Jeremiah 36:9 - Meaning and Application

It seems Baruch had often been reading from this book to any group that would listen before the more formal public reading described here. The instructions were given in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, but this happened in the fifth year, so some think the writing itself took a long time and was not finished until the next year. Others think the work may have begun near the end of the fourth year and been completed early in the fifth, since the ninth month refers to the regular calendar, not to the king’s regnal year.

Notice several things here. First, the government called a public fast to be kept religiously (Jeremiah 36:9), probably because of the trouble caused by the Chaldean army or because there had been no rain (Jeremiah 14:1). We are not told whether the king and princes or the priests ordered it, but clearly God was calling them to it through his providence. Great displays of religion can be found even among people who keep the outward forms of godliness while being strangers to its power. But what good are such empty services? Fasting without turning from sin will never remove God’s judgment (Jonah 3:10).

Second, Baruch publicly repeated Jeremiah’s messages in the house of the Lord on the fast day. He stood in a room belonging to Gemariah and read to the people in the court from a window or balcony (Jeremiah 36:10). When we are speaking to God, we should also be willing to hear from him, so on days of fasting and prayer, the Word should be read and preached. If we want mercy and grace, we should also be told of sin and duty.

Third, word of this reached the princes who were meeting in the secretary’s office, called here the scribe’s chamber (Jeremiah 36:12). It appears that, although the princes had called the people to meet in the house of God to fast, pray, and hear the Word, they did not think it fit to attend themselves. That suggests their fast was more about appearance than true devotion. We hope Michaiah did not report this to bring Jeremiah into trouble for preaching, but rather to bring the princes to account for their sins. His father Gemariah had at least shown some support by lending Baruch his chamber to read from.

Michaiah found the princes in the scribe’s chamber and told them they would have done better to be where he had been, hearing a good sermon in the temple. He gave them the main points of what Baruch had read. When we hear a good word that has helped us, we should be ready to pass it on to others for their good. What fills the heart will come out in speech.

Fourth, Baruch was sent for and told to sit down and read the whole thing again to them (Jeremiah 36:14-15). He did so gladly. He did not complain that he was tired from his public work, and he did not reproach the princes for not being in the temple where they could have heard it already. God’s ministers must be willing to become all things to all men, if by any means they may gain some. They must adapt in outward matters so they can keep hold of what matters most. Paul also preached privately to men of standing (Galatians 2:2).

Fifth, the princes were deeply affected by the word as they heard it (Jeremiah 36:16). They listened to all of it, without interrupting Baruch, and patiently heard the whole book. Only then could they judge it fairly. When they had finished listening, they were all afraid. Like Felix, who trembled when Paul reasoned with him, they felt the force of the message. The warnings were just, the threats were serious, and the things foretold were already close to being fulfilled. Taken together, these things filled them with great alarm.

We are not told how the people in the court reacted (Jeremiah 36:10), but the princes were frightened. As some read it, they looked at one another, not knowing what to say. They were convinced the message should be taken seriously, but none of them had the courage to support it openly. So they agreed to tell the king everything. If he decided to believe it, they would stand by it, but not otherwise, even if the nation’s ruin might be prevented. At the same time, they knew enough of the king’s temper to warn Baruch and Jeremiah to hide themselves (Jeremiah 36:19). They expected the king to be angered, not convinced.

This is common among sinners who feel conviction. They try to push it away by passing the matter to someone else, as these princes did, or by putting it off to a more convenient time, as Felix did. Sixth, they asked Baruch a small question, asking how he had written all these words (Jeremiah 36:17), as if something unusual had happened. Baruch answered plainly that nothing strange was involved, Jeremiah dictated, and he wrote it down (Jeremiah 36:18). In the same way, people often raise needless questions about how Scripture was inspired when they want to avoid the conviction it brings.