the king’s response to the scroll.
22 Since it was the ninth month, the king was sitting in his winter quarters with a fire burning in front of him.
23 As soon as Jehudi would read three or four columns,
Jehoiakim would cut the scroll with a scribe’s knife and throw the columns into the fire in the hearth
until the entire scroll was consumed by the fire in the hearth.24 As they heard all these words, the king and all his servants did not become terrified or tear their clothes.
25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah had urged the king not to burn the scroll,
he did not listen to them.
26 Then the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son,
Seraiah son of Azriel,
and Shelemiah son of Abdeel
to seize the scribe Baruch and the prophet Jeremiah, but the LORD hid them.
The King’s Response and God’s Judgment.
identify things the king did in response to hearing God’s message of judgment.
Point out the courage of the king’s servants (v. 25)
in urging him not to burn the scroll.
This is a lesson for every believer.
We can either stand with those in power who defy God and seek to silence His Word,
or we can stand up and speak out for God’s Word,
faithfully devoted to God and His Word regardless of the cost.
Draw attention to the Key Doctrine:
The Scriptures (p. 87).
The Bible reveals the principles by which God judges us,
and therefore is, and will remain to the end of the world, the true center of Christian union,
and the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds, and religious opinions should be tried.
(See Luke 21:33; 2 Tim. 3:15-17.)
Highlight the role Scripture plays in the life of a believer.
Affirm that the value of God’s Word to us requires us
to stand up for it when culture tries to diminish its power and influence.
An angry Jehoiakim sent his son to find Jeremiah and Baruch,
but God protected them. As the king would soon learn,
burning a physical scroll could not destroy the truth of God’s Word.