He watched it burn and laughed

Thursday 8-18-2016   Home in Modesto

Scripture Reading:  Jer 26, 35, 36     John 20

S=Scripture  O=Observation  A=Application  P=Prayer  SOAP for the soul.

S.  Jer 36:22-24 Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him.  And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe's knife and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. NKJV

O.  King Jehoiakim was the epitome of brazen evil.  Urijah was a prophet, like Jeremiah, that had called on the people to repent of their evil ways to avoid destruction.  But King Jehoiakim had his henchmen chase Urijah down all the way to Egypt, find him and bring him back for the king to have to joy of killing him, himself.  Now King Jehoiakim sits by the fireplace and listens to Jeremiah’s prophecy being read and then cuts off the last section of the scroll that has been read to him and casts it into the fire. We are talking about brazen evil! 

A.  It was no small task in Jeremiah’s day to write a book. He had heard the voice of God Who gave him a message for the nation. He had dictated it to his scribe Baruch who had carefully written it down, but the king despised it and destroyed it. Jeremiah had to start over with Baruch and rewrite his book. 

I am into the process of writing and publishing my first book. My mother had carefully preserved all my handwritten letters, literally telling stories of my life as they happened. I had kept no copies. My sisters found this box of treasures and gave it to my wife. My scribe, my dear Frances, chose to type all of them, word for word, into her computer, along with her letters to her mother. The total word-count she typed is almost exactly that of one half the entire Bible! She did not know she was writing a book. My sons, Ron and Tim, spent many long hours designing the layout, table of contents, arranging chapter headings and photos, proof reading and much more. My youngest son, Mike, helped decide the book title, “Argentina, A Love Story” and my granddaughter created the original front cover. Now… I could only imagine the heartbreak to watch some evil person taking my only copy of this, tearing it up page by page and throwing it into the fire.

P.  Oh Father God, You allowed Jeremiah’s book of Your words to be destroyed, but it was not lost. You inspired him to write it all again and I have it before my eyes more than two and one half millenniums later. Wow! How You treasure and have protected Your Holy Word! If I fail to read it, it is almost as though I tossed it into the fire. It does no good if it remains only another book on the shelf. I must read it, strive understand its message, live it to the full and share it with others. Lord, may I always respect, live and proclaim Your Holy Word.  Amen.

Ralph