Choices

“And it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, that this word came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, saying, take thee a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto thee against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke unto thee, from the days of Josiah, even unto this day.” (Jeremiah 36:1-2)

Some people have a problem believing the Bible is the work of God and not the fabrication of men. Nine times in this thirty-sixth chapter of Jeremiah, we have the prophet stating that what he is hearing, what he is writing, what he is declaring to the king of Judah and what the king blatantly cut with his pen-knife and burned on the hearth is the word of the Lord.

We have some choices.  Only one of these is a valid choice. Either, 1) Jeremiah was a demented fool who simply thought he was hearing and thought he was writing the word of God, or 2) Jeremiah was a liar and a deceiver who knew he was not hearing and writing the word of the Lord, or, 3) Jeremiah was a prophet of God and knew he was hearing God speak, and knew he was writing the very word of God. This third view is what true Bible believers hold for the entire Bible.

If it is either of the first two choices, we can have the attitude of King Johoiakim and many others like him in today’s world toward the Bible. However, if it is the third choice we must not ignore the Bible but rather believe it, preach it, teach it, live by it and be comforted by it. I believe the Bible was written as “holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit,” (2 Peter 1:21) just as Jeremiah wrote his prophecy.