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Burning The Bible
Jon Burgess“Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe’s knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes.” Jeremiah 36:23-24 NIV
It's a vivid picture painted in today's reading of what happens when we are no longer open to the Word of God. The coldness of King Jehoiakim's castle couldn't compare to the coldness of his soul. Piece by piece, paragraph by paragraph, he burned to ashes God's word to him from Jeremiah. He would no longer allow anyone to question his leadership, his reign, or his power. The Scripture reveals that this hardness of heart towards God's Word had spread to all who followed the King. They did not fall to their knees, tear their robes, and throw ashes upon their heads at the conviction of God's Word as King Josiah had so many years earlier. No, they instead turned God's word to ashes.
King Jehoiakim cut and burned God's Word. We cut and paste. We pick and choose. We read through and skip over that which will not fit our 21st Century lifestyle. We discredit Scripture as ancient truth inapplicable to modern realities. We feel justified in keeping our distance from God's Word as if it's another book on the shelf rather then God's Word to our heart. We treat Scripture as if it's a manuscript of our choosing rather then the very script of our lives on living. When we edit God's Word to fit our lives we prevent God's Word from editing our lives! We are telling God we don't need His input when we ignore the uncomfortable parts of His Word. When we ignore inconvenient Scripture we are, essentially, doing the same thing King Jehoikim did. We are burning God's Word instead of letting it burn us back to purity. I love how Chuck Colson puts it: "The Bible- banned, burned, beloved. More widely read, more frequently attacked than any other book in history. Generations of intellectuals have attempted to discredit it, dictators of every age have outlawed it and executed those who read it. Yet soldiers carry it into battle believing it more powerful then their weapons. Fragments of it smuggled into solitary prison cells have transformed ruthless killers into gentle saints."
Jesus, may the Supremacy of Your Will expressed through Primacy of Your Word always have Authority over my will and ways. No matter how many times I sit down to read, may I never take for granted that this is the very Word of God and is not up for debate and is never to be diluted. No matter how unpopular it becomes to live according to Your Word I pray that would be the only way I ever live! Let Your Word burn in me and my heart be laid bare before You!
