Jeremiah 36:27-32 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll… It was burned, but Jeremiah lived, and Jeremiah's God lived. Therefore to burn it was not to destroy it. Another spell of work for Baruch, and the loss was repaired. Like the fabled blood-stains on some palace floor where murder has been done, and all the planing in the world will not remove the dark spots, God's threatenings are destroyed, as men think, and presently there they are again, as plain as ever. It is true of the written Word, which men have tried to make away with many a time in many a way, but it "liveth and abideth for ever." It is true of the echoes of that Word in conscience, which may be neglected, sophisticated, drugged, and stifled, but still sometimes wakes and solemnly reiterates its message. And all that Jehoiakim made by his foolish attempt was that the new roll had added to it "many like words." The indestructible Word of God grows by every attempt to silence it. Each warning neglected increases guilt, and therefore punishment. The fabled sibyl came back, after each rejection of her offered books, with fewer volumes at a higher price. God's Word comes back after each rejection with additions of heavier penalties for darker sins. We but draw down surer and more terrible destruction on our own heads by refusing to listen to the merciful voice which warns us that the floods are out, and the ruin of the house impending, and bids us floe from it before the crash comes. (A. Maclaren.) Parallel Verses KJV: Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, |
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