So Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch son of Neriah, and as Jeremiah dictated, Baruch wrote on it all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. Jeremiah 36:32 (Jeremiah 25, 35-36, 45)
The first captives have been taken from Judah into Babylon. God tells Jeremiah that the captivity will last 70 years then Babylon will be punished. He then command Jeremiah to write down all that He said, so the ages will know God’s sovereign authority. Jeremiah employs the services of the scribe, Baruch. After several months of hard word, Jeremiah, who was banded from the temple, sent Baruch to read God’s word. King Jehoiakim reacted by burning the scroll piece by piece. He intended to put an end to God’s inconvenient and uncomfortable truth. He failed.
The plight of Jeremiah and Baruch seems bleak, but God promises to protect them from harm.
God continues to seek man. Even when all seems lost, God is reaching out. One burned scroll at the hand of a wicked king did not stop God’s work of grace. The singular, most amazing thing about God’s grace is His persistence and long suffering. We are a loved creation, when our Creator has become our Savior, again and again and again. God’s not giving up, don’t you either!
Love,
Gretchen