I am using the daily Bible reading schedule from “The Bible.net” for my daily Bible reading.

Today, I am reading and commenting on Jeremiah 36-38.

    The first thought I had when I read today’s passage was how Jehoiakim’s response to the reading of a scroll was different from his father Josiah’s reaction. Admittedly the scrolls were different; the one read to Josiah was the Book of the Law (possibly Deuteronomy, possibly the entire Pentateuch, possibly some other compilation of the Laws of Moses), the one read to Jehoiakim was the words of prophecy which Jeremiah had spoken. However, when Josiah heard God’s Words as given in the Book of the Law, he immediately recognized the judgment which God would be bringing on the people of Jerusalem for their violation of God’s commands. In response to that recognition, he began to mourn for the people and sent to inquire of God what he should do. Jehoiakim on the other hand was read a scroll spelling out the coming judgment and giving the course of action which God desired. Rather than react as his father had in seeking to do God’s will, Jehoiakim made a game out of destroying the scroll which gave him these dire warnings. Josiah took the word of God seriously and recognized how badly he had transgressed against God. He sought how he could be made right with God. His son, Jehoiakim, treated the word of God as a joke. He responded by acting as if he could make the consequences of violating God’s word go away by destroying the scroll on which they were written.

    I want to point out that both Josiah and Jehoiakim had advisers who thought the word of God was important. In both cases, as soon as those advisers became aware of the existence of the scroll they brought it to the king’s attention. Josiah chose to be influenced by those good influences, Jehoiakim chose to follow the path of less savory advisers. It is worth noting that Josiah certainly had members of his court who encouraged him to follow the path his father and his son followed. The difference between Josiah and Jehoiakim was whose advice they chose to take. Each of us faces a similar decision. It is up to us to decide which group we are going to allow to influence our behavior; those who love God, or those who despise Him.