specially used in the colder season (Amo_3:15). “A fire on the hearth,” lit. “the fire-pan burning before him;” in the middle of the floor was a brazier in which the fire—charcoal—burned.
4. Personal Allusions.—Jer_36:4. “Baruch” (see on chap. Jer_32:12): Jer_36:10. “Gemariah:” not the Gemariah of chap. Jer_29:3, but brother of Ahikam (Jer_26:24). Jer_36:11. “Michaiah:” grandson of “Shaphan,” of whom see 2Ki_22:3. Jer_36:12. “Elishama:” a court prince, perhaps the same as mentioned Jer_41:1, 2Ki_25:25. “Elnathan:” already had acted as an evil agent of the king’s (Jer_26:22-23). “Hananiah,” the false prophet (Jer_28:10-17). Jer_36:14. “Jehudi:” doubtless of a good family from his ancestry being so carefully recited; but his office is unknown. Jer_36:26. “Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech;” query, the son of the king? But Jehoiakim had then no grown-up son. Yet he might have been one of royal blood. “Seraiah,” &c., courtiers or princes.
5. Literary Criticisms.—Jer_36:7. “It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord.” The words נָפְלָה תְּהִנָּה mean to allow a petition to be laid at the feet of a superior: lit. “it may be their supplication will fall before Jehovah.” Jer_36:18. “He pronounced all these words,” &c. קָרָא מִפִּיו, definitely—he recited from his mouth; not, read from a book: oral dictation. “Ink:” the only occurrence of the word. דְּיוֹ, ink, may come from דָּיָה, to be black. Jer_36:23. “Cut it with the penknife;” i.e., the scribe’s knife with which he trimmed his reed for writing.
Note.—Chapters 36–44 form a HISTORIC RECORD OF EVENTS (gathered up into a volume by express Divine command), ranging from the fourth year of Jehoiakim to the close of Jeremiah’s ministry. These records divide themselves thus—
A. Chaps. 36–38. Events preceding the Chaldean capture of Jerusalem.
B. Chapters 39–44. Events succeeding that capture.
SUBJECT OF CHAPTER 36—Jeremiah’s prophecies—
1. Committed to writing by Baruch (Jer_36:1-8).
2. Rehearsed to all the people (Jer_36:9-10).
3. Read to the princes (Jer_36:11-19).
4. Read in part to Jehoiakim, then burnt by the king (Jer_36:20-26).
5. Jehoiakim’s heavy denunciation (Jer_36:27-31).
6. The second roll—prophecies rewritten (Jer_36:32)
HOMILIES AND OUTLINES ON CHAPTER 36
Jer_36:2-3. Theme: REVELATION IN WRITING. “Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil that I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
Ours is a documentary religion; and it is a great advantage to have the principles of our faith in a defined and a written form. The prophet’s pen succeeded his breath.
An abstract of Jeremiah’s preaching for twenty-three years was thus recorded. Baruch was to read it. It excited a great sensation. The princes conveyed it to the king: it was read in his presence: he took his penknife, cut it in pieces, cast it in the fire. But another was written with this awful addition: Say to Jehoiakim (Jer_36:30-31).
Upon this account remark—
I. The Divine authority of the book. “This word came to Jeremiah.”
1. It bears evident marks and indications of having come from God. Ours is a documentary religion—more sure than miracle—“a more sure word of prophecy.” If ye believe not Moses,” &c.
2. The time and the manner in which this word comes to a people. It is distinctly marked by God Himself as a great crisis in their religious history. God dates from this event. Good men date from it too.
3. The Book can never leave us as it finds us.
II. The gracious design of the Scriptures. To bring us to faith, to repentance and reconciliation to God (Jer_36:3-7); not to condemn, but to save. It is to show us our danger and our refuge. Full of Christ.
III. The settled hostility it excites (Jer_36:22-23). Men of corrupt minds love not the truth. Popery hates it. Many false Protestants dislike it too. They who do not take the penknife to destroy it, employ their pens to pervert and extinguish it.
IV. The righteous retribution its rejection incurs (Jer_36:29-31). The Gospel has a condemnation of its own as well as the law.
Comp. also Homily on chap. Jer_30:2.
Jer_36:2. Theme: “LITERA SORIPTA MANET.” The object of the writing was not alone that the word written might remain, but also to collect all the single lightning strokes into one grand prophetic tempest.
The written word was of special use—
i. To contemporaries. For it rendered possible—(1.) Continued study; (2.) quiet contemplation; (3.) careful comparison.
ii. To posterity. (1.) The mouth speaks only to those present; the pen to the absent. (2.) The mouth speaks only to present hours and times; the pen to centuries future.
Comp. Exo_34:27; Deu_10:4-5; Deu_17:18; Isa_30:8; Hab_2:2.
—Naegelsbach and Cramer.
Also: The blessings of the written word.
i. That which it has in common with the spoken word. Preparation of the heart for the reception of salvation (ver.).
ii. That which it has in distinction from the spoken word. (a) It is present for every one; (b) it is present at every time and every place; (c) it is present in all its parts (for comparison).
—Naegelsbach.
See Addenda: REVELATION IN WRITING.
Jer_36:3. Theme:“IT MAY BE.” “It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.”
Jeremiah’s ministry may be regarded as typical of God’s dealings with man in all ages. “It may be.”
I. This word shows us the heart of God. Words are the servants of things. Language is imperfect, but it is the chief interpreter of thought. What has been said of man, may be said, with reverence, of God: “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” When God says, “It may be,” we must not imagine that there is anything like doubt or ignorance with Him. It is said that He speaks as a man to men. How wonderful that He should thus condescend to our weakness and necessities! He not only employs human agents, but human speech, to reveal His will to us. Difficulties may be easily raised as to the form of speech here, but there can be no question as to its spirit. The words breathe love, and not hate. God is indeed displeased because of sin, but He longs to show mercy to the sinner. His heart yearns over His rebellious children, as the father over his prodigal son. Judgment is His strange work. Mercy is His delight. He welcomes the penitent. He blesses the obedient. All His counsels and warnings, His promises and threatenings, are for good. Mark the words of Moses (Deu_5:29-33; Deu_32:44-47); of the prophets (Isa_1:18-20; Jer_8:7-11; Eze_12:3; Eze_18:31; Hos_11:1-8); of Jesus Christ (Joh_3:16-17; Luk_19:10; Luk_19:41-42). And so it is still. What John said of his Gospel may be said of the whole Bible, and indeed of all God’s dealings with us in grace—“These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His name.”
II. This word reveals the grand possibilities of human life. Looking on waste moorland, we may say, this will soon be reclaimed. That soldier standing in the ranks, beside thousands more, may yet rise to high command. That speaker, who has failed in his first effort, may yet lead the House of Commons. That child, over whose cradle his mother bends in fond anxiety, may yet hold a foremost place among men. He who was the joy of his mother’s youth may be the pride and the stay of her old age. These and such like possibilities lie hid in the future. As yet, all is uncertain; we can only say, “It may be.” But can there be such uncertainty with God? No. To His infinite mind, all the possibilities of time, and space, and circumstance, are not matters of doubt, but of certainty (Isa_46:9-11). Yet here, as often, He speaks as if it were otherwise. For our sakes He puts aside the must be of the Divine and the absolute, for the may be of the human and the contingent. His dealings with Israel are spoken of as an experiment. The gracious purpose is plain, but the result is hidden. It depends upon causes not yet in full operation. It will be manifested in due time, in the free actings and choices of men. So it is with the ministry of grace in every age. Men are put upon trial (Deu_8:2; Luk_2:34). Mark the grand possibilities.
