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Verse-by-Verse Bible Commentary
Jeremiah 36:32

Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to the scribe Baruch the son of Neriah, and he wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and many similar words were added to them.
New American Standard Bible

Bible Study Resources

Concordances:
Nave's Topical Bible - Baruch;   Jeremiah;   Word of God;   Thompson Chain Reference - Baruch;  
Dictionaries:
American Tract Society Bible Dictionary - Gemariah;   Jehoiakim;   Easton Bible Dictionary - Jeremiah;   Scribes;   Fausset Bible Dictionary - Baruch;   Jeremiah;   Holman Bible Dictionary - Jehudi;   Jeremiah;   Hastings' Dictionary of the Bible - Baruch;   Government;   Greek Versions of Ot;   Jeremiah;   Neriah;   Morrish Bible Dictionary - Baruch ;   Jehoiakim ;   The Hawker's Poor Man's Concordance And Dictionary - Baruch;  
Encyclopedias:
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia - Baruch;   Jeremiah (2);   Neriah;   The Jewish Encyclopedia - Amos;  

Clarke's Commentary

Verse Jeremiah 36:32. There were added - many like words. — All the first roll, with many other threatenings, and perhaps more minute declarations which were merely of a temporary importance and local application; and the Holy Spirit did not think proper to record them here.

Bibliographical Information
Clarke, Adam. "Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "The Adam Clarke Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​acc/​jeremiah-36.html. 1832.

Bridgeway Bible Commentary


Jehoiakim burn’s Jeremiah’s scroll (36:1-32)

God commanded Jeremiah to write down all the prophecies he had given during the previous twenty years and announce them again to Judah. Perhaps even yet the nation would repent and so escape God’s judgment (36:1-3).
Over the next year Jeremiah wrote down the messages, using Baruch as his scribe. Since Jeremiah was forbidden to enter the temple (see 20:1-2; 26:7-9), he arranged for Baruch to go on his behalf and read the scroll to the people (4-7). (Baruch was the brother of a leading palace official; see 32:12; 51:59.) The day Jeremiah chose for the reading of the scroll was a national day of fasting, when large crowds were at the temple. Baruch read the scroll from a prominent position where most in the temple could see him (8-10).
Among the crowd who listened to Baruch was the son of one of the city’s leaders. When the young man told his father and the other city officials of the events at the temple, they invited Baruch to come and read the scroll to them (11-15). They were shocked at the serious accusations and predictions in the scroll, and decided to tell the king. They suggested, however, that Baruch and Jeremiah hide themselves for the sake of safety (16-19).
The suggestion of the city leaders proved to be life-saving advice for the two servants of God. When the king heard the scroll read, instead of taking heed, he defiantly burnt the scroll and sent to have Jeremiah and Baruch arrested. But they could not be found (20-26).
God told Jeremiah to rewrite the prophecies of the scroll that Jehoiakim had destroyed (27-28). In addition to the former prophecies was a special prophecy concerning Jehoiakim, who was assured of a horrible and disgraceful death (29-31; cf. 22:18-19). Baruch then wrote the scroll anew, adding further messages of God’s judgment (32).

Bibliographical Information
Flemming, Donald C. "Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "Fleming's Bridgeway Bible Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​bbc/​jeremiah-36.html. 2005.

Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible

“Then the word of Jehovah came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying, Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiachim the king of Judah hath burned. And concerning Jehoiachim king of Judah thou shalt say, Thus saith Jehovah: Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The King of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? Therefore thus saith Jehovah concerning Jehoiachim king of Judah: He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them, but they hearkened not. Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiachim the king of Judah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides unto them many like words.”

“He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David” We do not understand the thinking of some writers who declare that this prophecy was unfulfilled, basing their denial upon the fact that a son did succeed him in Jerusalem for a brief three months and a few days; but, in our view, his being deposed in such a short time was more than an adequate fulfillment of what Jeremiah stated here.

We are reminded that Jehoiachim was not the last ruler to attempt to rid himself of God’s Word by burning the written records of it. Hitler and his evil associates burned the Bible at Nuremberg in 1933, with the same disastrous consequences for himself and his kingdom as those which overcame Jehoiachim and his kingdom.

