Question 1

What is happening in this passage where Jeremiah’s words are written on a scroll?

Accepted Answer

In this passage, God tells Jeremiah to gather all the messages He has spoken over many years and have them written on a scroll. Jeremiah dictates, and his helper Baruch writes everything down. Because Jeremiah cannot go to the temple, Baruch goes in his place and reads the scroll aloud on a fast day so all the people can hear. The message then reaches the city leaders and finally King Jehoiakim. The story shows how God makes sure His word is clearly heard by the whole nation.

Question 2

Why did God want Jeremiah’s words written down instead of only spoken?

Accepted Answer

God had Jeremiah’s words written so they would not be forgotten or brushed aside. Spoken words can be ignored or lost, but a written scroll could be read again and again by different people, including future generations. God’s purpose was that Judah would hear the warnings about coming trouble, think about their ways, and “return every man from his evil way.” The written word was meant to press the message on their hearts so they might repent and receive forgiveness instead of judgment.

Question 3

Who is Baruch in this passage, and what does he do?

Accepted Answer

Baruch is Jeremiah’s scribe and helper. Jeremiah speaks all the words God has given him, and Baruch carefully writes them on a scroll with ink. When Jeremiah is not allowed to go to the temple, Baruch goes in his place and reads the scroll to the people, to the princes, and eventually his words are read before the king. Baruch shows quiet courage and obedience. He uses his skill with writing to serve God’s message, even when this puts him and Jeremiah in danger and they have to hide.

Question 4

Why did King Jehoiakim cut up and burn the scroll from Jeremiah?

Accepted Answer

When the scroll is read to King Jehoiakim in his winter house, he hears only a few sections before he reacts. Instead of being humbled or afraid, he cuts the scroll piece by piece with a knife and throws it into the fire until it is all burned. He does this because he rejects God’s warning that the king of Babylon will come and destroy the land. Burning the scroll shows a hard heart that refuses correction. It is a picture of someone trying to get rid of God’s word instead of submitting to it.

Question 5

What does this passage teach about God’s word when the king burns the scroll?

Accepted Answer

The burning of the scroll does not stop God’s word at all. After the king destroys it, God simply tells Jeremiah to take another scroll and write everything again, and more is added. This shows that people can attack, ignore, or try to silence God’s message, but they cannot destroy it. God’s word outlasts human kings and their anger. It also shows that when truth is rejected, God may speak even more clearly about judgment, because He is just and does not change His warnings to please people.

Question 6

What does this story show about repentance and God’s mercy?

Accepted Answer

From the start, God’s purpose is that Judah might hear the warnings and turn from their evil ways so He can forgive their sins. The fast day, the public reading, and the repeated chances to listen all show God’s patience. Some princes are afraid when they hear the message, and a few even beg the king not to burn the scroll. But the king and his servants do not humble themselves. The passage shows that God is ready to forgive, yet if people harden their hearts and keep resisting, judgment will eventually come.

Question 7

Why were some leaders afraid when they heard the scroll, but the king was not?

Accepted Answer

When the princes hear Baruch read the scroll, they are afraid and recognize that these are serious warnings from God. They even advise Baruch and Jeremiah to hide, knowing the king may react violently. Their fear shows at least some awareness of God’s authority. But when the message reaches Jehoiakim, he treats it with contempt, cuts it up, and burns it. This contrast shows how the same word can reach some hearts with fear and caution, while others grow more stubborn and careless toward God’s voice.

Question 8

What punishment does God announce on King Jehoiakim in this passage?

Accepted Answer

After Jehoiakim burns the scroll, God sends another word to Jeremiah. God says that Jehoiakim will not have a lasting successor on David’s throne and that his dead body will lie exposed, subject to heat by day and frost by night. God also says He will punish the king, his offspring, his servants, and the people of Judah for their sins by bringing on them all the disaster He had spoken before. This shows that despising God’s word and refusing to repent brings real, serious consequences.

Question 9

How can this passage about Jeremiah’s scroll apply to life today?

Accepted Answer

This passage invites us to think about how we respond when God’s word confronts us. Some in the story listen with fear and take it seriously, while the king rejects it and tries to destroy it. Today, we face a similar choice when we read Scripture or hear it taught. We can humble ourselves, pray, and turn from sin, or we can push it away. The story encourages us to treat God’s word with respect, to let it search our hearts, and to trust that turning back to God brings mercy, not harm.

Jeremiah 36:1

And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Palace

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

Cross References

Jeremiah 36:1

And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the Lord, saying,

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Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Palace

Jehoiakim Burns the Scroll

Jeremiah Rewrites the Scroll

Jeremiah’s Scroll Read in the Temple

Cross References