pay the wages of those who helped to build his palace. He was guilty of pride, covetousness, insolence and hardness of heart toward the Lord. God commanded Jeremiah to write of His coming judgment. He wanted His people to turn back in repentence so that they could have their sins forgiven. Jeremiah called Baruch his scribe and dictated the warnings. They were set down on parchment made from the skins of animals and then rolled up as a scroll. The Lord commanded the prophet to write and He gave him the gift of writing. This is the mean ing of the inspiration of the Holy Spirit (II Peter 1:19-21). Jeremiah sent Baruch to read the message in the temple on the day of fasting (Jeremiah 36:5-26). Two of the king's officials heard the warning and told the monrach what was happening. Among the royalty of Judah the fear of God smote hearts. They wanted the king to hear God's message, too (Jere miah 36:15-16). They carefully questioned Baruch as to whether or not the messages had really come through the prophet Jeremiah from God. They decided to hide when the book was taken to King Jehoiakim (Jeremiah 36:19). They were not optimistic about the outcome knowing how evil he was. It was winter and a fire was burning in the palace. In a rage, the king listened. His anger matched the fire on the hearth. He took portion after por tion of the scroll and he threw it into the flames. His father, Josiah, had meddled with the Lord. Now the son was meddling with the Word of God. Today, modern crit ics and liberal ministers are still cutting the Bible into little pieces. Page 53
taph would be that "one who acts like a donkey while he lives can expect to be treated like one after he dies." The ministries of Jere miah, as well as Elijah and Daniel should have been sufficient warn ing. He was absolutely without ex cuse. Jehoiakim was a "puppet" of Pharaoh. He taxed the people heav ily to give tributes to Egypt. Nebu chadnezzar, king of Babylon, had defeated Pharaoh to capture Jeru salem (II Kings 4:1-5). Jehoiakim was permitted to rule until three years later when he rebelled against Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar marched into the land, bound the rebel in fetters, and took him and his peo ple captive (II Chronicles 36:5-6). Jehoiakim burned the scroll of the Word of Cod in the fourth year of his 11-year reign (Jeremiah 36:1). After captivity he died at the age of 36. When the Word of God records his acts as abominations (II Kings 23:37; II Chronicles 36:5), we can be certain that he was very sinful. His evil was compared with that of his notorious ancestor Manasseh. He had no respect for human life. Innocent blood was shed (II Kings 24:4). The most infamous of Jehoia- kim's murders was that of Urijah the prophet (Jeremiah 26:20-24). This king murdered God's prophet without any mercy. The blood of Urijah cried out to God from the ground. In due time the king reaped what he had sown in abundant measure. God will always avenge innocent blood (Genesis 9:6). God has placed a high value on human life. Jehoiakim had oppressed the poor in his greed. He refused to
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