Bibliographical Information
Coffman, James Burton. "Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "Coffman's Commentaries on the Bible". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​bcc/​jeremiah-36.html. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.

Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible

Many like words - The second scroll was thus a more complete record of the main lessons taught by Jeremiah during the long course of his inspired ministry.

Bibliographical Information
Barnes, Albert. "Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​bnb/​jeremiah-36.html. 1870.

Calvin's Commentary on the Bible

Here the Prophet tells us that he faithfully obeyed God in writing another volume; and his constancy in this affair deserves no common praise; for he had lately fled in fear, he knew that the king was his enemy, as he had already ordered him and Baruch to be slain. As then he knew that the king burned with so much rage and hatred, how came he to be so bold as to exasperate him still more? But we see that the Prophets were not exempt from the influence of fear, and were often anxious about their own safety; and yet they ever preferred the duty imposed on them by God to their own life. The Prophet, no doubt, trembled, but as he felt bound to obey God’s command, he disregarded his own life, when he had to make the choice, whether to refuse the burden laid on him, or to provide for his own safety. Thus then he offered his own life as a sacrifice, though he was not free from fear and other infirmities. This is one thing.

But Baruch, I doubt not, again proclaimed these words; how was it then that the king abstained from cruelty? Had his madness been by any means mitigated? It is certain that he did not become changed, and that he did not through kindness spare God’s servants; but God restrained his cruelty; for when it is not his will to soften the hearts of the ungodly, he yet bridles their violence, so that they either dare not, or cannot find the way, to execute with their hands what they have intended in their minds, however much they may strive to do so. I therefore consider that the King Jehoiakim was restrained by the hidden power of God, so that he could not do any harm to Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch; and that in the meantime the magnanimity of the Prophet and also of his scribe remained invincible; for it was God’s will to fight as it were hand to hand, with this impious king, until he was ignominiously cast from his throne, which happened, as we shall see, soon after.

Bibliographical Information
Calvin, John. "Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "Calvin's Commentary on the Bible". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​cal/​jeremiah-36.html. 1840-57.

Smith's Bible Commentary

This time shall we turn to Jeremiah chapter 36 as we continue our journey through the Word of God towards heaven.

Now as we have pointed out, the prophecies of Jeremiah are not in chronological order but they sort of skip around, and so it is important at the beginning of each chapter where Jeremiah locates for you the time and usually the place of the prophecy so that you'll be able to fit it more into the historic events. Because you just can't read Jeremiah in a chronological order, it isn't written that way. So in chapter 36, we have the prophecy of Jeremiah that came to him.

In the fourth year of Jehoiakim [who was] the son of Josiah the king of Judah, that this is the word of the LORD which came to Jeremiah, saying, Now take thee a scroll of a book, and write therein all of the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spake unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even until this day ( Jeremiah 36:1-2 ).

Now, you remember he was called to prophesy in the thirteenth year of the reign of Josiah. He prophesied on through the death of Josiah, about fifteen years later, and now four years later in the son of Jehoiakim or the son of Josiah, Jehoiakim's reign, God commands him to write all of the prophecies on this scroll that I've given you up till now. So it was no doubt quite a task to go back and to rehearse all of the Word of the Lord that had come to Jeremiah during this approximately twenty-year period.

The Lord declares,

It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the evil which I purpose to do unto them; that they may return every man from his evil way; that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin ( Jeremiah 36:3 ).

Now the purpose of giving to them the Word of the Lord was to turn them from sin. God is constantly giving to man the opportunity of repenting, of turning from his sin. God said through Ezekiel the prophet, "Turn ye, turn ye for why will you die, saith the Lord? Behold, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked" ( Ezekiel 33:11 ). Now here God again is saying, "Write it all down. It may be that they will turn from their sins in order that I might forgive them their iniquities and their sins." God glories in forgiveness. God delights to forgive you all of your sins. All He wants is just an excuse, and you provide Him that excuse by asking Him. God is really more desirous to forgive us of our sins than usually we are to be forgiven. Quite often we with David, as he describes his experience in Psalms 32:1-11 , seek to cover our sins. We seek to hide our sins from the Lord. We just seek not to mention it, you know. Just sort of keep silent about it. But as David said, "When I sought to cover my sins, man, there was a constant roaring within. And I began to just dry up. I became just dried spiritually. Then I said, 'I will confess my sin unto the Lord," and he said, "and Thou forgavest me all my iniquities" ( Psalms 32:3-5 ).