1. Earnest attention (Jer_36:3). This is absolutely necessary. God’s Word is truth. If He threatens, it is because there is just cause. His laws must be upheld. Wrath must come to the uttermost on the impenitent. If men considered this, surely it would awaken a holy fear of God’s judgments. The tale of what God purposes to do to the sinner may well make the ears of every one that beareth it to tingle (1Sa_3:11). “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.”
2. Penitential prayer (Jer_36:7). “It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way.” God cannot change. It is the sinner who must retrace his steps. He has forsaken God, and turned to his own evil way, and he is bound and besought to return. Prayer is the first step to a true amendment of life. It is when we look upon God as He has revealed Himself in Christ that we are melted to penitence, and that the cry of hope rises from our hearts (Isa_27:4-5; Isa_55:6-7).
3. Moral reconciliation. The hindrances to peace are not with God, but with us. Mark the touching words, “that I may forgive.” God pities the sinner, but He cannot deal with him, in the way of absolution, till he has come to himself and is in earnest about salvation. God is willing to give, but the sinner may not have the heart to receive. On the other hand, when there is a real turning from sin unto God, how quick is the response! how complete and joyous the reconciliation! (Luk_15:20-24; Joh_1:5-9.)
III. This word holds out encouragement to all true workers for Christ.
Hope is the spring of all activity. What we deem impossible we do not attempt. Reason forbids. But what we know to be both possible and good, we can strive for with all our strength. Duty is ours, results belong to God. For three-and-twenty years Jeremiah had laboured in Judah. His work seemed in vain. But he must not cease. The mercy of God is great. Another effort must be made. New methods must be tried. The Word must be written, and brought to bear in all its force upon the people, the princes, and the king. “It may be they will hear.” The command given to Jeremiah and Baruch, is just the same in substance as that which was afterwards given to the apostles and ministers of Jesus Christ (Mat_28:19-20; Act_5:20; Act_18:9-10). “It may be,” implies faith, and love, and hope. It holds out encouragement to prayer (David, 2Sa_12:22); to holy endeavour (Paul, Php_3:8-14; Php_4:13); to benevolent and missionary enterprise (Ecc_9:1-6; Rom_1:16). In all that is for good, friend helping friend, parents training their children, Christian men and women labouring for the advancement of the Gospel, we may say as Jonathan did to his armour-bearer, when summoning him to a deed of high courage and daring, “Come: it may be the Lord will work for us” (1Sa_14:6). Nay, we may do more. We may say to ourselves, as Haggai to Zerubbabel, and to Joshua, and to all the people of the land, “Be strong and work, for I am with you, saith the Lord of Hosts” (Hag_2:4-5). Our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord. For the humblest worker, as well as for the great Master Himself, the word is true, “He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied.”—Rev. W. Forsyth, from “Homiletic Quarterly.”
Jer_36:7. Theme: AN OPEN DOOR OF HOPE. “It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way; for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people.”
I. Menacing doom.
1. Definite in its direction. “Against this people.”
2. Terrible in its character. “Great is the anger and the fury.”
3. Ominous as to its origin. “That the Lord hath pronounced.”
4. Positive as to its announcement. “Hath prouounced.”
II. Possible escape. “It may be.”
1. Doom tarries till all conditional exigences are expended. God holds back the stroke till every possibility of averting it is exhausted. He is “slow to anger.”
2. Sinners have the power of arresting their own doom. Though it has been “pronounced” against them. As Nineveh.
3. Threatenings of God are designed to act as appeals to men to avert them. They are stern voices of love. His menaces are severe, and will eventually be fulfilled if not averted; but He makes them severe in order to arouse us to seek reconciliation and escape.
III. Conditions of deliverance.
1. Not hard to comply with.
2. Not beyond the absolute necessities of the case. They are—
(a) Penitential prayer. “Present their supplication.”
(b) Individual reformation. “Return every one from his evil way.”
Note.—This was urged “upon the fasting day” (Jer_36:6). So that fasting was not enough of itself (see Isa_58:3; Isa_58:5; Zec_5:5; Zec_5:7). And this appeal followed the reading of the roll (Jer_36:6). Thus reading Scripture and self-mortification should be added to penitence and reformation. All which, in this Gospel age, become summed up in—(a) “Search the Scriptures, for they testify of Me;” (b) Take up thy cross daily and follow Me;” (c) “Repentance towards God;” and (d) “Laying aside every weight and the sin that doth so easily beset us, let us run, looking unto Jesus!”
Jer_36:11; Jer_36:13. Theme: THE HEARER BECOMES A PREACHER. “When Michaiah had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord, he went down to the king’s house and declared unto [the princes] all the words he had heard,” &c.
I. A hearer’s responsibility. To carry tidings to absent ones. “Let him that heareth say, Come.” If the Lord’s words are good for him, they are also good for others.
II. A hearer’s opportunity. He can reach an audience from which the preacher is excluded. Family circles, official circles [as in this case] may be brought to hear God’s truth by one person reciting what he has heard.
III. A hearer’s prompt anxiety. What he heard was urgent, was ominous. Others were entailed in the messages of God’s Word. It was not right for him to be silent. The doom or salvation of others depended on his telling what he had heard. Forthwith he went, and faithfully he recited the facts of warning and counsel from God.
(1.) He became thus a herald from God to his friends.
(2.) He opened the way for Jeremiah’s roll to be read in their hearing (Jer_36:15).
(3.) He brought them under very solemn convictions (Jer_36:16.)
(4.) He won for God’s servants influential friends, who protected them from the anger of the king (Jer_36:19; Jer_36:25).
“Can we whose souls are lighted
With wisdom from on high,
Can we, to men benighted,
The light of life deny?”
Jer_36:20. Theme: READING GOD’S WORD TO A KING. These princes showed a gracious mind toward Baruch and Jeremiah; for they did not force Baruch into the angry king’s presence.
Yet they showed also a timid and half-hearted sympathy; for if they thought the “words of the Lord” urgent and important, why did they not boldly go in to the king and plead with him to heed the message?
Had they been true patriots, and loyal to Gods truth, they would have acted a more emphatic part than they did.
But they secured this: the king heard God’s word.
I. An involuntary hearer. They seem all together to have gone in and recited what they had heard (Jer_36:20). Jehoiakim was thus taken by surprise—stormed in his unsuspecting ease. Often God sends messages to and against us—
1. Without our wishing to have them.
2. Without our power to prevent them.
3. In a manner wholly unexpected.
II. An inquisitive hearer. The fragmentary recital of “the words of the Lord” by the princes excited him to desire to hear from the roll itself. So (Jer_36:21)—
1. There may be an inquisitiveness born of doubt. Jehoiakim may have questioned whether they repeated the words correctly.
