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Jeremiah 36 “Even If You Wring the Neck of a Chicken”

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5–8 minutes

Jeremiah 36 NIV

Suggested Praise Songs:                                                            

Resources for Family Worship (with Children):

Explanation:

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign (605 BC), the LORD told Jeremiah to take a scroll and write down on it all the words the LORD had spoken to him since the days of Josiah (vv. 1–2). By gathering together, the messages given at different times and writing them on one scroll, the impact would be greater and the chance of repentance higher (v. 3). Jeremiah called Baruch and dictated to him all the words the LORD had given him, and Baruch wrote them on the scroll (v. 4).

Because Jeremiah was confined and unable to go to the temple himself (v. 5), he instructed Baruch to take the scroll and read it to the people on a day of fasting (v. 6). If the people had gathered at the temple to fast, their hearts might be ready to hear God’s word and repent (v. 7). Even now, if they repented, they could still escape judgment.

Several months later, in the fifth year of Jehoiakim’s reign, the king proclaimed a fast for all the people of Judah (v. 9). Baruch did exactly as Jeremiah had instructed: he took the scroll to the temple and read the words of the LORD to the crowd that had gathered there (vv. 8, 10).

Micaiah, grandson of Shaphan (the man who had led Josiah’s religious reforms), heard the reading and hurried to the officials who were meeting together to report what he had heard (vv. 11–13). The officials summoned Baruch and had him read the scroll to them (vv. 14–15). Greatly alarmed by what they heard (v. 16), they asked Baruch how the scroll came to be written. When he explained that he had simply written down the words Jeremiah received from the LORD, they urgently told him to take Jeremiah and hide where no one would find them (vv. 17–19). Then they went to the king and reported what they had heard (v. 20).

After hearing the officials’ report, King Jehoiakim sent for the scroll and had it read aloud (v. 21). It was winter, and a fire was burning in the brazier (v. 22). As the scroll was read, the king cut off each section with a knife and threw it into the fire until the entire scroll was burned (v. 23). Neither the king nor any of his attendants showed any fear or tore their clothes in grief (v. 24). Although Gemariah (another grandson of Shaphan) and a few others pleaded with the king not to burn the scroll, he refused to listen (v. 25). The king then ordered the arrest of Jeremiah and Baruch, but the LORD hid them (v. 26).

After this, the LORD appeared again to Jeremiah, who was still in hiding, and told him to take another scroll and rewrite everything that had been on the one Jehoiakim had burned (vv. 27–28). The LORD also gave Jeremiah a message specifically for King Jehoiakim: judgment would come upon Judah exactly as written on the scroll (vv. 29–31). Jeremiah did as the LORD commanded—he took another scroll, gave it to Baruch, and dictated all the words of the LORD once more (v. 32).

Meditation:

For forty years Jeremiah proclaimed the word of the Lord. Unlike today’s preachers who speak every week, he spoke only when the word of the Lord came to him. There were months, even a year or two, when heaven was silent. Because the messages arrived only occasionally, the people would feel a brief jolt of alarm, but soon their hearts grew dull again. That is why the Lord told Jeremiah to gather every word he had received over the years and write them all on a single scroll. God called Jeremiah in 627 BC and received this command in 605 BC—so the Lord was telling him to collect twenty-two years of divine messages into one place. Perhaps, the Lord thought, when people heard the full weight of all those words at once, they would finally understand and turn back to Him.

The reaction of King Jehoiakim and his officials to the reading of that scroll was nothing less than a “heart hard as stone.” The text says plainly, “Yet neither the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words was afraid, nor did they tear their clothes” (v. 24). They refused to acknowledge God’s rebuke and warning. When the king took his knife, cut the scroll column by column, and fed each piece into the fire, he was treating the word of God—and God Himself—with contempt. He even issued an order to arrest Jeremiah who had spoken the words and Baruch who had written them down. Instead of letting the word break him, he tried to destroy the word. He did not realize that the blade he should have turned against was not the scroll but his own heart.

Years ago, a politician in our country said, “Even if you wring the neck of the rooster, dawn will still come.” That is exactly what Jehoiakim tried to do, he tried to wring the rooster’s neck so that dawn would never break, or at least pretended the dawn was not coming. But no matter how much you deny it or try to silence it, dawn arrives. When the rooster crows, the wise thing to do is to get up and prepare for the new day. By stopping their ears to the warning voice that came through Jeremiah, Jehoiakim and his officials made no preparation at all—and disaster overtook them.

The Bible we open every day contains far more of God’s word than the scroll Baruch wrote. What the people of Judah heard only occasionally over more than forty years, we now read every day. That is why reading the prophets can feel so heavy. Yet to push the prophetic word away just because it is burdensome is to repeat the sin of Jehoiakim and his court. Even when it is uncomfortable, even when it cuts, we must read God’s word each day and let it break our hearts. That is the only way to live.

Prayer:

Lord, help me stand humbly before Your sharp, sword-like word. Let me bow my head when Your word accuses me. Teach me to love Your two-edged sword. Amen.

Discussion Questions for Children & Youth:

Key Point: God’s Word is like a rooster that crows to wake us up. We can try to ignore it or even make it quiet, but God’s truth will still come. It would be wise to wake our hearts and get ready for Jesus.

  • For Preschool-Elementary:
    • When you hear a loud sound (like a fire alarm or a rooster), what do you do?
    • If God sends a message to wake up your heart, how do you think He does it?
    • Can we make God quiet if we don’t like what He says??
  • Youth:
    • In your own words: What was the king really afraid of when he burned the scroll?
    • Have you ever wanted to “close the Bible” or skip church because the message felt too heavy? What helped you open it again?
    • The new scroll God told Jeremiah to write was even longer. Why do you think God refuses to stay quiet?

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