The Book Burning
- 36:1 “fourth year of Jehoiakim” - again a flashback to contrast to the
present. Jehoiakim will be contrasted with Zedekiah.
- 36:2 “take a scroll and write on it all the words” - 15 to 20 years worth
of ministry so far. God told Jeremiah to write a book. While this could
have been from Holy Spirit inspired memory, the book feels to me like a
compilation of personal notes.
- 36:3 “perhaps .. the people .. will each turn from his wicked way” -
whether a Divine hope for human repentance, or a demonstration of
unrepentance, is something argued over for millennia.
- 36:4 “Jeremiah called Baruch” - most Jews could read and write (and
indeed most pagans, despite the claims of some academics, as evidenced
by the quantity of ancient grafitti). You hired a scribe like Baruch to
produce neatly written and trimmed scrolls - much as you would hire
a printer today. Jeremiah and Baruch become lifelong friends.
- 36:5 “I am restricted” - cancel culture circa 600BC
- 36:16 “turned to one another in fear” - the fear of the Lord is the
beginning of wisdom.
- 36:19 “hide yourselves” - the officials knew they must report to the
king, but also that Jehoiachim would likely kill the prophet.
- 36:20 “so the officials went to the king” - some of them must have eventually
reported to Jeremiah the proceedings.
- 36:23 “throw them into the firepot” - this utter contempt for the word
of God will be contrasted with Zedekiah in the next chapter.
- 36:26 “the Lord had hidden them” - as the officials suspected, the King
ordered Jeremiah’s arrest.
- 36:28 “rewrite the very words” - from the same notes, or from a draft
copy. Today we just print another copy.
- 36:30 “body will be thrown out and exposed” - this was the end of
Jehoiakim. His sniveling contempt and corruption delegitimized him
in the eyes of the people.
- 36:31 “punish him and his descendants and servants for their iniquity” -
God will remove the corrupt ruler and the Deep State (servants).