August 22 - Jeremiah 35-37: Not the Slightest Twinge of Conscience

Jeremiah dictated and Baruch wrote down on a scroll everything that God had said to him. (36:4)

Many people heard Baruch read the scroll - the people in the Temple, Micaiah, Elishama, Delaiah, and other government officials. The officials were disrupted by what they heard and realized that they needed to tell the king all of it. (36:16)

Jehudi then read [the scroll] to the king and the officials who were in the king's service...After Jehudi would read three or four columns, the king would cut them off the scroll with his pocketknife and throw them in the fire....Neither the king nor any of his officials showed the slightest twinge of conscience as they listened to the messages read. (36:21-24)

This was God's message to His people, but Jehoiakim, the king of Judah, wasn't remotely interested in hearing it. He's about to lose his kingdom to the king of Babylon, but he couldn't care less what God has to say to him. I find this fascinating as a piece of history, but I'm convinced that I'm often guilty of the exact same thing.

The Bible has a lot to say to me - life-giving truth - yet there are times that I don't want to hear it either. Frankly, I may not feel like loving the unlovely or forgiving those who hurt me or keeping a tight rein on my tongue. I want to do whatever seems right to me, not necessarily obey the difficult commands, and to have my way be okay. Usually, I come to the Scriptures looking for comfort, not conviction or challenge.

"Jehoiakim with his penknife is a parody of all who attempt to use Scripture, who attempt to bring it under control and reduce it to something manageable. Scripture can't be used. It's the Word of God addressing us, calling us to a personal response. The only appropriate answer is to respond with our lives.

Wanting to maintain control over our lives, to keep the initiative in our own hands, we chop the Word of God into little pieces so that we can control it and maybe even put it to practical use...We reduce Scripture to something impersonal that we can use for our purposes or discard at our pleasure. We dismember its organically developed parts so it's no longer a complete representation of God's address to us to which we must respond...

"His powerful Word is sharp as a surgeon's scalpel, cutting through everything, whether doubt or defense, laying us open to listen and obey" (Hebrews 4:12), and it will prevail against its enemies, whether they be critics, crusaders, or those of us who simply want control of our lives." Eugene Peterson, Conversations, pg. 1219

Lord, I confess that I do want to control my life. Guilty as charged. Father, forgive me for my sin, and give me the courage to respond to You with my entire life. I pray that I will not become immune to what You're saying to me in Scriptures. Let my conscience be active and alert to Your truth. I pray that I will resist the urge to mold Your Word into something that I can simply use for my convenience.