Jeremiah 36:15-19: a reflection

15They said to him, “Sit down now, and read it in our hearing.” So Baruch read it in their hearing. 16Now when they had heard all the words, they turned in fear one toward another, and said to Baruch, “We will surely tell the king of all these words.” 17They asked Baruch, saying, “Tell us now, how did you write all these words at his mouth?” 18Then Baruch answered them, “He dictated all these words to me with his mouth, and I wrote them with ink in the book.” 19Then the princes said to Baruch, “You and Jeremiah go hide. Don’t let anyone know where you are.”

Baruch has written down Jeremiah's words at his dictation, and now reads the scroll aloud to the officials of Judah. And their response is striking: when they had heard all the words, they turned to one another in fear, and said they must report all this to the king. The word of God, read aloud, provokes in them fear and a sense of its weight; they do not dismiss it lightly, but tremble at it, and take it seriously enough to warn Baruch and Jeremiah to hide.

Notice how these officials respond to hearing God's word: with fear, taking it seriously. They do not shrug it off or treat it as mere words; they are afraid, sensing the weight and truth of what they have heard, and it moves them. Their fear was a right response, a recognition that this was God's word and not to be trifled with. It stands in contrast to the king, who, hearing the same words, will treat them with contempt.

That trembling at God's word is a right and healthy response, one we can lose. We can grow so familiar with God's word that we hear it without weight, shrugging it off, treating it as mere words rather than the word of the living God. But these officials trembled at it, recognizing its seriousness. When you hear God's word, do not let it fall on you without weight; receive it as these officials did, with a due sense of its seriousness and truth, letting it move you. It is possible to hear God's word and be unmoved, like the king who despised it; be rather like those who trembled, who took it seriously enough to be shaken by it. A heart that trembles at God's word, that receives it with the weight it deserves, is a heart rightly disposed toward the God who speaks.

Lord, when Baruch read your words aloud to the officials of Judah, they turned to one another in fear and knew they must report it all to the king; the word of God, read aloud, moved them to fear and a sense of its weight, and they did not dismiss it lightly. Show me that trembling at your word is a right and healthy response, one I can lose. I can grow so familiar with your word that I hear it without weight, shrugging it off, treating it as mere words rather than the word of the living God. But these officials trembled at it, recognizing its seriousness. When I hear your word, keep it from falling on me without weight; help me receive it as these officials did, with a due sense of its seriousness and truth, letting it move me. It is possible to hear your word and be unmoved, like the king who despised it; help me be rather like those who trembled, who took it seriously enough to be shaken by it. A heart that trembles at your word, receiving it with the weight it deserves, is a heart rightly disposed toward you, who speak; give me such a heart, Lord.