Now in the Hebrew as that reads, the moment David in his heart said, "I'm going to confess," before he could ever get the words out of his lips, just that change of the attitude in his heart, "and Thou forgavest me." That's all God's looking for, just the change in the attitude of your heart. "Oh God, I'm sorry. I'm going to confess to You my sins. I'm going to get right with God." Before you can get out of your mouth, you're already right with God. God is just looking for that change towards Him. The moment in your heart you have that turn towards God, "I'm going to just turn it over to God, I'm just going to turn," just in that moment God begins His work of cleansing, forgiving, pardoning. God delights to forgive us our sins.

And so the purpose of the Word of God to these people, "Write it all down, give it to them. That they might hear all of the evil indictments that I have against them and the evil that I am purposing to do to them. Maybe if they know the judgment that is coming they will turn."

Then Jeremiah called Baruch [who was] the son of Neriah: and Baruch wrote from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD, which he had spoken unto him, upon this scroll of a book. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, Now I am shut up ( Jeremiah 36:4-5 );

That is, he was in prison.

I cannot go into the house of the LORD: Therefore go thou, and read in the roll, which you have written from my mouth, the words of the LORD in the ears of the people in the LORD'S house upon the fasting day: and also thou shalt read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities ( Jeremiah 36:5-6 ).

Now they had proclaimed a fast. They invited the people to come for this time of fasting. And usually a time of fasting is associated with a time of seeking the Lord. A very appropriate time for the Word of God to come to the people. And so Jeremiah commanded Baruch, who is the scribe, to write all of the words in the book and then go and read them in the house of the Lord when that day of fasting came and people were gathering from all over Judah to worship the Lord.

It may be they will present their supplication before the LORD, and they will return every man from his evil way: for great is the anger and the fury that the LORD hath pronounced against this people. So Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, and he read the book of the words of the LORD in the LORD'S house. And it came to pass in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah the king of Judah, in the ninth month, that they proclaimed a fast before the LORD to all the people in Jerusalem, and to all the people that came from the cities of Judah unto Jerusalem. Then Baruch read in the book the words of Jeremiah in the house of the LORD, in the chamber of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the higher court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD'S house, in the ears of all the people. Now when Michaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the words of the LORD, Then he went down into the king's house, into the scribe's chamber: and all of the princes were sitting there ( Jeremiah 36:7-12 ),

And it gives the names of these various princes.

And Michaiah declared unto them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah ( Jeremiah 36:13-14 ),

And all of these names are worthless to us.

unto Baruch, saying, Take in thine hand the roll [or the scroll] wherein you have read in the ears of the people, and come ( Jeremiah 36:14 ).

So Baruch was down there reading it and this young fellow heard him reading, ran and told the princes who were there in the house of the scribes what this guy was reading to the people. And they said, "Well, you better get him down here." So he ran back and got Baruch and he said, "Come with me and read the scroll to these fellows down here."

And they said unto him, Sit down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, that they were both afraid one and another, and said unto Baruch, We will surely tell the king of all these words. And they asked Baruch, saying, Tell us now, How did you write all these words at his mouth? And Baruch answered them, [he said,] He pronounced all these words unto me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book ( Jeremiah 36:15-18 ).

How do you think?

Then said the princes unto Baruch, Go, hide thee, you and Jeremiah; and don't let any body know where you are ( Jeremiah 36:19 ).

Now we're going to take this to the king and you guys better go hide.

So they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king. So the king sent Jehudi to Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of the princes which stood beside the king. Now the king was sitting in his winter quarters in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him. And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four of the leaves, that he cut it with his penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until the whole scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all of these words ( Jeremiah 36:20-24 ).

Rather than fearing the Lord, rather than repenting, rather than as was the custom when they really were repenting before God often they would rip their clothes as a sign of great repentance and sorrow, none of that.

Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the scroll: but he would not listen to them. But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them. Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the scroll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, and the LORD said to him, Take thee again another scroll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first scroll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned. And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; You have burned this scroll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast? Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim the king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not. Then took Jeremiah another scroll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides to those many like words ( Jeremiah 36:25-32 ).

And so more or less as a record of God's truth, these scrolls were written of that Word of God in the warning of the people of the evil and the judgment that would come upon them if they would not forsake their sins and follow after the Lord. But Jehoiakim the king, showing his disdain for the Word of God, took his penknife, cut it up and threw it in the fire. But prophets of God are not silenced that easy, so Jeremiah got another scroll, wrote the whole thing down again adding other words to it. And, of course, these are the prophecies basically that we have been reading in the book of Jeremiah. These are the copies of these various scrolls, the pages that were written, the various words that God gave to Jeremiah concerning His judgment that was coming upon Judah using the Babylonian army as God's instrument of judgment.

"





Bibliographical Information
Smith, Charles Ward. "Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "Smith's Bible Commentary". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​csc/​jeremiah-36.html. 2014.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Its rewriting 36:27-32

Bibliographical Information
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "Dr. Constable's Expository Notes". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​dcc/​jeremiah-36.html. 2012.

Dr. Constable's Expository Notes

Jeremiah then dictated the prophecies to Baruch again, and he wrote them down on a second scroll. This time Jeremiah included other prophecies, those that he had received since he had dictated the first scroll. This document probably became the "first draft" of the present Book of Jeremiah. This chapter is of special interest because it records the production of one of the books of the Bible. The prophet uttered many more oracles between 604 and 586 B.C.

"As Hananiah later attempts to render the symbolic word of judgment futile by destroying the wooden yoke, so Jehoiakim attempts to destroy the word literally, in the fire. In Jeremiah 28, a yoke of iron is Yahweh’s last word. The end of this scene introduces a new scroll, with specific ’words’ added for Jehoiakim in light of his rejection of the scroll. Jehoiakim cannot thwart the word of the LORD, and to attempt to do so brings inevitable consequences." [Note: Keown, p. 207.]

Bibliographical Information
Constable, Thomas. DD. "Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "Dr. Constable's Expository Notes". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​dcc/​jeremiah-36.html. 2012.

Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible

Then took Jeremiah another roll,.... Of parchment; several sheets joined together, which made up a roll or volume:

and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who was by office a public notary or scribe of the law, as well as the amanuensis of the prophet:

who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burnt in the fire; not one was lost; all were recovered again, through the fresh inspiration of the Holy Spirit, under which Jeremiah dictated the selfsame things in the same words to Baruch again; so that the king got nothing by burning it, but an addition of guilt, and a heavier denunciation of wrath and vengeance, as follows:

and there were added besides unto them many like words; of the same nature and argument, of the threatening kind more especially. The Rabbins y, who take the roll to be the book of Lamentations, very triflingly observe, that the first roll had only the three alphabets, in the first, second, and fourth chapters that the addition is the treble alphabet, in the third chapter the whole of the fifth chapter. Here it may not be amiss to insert the testimony of Eupolemus z, an Heathen historian, concerning Jeremiah and his prophecies in the times of Jehoiakim.

"Joachim, (for so he calls him,) in his times Jeremiah the prophet prophesied, being sent of God, to take the Jews sacrificing to a golden idol, called by them Baal, and to declare unto them the calamity that was coming upon them; but Joachim would have laid hold on him, and burnt him alive; then he (the prophet) said that with those sticks they should prepare food for the Babylonians, and that they should dig canals from the Tigris and Euphrates when carried captive; wherefore, when Nebuchadnezzar king of the Babylonians heard what was prophesied by Jeremiah, he besought Astibares, king of the Medes, to join his forces with him; and having gathered and joined together the Babylonians and Medes, a hundred and eighty thousand foot, and a hundred and twenty thousand horse, with ten thousand chariots, first destroyed Samaria, Galilee, Scythopolis, and the Jews that inhabited Gilead; and then marched to Jerusalem, and took alive Joachim king of the Jews; and having taken out the gold, silver, and brass in the temple, sent it to Babylon, excepting the ark and the tables in it, for this remained with Jeremiah;''

compare with this Jeremiah 22:18.

y Vid. Yalkut & Kimchi in loc. z Apud Euseb. Prepar. Evangel. l. 9. c. 39. p. 454.

