Chapter 36

Quick note for readers:

Johno’s Commentary will pause on Monday evening and return the following Monday or Tuesday. This is so I can have a holiday with my kids without bringing a computer!

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Jeremiah, as we have seen all the way through this book, was passionate. Very passionate.

You can tell, because he just can’t stop telling people God’s words.

Case in point: Chapter 36.

Now, God has given him another message to take to the people, with a back story of what God has done for Israel and Judah as well as YET MORE warnings of catastrophe. The idea is obviously to provoke the king and the public into repentance.

So Jeremiah dictates a long scroll to his secretary Baruch. So far so good.

There’s a problem, though. Jeremiah has been blacklisted and isn’t allowed into the Temple.

Now, that might have stopped some people. But did I mention that Jeremiah was passionate? He wasn’t going to let a little thing like being blacklisted stop him getting this message to the people! So he needed a plan B . . .

. . . Which turned out to be as simple as sending his secretary in with the message.

The key time was during a fast day, when pretty much anyone who was anyone was at the Temple. Baruch chose that time to read the scroll aloud.

As luck would have it, a bunch of officials are in the Temple at that time. They correctly discern that it was Jeremiah’s words, and naturally weren’t pleased at all. Most especially, once word reached him, the KING was very upset. So upset that he burned the scroll as it was read to him, and ordered Jeremiah and Baruch to be arrested (fortunately for them, God was hiding them).

God comes to Jeremiah again, and Baruch writes another scroll (poor guy). Oh, and a letter with some very pointed messages to the King!

Okay, so what do we get from THIS one?

To me, the big message is in Jeremiah’s actions in getting the news to the people. He’s so motivated to get this message out that the people at the Temple that he is willing to overcome problems like being blacklisted, being hated by the King etc.

His message is THAT important to him.

Compare that with us. We have what Peter once described as “the words of eternal life!”

Magician Penn Jillette is a well-known atheist, so militant that on his TV program of unfortunate name he once described Christianity (and the Bible on a different episode) as . . well . . cattle droppings. And yet, this anti-Christian guy has said something that the Church needs to take notice of: “If you really believe in a heaven and a hell, both of which are supposed to be eternal, how much would you have to hate someone to not tell them?”

There’s the crux, right there. Like Jeremiah, we have a vital message (in fact, a message that is more important that his – it is about ETERNAL matters!). If we take it seriously, we should be at least as motivated as Jeremiah to get it out to everyone we meet!