Handling the Truth

 By: Dr. Dale Weckbacher

 

Text: Jeremiah 36:1-32

 

John 8:31-32

So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

(ESV)

 

The famous line from the movie, An Officer and a Gentleman is “you can’t handle the truth.” While this makes a good line for a movie, when confronted with the truth, we all must handle it. It is how we handle it that determines what will happen in one’s life. One can reject the truth and suffer the consequences of this rejection or accept the truth and enjoy the benefits of obedience. In Jeremiah 36, we observe the consequences of the rejection of truth.

 

Destroying the text of the truth does not mitigate the consequences of rebelling against it, but this appears to be what Jehoiakim believed he could do by burning the scroll. In this text, we see the process of the revealing of truth, the denial of truth, and truth enduring.

 

1)      Truth revealed (Jeremiah 36:1-19) – The text occurs during the fourth year of the reign of Jehoiakim king of Judah (Jeremiah 36:1). Jehoiakim did not abdicate to the throne but was appointed to the throne by Pharoah Necho due to the evil of Jehoahaz (2 Kings 23:31-35). The Lord instructs Jeremiah to take a scroll and write all the words He has spoken to him since the days of Josiah because there is still a possibility Judah will repent (Jeremiah 36:2-3). Jeremiah then calls Baruch possibly due to his imprisonment for previously declaring that Judah would be invaded by the armies of Babylon leading to 70 years of exile forbidding him from going to the Temple (Jeremiah 32:1-5; 36:4-6). Jeremiah tells Baruch that they are doing this because there remains a possibility the people of Judah could repent to which Baruch responds in obedience to Jeremiah (Jeremiah 36:7-8). During the fifth year of Jehoiakim’s reign in the ninth month, a fast is proclaimed in Jerusalem at which time Baruch reads the words of the scroll in the house of the Lord (Jeremiah 36:9-10). Micaiah the son of Gemariah then reads the scroll in the presence of the officials at the king's house (Jeremiah 36:11-13). The officials then send Jehudi to Baruch and ask Baruch to read the scroll to them (Jeremiah 36:14-15). Upon hearing Baruch’s reading of the scroll, the officials become fearful and declare they must report these words to the king (Jeremiah 36:16). Before going to the king, the officials ask Baruch how he wrote these words and if it is a dictation from Jeremiah to which Baruch responds by telling them Jeremiah dictated the words to him (Jeremiah 36:17-18). The officials then instruct Jeremiah and Baruch to hide (Jeremiah 36:19).

2)      Truth denied (Jeremiah 36:20-26) – The officials then go into the court of the king after having put the scroll in the chamber of Elishama the secretary and report the words to the king (Jeremiah 36:20). Upon hearing about the scroll, the king orders Jehudi to retrieve the scroll and read the words to him (Jeremiah 36:21). During the reading of the scroll, the king would stop Jehudi after reading three of four columns, cutting them with a knife, and throwing them into the fire until the entire scroll was burned in the fire (Jeremiah 36:22-23). Neither the king nor his servants had any fear of burning the scroll despite the urgings of Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah not to burn it (Jeremiah 36:24-25). The king then asks for the seizure of Jeremiah and Baruch but cannot find them since they are in hiding.

3)      Truth endures (Jeremiah 36:27-32) – After the burning of the scroll, the Lord instructs Jeremiah to take another scroll and write all the words that were on the scroll Jehoiakim burned (Jeremiah 36:27-28). Jeremiah then tells Jehoiakim that since he has denied the truth by burning the scroll, he will not have a descendant on the throne of David and that his dead body will be cast out into the head of the day and frost of the night (Jeremiah 36:29-30). Because of this rejection of the truth, God will bring upon king Jehoiakim, his offspring, the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and the people of Judah all the disaster pronounced against them (Jeremiah 36:31). Jeremiah then took another scroll and gives it to Baruch who writes upon it all the words of the previous scroll, adding many similar words (Jeremiah 36:32).

 

The truth can be hard to take, especially when it is the truth revealing sin in one’s life. When confronted with the truth, one has two choices, accept the truth and repent like David did when confronted with his sin with Bathsheba (Psalm 51; 2 Samuel 12:1-14), or reject it and burn the words of truth like Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36:22-25). The best choice is repentance for while Jehoiakim was promised no descendants sitting on the throne of David (Jeremiah 36:30), David is promised to always have a descendant on the throne (2 Samuel 7:16). David has an eternal descendant on the throne in Jesus Christ because of his repentance (Psalm 51), whereas Judah and Israel will suffer 70 years of exile from the land promised them by God, due to their rebellion

 

The truth of the Gospel message is simple, we have all sinned (Romans 3:23) and live under the death penalty for our sins (Romans 6:23). However, Romans 6:23 also promises eternal life to those accepting the gift of salvation from God through the work of Jesus on the cross (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 5:8). To receive this gift, one must make a public profession of belief in the death burial and resurrection of Jesus (Romans 10:9-10). If you have never done this, I encourage you to do so now by praying with me,

 

Dear Lord Jesus, I know I have sinned (Romans 3:23) and know that the penalty for my sin is death (Romans 6:23).  I ask you to forgive me of my sin and cleanse me as you promise in your Word (1 John 1:9).  I believe you died, spent three days in the grave, and resurrected from the dead and now declare you Lord of my life.

 

You can make your profession of faith public by replying to this post or letting someone know, especially if it is someone that has been praying for you. May God challenge and bless everyone reading this post.