Jeremiah 36:8-14: a reflection

8Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the LORD’s words in the LORD’s house. 9Now in the fifth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, in the ninth month, all the people in Jerusalem and all the people who came from the cities of Judah to Jerusalem, proclaimed a fast before the LORD. 10Then Baruch read the words of Jeremiah from the book in the LORD’s house, in the room of Gemariah the son of Shaphan the scribe, in the upper court, at the entry of the new gate of the LORD’s house, in the ears of all the people. 11When Micaiah the son of Gemariah, the son of Shaphan, had heard out of the book all the LORD’s words, 12he went down into the king’s house, into the scribe’s room; and behold, all the princes were sitting there, Elishama the scribe, Delaiah the son of Shemaiah, Elnathan the son of Achbor, Gemariah the son of Shaphan, Zedekiah the son of Hananiah, and all the princes. 13Then Micaiah declared to them all the words that he had heard, when Baruch read the book in the ears of the people. 14Therefore all the princes sent Jehudi the son of Nethaniah, the son of Shelemiah, the son of Cushi, to Baruch, saying, “Take in your hand the scroll in which you have read in the ears of the people, and come.” So Baruch the son of Neriah took the scroll in his hand, and came to them.

When the prophet Jeremiah is banned from the temple, his scribe Baruch faithfully writes down God's words and reads them aloud publicly in the temple, so the people can hear. And the words have an effect: one of the officials, Micaiah, hears them and is struck enough to go and report them to the other officials, who then send for Baruch to read the scroll to them as well. God's word, read and heard, provokes a response; some take it seriously, though, as the story will show, the king himself will later reject it and burn the scroll.

Notice that God's word, when heard, provokes a response, and that responses vary. Baruch read God's words, and they did not simply pass by; they struck a hearer, who took them seriously and passed them on, and they drew the attention of the officials. God's word, heard, demands a response; it does not leave hearers neutral. And responses differ: some heed it and take it seriously, while others, like the king who would burn the scroll, reject it.

That presses a question on us about how we respond to hearing God's word. God's word, when we hear it, is not meant to leave us neutral; it calls for a response, whether to heed it and take it to heart, or to reject it. And how we respond matters. We can hear God's word and take it seriously, letting it move and change us; or we can hear it and, like the king, brush it aside or reject it. Consider how you respond to God's word when you hear it. Do not let it pass by, leaving you unchanged. Take it seriously, let it strike and move you, heed it and take it to heart. God's word, heard, demands a response; respond to it, as those who take it seriously, not as those who reject it.

Lord, when Baruch faithfully read your words publicly, they provoked a response: some heard and took them seriously, though the king would later reject and burn the scroll. Search how I respond to hearing your word. Your word, when I hear it, is not meant to leave me neutral; it calls for a response, whether to heed it and take it to heart, or to brush it aside. Keep me from letting your word pass by, leaving me unchanged. Help me take it seriously, let it strike and move me, heed it and take it to heart, rather than rejecting or ignoring it. How I respond to your word matters. Give me a heart that receives your word with seriousness, that lets it change me, that heeds rather than rejects it. Let me be one who trembles at your word and takes it to heart.