In Jeremiah 36, a scroll was brought before King Jehoiakim, written by Jeremiah, to warn of God’s upcoming wrath. The wickedness that had surfaced displeased Him, and now it was up to the king to do what was right. As the scroll was being read to him, King Jehoiakim took it, cut it into pieces with a knife, and threw it into the fire beside him (Jer. 36:23). The king did not stop to listen to and obey the Lord.
Brothers and sisters, do we do this same thing within our hearts? We may not literally cut up God’s Scripture and burn it, but are there certain things that are hard to hear, so we just push them out of sight and ignore them? We must not fall into the trap that Satan leaves before us and cut God out! We will never know better than our God and should not deceive ourselves into thinking we can! We cannot obtain God’s knowledge (Psa. 139:6) due to it being “infinite” (Psa. 147:5).
With this reality, let us put on the humble mindset that the Bible prompts us to. “I will hear what God the LORD will speak, for He will speak peace To His people and to His saints; But let them not turn back to folly. Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him, that glory may dwell in our land” (Psa. 85:8-9). “How can a young man cleanse his way? By taking heed according to Your word. With my whole heart I have sought You; Oh, let me not wander from Your commandments” (Psa. 119:9-10).
Let us also heed the warnings to those who do not listen to and obey God. “Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (Jas. 4:17). “And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes” (Luke 12:47).
May we be “swift to hear” (Jas. 1:19) but also be “doers” of the Word (Jas. 1:22). James 1:23-25 tells us, “For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man observing his natural face in a mirror; for he observes himself, goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetful hearer but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.”
We see the emphasis the Bible repeatedly puts on hearing and obeying God. We have His Word at our fingertips; so easy to listen to and yet also so easy to cast away. May we not be like King Jehoiakim, who refused to listen or obey when it became difficult, but instead stop and put on a spirit of humility towards the God, who knows all things and can do all things!