2Ki 24:1 In his days Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years: then he turned and rebelled against him.

Josiah was the last of the good kings that walked in the way of God. With his death, Judah sank deeper into idolatry. At that time, Babylon was the rising foreign superpower and Jehoiakim had become king of Judah. Due to their idolatry, God sent the Babylonians to destroy Judah. The inspired writer says this punishment is mainly because of Manasseh's sins and for all the innocent people he killed (v.1-4). We do not know much about Jehoiakim apart from this account in 2 Kings 24. However, in Jeremiah 36, we are told that God told Jeremiah to take a scroll and write down all the prophecies He's spoken so far against Judah, Israel, and the nations. God said perhaps it'll get the people of Judah to mend their ways when they hear of the judgment that will follow them (Jeremiah 36:1-4). Therefore, Jeremiah called a man named Baruch and spoke the messages the LORD had given him. While he spoke, Baruch wrote the messages on a scroll. After this, Baruch read the scroll in the Temple of the LORD to all the people who were there. Later, he was sent to read it to the ministers in the king’s court. When the ministers heard the word written on the scroll, they said: “We must tell King Jehoiakim about these messages on the scroll” (Jeremiah 36:16, CEV). The ministers took the scroll and Jehudi read it to King Jehoiakim. He had only read two or three columns when Jehoiakim grabbed the scroll, cut it into pieces and threw them into the fireplace. His ministers urged him not to burn the scroll but Jehoiakim would not listen (Jeremiah 36:19-25). Sadly, Jehoiakim persisted in his defiance and suffered the consequences. Defeated by the Babylonians and dragged away in chains, he apparently died on his way to or in captivity in Babylon. Jehoiakim apparently thought he was accountable to no one. However, God would have the last word. The lesson of King Jehoiakim applies to all of God’s ministers and all people: He who would attempt to destroy God’s Word will himself be destroyed. God’s word will judge men in the last days regardless whether they like it or not. Jehoiakim may have destroyed God’s words contained in the scroll. However, God’s words will abide forever (1 Peter 1:25). For centuries, men have tried to destroy the word of God. Nevertheless, God’s word is still everywhere today. God’s word cannot be broken nor destroyed. The Bible is either the word of God or the word of man. If it is the word of man, we can ignore it. If it is the word of man, it has no power to save man and whatsoever things it says and promises are lies. But for us who are Christians, the first thing every Christian must fully believe is that the Holy Bible is truly the inspired and infallible Word of God. Paul affirms this truth: “All scripture is given by inspiration of God” (2 Timothy 3:16a). There is no other book on this earth that contains direct words from God. There is no other book on this earth that can save men (John 5:39). Since the Bible is the infallible word of God, we must believe it and take heed to every warning it has uttered. We must not be like Jehoiakim, who instead of taking heed to the warning, cut the scroll of the word of God and burned it. God’s word must be held in reverence by all. Is the Word of God precious in our sight? The Psalmist says: “How sweet are thy words unto my taste! yea, sweeter than honey to my mouth!” (Psalm 119:103). May we treasure the word of God and keep it in our hearts (Psalm 119:97).