Bibliographical Information
Gill, John. "Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "Gill's Exposition of the Entire Bible". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​geb/​jeremiah-36.html. 1999.

Henry's Complete Commentary on the Bible

Jeremiah's Roll Consumed. B. C. 607.

      20 And they went in to the king into the court, but they laid up the roll in the chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all the words in the ears of the king.   21 So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll: and he took it out of Elishama the scribe's chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the king, and in the ears of all the princes which stood beside the king.   22 Now the king sat in the winter house in the ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth burning before him.   23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.   24 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their garments, neither the king, nor any of his servants that heard all these words.   25 Nevertheless Elnathan and Delaiah and Gemariah had made intercession to the king that he would not burn the roll: but he would not hear them.   26 But the king commanded Jerahmeel the son of Hammelech, and Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the LORD hid them.   27 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, after that the king had burned the roll, and the words which Baruch wrote at the mouth of Jeremiah, saying,   28 Take thee again another roll, and write in it all the former words that were in the first roll, which Jehoiakim the king of Judah hath burned.   29 And thou shalt say to Jehoiakim king of Judah, Thus saith the LORD; Thou hast burned this roll, saying, Why hast thou written therein, saying, The king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land, and shall cause to cease from thence man and beast?   30 Therefore thus saith the LORD of Jehoiakim king of Judah; He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost.   31 And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.   32 Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire: and there were added besides unto them many like words.

      We have traced the roll to the people, and to the princes, and here we are to follow it to the king; and we find,

      I. That, upon notice given him concerning it, he sent for it, and ordered it to be read to him, Jeremiah 36:20; Jeremiah 36:21. He did not desire that Baruch would come and read it himself, who could read it more intelligently and with more authority and affection than any one else; nor did he order one of his princes to do it (though it would have been no disparagement to the greatest of them), much less would he vouchsafe to read it himself; but Jehudi, one of his pages now in waiting, who was sent to fetch it, is bidden to read it, who perhaps scarcely knew how to make sense of it. But those who thus despise the word of God will soon make it to appear, as this king did, that they hate it too, and have not only low, but ill thoughts of it.

      II. That he had not patience to hear it read through as the princes had, but, when he had heard three or four leaves read, in a rage he cut it with his penknife, and threw it piece by piece into the fire, that he might be sure to see it all consumed,Jeremiah 36:22; Jeremiah 36:23. This was a piece of as daring impiety as a man could lightly be guilty of, and a most impudent affront to the God of heaven, whose message this was. 1. Thus he showed his impatience of reproof; being resolved to persist in sin, he would by no means bear to be told of his faults. 2. Thus he showed his indignation at Baruch and Jeremiah; he would have cut them in pieces, and burnt them, if he had had them in his reach, when he was in this passion. 3. Thus he expressed an abstinent resolution never to comply with the designs and intentions of the warnings given him; he will do what he will, whatever God by his prophets says to the contrary. 4. Thus he foolishly hoped to defeat the threatenings denounced against him, as if God knew not how to execute the sentence when the roll was gone in which it was written. 5. Thus he thought he had effectually provided that the things contained in this roll should spread no further, which was the care of the chief priests concerning the gospel, Acts 4:17. They had told him how this roll had been read to the people and to the princes. "But," says he, "I will take a course that shall prevent its being read any more." See what an enmity there is against God in the carnal mind, and wonder at the patience of God, that he bears with such indignities done to him.

      III. That neither the king himself nor any of his princes were at all affected with the word: They were not afraid (Jeremiah 36:24; Jeremiah 36:24), no, not those princes that trembled at the word when they heard it the first time, Jeremiah 36:16; Jeremiah 36:16. So soon, so easily, do good impressions wear off. They showed some concern till they saw how light the king made of it, and then they shook off all that concern. They rent not their garments, as Josiah, this Jehoiakim's own father, did when he had the book of the law read to him, though it was not so particular as the contents of this roll were, nor so immediately adapted to the present posture of affairs.