2. Or an inquisitiveness prompted by anxiety. He may have felt disturbed by what he heard, and wished to know the matter more fully.
3. Or an inquisitiveness quickened by hope. Possibly these princes stated only the dark side of things: if he heard more it might be less menacing.
4. Or an inquisitiveness actuated by scorn. So far from his being alarmed by the eager words of the princes, he was quite ready to hear more—let him hear it all: it mattered not to him!
III. An infuriated hearer. There “burned before him a fire” (Jer_36:22); and it but represented the fury which burned within him.
1. He burned with mad impatience. Stopped the reading: could not sit out the reading: heard only “three or four leaves” (Jer_36:23).
2. He burned with impotent rage. Became violent: paid no heed to the “intercessions” (Jer_36:25) of the three princes: wanted Jeremiah apprehended (Jer_36:26): issued a mandate then and there to Baruch that the prophet should be “taken.”
3. He burned with silly revenge. He would destroy “the roll;” so “cut it with a penknife”—venting his malice on the innocent parchment! and then cast the roll into the fire, gratifying his ridiculous animosity by watching its consumption! (Jer_36:23.)
See Addenda: INFURIATED HEARERS. Note—
1. Fires can consume books, but they cannot consume truths!
2. God’s enemies who make fires may one day feed them! “The fire shall try every man’s work.” “He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.” See Addenda: BURNING BIBLES.
Jer_36:23. Theme: THE RECKLESS PENKNIFE. “When Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with a penknife.”
We look in upon a room in Jerusalem. Two men there: Jeremiah, walking the floor, agitated, in the spirit of prophecy. Baruch, writing out the scathing words of the Almighty against the city.
It is winter. Jehoiakim sits in “winter house.” Silence among his lords, princes, while the parchment is read. Every eye is fixed; king frowns, cheeks burn; foot comes down with thundering indignation; seizes penknife, and lashes it into the parchments.
Was the book destroyed? Did the king escape? In a little while Jehoiakim’s dead body is hurled forth to blacken in the sun, “buried with the burial of an ass,” while Baruch again writes the terrible prophecy which Jeremiah anew dictates.
It would take more penknives than cutler ever sharpened to hew into permanent destruction the Word of God. Yet that Oriental scene has been often repeated: there are thousands of Jehoiakims who cut the Word of God with their penknives.
I. The first to be mentioned is the man who receives a part of the Bible, but cuts out portions and rejects them.
But the genuineness of the entire Bible is established, and there may be no cutting out of books against which cavillers rail. If any part of the Old Testament had been uninspired, Christ would have said, “Search the Scriptures, except the book of—Jonah or Esther.” And with all the Christian world watching, and our enemies also, you might as well attempt to insert an entire canto in Milton’s Paradise Lost as a fresh page into the New Testament.
A man dies; people assemble to hear the Will read. One interrupts: “I reject that passage.” But they must take the will as a whole, or not at all.
Remove one orb from this constellation of Bible books that revolve in splendour about Jesus, the central Sun, and heaven itself would weep at the catastrophe.
II. He who runs his knife through the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and rejects everything.
The hostility in the “winter house” exists yet. Enemies of this Book have tried to marshal on their side chemist’s laboratory, astronomer’s telescope, geologist’s pry, mineralogist’s hammer, &c. With the black hulk of their priestcraft they have tried to run down this Gospel ship speeding on errands of salvation.
Men strike their knife through this Book because they say that—
1. The light of nature is sufficient. Have the fire-worshippers of India, the Borneoian cannibal, &c., found it so? The pagodas of superstition, the infanticides of the Ganges, the gory wheels of Juggernaut, declare it is not sufficient. A star is beautiful, but it pours no light on the midnight of a sinful soul. “What must I do to be saved?” Sweltering nations have knelt at the foot of the Himalayan mountains for ages asking the question; but the mountain made no response. The cry has gone round the world, but the stars were dumb, and the Alps were silent, &c.
2. That the Book is cruel and indecent. But show one man made cruel or obscene by the Bible. Thousands have been lifted by it out of their sin.
3. That it is so full of unexplained mysteries. What! will you believe only in what can be explained? Gravitation? Your finger nails; how do they grow? I would know that the heights and depths of God’s truth were not very great if I could, with my finite mind, read everything.
4. An infidel strikes his penknife through the Bible because, he says, if it were God’s Book, the whole world would have it. He pleads that if God had anything to say to the world, He could not say it to only a small part of the race. But how is it God gives oranges and bananas to only a small part of our race? There are millions who have never seen an orange or a banana! If all the human race had the same climate, harvests, health, advantages, then, by analogy, you might argue God should give the Bible, if at all, to the whole world.
5. Objectors cut the Bible because they urge that other books have in them great value and beauty. True: Confucius taught kindness to enemies; the Shaster has great affluence of beauty; the Veda of the Brahmins has ennobling sentiments; but what is proved thereby?—that after searching all lands, and ages, and literature, there has been found but a portion of the wisdom and beauty which God’s Book contains! Let Voltaire come on with his acute philosophy, and Hume with his scholarship, and Gibbon with his one-sided statements, and Hobbes with his subtlety; and the band of mountain shepherds and Galilee fishermen will beat all back with the cry of “Victory, through our Lord Jesus Christ!”
III. No better proof of the Divinity of this Book can be desired than that it has withstood this mighty and continuous attack, and come down to us without a chapter effaced, a miracle injured, or a promise scarred.
No other book has passed through such hostility. Yet this Book to-day is foremost. In Philosophy, it is honoured above the works of Descartes, Bacon, Aristotle, and Socrates. In History, it wins more respect than Herodotus, Thucydides, and Xenophon. In Poetry, it outshines the Iliad and Odessey, the Inferno and Paradise Lost. It has been published in more than two hundred languages; the earth quakes with the quick revolutions of its printing-press.
One verse of this Book above the throne of tyranny, and it shall fall; above the temples of superstition, and they shall crumble; above the vilderness, and it shall bloom as the Garden of the Lord. Thou Prince of Books, we hail thee to thy coronation! the wheeling earth thy chariot! the bending sky thy triumphal arch! the great heavens thy star-studded banner!
1. We have, then, many reasons for believing the Bible.
2. Raise the Book higher in your estimation.
3. Take it to your heart, your house. Though you seem to get along very well without the Bible in your prosperity, there will come a time when your only consolation will be this blessed Gospel.
A blind girl had been in the habit of reading the Bible with raised letters; by an accident her fingers lost their sensitiveness. In her sorrow, she raised the Book to her lips, to kiss it a farewell. As she did so she felt the letters with her lips—“The Gospel according to Mark.” “Thank God!” she exclaimed, “I can read my Bible with my lips!”
Oh, in our last hour, when the world goes from our grasp, press this precious Gospel to our lips, that, in the dying kiss, we may taste its sweet promises.—De Witt Talmage, 1870.
Jer_36:23. Theme: LABORIOUS SERVICE WASTED. “All the roll was consumed in the fire.”
