And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, the king of Judah, [that] this word came to Jeremiah from Jehovah, saying,
A single date opens this chapter: the fourth year of Jehoiakim. Why does God tie His word to that year, and why is this the moment He tells Jeremiah to write it all down?
Jeremiah dates this word by a king in Jerusalem. The same year carries another name in Babylon.
Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, comes into God-given prominence in Jeremiah's time. With him the times of the Gentiles began. God gives him dominion, and takes it away from Israel. In connection with this, Jeremiah gives a remarkable date. It is likely the most important date known to anyone who puts the records of the ancient world in order. Jeremiah mentions it no less than four times: in 25:1; 36:1; 45:1; and 46:2. "The fourth year of Jehoiakim" is the "first year of Nebuchadnezzar." The Holy Spirit preserved these dates so exactly, and records recovered from the dust of ages have confirmed them. That has great significance for the thoughtful believer, especially since they mark the beginning of the times of the Gentiles, which are now swiftly coming to their close.
The verse names the king: Jehoiakim, son of Josiah. Father and son could not have been less alike.
Josiah, the father of Jehoiakim, was one of the best kings that sat upon the throne of David. He did what was right in the sight of the Lord. When he died, the prophet Jeremiah and the people mourned him deeply. Sadly, Jehoiakim did not follow in the steps of his godly father, for "he did what was evil in the sight of the Lord his God." If the king had paid attention to the word of God, he would have understood one thing. God had decreed judgment against Judah for its idolatry. In His patience He had put it off, to give them an opportunity to repent.
Jeremiah himself was under restraint when this word came.
The prophet was bound, but the word of God was not. He is always above the changing circumstances of man. He is above the obstacles that seem to block the testimony of His servants.
Why write the messages down at all? And how could one man recall years of preaching?
Once more we are back in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. The Lord now commands Jeremiah to write down all the words He had spoken to him. It was so that the people might hear of all the evil, and that they might yet think about it and turn to the Lord to be forgiven. How gracious and merciful He is! He then dictated all the words to Baruch, who wrote them down. But, asks a critic, how could he remember all he had spoken? The same Spirit who communicated the messages to him re-communicated them to the prophet.
Written down, the message reached men the prophet's own voice had not reached.
We may be surprised. Jeremiah had declared these prophecies many times, yet this reading seems to be something entirely new to the princes. Perhaps they had seldom heard the prophet in person. In any case, this incident shows the power of the written Word of God. The gospel may be preached, but only the Word of God is "living and active." The Lord Jesus called it "the seed." It was this Word that confronted the princes of Judah that day.
Jehoiakim later burned the scroll. That was not the end of it.
Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, who wrote on it, at the dictation of Jeremiah, all the words of the book that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them. This is God's answer. None of His words shall perish. They increase and prosper in what they are sent to do.
- Dated — The fourth year of Jehoiakim is also the first year of Nebuchadnezzar. Jeremiah marks this year four times. Rule was passing from Israel to the nations.
- Warned — Jehoiakim had a godly father, and a judgment God had held back. He made nothing of either. The word came to him anyway.
- Written — The command to write was mercy. God wanted the people to hear, repent and be forgiven. The Spirit gave Jeremiah back every word he had spoken.
- Released — Jeremiah was bound, but the word of God was not. He is above every obstacle that seems to silence His servants.
- Preserved — The written Word confronted princes the prophet's voice had not reached. The king burned it. It came back longer than before.
Take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.
In the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, God tells Jeremiah to stop speaking and start writing. Everything he has said against Israel, Judah and the nations must go onto one scroll. Why write it down now? Why include all the words? And what did God hope the writing would do?
Nothing in this scroll was new. Judah had already heard every warning in it, and had brushed each one aside. That is what makes the order to write so striking.
Jeremiah had proclaimed his prophecies for twenty-three years, and people ignored them. The Lord commands him to write "all the words that I have spoken to you against Israel and Judah and all the nations." Maybe Judah will pay attention to these warnings when they hear them read.
(Older translations call it "a roll of a book"; the ESV renders it "a scroll.")
Jeremiah himself was tied down. That limit on the man was no limit on the message.
The prophet was bound, but the word of God was not. He is always above the changing circumstances of man. He is greater than the obstacles that seem to block the testimony of His servants.
