Are You Teachable?

Are you teachable? In Jeremiah 36, we see an exciting story of a time when Jeremiah received a message from the Lord for the people of Israel. This was around the time of the first Babylonian invasion (605 BC) when Daniel and other captives were taken to Babylon. God commanded Jeremiah not only to speak His prophecies but also to write them. You must understand—these weren’t pleasant things Jeremiah was writing about. Many were terrible prophecies of divine judgment. However, they were not intended simply to terrify; they were meant to save.

“It may be that they will present their supplication before the LORD, and everyone will turn from his evil way:” Jeremiah 36:3

This was the desired result in bringing God’s word to the people. It was hoped they would hear, pray, and repent.

This is always the goal of God’s Word going forth, so we will hear, pray, and repent if needed. The Word of God is intended to change us if we let it. However, to do so, we must be open to receiving. We must be teachable.

Rate Your Teachability

How would you rate your teachability? Do you respond well to the Word of the Lord when it is peace and prosperity but struggle when your sin is called out? This is where King Jehoiakim struggled. If you read further in chapter 36, we see his response to Jeremiah’s words (the words given directly by God):

“Now the king was sitting in the winter house in the ninth month, with a fire burning on the hearth before him. And it happened, when Jehudi had read three or four columns, that the king cut it with the scribe’s knife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the scroll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth. Yet they were not afraid, nor did they tear their garments, the king nor any of his servants who heard all these words. Nevertheless Elnathan, Delaiah, and Gemariah implored the king not to burn the scroll; but he would not listen to them. And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son, Seraiah the son of Azriel, and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet, but the LORD hid them.”

The Response

King Jehoiakim’s response was to cut the scroll into pieces and burn it in the fire! The practice of cutting God’s Word is still happening today. Some want to decide what is true and false in the Bible. Some want to determine what moral teaching is relevant and which they believe we have ‘progressed’ beyond. But just like it was then, God’s Word is true today and is for us. We can’t cut out the parts we don’t like. Sometimes, there are complex parts, and sometimes it hurts, but this is why it’s so vital that we learn to be teachable, moldable, and willing to let the Word shape us (and pierce us) when necessary.

“For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart” Hebrews 4:12.