I. A vast and toilsome task.
i. It occupied a considerable time in preparation: doubtless “the nine months,” at least, of the fifth year of Jehoiakim (Jer_36:9).
ii. And it was undertaken at God’s command (Jer_36:2).
iii. It had an urgent and solemn aim in view (Jer_36:3).
iv. It was performed with anxious fidelity (Jer_36:4).
v. It occupied the energies of two devoted and gifted servants of Jehovah (Jer_36:4; Jer_36:17-18).
II. Destroyed in a moment’s caprice.
i. Within a few hours of its completion. Its reading before the people, princes, and king was all on the same day; and then it was destroyed.
ii. Utterly destroying the entire product of devoted toil. Not a vestige, not a leaf remaining.
iii. Apparently rendering all the labour fruitless. There on the fire smouldered the ashes of destroyed toil. “Strength spent for nought.”
III. Yet effecting its full Divine purpose.
i. Mighty consequences result from moments. A lightning flash lasts but a second, yet it fells a forest, shivers a rock, blasts an edifice, scorches a life into instant death.
This roll was read, and though, but once heard, it yet conveyed its message, and wrought its different results: on the people (Jer_36:7), on the princes (Jer_36:16), on the king (Jer_36:23).
ii. Man’s wanton act of destruction is included in God’s arrangements. He intended it as a test for the king, and it revealed to both people and princes (who had been solemnised by the reading) that the king was hopelessly defiant and merited the destruction so soon to follow.
iii. Hence godly work should be done and left with God. We may well be satisfied with the consciousness that we have carried out His bidding. If foes seem to render our obedience useless, that is God’s matter, not ours. Sometimes best results follow the apparent ruin of our labours. It makes the way clear for God to follow on with His judgments (Jer_36:31).
IV. Ruined work should inspire to renewed service. “Then took Jeremiah another roll” (Jer_36:32).
i. Go over again the path of obedience, even though with bleeding feet.
ii. Lose not faith in God though the toil seem monotonous.
iii. The recompleted service shall have something added. “Many like words.” For all work done over again becomes both enlarged and improved; and its disciplinary effect upon the worker may prove not the least of the advantageous results of the reattempted service. For the heart will learn to be patient in Divine employ, and submissive to the Providential conditions (of failure or success) amid which work for Him is fulfilled.
Paul said, “I have learned both how to be abased and how to abound.”
Jer_36:24. Theme: HARDENED HEARERS. “Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments;” that is, the king and his attendant princes. Jeremiah records this with amazement, sorrow, and alarm.
I. Contrast the solemn fear of Josiah, this king’s father (2Ki_22:11; 2Ki_22:19). The difference in their acts and their end. Jehoiakim’s guilt was aggravated by reason of his good father’s example.
II. Ponder the stolidity which habitual disobedience produces. This defiant effrontery in the king was the climax of long rejection of God’s messages. This immovable indifference in his princes was the result of the king’s example and influence.
III. Beware of hearing God’s messages with heedlessness.
1. Begins with inattention.
2. Progresses into wilful disobedience.
3. Culminates in hardened indifference.
IV. Receive God’s word with a chastened seriousness of spirit.
1. Warnings from God should produce alarm. “Afraid.”
2. Convictions of sin should lead to repentance. “Rend garments.”
3. Divine threatenings should urge to seek hiding in Christ.
Note.—The guilt of indifference. It shows—(a.) contempt of God; (b.) recklessness of soul; (c.) hardness of heart.
Jer_36:31. Theme: THREATENED PUNISHMENT. “And I will punish him, and his seed, and his servants, for their iniquity.” A current sentiment that God is too merciful to punish. This shows—
i. A misconception of the character of God.
ii. A wilful ignorance of the facts of history.
iii. Forgetfulness of the suffering condition of this present evil world. For, was not Adam driven from Eden? Did not the deluge sweep the ungodly from the earth? Were not Sodom and Gomorrah overthrown? Has God never sent famine, pestilence, &c., to punish the sins of the people? Has He not so constituted the human mind as that transgression entails misery? No error could be more irrational and unscriptural. Yet it is—
I. Pleaded that punishment is inconsistent with mercy. Because “God is love” and merciful, He cannot and will not punish. But—1. Punishment, instead of being destructive of mercy, is itself merciful. To let transgressors go would foster evil and spread ruin.
2. Hence God could not be merciful did He not punish.
II. Yet no sin in human history has been committed with impunity.
1. Every transgression and disobedience has received or will receive a just recompense of reward.
2. How then, if sinners must be punished, can they be pardoned and saved? Christ “was wounded for our transgressions.”
3. Had the saved been saved without their sins being borne by their Surety, law in that case had been ignored, and Justice slain on the altar of Mercy.
III. Since justice and mercy are alike attributes of God, He can never be other than both just and merciful.
1. In the economy of redemption they exist in friendly alliance.
2. They are never separated either in the Divine nature or the Divine government.
IV. In all God’s judgments on rebellious Israel there were both justice and mercy. Justice towards them that fell, mercy towards those spared. “Behold the goodness and severity of God,” &c.
V. However obscured, still mercy always tempers justice in God’s administrations. Difficult to discern mercy in the deluge; yet it arrested aboundings of iniquity and acted beneficially on the new world.
In some cases mercy is more conspicuous than justice. Yet Heaven is not all mercy unmixed with justice: in the redeemed we see the mercy of God; but in the Redeemer, with His scars, we see the justice. And Hell is not all justice unmixed with mercy: in the suffering there we see the justice of God, but in the effect of their doom on others (and other worlds) we may see the mercy.
VI. The conduct of some transgressors leads to justice being allowed to take its course untempered by mercy. E.g., the fallen angels. So with impenitent and unbelieving men. Yet while Mercy does not intervene with such, it is merciful to others that such should be punished; as it is merciful now to society to banish great criminals from their midst.
In God’s dealings with our fallen world, “grace reigns, through righteousness,” in relation to all who believe; whereas justice reigns in harmony with mercy, in reference to those who “neglect the great salvation.”—Rev. D. Pledge, “Walks with Jeremiah.”
Jer_36:32. Theme: “ANOTHER ROLL,” WITH “ADDED WORDS.”
I. God’s judgments against sin.
II. Man’s attempt to evade them.
III. How Divine condemnations reappear.
IV. How they reappear with additions.—Rev. John Farren.
ADDENDA TO CHAP. 36: ILLUSTRATIONS AND SUGGESTIVE EXTRACTS
REVELATION IN WRITING. “This is the first recorded instance of the formation of a Canonical Book, and of the special purpose of its formation. ‘The Book’ now, as often afterwards, was to be the death-blow of the old regal, aristocratic, sacerdotal exclusiveness, as represented in Jehoiakim. The ‘Scribe,’ now first rising into importance in the form of Baruch, to supply the defects of the living Prophet, was as the printing-press, in far later ages, supplying the defects of both Prophet and Scribe, and handing on the word of truth, which else might irretrievably have perished.”—Stanley, “Jewish Church,” ii. 456.
The British and Foreign Bible Society have during the last fifty years spread, mainly among English readers, about fifty million copies of God’s Word; and from their press six copies are now issued every minute of the day (of ten hours), or 3600 daily; and this at a price enabling the poorest to possess a Bible.
And the Scriptures have been circulated now in almost every tongue and dialect under heaven, and are being circulated in every country.