The scroll announced disaster. But God ordered it in the hope of preventing disaster. Verse 3 states the aim outright.
At the Lord's instruction, His servant Jeremiah wrote down in a book the judgments God pronounced against Israel, Judah and the nations. He wrote them with this desire: "It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the disaster that I intend to do to them, so that every one may turn from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin" (verse 3). Jehoiakim had already reigned four years. He had been given time to turn to God, but wickedness had increased. So God sent a further warning, hoping that the king and his people would repent of their sins and return to the Lord their God.
Why writing, and not more preaching? Commentators point to what writing does that speech cannot.
There is a great advantage in having what is written. You can come back to it again and again. Even if you listened to an apostle, or to the Lord, you might forget. You might slip away from His words and put in some of your own. This happens every day, even with very careful people. They do not carry away every single word.
Jeremiah dictated and Baruch wrote. The obvious objection — that no man could recall two decades of preaching — has an answer.
Jeremiah is now commanded to put in writing all the words the Lord had spoken to him. The purpose was that the people might hear of all the evil, think it over, and turn to the Lord to be forgiven. How gracious and merciful He is! He then dictated all the words to Baruch, who wrote them down. But, asks a critic, how could he remember all he had spoken? The same Spirit who first gave him the messages gave them to the prophet again.
Jehoiakim cut the scroll up and burned it. God had it written again, longer.
The old scroll was written out again with many similar words, and more were added, in keeping with God's unchanging way. Unbelief never hinders but rather accomplishes the judgments of God. It may add to them but it never diminishes them.
The long view is sharper still. The king burned a scroll. He could not stop people reading it.
The foolish king had no idea what would follow. The judgment of God that Jeremiah announced was carried out to the letter. Then, many centuries later, millions would still be reading the very words Jeremiah wrote. His own wicked and foolish act would be written down and read too, to instruct the people of God.
- Ignored words. Judah shrugged off twenty-three years of spoken warning. So God said: write it down.
- Given words. Jeremiah could dictate years of prophecy because the Spirit gave him the messages again.
- Merciful words. The scroll spelled out coming evil so that people might turn and be forgiven. The warning aimed at rescue.
- Unstoppable words. The prophet was shut up; the word was not. God's message rises above the circumstances that block His servants.
- Surviving words. A king burned it. God had it written again, longer. Unbelief never reduces God's judgments, and millions now read the words the king destroyed.
It may be the house of Judah will hear all the evil that I purpose to do unto them, that they may return every man from his evil way, and that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin.
Jeremiah 36 opens in the fourth year of King Jehoiakim, with judgment on Judah already announced and already ignored. God now tells the prophet to write it all down in one roll, so that people may hear, turn, and receive forgiveness.
Nothing new was to go into the roll.
Jeremiah had proclaimed his prophecies for twenty-three years, and they had been ignored. The Lord commands him to write down all the words He had spoken against Israel, against Judah, and against all the nations. It was to include everything from the days of Josiah up to that day (Jer. 36:2). Perhaps Judah will pay attention when these warnings are read out.
after
That "perhaps" matches how verse 3 opens. God states the hope, not the outcome.
God states what He intends to do, and He states it in advance. That is the point: a sentence announced ahead of time is one God would rather not carry out.
Now, if God threatens, it is in order that man may turn from his sin and be spared. Why else should He warn the sinner? Why not leave him to ripen unwarned for judgment? But these are not the ways of God.
The threat and the offer are not at odds. The threat is how the offer arrives.
The chain in the verse runs from hearing, to turning, to pardon. Each link exists for the sake of the last one.
Jeremiah is now commanded to put into writing all the words the LORD had spoken to him. The purpose was that the people might hear of all the evil. They might still think it over, turn to the Lord, and be forgiven. How gracious and merciful He is!
Notice how personal it is. The verse does not ask for a national reform. It asks "every one" to turn from his own evil way.
This was not a first notice.
On the instruction of the LORD, His servant Jeremiah wrote down in a book the judgments God had pronounced against Israel, Judah and the nations. Jehoiakim had already reigned four years. God had given him time to turn, but sin had increased. So a further warning came, in the hope that the king and his people would repent of their sins and return to the LORD their God.
The prophet's own movements were restricted. What he wrote was not.
