NOTES for Jer 36:1-32
Manuscripts do not burn. They do not burn as long as something greater than the power of human hatred and fear stands behind them, and as long as there are people ready to read them and receive the Word written in them. To this day, the prophet Jeremiah’s name is far better known than the name of King Jehoiakim and those of his servants. To this day, people believe and hope in the God who inspired the burned and restored lines; to this day, what the prophet said still matters to someone. Here a third component of this eternity of God’s Word is important for us—the component that depends on us. God Himself is eternal and beyond the reach of persecution by kings and rulers. His Word, expressed in the words of the prophets, is eternally addressed to humanity. But is human interest in this Word constant? An unread manuscript, an unheard word, can accomplish no more than the ashes in Jehoiakim’s fireplace. Manuscripts do not burn—if there are people who need them.