“Within this ample volume lies
The mystery of mysteries:
Happiest they of human race
To whom their God has given grace
To read, to fear, to hope, to pray,
To lift the latch and force the way;
And better had they ne’er been born,
That read to doubt, or read to scorn.”
—Scott.
INFURIATED HEARERS. Vespasian is said to have been patientissimus veri (Quintilian), “very patient of truth;” so was the good Josiah. But Jehoiakim “was more like Tiberius, that tiger who tore with his teeth what displeased him; or like Vitellius the tyrant, of whom Tacitus saith “that his ears were of that temper that he could hear no counsel, though never so profitable, unless it were pleasant, and did suit with his humours (Lib. 3: Hist.)—Trapp.
BURNING BIBLES. See article in “Secular Annotations on Scripture Texts,” Second Series, by Francis Jacox, pp. 180–189, on “Baruch’s Burnt Book.”
Jehoiakim is the first we read of that ever offered to burn the Bible. Antiochus, indeed, did the like afterwards, and Diocletian the tyrant, and later the Pope. A bad confederacy!
Dean Stanley, in his “Jewish Church,” vol. ii. pp. 455, 456, says, “Three or four columns exhausted the royal patience. He seized a knife, such as Eastern scribes wear for the sake of erasures, cut the parchment into strips, and threw it into the brazier till it was burnt to ashes. Those who had heard from their fathers of the effect produced on Josiah by the recital of the warnings of Deuteronomy might well be startled at the contrast. None of those well-known signs of astonishment and grief were seen; neither king nor attendants rent their clothes. It was an outrage long remembered. Baruch, in his hiding-places, was overwhelmed (Jer_36:15) with despair at this failure of his mission. But Jeremiah had now ceased to waver. He bade his timid disciple take up the pen, and record once more the terrible message.… But the Divine Oracle could not be destroyed in the destruction of its outward framework. It was the new form of the vision of the ‘bush burning, but not consumed:’ a sacred book, the form in which Divine truths were now first beginning to be known, burnt as sacred books have been burnt again and again, in the persecutions of the fourth or of the sixteenth century, yet multiplied by that very cause; springing from the flames to do their work, living in the voice and life of men, even when their outward letter seemed to be lost.”
The Preacher's Complete Homiletical Commentary (gen. ed. Joseph S. Exell; Funk & Wagnalls, c. 1892) — public domain (pre-1929). A full-Bible homiletical/sermon-outline anthology covering 65 of 66 books (2 John is absent from the source module). Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Sermon Bible 1900 · Public Domain On v1 I. The case of the Rechabites is the extreme…
Jer 36:23
I. The case of the Rechabites is the extreme of obedience; the story of Jehoiakim’s burning the roll represents the extreme of disobedience. Between these two cases, thus brought into contrast with one another, almost within the same page, the conduct of the great mass of mankind is always hovering. Few equal the extreme of obedience set forth on the one hand, as few the extreme of disobedience set forth on the other. Thousands who disobey the Bible every day would shrink from the thought of burning it in utter defiance. Thousands who will do what they see to be just and reasonable will make no scruple of breaking a command which seems to them, in its own nature, indifferent.
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II. That we are almost all of us, old and young, wanting in the principle of obedience, might be concluded pretty surely from the simple fact that we do not like the very word. The word "independence," which is the opposite to obedience, is, on the contrary, a great favourite with us; we consider that it is at once delightful and honourable. Tracing this up to its origin, it is certainly in part, nothing but evil; for it is made up largely of pride, and pride is ignorance of God. What is called the feeling of independence, is admired chiefly because it shows the absence of fear. But if obedience were rendered, not from fear, but from principle, it would then be nobler, because it would imply greater self-denial than the feeling of independence; for the feeling of independence is, in other words, a wish to have our own way, a wish in which there is nothing at all noble or admirable, except in as far as it is exercised in the face of the fear of danger. Set aside the existence of fear, and independence becomes no better than self-will; while obedience becomes self-denial for the sake of others—that is benevolence or charity.
III. There can be no obedience to God without virtue and duty, but the word implies something more; it implies doing our duty because God commands it; it implies a deep and abiding sense of our relation to Him; that we are not, nor ever can be, independent beings but dependent creatures; and that, by practising obedience to our Maker, by doing His will because it is His will, and because we love Him, we shall be raised to a higher and more endearing name; no longer creatures, but children.
T. Arnold, Sermons, vol. iii., p. 210.
Jer 36:23
I. Why has God given us the Bible? Not to bewilder us, not to tempt our curiosity, not to found rival sects, but to bring us to Himself to obtain forgiveness of iniquity and sin. The one object of the Bible is the salvation of mankind.
II. Man is so unwilling to hear anything unpleasant or disagreeable about himself that he gets into a wrong temper before he actually knows what God’s object is. Jehoiakim did not hear the whole roll. Did any man ever destroy the Bible who knew it wholly? The difficulty is in the "three or four leaves."
III. Men have not destroyed revelation when they have destroyed the Bible. The penknife cannot reach its spirit, the fire cannot touch its life. The history of the Bible is one of the proofs of its inspiration.
IV. The desire to cut the Bible with the penknife and to cast it into the fire, is quite intelligible, because in a sense profoundly natural.
V. This desire to mutilate the Holy Word shows itself in various ways, some of them apparently innocent*; others of them dignified with fine names, and claiming attention as the last developments of human progress. Human nature shows itself most vividly in the treatment of the Bible.
Parker, The Ark of God, p. 217; see also Penny Pulpit, No. 899.
Notice some lessons which this subject suggests.
I. Those who in their early days have resisted holy influences, generally turn out the most wicked of men. When a man deliberately tramples on conviction, and resists the dealings of God’s spirit, he uses the most effectual means to sear his conscience and harden his heart.
II. If a man’s religion is not genuine and heart deep, it often happens that troubles and calamities only drive him further away from God. What effect had all his misfortunes and disasters on Jehoiakim? Did they soften him? Did they incline him to a better course of life? Not a bit. He grew worse than ever.
III. As the heart gets hardened in sin, there is a growing unwillingness to listen to the voice of God. As soon as a young man begins an evil course, and resolves to take his fill of sinful pleasures, he acquires a hatred of his Bible, and a disinclination to attend the house of God. If he cannot silence God’s ministers, he will keep as far as possible from them, and shut his ears against all good counsel.
J. Thain Davidson, The City Youth, p. 225.
References: Jer 36:3.—Homiletic Quarterly, vol. i., p. 551. Jer 36:22, Jer 36:23.—J. Cox, Expositions, 2nd series, p. 192. Jer 36:23.—Preacher’s Monthly, vol. iv., p. 231; D. Moore, Penny Pulpit, No. 3504.
Jer 36:24
The conduct which we read of in the text seems to be nothing out of the way, nothing strange, nothing which we cannot enter into and cannot explain, but only an instance of what goes on now, and always has gone on since the beginning of the world; it is an instance of the hardening power of sin.