      IV. That there were three of the princes who had so much sense and grace left as to interpose for the preventing of the burning of the roll, but in vain, Jeremiah 36:25; Jeremiah 36:25. If they had from the first shown themselves, as they ought to have done, affected with the word, perhaps they might have brought the king to a better mind and have persuaded him to bear it patiently; but frequently those that will not do the good they should put it out of their own power to do the good they would.

      V. That Jehoiakim, when he had thus in effect burnt God's warrant by which he was arrested, as it were in a way of revenge, now that he thought he had got the better, signed a warrant for the apprehending of Jeremiah and Baruch, God's ministers (Jeremiah 36:26; Jeremiah 36:26): But the Lord hid them. The princes bade them abscond (Jeremiah 36:19; Jeremiah 36:19), but it was neither the princes' care for them nor theirs for themselves that secured them; it was under the divine protection that they were safe. Note, God will find out a shelter for his people, though their persecutors be ever so industrious to get them into their power, till their hour be come; nay, and then he will himself be their hiding place.

      VI. That Jeremiah had orders and instructions to write in another roll the same words that were written in the roll which Jehoiakim had burnt, Jeremiah 36:27; Jeremiah 36:28. Note, Though the attempts of hell against the word of God are very daring, yet not one iota or tittle of it shall fall to the ground, nor shall the unbelief of man make the word of God of no effect. Enemies may prevail to burn many a Bible, but they cannot abolish the word of God, can neither extirpate it nor defeat the accomplishment of it. Though the tables of the law were broken, they were renewed again; and so out of the ashes of the roll that was burnt arose another Phoenix. The word of the Lord endures for ever.

      VII. That the king of Judah, though a king, was severely reckoned with by the King of kings for this indignity done to the written word. God noticed what it was in the roll that Jehoiakim took so much offense at. Jehoiakim was angry because it was written therein, saying, Surely the king of Babylon shall come and destroy this land,Jeremiah 36:29; Jeremiah 36:29. And did not the king of Babylon come two years before this, and go far towards the destroying of this land? He did so (2 Chronicles 36:6; 2 Chronicles 36:7) in his third year, Daniel 1:1. So that God and his prophets had therefore become his enemies because they told him the truth, told him of the desolation that was coming, but at the same time putting him into a fair way to prevent it. But, if this be the thing he takes so much amiss, let him know, 1. That the wrath of God shall come upon him and his family, in the first place, by the hand of Nebuchadnezzar. He shall be cut off, and in a few weeks his son shall be dethroned, and exchange his royal robes for prison-garments, so that he shall have none to sit upon the throne of David; the glory of that illustrious house shall be eclipsed, and die in him; his dead body shall lie unburied, or, which comes all to one, he shall be buried with the burial of an ass, that is, thrown into the next ditch; it shall lie exposed to all weathers, heat and frost, which will occasion its putrefying and becoming loathsome the sooner. "Not that his body" (says Mr. Gataker) "could be sensible of such usage, or himself, being deceased, of aught that should befal his body; but that the king's body in such a condition should be a hideous spectacle, and a horrid monument of God's heavy wrath and indignation against him, unto all that should behold it." Even his seed and his servants shall fare the worse for their relation to him (Jeremiah 36:31; Jeremiah 36:31), for they shall be punished, not for his iniquity, but so much the sooner for their own. 2. That all the evil pronounced against Judah and Jerusalem in that roll shall be brought upon them. Though the copy be burnt, the original remains in the divine counsel, which shall again be copied out after another manner in bloody characters. Note, There is no escaping God's judgments by struggling with them. Who ever hardened his heart against God, and prospered?

      VIII. That, when the roll was written anew, there were added to the former many like words (Jeremiah 36:32; Jeremiah 36:32), many more threatenings of wrath and vengeance; for, since they will yet walk contrary to God, he will heat the furnace seven times hotter. Note, As God is in one mind, and none can turn him, so he has still more arrows in his quiver; and those who contend with God's woes do but prepare for themselves heavier of the same kind.

Bibliographical Information
Henry, Matthew. "Complete Commentary on Jeremiah 36:32". "Henry's Complete Commentary on the Whole Bible". https://www.studylight.org/​commentaries/​mhm/​jeremiah-36.html. 1706.
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