Jeremiah 36:3 “Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, they will each turn from their wicked ways; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin.”
One of the most frustrating things for me is when I feel like those I love are not listening to me, not hearing what I say. It is infuriating. I wonder if God felt the same?
Jeremiah 36:5-6 Then Jeremiah told Baruch, “I am restricted; I am not allowed to go to the Lord’s temple. So you go to the house of the Lord on a day of fasting and read to the people from the scroll the words of the Lord that you wrote as I dictated. Read them to all the people of Judah who come in from their towns.”
But not only are the people not listening, the king destroyed the scroll and would have gone after Jeremiah and Barch, “but the Lord had hidden them.” The king wasn’t just not listening, he was actively destroying God’s word and his people, even though God was still working for the king’s ultimate good.
Jeremiah 36:25-26 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the Lord had hidden them.
Lord, We can be so foolish, so stubborn, so pigheaded. We think we know what is right. We ignore when You try to speak directly to our hearts. We disregard Your council that will lead us back to You. Forgive us, Lord. Help us. Amen.
Jeremiah 36:31 “‘I will punish him and his children and his attendants for their wickedness; I will bring on them and those living in Jerusalem and the people of Judah every disaster I pronounced against them, because they have not listened.’ ”
Have a blessed day.