I. This is what makes a sin, even a little sin, enormously great when considered as the seed of the whole crop of sins afterwards, even as a single seed of the wrong kind may be enough to overrun a field with thistles. A single sin is but the leader of a whole band, and when once the barrier has been broken, a legion of others swarm in; and a single sin is but the beginning of the hardening process, is but the beginning of a state of disease which ends in utter blindness and want of feeling. This I understand by the deceitfulness of sin to which the Apostle refers its hardening power; it is deceitful because what we call a small sin appears trifling, because we judge of sins merely in ourselves, without considering to what they lead; if in war a general were to see a few of the enemy’s soldiers straggling over the hills, he might say that they were so few that they were not worth considering, but would he say so? or would he not rather look upon them as the forerunners of a great army; would he not prepare at once to resist the hosts of enemies which he must know lurked behind? In like manner the sins of childhood are the forerunners of the great army of the world, the flesh, and the devil, which comes up in maturer years; and the only safe course is to look upon no sin as trifling, but to root out every enemy, whether small or great, lest perhaps we allow our enemy to gain such strength as shall end in our overthrow.
II. There is such a thing as being gospel-hardened; there is such a thing as listening to God’s word, and to preaching, without doing, until the sound of the most solemn truths becomes as useless as that of a tinkling cymbal, until the sword of the Spirit is unable to cut or pierce. Persons who have become thus are like the king of Judah and his servants, who hear the threatened vengeance of Almighty God, and yet are not afraid, nor rend their garments.
Bishop Harvey Goodwin, Parish Sermons, 1st series, p. 222.
References: Jer 36:24.—J. E. Vaux, Sermon Notes, 2nd series, p. 36; Plain Sermons by Contributors to "Tracts for the Times," vol. i., p. 177.
Jer 36:32
I. Baruch, the friend and amanuensis of Jeremiah, was directed in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, king of Judah, to write all the prophecies of Jeremiah delivered up to that period, and to read them to the people, which he did, from a window in the Temple, on two solemn occasions. But where was Jeremiah himself? He was under sentence of death, and the people were infuriated against him. He was in so much danger from the animosity of his opponents that it would have been imprudent for him to appear in public. This prudence was indeed one of the marks of Jeremiah’s piety, as well as his wisdom. Our life and health are not our own. We are stewards of God, and to Him we are accountable for the preservation of the life which He has given us until the time shall come when He shall Himself take it.
II. Baruch could probably perform the work in hand better than Jeremiah himself. Had Jeremiah appeared in public, the people would have been so exasperated that they would not even have heard him, for he would have come before them as one under sentence of death, and in defiance of the advice of those powerful friends who would by his conduct have been equally with himself exposed to danger. Wisdom and sound policy are parts of piety. We are not only to do the work which is providentially assigned to us, but to do it in the best and most effective manner.
III. Jeremiah foretold destruction to the city unless the people amended their ways. The people did not deny that l Jeremiah was an inspired prophet, but they would not heed what he said, and seemed to think that if they prohibited him from speaking, or if they destroyed his book, they would be exempted from responsibility or danger. But the decree of God remained; the words of Jeremiah were fearfully fulfilled. The fact remains the same, whether we believe it or not. The Bible and the preacher do not alter the fact or make the fact.
W. F. Hook, Parish Sermons, p. 165.
References: Jer 36:32.—J. Keble, Sermons for Sundays after Trinity, Part II., p. 176. Jer 38:6.—J. Kennedy, Christian World Pulpit, vol. ii., p. 124.
The Sermon Bible, ed. William Robertson Nicoll (1888–1900) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Alexander MacLaren 1905 · Public Domain On v32
Jeremiah
JEREMIAH’S ROLL BURNED AND REPRODUCED
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Jer 36:32.
This story brings us into the presence of the long death agony of the Jewish monarchy. The wretched Jehoiakim, the last king but two who reigned in Jerusalem, was put on the throne by the King of Egypt, as his tributary, and used by him as a buffer to bear the brunt of the Babylonian invasion. He seems to have had all the vices of Eastern sovereigns. He was covetous, cruel, tyrannous, lawless, heartless, senseless. He was lavishing money on a grand palace, built with cedar and painted in vermilion, when the nation was in its death-throes. He had neither valour nor goodness, and so little did he understand the forces at work in his times that he held by the rotten support of Egypt against the grim power of Babylon, and of course, when the former was driven like chaff before the assault of the latter, he shared the fate of his principal, and Judaea was overrun by Babylon, Jerusalem captured, and the poor creature on the throne bound in chains to be carried to Babylon, but, as would appear, discovered by Nebuchadnezzar to be pliable enough to make it safe to leave him behind, as his vassal. His capture took place but a few months after the incident with which I am dealing now. It would appear probable that the confusion and alarm of the Babylonian assault on Egypt had led to a solemn fast in Jerusalem, at which the nation assembled. Jeremiah, who had been prophesying for some thirty years, and had already been in peril of his life from the godless tyrant on the throne, was led to collect, in one book, his scattered prophecies and read them in the ears of the people gathered for the fast. That reading had no effect at all on the people. The roll was then read to the princes, and in them roused fear and interested curiosity, and kindly desire for the safety of Jeremiah and Baruch, his amanuensis. It was next read to the king, and he cut the roll leaf by leaf and threw it on the brasier, not afraid, nor penitent, but enraged and eager to capture Jeremiah and Baruch. The burnt roll was reproduced by God’s command, ‘and there were added besides . . . many like words.’
I. The love of God necessarily prophesying evil.
As a matter of fact, the prophets of the Old Testament were all prophets of evil. They were watchmen seeing the sword and giving warning. No one ever spoke more plainly of the penalties of sin than did Christ. The authoritative revelation of the consequences of wrongdoing is an integral part of the gospel.
It is not the highest form of appeal. It would be higher to say, ‘Do right because it is right; love Christ because Christ is lovely.’ The purpose of such an appeal is to prepare us for the true gospel. But the appeal to a reasonable self-love, by warnings of the death which is the wages of sin, is perfectly legitimate. Dehortations from sin on the ground of its consequences is part of God’s message.
Further, the warning comes from love. Punishment must needs follow on sin. Even His love must compel God to punish, and to warn before He does. Surely that is kind. His punishments are made known beforehand that we may be sure that caprice and anger have no part in inflicting them, but that they are the settled order of an inviolable law, and constitutional procedure of a just kind. Whether is it better to live under a despot who smites as he will, or under a constitutional king whose code is made public.
Surely it is needful to have clearly set forth the consequences of sin, in view of the sophistries buzzing round us all and nestling in our own hearts, of the deceitfulness of sin, of siren voices whispering, ‘Ye shall not surely die.’
God’s prophecies of evil are all conditional. They are sent on purpose that they may not be fulfilled.
II. The loving warnings disregarded and disliked. Jehoiakim’s behaviour is very human and like what we all do. We see the same thing repeated in all similar crises. Cassandra. Jewish prophets. Christ. English Commonwealth. French Revolution. Blindness to all signs and hostility to the men that warn.
We see it in the attitude to the gospel revelation. The Scripture doctrine of punishment always rouses antagonism, and in this day revolts men. There is much in present tendencies to weaken the idea of future retribution. Modern philanthropy makes it hard sometimes to administer even human laws. The feeling is good, but this exaggeration of it bad. It is a reaction to some extent against an unchristian way of preaching Christian truth, but even admitting that, it still remains true that an integral part of the Christian revelation is the revelation of death as the wages of sin.
