“The King Must Hear This!”

“The King Must Hear This!”(Jer.36:11-19).
When Baruch read the scroll at the LORD’S temple, the officials were sitting in the room of the royal secretary in the royal palace. One person brought the message to them. They called Baruch and asked him to read the scroll to them. We are told that “when they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear and said to Baruch, ‘we must report all these words to the king.'”
They already guessed that it was Jeremiah who had dictated it to Baruch. Structural sin is known by those who have set up the structures and who control them. Here is an overview of structural sin: “Structural sin, also known as social sin, is a concept that describes the dehumanizing conditions that can exist within a society. It’s a worldview that’s shared and relatively stable over time, and can be found in any structure that oppresses people, violates their dignity, or stifles their freedom. Structural sin can include things like laws, cultural customs, financial systems, and business practices. It can also be evil in and of itself, and can further injustices, restrict people’s ability to develop, and impair their ability to choose what’s right.”
Those who operate systems that feed itself on structural sin fear any exposure of its reality. That is why Jeremiah, one of the prophets of liberation was considered a threat to both political and ecclesiastical authorities that benefited from the status quo.
When the officials heard the message read to them, they looked at each other in fear. God’s word of truth can be despised but its truth remains. They could not keep it to themselves. The king had to hear it! Perhaps this is where structures of sin are often difficult to deconstruct, so as to reconstruct. When the henchmen hide the truth from the king things degenerate alarmingly. There are some hard talks that the king must be told.
Again, we learn that God takes care of his own. If it is not yet his appointed time, even your enemies will protect you. That is how it happened to Baruch and Jeremiah. The officials knew that when they tell the king, both the prophet and his secretary would be in danger. They told Baruch, “You and Jeremiah, go and hide. Do not let anyone know where you are.”
Yes, Jeremiah was sent to reconstruct but he had to first deconstruct the structures that had been constructed embedded in sin. At his commission God told him “See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant”(Jer. 1:9-10).
Jeremiah was a bold prophet who would not have hesitated to speak God’s word directly to the king. Since he was confined and since the king was not present when Baruch read the words of God to the people, God himself created a means by which the king must hear the word! Hallelujah!
May you my friend be one of those channels through which God’s word will reach the officials and even the king himself!
Prayer: Holy Spirit touch our hearts so that the hard words of repentance may grip us with fear that leads to our transformation. Amen!
Have a blessed day! Peace be with!
Rev Babila Fochang.