“Then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the scroll that Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire. And many similar words were added to them.” (Jeremiah 36:32, ESV)
The French philosopher, Voltaire, lived from 1694 to 1778. He was a vicious opponent of Christianity and the Bible, who reportedly predicted that in the nineteenth century, some 100 years later, the Bible would only be known as a relic of antiquity. Yet, in a half-century after Voltaire’s death his home in Geneva Switzerland was occupied by Henri Tronchin, the president of the Evangelical Society of Geneva where Tronchin stored Bibles and Religious tracts for distribution. Moreover, the printing presses that Voltaire employed in Ferney, France to print his anti-Christian and anti-biblical works were used to print Bibles and Religious tracts.
As Jesus stated this truth, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:35, ESV)
Here we see an example of this truth in the days of Jeremiah. The Lord gave Jeremiah words of warning against Israel and Judah that due to their apostasy and idolatry judgment was coming. The hope was that the nation would repent and escape the disaster that was coming upon them. The message was read to a group of King Jehoiakim’s officials and then the scroll was taken by Gemariah to the king.
After hearing the words written on the scroll, against Gemariah’s objection, Jehoiakim king of Judah burned the scroll. He rejected the word of God. While he rejected the word, he could not destroy it. The Lord had Jeremiah dictate the words again, which were written down by Baruch.
The Psalmist wrote, “Forever, O Lord, your word is firmly fixed in the heavens.” (Psalm 119:89, ESV)
The word of God is eternal it shall never pass away since they are the very words of God which flow forth from Him.
The point is that our Bible is the truth of God revealed to us. It will never pass away. Throughout history men have tried to destroy it and cease the message, but they all have failed.
I have read reports of prisoners of war in Vietnam who had their Bibles taken away. Yet they succeeded in accumulating passages of Scripture from memory to sustain and encourage them in the severest of times. How did they do so? It was because the passages were stored in their hearts and recounted in the time of need. The word of God cannot be destroyed as it is in the hearts of those who believe.
Let us spend time in the word and hold firm to its truth.
Renewing the Heart 