We see the same recoil of feeling operating in individual cases. How many of you are quite indifferent to the preaching of a judgment to come, or only conscious of a movement of dislike! But how foolish this is! If a man builds a house on a volcano, is it not kind to tell him that the lava is creeping over the side? Is it not kind to wake, even violently, a traveller who has fallen asleep on the snow, before drowsiness stiffens into death?
III. The impotent rejection and attempted destruction of the message.
The roll is destroyed, but it is renewed. You do not alter facts by neglecting them, nor abrogate a divine decree by disbelieving it. The awful law goes on its course. It is not pre-eminent seamanship to put the look-out man in irons because he sings out, ‘Breakers ahead.’ The crew do not abolish the reef so, but they end their last chance of avoiding it, and presently the shock comes, and the cruel coral tears through the hull.
IV. The neglected message made harder and heavier.
Every rejection makes a man more obdurate. Every rejection increases criminality, and therefore increases punishment. Every rejection brings the punishment nearer.
The increased severity of the message comes from love.
Oh, think of the infinite ‘treasures of darkness’ which God has in reserve, and let the words of warning lead you to Jesus, that you may only hear and never experience the judgments of which they warn. Give Christ the roll of judgment and He will destroy it, nailing it to His cross, and instead of it will give you a book full of blessing.
Alexander MacLaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (1904–1910) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
J. R. Dummelow 1909 · Public Domain On v1 Events Connected with the Collection of Jeremiah's Prophecies into…
Events Connected with the Collection of Jeremiah's Prophecies into a Volume (4th and 5th years of Jehoiakim)
The prophecies concerning Israel and Judah are now ended, and we have here the record of the embodying in a permanent form by Jeremiah of the substance of these prophecies. For further remarks see Intro.
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2. A roll of a book] Several skins were stitched together and attached to a roller of wood. The writing was arranged in columns parallel to the roller, so that as the parchment was gradually unfolded the successive columns could be read.
4. Baruch] the prophet's companion and assistant already mentioned (Jer_32:12.).
5. Shut up] not meaning imprisoned (with which Jer_36:19 would be inconsistent), but hindered perhaps by the extreme unpopularity of his recent utterances.
9. In the ninth month] our December. It was thus a specially appointed fast, not that of the seventh month which alone was prescribed by the Law (Lev_16:29; Lev_23:27).
10. Gemariah] he was brother of Ahikam (see Jer_26:24), who was friendly to Jeremiah and distinct from Gemariah of Jer_29:3.
11. When Michaiah.. had heard] As it was in the chamber of Michaiah's father that Baruch had been allowed to read the roll, Gemariah, who was engaged at a council of the leading men in another room, would naturally be desirous to learn as soon as might be what had occurred.
12. Went down] see on Jer_22:1. Elnathan] mentioned in Jer_26:22.
15. Sit down] Baruch was invited to take the position ordinarily assumed by an Eastern teacher. This together with Jer_36:19 shows that the princes were favourably disposed towards Jeremiah.
17. How didst thou write, etc.] They desired to know how much was Baruch's own that they might be able to state to the king the amount of responsibility that rested upon each.
22. The winter-house] a separate portion of the palace, as appears from Amo_3:15. On the hearth] RV 'in the brasier': so in Jer_36:23. Braziers containing charcoal were placed in a depression in the middle of a room for warming purposes.
23. Leaves] RM 'columns': see on Jer_36:2. He] i.e. the king.
24. They were not afraid.. neither the king, etc.] Contrast with this the conduct of the king's father Josiah when the newly discovered Book of the Law was read to him (2Ki_22:11).
29. Shall certainly come, etc.] fulfilled in the time of Jehoiakim's son, Jehoiachin, and finally when Zedekiah was carried captive.
30. He shall have none to sit, etc.] for his son was carried captive in three months from his accession: cp. Jer_22:30. His dead body, etc.] see on Jer_22:19.
32. The substance of the second roll is doubtless to a large extent preserved to us in this book.
J. R. Dummelow, A Commentary on the Holy Bible (Macmillan, 1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
C. I. Scofield 1917 · Public Domain On vv9, 22 ninth month
ninth month
i.e. December.
The Scofield Reference Bible (1917 edition), notes by C. I. Scofield — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Arno C. Gaebelein 1922 · Public Domain On v1 The Indestructibility of the Word of God
CHAPTER 36
The Indestructibility of the Word of God
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1. The writing of the roll (Jer 36:1-4)
2. The reading of the roll (Jer 36:4-20)
3. The king cuts and burns the roll (Jer 36:21-26)
4. The indestructibility of the Word of God (Jer 36:27-32)
Jer 36:1-4. Once more we are taken back to the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Jeremiah is now commanded to commit all the words Jehovah had spoken to him to writing. It was for the purpose that the people might hear of all the evil and that they might yet consider it and turn to the Lord to be forgiven. How gracious and merciful He is! He then dictated all the words to Baruch, who wrote them down. But, asks a critic, how could he remember all he had spoken? The same Spirit who communicated the messages to him, re-communicated them to the prophet.
Jer 36:4-20. Jeremiah was “shut in,” which, however, does not mean that he was a prisoner (see Jer 36:19); it probably means that he was not permitted to enter the LORD’s house on account of some ceremonial impurity. So he sent Baruch, his amanuensis, to read the scroll to the people on the fasting day, and when all the people had come together, Baruch read the roll at the entry of the new gate. Michaiah, one of the sons of Gemariah, was deeply moved by what he had heard, went to the place where the princes sat in counsel and told them what he had heard from Baruch’s lips. Baruch was then commanded to appear before the princes to read the roll to them. What they heard frightened them. They declared they would tell the king.
Jer 36:21-26. The king sent for the roll. The king listened to but a few of the leaves. Then, energized by the devil, he pulled out his penknife, cut the roll, and, to make sure that the roll would be destroyed, he cast it into the open fire, and with keen satisfaction he watched till the roll was consumed. Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah tried to keep him from doing this evil deed, but he refused to listen to them. These three had at least some reverence for the Word of God, and therefore the Holy Spirit records their names. The king was not satisfied with this. His satanic anger was so aroused that he wanted to have Baruch and Jeremiah apprehended. Like the mad king Saul, he probably thought of killing them both. But the Lord hid them.
What Jehoiakim did, has been done over and over again. It is being done today as never before in the history of Christendom. It is being done by the destructive critics, in colleges and universities; it is done by the men who have produced the Shorter New Testament and the Shorter Old Testament, by those who advocate an abridged Bible, by others who, like the English writer Wells, want a new Bible. The same power of darkness is behind all these wicked attempts to mutilate the Word of God. Jehoiakim’s work is nothing in comparison with these twentieth century infidels, because these aim at the most precious, the most blessed revelation of God, the doctrine of Christ. Their condemnation will be far greater than that of the Jewish king.
