Bible Commentaries
Jeremiah 36

Verses 1-32

1. Intro:
   1. Here we have the book that wouldn’t die!
      1. In music we have a tuning fork known as “A –440”(440 vibrations per second) – It always has been, & always will be (5000 yrs. From now it will still be the same pitch it will not change!
   2. Ignorance of Gods word: “A few years ago, a test of Bible knowledge was given to five classes of high school seniors. Most of them failed the exam completely!Some were so confused that they thought Sodom and Gomorrah were lovers, or that the gospels were written by Matthew, Mark, Luther, and John. Others said that Eve was created from an apple, and that the stories Jesus used in teaching were called parodies.More than 80 percent of the pupils could not complete such familiar quotations as "Many are called but few are (chosen)"; or "a soft answer turneth away (wrath)."
   3. Outline: God’s Word Written; Declared; Destroyed; & Preserved!
2. GODS WORD WRITTEN! (1-4)
   1. The year 605bc – Jeremiah had ministered for 23 yrs., now God tells him to write, so they could be read by others.
   2. Q: What makes the bible different than any other book?
      1. It is God’s word; inspired by the Spirit of God.
      2. Therefore, it can be trusted & must be obeyed!
   3. There are 3 tools needed in explaining the bible: They are Revelation, Inspiration, & Illumination.
      1. Revelation – From God to Man
         1. Man hears what God wants written.
      2. Inspiration – From man to Paper
         1. Man writes that which God wants written.
      3. Illumination - From Paper to heart
         1. Man receives the light of that which God has written.
   4. Revelation – Used many ways to communicate to man (angels, loud voice, still small voice, nature, dreams, visions, & Chritstophanies.)
   5. Heb.1:1-2 “God, who at various times and in various ways spoke in time past to the fathers by the prophets, has in these last days spoken to us by His Son, whom He has appointed heir of all things, through whom also He made the worlds;”
   6. [1] General Revelation(God exists, as creator) “The heavens declare the Glory of God”.[2] Specific Rev.(God the redeemer is revealed to those who hear).
      1. Mt.11:27 "All things have been delivered to Me by My Father, and no one knows the Son except the Father. Nor does anyone know the Father except the Son, and the one to whom the Son wills to reveal Him.
   7. Inspiration – lit. “God breathed”. (2 Tim.3:16)
      1. ​​​​​​​It is not heavenly dictation (God bypassing the writers)
         1. How do we know this? {distinct styles, & vocabularies}
   8. Illumination – A method used by the Holy Spirit to shed Divine light upon all men as they look into the word of God.
      1. ​​​​​​​W/o Illumination no sinner would ever be saved!
      2. Illumination is so important because of our natural blindness, Satanic blindness, & carnal blindness.
      3. When Illumination takes place sinners get saved, & believers are strengthened.
         1. Story – Greg G. – 2 Sam.22/Ps.18.
   9. Why we can trust it?
      1. Its amazing unity; indestructibility, historical accuracy, scientific accuracy, prophetical accuracy, universal influence upon civilization, care & copy, amazing circulation, absolute honesty, life-transforming power.
3. GODS WORD DECLARED! (5-10)
   1. ​​​​​​​Once again God “uses people” – now to Declare it.
   2. God uses human instruments to declare His divine word to men.
      1. Rom.10:14 “And how shall they hear without a preacher?”
4. GODS WORD DESTROYED! (11-26)
   1. ​​​​​​​Here’s another example of people responding differently to God’s Word!
   2. The king should have been copying the law for himself (Deut.17:18-20) and heeding its message.
      1. Instead he destroyed what Jeremiah spoke & Baruch wrote.
   3. Translators & Preachers of the Word have been persecuted & martyred, but the truth of God still stands.
   4. In the midst of the enlightenment, when deism was spreading rapidly, Voltaire proclaimed that within 25 yrs. the bible would be forgotten & Christianity would be a thing of the past. 40 yrs. after his death in 1778, the bible & other Christian literature were being printed in what had once been Voltaire’s very own home!
5. GODS WORD PRESERVED! (27-32)
   1. ​​​​​​​Quote of the week: “Any king who thinks he can silence God w/a knife & fire, has a very high opinion of himself, & a very low opinion of God!” (www)
      1. The Lord handles this w/simply telling Jeremiah to write another scroll. But this time he adds the kings doom.
      2. What he could not reach w/knife & fire was of course…their author.
      3. Ironically, it was the author that was reaching out to him & his people.
   2. It’s interesting that the king & his family are gone & would be forgotten were it not for book he tried to destroy.
      1. Of course this very book will stand up in testimony against him now.
   3. His word WILL endure!
      1. Ps.119:89 “Forever, O LORD, Your word is settled in heaven.”
      2. 1 Pet.1:24,25 "All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever."
      3. Is.40:8 “The grass withers, the flower fades, But the word of our God stands forever."
   4. The “Deathless Book” has survived these great dangers:
      1. [1] The negligence of its friends.
      2. [2] The False systems built upon it.
      3. [3] The warfare of those who hated it. {Isaac Taylor}
   5. Bird Dog Story: A man had a favorite bird dog that was special to him – got separated, had to leave – remembered a trick an old dog trainer told him, he took his shirt put it under some leaves under a bush – came back next day(worried) to find him curled up on it with his nose under the sleeve.
      1. Q: When you get lost, do you have the trust to look for some part of God’s word & curl up in it?
   6. The Word changes lives: The story is told of a college professor who visited the Fiji Islands. Being agnostic, he critically remarked to an elderly chief, "You're a great leader, but it's a pity you've been taken in by those foreign missionaries. They only want to get rich through you. No one believes the Bible anymore. People are tired of the threadbare story of Christ dying on a cross for the sins of mankind. They know better now. I'm sorry you've been so foolish as to accept their story." The old chief's eyes flashed as he answered, "See that great rock over there? On it we smashed the heads of our victims. Notice the furnace next to it? In that oven we formerly roasted the bodies of our enemies. If it hadn't been for those good missionaries and the love of Jesus that changed us from cannibals into Christians, you'd never leave this place alive! You'd better thank the Lord for the Gospel; otherwise we'd already be feasting on you. If it weren't for the Bible, you'd now be our supper!