36:1ff This happened in the summer of 605 B.C., shortly after Nebuchadnezzar’s victory over the Egyptian army at Carchemish, before the events recorded in chapters 34 and 35.
36:2-4 Most people in ancient times could neither read nor write, so those who could were highly esteemed. These men, called scribes or teachers, held positions of great importance and were very respected for their knowledge. Baruch was Jeremiah’s scribe. Writing was often done on vellum or papyrus sheets that were sewn or glued together and stored in long rolls called scrolls. After the Exile, scribes became teachers of the law. In New Testament times, the scribes formed a powerful political party.
36:9 A time of fasting (when people abstained from eating food to show their humility and repentance) was often called during times of national emergency. Babylon was destroying city after city and closing in on Jerusalem. As the people came to the Temple, Baruch told them how to avert the coming tragedy, but they refused to listen.
36:10-32 God told Jeremiah to write his words on a scroll. Because he was not allowed to go to the Temple, Jeremiah asked his scribe, Baruch, to whom he had dictated the scroll to read it to the people gathered there. Baruch then read it to the officials, and finally Jehudi read it to the king himself. Although the king burned the scroll, he could not destroy the word of God. Today many people try to put God’s Word aside or say that it contains errors and therefore cannot be trusted. People may reject God’s Word, but they cannot destroy it. God’s Word will stand forever (Psalm 119:89).
36:25 Only three leaders protested this evil act of burning the scroll containing God’s word. This shows how complacent and insensitive to God the people had become. Not only did the king reject God’s word, he tried to destroy it. Speaking out against these actions took courage. Anyone who decides to live for God must be willing to stand for right even if almost everyone else turns away. It is in the climate of darkness and sin that genuine faith shines most brightly.
36:30 Jehoiakim’s son, Jehoiachin, was king for three months before he was taken into captivity, but this did not qualify as sitting “upon the throne of David”—an expression that implied permanence. Jehoiakim did not secure a dynasty. Zedekiah, the next ruler, was Jehoiachin’s uncle. Thus, the line of mortal human kings descended from David’s son Solomon was finished, but in less than 600 years the eternal King would come through the descendants of Solomon’s brother Nathan (see also the note on 22:30).