Jer 36:27-32. But did the king destroy the Word of God? One might just as well speak of destroying God Himself. Neither God nor His Word can ever be affected by the efforts of men inspired by the enemy of the truth of God. The Word of God endureth forever. It is, like God, eternal. How the Bibles have been burned a thousand times over again! In pagan Rome and papal Rome Satan has raged against the Bible. His Word lives on. And now the devil, camouflaged as an angel of light, in the guise of “devout scholarship” and “reverent criticism” tries it again. His Word lives on! Emperors and popes, philosophers and infidels who attacked the Bible are gone; the Bible is still with us. Jeremiah is told to take another roll. Once more the Lord dictates the same words to him, and Jeremiah again dictates them to Baruch, “with many like words,” including a judgment message of the miserable end of the wicked king.
Arno C. Gaebelein, The Annotated Bible (1913–1922) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Paul E. Kretzmann 1924 · Public Domain On vv1, 19 The Prophecies Recorded and Read
The Prophecies Recorded and Read
v. 1. And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, about in the year 607 B. C. that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,
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v. 2. Take thee a roll of a book, a long strip of parchment such as was used for manuscripts at that time, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel and against Judah and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, 25:3, even unto this day, a period of twenty-three years. The command was given at that time, but the public reading of the prophecies did not take place until the next year, in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoiakim. Meanwhile Nebuchadnezzar had gathered his army and took the city at the end of the fifth or the beginning of the sixth year of Jehoiakim. Jehoiakim was taken captive and brought to Babylon, but upon his promising allegiance was returned to Jerusalem. When he withheld the stipulated tribute, however, he was again carried off and died before the campaign was brought to an end. The prophecies which were here recorded may have been written down before, but they were now brought together in one roll, to be read to the Jews.
v. 3. It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them, that they may return every man from his evil way, this being the gracious purpose of the Lord in preaching repentance, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin, for a return to the Lord in true sorrow for sins committed, such grief having been wrought by the power of His Word, will find Him more than ready to dispense forgiveness.
v. 4. Then Jeremiah called Baruch, the son of Neriah, who acted as his clerk or secretary; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah, by exact dictation, all the words of the Lord which He had spoken unto him upon a roll of a book, a process which evidently took some time.
v. 5. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up, he was prevented at that time from attending to this matter in person; I cannot go into the house of the Lord;
v. 6. therefore go thou and read in the roll which thou hast written from say mouth the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord’s house, before the entire congregation assembled for worship, upon the fasting-day, a day specially set apart for this purpose by the king, probably in commemoration of the first capture of the city by Nebuchadnezzar; and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities, so that the message would be brought to the attention of as many people as possible.
v. 7. It may be they will present their supplication before the Lord, literally, "Possibly will fall down their pleadings before the face of Jehovah," as though kneeling before Him in an attitude of begging, and will return every one from his evil way; for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord hath pronounced against this people, because He had threatened a very severe punishment.
v. 8. And Baruch, the son of Neriah, did according to all that Jeremiah, the prophet, commanded him, reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house, before the entire congregation assembled in the courts.
v. 9. And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the Lord to all the people in Jerusalem and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem, the celebration being ordered by those in authority and proclaimed throughout the country for the specified day, the object probably being to arouse the national consciousness against the Babylonian invasion and oppression by combining the religious features of a fast with a public assembly of this magnitude. Jeremiah very likely had Baruch read the words of Jehovah in order to counteract the plans of the king and his counselors.
v. 10. Then read Baruch in the book, from the roll, the words of Jeremiah in the house of the Lord, in the chamber of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, the scribe, in the higher court, the Court of the Priests, at the entry of the new gate of the Lord’s house, in the ears of all the people. The cell of Gemariah was evidently located at or near the outer wall of the Court of the Priests, so that it overlooked the Court of Israel, where the people were assembled.
v. 11. When Michaiah, the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the Lord, as Baruch declaimed with a loud voice,
v. 12. then he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s chamber, into the office of the chancellor in the royal palace; and, lo, all the princes sat there, the king’s counselors sitting in the office of the Secretary of State, even Elishama, the scribe, a political officer of very high standing, and Delaiah, the son of Shemaiah, and Einathan, the son of Achbor, and Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, and Zedekiah, the son of Hananiah, and all the princes.
v. 13. Then Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. He rendered a complete report of the message which had been read in the Temple.
v. 14. Therefore all the princes, aroused by the report given them by Michaiah, sent Jehudi, the son of Netha-niah, the son of Shelamiah, the son of Cushi, unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll wherein thou hast read in the ears of the people and come. So Baruch, the son of Neriah, took the roll in his hand and came unto them.
v. 15. And they said unto him, Sit down now and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears.
v. 16. Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, that is, their faces and bearing showed the terror which they felt on account of this proclamation with its horrible threats, a message which was, at the same time, so utterly at variance with the wishes and hopes of the king, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. They felt that it was their duty as officers of the kingdom to make known what they had now heard, since it affected the whole country.
v. 17. And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How didst thou write all these words at his mouth? They wanted exact information before proceeding any farther in the matter.
v. 18. Then Baruch answered them, He, Jeremiah, pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book. He was very frank in his report, as believers may readily be at all times, knowing that they have the truth on their side.
Paul E. Kretzmann, Popular Commentary of the Bible (1921–1924) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 4, 7, 9, 11, 13, 16, 20, 23, 25, 27, 30, 32 General Information:
General Information:
See: Poetry and Parallelism
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It came about
"It happened." This phrase is used here to mark the beginning of a new part of the story. If your language has a way for doing this, you could consider using it here.
in the fourth year of Jehoiakim ... king of Judah
Jehoiakim had been king of Judah for more than three years. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 25:1. (See: Ordinal Numbers)
that this word
The phrase "this word" refers to the message that follows.
to Jeremiah
It is not clear why Jeremiah is referring to himself by name here. You may translate using first person, as the UDB does. (See: First, Second, or Third Person)
he said
"Yahweh said"
every nation
"all of the nations"
I have told from
"I have told you from"
from the days of Josiah until this very day
"from the time Josiah was king until today"
Perhaps the people
"It is possible that the people"
to bring on them
"to cause to happen to them"
his wicked way
Yahweh speaks of a person's lifestyle as if it were a "way" or path along which the person walks. See how you translated this in Jeremiah 18:11. AT: "his wicked way of living" (See: Metaphor)
forgive their iniquity and their sin
The words "iniquity" and "sin" are metonyms for the persons who commit iniquity and sin. AT: "forgive them for their iniquity and their sin" (See: Metonymy)
translationWords
year
Jehoiakim
Josiah
king
kingdom of Judah
word of God
Jeremiah
Yahweh
scroll
word
kingdom of Israel
nation
day
people group
turn
evil
forgive
iniquity
sin
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv1, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 14, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25, 26, 27, 29 36:1-32 This description of Jehoiakim’s cynical response to God’s…
36:1-32 This description of Jehoiakim’s cynical response to God’s attempt to call him to repentance and covenant obedience (36:3, 7) graphically underscores the hopelessness of the situation. • Nowhere else does the Old Testament provide this much detail about the process of preserving spoken messages in written form.
36:1-2 The fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign, 605 BC, was the year Nebuchadnezzar first attacked Jerusalem (see study note on Dan 1:1). • In those days, a scroll was a roll of papyrus or leather strips joined edge to edge and rolled up.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.