The prophet was bound, but the word of God was not. He is always above man's changing circumstances. He is greater than any obstacle that seems to block the testimony of His servants.
So what carries weight: the preaching, or the words themselves?
This incident shows the power of the written Word of God. The gospel may be preached. But only the Word of God is "living and powerful" — "the seed," as the Lord Jesus called it. This Word confronted the princes of Judah that day.
Jehoiakim's answer was to cut the roll and burn it. A second roll followed.
The old roll was repeated with many like words, and more were added, in keeping with the unchanging way of God. Unbelief never hinders but rather brings on the judgments of God. It may add to them, but it never lessens them.
- Patience first. Judah had ignored twenty-three years of spoken warning. Jehoiakim had already had four years on the throne to turn. The roll was mercy offered again, not a first notice.
- Warning is mercy. God announces the disaster He intends so that people may turn and He may spare them. He does not leave sinners to ripen unwarned.
- Personal turning. God is not asking for a national programme. Each person is to leave his own evil way.
- Forgiveness is the goal. Hearing leads to turning, and turning leads to pardon. Pardon is what the whole verse aims at.
- The word outlasts refusal. The prophet could be bound; his words could not. Refusing them never lessened the judgment they announced.
And Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Nerijah; and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of Jehovah, which he had spoken unto him, upon a roll of a book.
The scene is the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and the people have stopped listening to Jeremiah. The prophet himself is bound, so he calls for a man with a pen, and a lifetime of spoken warnings becomes a book.
Jeremiah could not move freely. One writer draws the contrast that shapes the chapter:
The prophet was bound, but the word of God was not. He is always above the shifting circumstances of man. He is greater than the obstacles that seem to shut out the testimony of His servants.
God had a reason for putting the warnings in writing:
On the instruction of the Lord, His servant Jeremiah wrote down in a book the judgments God had pronounced against Israel, Judah and the nations. His desire was that "the house of Judah will hear all the evil I intend to do to them, and they may return every man from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin" (verse 3). Jehoiakim had already reigned four years, and God had given him time to turn. But wickedness had increased, so God sent a further warning, in the hope that the king and his people would repent of their sins and return to the Lord their God.
How could one man recall years of messages word for word? One commentator raises the objection and answers it:
He then dictated all the words to Baruch, who wrote them down. But, asks a critic, how could he remember all he had spoken? The same Spirit who first gave him the messages gave them to him again.
The verse says little about how the work was done. One writer fills in the scene:
One can easily picture the two men in the house where Jeremiah lived. Guided by the Spirit of God, the prophet carefully dictates the words of the Lord. Baruch gives himself to the task of writing on the scroll. All the while, both men are fully aware that they are passing on the very words of God to those who would read it.
Baruch himself gave the detail later: a voice speaking, and ink.
When they seek assurance of how the scroll was written, Baruch gives them clear confirmation: "He spoke all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book."
Baruch, son of Neriah, was the "faithful secretary to Jeremiah," and he later went with the prophet into Egypt (Morrish Bible Dictionary). He was more than a copyist:
The masses of the people were indifferent, if not hostile, to everything Jeremiah had to say: but not Baruch. He not only wrote down the prophecies of judgment, he felt their weight and sorrow... He at least believed the things he had written, and he knew that the final crash was still to come, and near at hand.
The king later burned this scroll. One writer sees in the chapter how God deals with men who handle His word:
God is not mocked! He knows the way men are treating His own God-breathed records, profaning them and making them merely human, and He will treat them accordingly... This is God's answer; none of His words shall perish; they increase and prosper in the purpose for which they are sent.
Jeremiah wrote it again, and the new scroll came back longer than the first. One writer presses the point further:
Unbelief never hinders but rather carries out the judgments of God. It may add to them but it never reduces them.
- Shut in, sent out. Jeremiah himself was bound, but the word of God was not; He rises above the obstacles that seem to shut out His servants.
- Written to spare. The scroll gathered years of warning so that Judah would turn and receive forgiveness — mercy, not a legal record.
- Dictated, not composed. Baruch wrote from Jeremiah's mouth, with ink, in a book; the Spirit who first gave the messages gave them again for writing.
- Believed by the writer. Baruch was no hired pen — he felt the sorrow of what he copied and accepted it from God.
- Burned, yet unbroken. The king burned the scroll and gained nothing: the words came back, with many more added.