From time to time, Bibles fall into a state of disrepair (e.g., the binding comes apart, pages are torn or lost, etc.). If that were to happen to any other book, I’d just throw it away. However, I just can’t bring myself to do that when it comes to a Bible. I won’t ever use that Bible again, but I just can’t throw it in the trash.
In the 36th chapter of the book of Jeremiah, Jehoiakim was presented with a copy of God’s word. Jehoiakim commissioned a man to read it, and after only reading a few paragraphs, the king took the scroll and cut it up with a penknife and threw it into the fireplace.
But what I find especially interesting in this account is God’s divine commentary on this event. After the King destroyed the Bible, Jeremiah recorded that those who were present “were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments…” (Jeremiah 36:24).
As bad as it was for the king to destroy the word of God, it was also incredible, from God’s perspective, that no one feared him enough to tear their garments in light of what was done. There were people present when the king took this defiant and rebellious action, and they did nothing. Apparently, they were more afraid of what the king would think or do to them than what God would think or do to them.
Here’s the thought I want to leave you with — While we may never have the nerve to flagrantly destroy a Bible, we might be guilty of being calloused when we witness others contemptuously “destroy the Bible.” Do we have entertainment idols, sports idols, and music idols who profane God and his moral standards? When that happens, how do we react? Have we feared? Have we torn our garments? Do we abhor their actions, or do we go out and buy their latest recording, go to their latest movie, and root them on as if nothing happened? Is that the way we would react if someone spoke contemptuously toward our spouse or children? If not, then should we stand by and do nothing when God is blasphemed?
Friends, there’s a time for every purpose under heaven. There’s a time to laugh (Ecclesiastes 3:4), but there’s also a time to put away laughter and lament, mourn, and weep (James 4:9). Don’t allow yourself to become desensitized by an ever-increasing culture of disrespect for God and his word. Much of our media (television, movies, music, Internet, etc.) is destroying God’s word just as flagrantly as Jehoiakim did with his penknife. How will you react?
by Steve Higginbotham