King Jehoiakim: The King Who Burned God's Word
King Jehoiakim ruled Judah during one of the most troubled periods in the nation's history. His eleven-year reign was marked by political unrest, oppression, rebellion, and repeated warnings from the prophets of God.
His story is recorded in 2 Kings 23:34–24:6, 2 Chronicles 36:4–8, Jeremiah 22:13–19, 26:20–23, and 36:1–32.
Jehoiakim had opportunities to hear God's warnings and turn from the path he was following. Instead, he became a king remembered not for his wisdom or faithfulness, but for his resistance to the very words that could have led his nation toward repentance.
One incident would forever distinguish his reign: the day he took a scroll containing the words of the Lord, cut it apart, and threw it into the fire.
A King Placed on the Throne
Jehoiakim was born Eliakim, a son of King Josiah, one of Judah's most faithful rulers. Josiah had worked to restore the worship of the Lord, remove idolatry, and bring the people back to God's commandments.
But the kingdom Josiah left behind was entering a dangerous period.
Following Josiah's death, the people of Judah made his son Jehoahaz king. His reign lasted only three months before Pharaoh Necho of Egypt removed him from the throne.
The Egyptian ruler then appointed Eliakim as king and changed his name to Jehoiakim.
Jehoiakim was twenty-five years old when he began to reign.
Unlike his father, Jehoiakim did not follow the path of obedience to God. Scripture describes his reign plainly:
“And he did that which was evil in the sight of the LORD, according to all that his fathers had done.” — 2 Kings 23:37, KJV
Judah was already under the influence of Egypt, and Jehoiakim was required to pay tribute to Pharaoh. Rather than bearing that financial burden himself, he taxed the people of the land to collect the demanded silver and gold.
His treatment of his subjects revealed another troubling side of his leadership.
Through the prophet Jeremiah, God condemned the king for building an elaborate royal residence through unrighteousness and unpaid labor. While ordinary people faced hardship, Jehoiakim concerned himself with the appearance and comfort of his palace.
Jeremiah contrasted him with his father Josiah, who had practiced justice and defended the cause of the poor and needy.
Jehoiakim possessed the throne of a righteous father, but he did not follow his father's example.
And as the years passed, his resistance to God's messengers became increasingly dangerous.
A King Who Would Not Listen
During Jehoiakim's reign, the prophet Jeremiah warned Judah that destruction would come if the people continued in disobedience.
These warnings were not welcomed by everyone.
When Jeremiah spoke against the temple and the city, priests, prophets, and others demanded his death. Although Jeremiah's life was spared, another prophet did not escape the king's anger.
Urijah, the son of Shemaiah, had also prophesied against Jerusalem and Judah. When Jehoiakim heard his words, he sought to kill him.
Urijah fled to Egypt, but the king sent men after him. They brought the prophet back to Jerusalem, where Jehoiakim had him executed with the sword.
His body was cast into the graves of the common people.
The account in Jeremiah 26 reveals a ruler who was willing to use his authority against those who delivered messages he did not want to hear.
Yet perhaps the clearest example of Jehoiakim's contempt for God's warnings came later, when Jeremiah was instructed to record the words God had spoken concerning Judah, Israel, and the surrounding nations.
Jeremiah dictated the message to Baruch, his scribe, who wrote the words on a scroll.
Because Jeremiah was restricted from entering the house of the Lord, Baruch read the scroll publicly in the temple.
The message eventually reached several royal officials. After hearing it, they became afraid and instructed Baruch to hide with Jeremiah.
They then reported the matter to the king.
Jehoiakim ordered the scroll brought before him.
It was winter, and the king was sitting in his winter house with a fire burning before him.
As Jehudi read the scroll, Jehoiakim responded in a way that would become one of the most disturbing moments of his reign.
“And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had read three or four leaves, he cut it with the penknife, and cast it into the fire that was on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed in the fire that was on the hearth.” — Jeremiah 36:23, KJV
The king did not simply reject the message.
He destroyed the scroll as it was being read.
Some of his servants pleaded with him not to burn it, but Jehoiakim refused to listen.
Scripture records that neither the king nor all his servants feared or tore their garments upon hearing the words.
Jehoiakim then commanded that Baruch and Jeremiah be seized, but the Lord hid them.
The king had burned the scroll, but he had not silenced God's word.
The Lord instructed Jeremiah to take another scroll and write the words again. Additional words concerning Jehoiakim were included, announcing judgment upon the king and his household.
The first scroll was gone. The message remained.
The Fall of Jehoiakim
Jehoiakim's reign unfolded during a struggle for power between Egypt and Babylon.
After Babylon gained dominance in the region, Jehoiakim became subject to King Nebuchadnezzar. According to 2 Kings 24, he served Babylon for three years before rebelling.
His rebellion brought further trouble upon Judah.
The Lord sent bands of Chaldeans, Syrians, Moabites, and Ammonites against the kingdom. Scripture connects these attacks with the judgment pronounced against Judah because of its sins.
The nation was moving closer to the destruction the prophets had warned about.
Jehoiakim's reign ended after eleven years, and his son Jehoiachin succeeded him.
The Bible does not provide a detailed account of Jehoiakim's final moments or explain the precise circumstances of his death. Jeremiah had pronounced a humiliating judgment concerning his end, but the historical account in Kings simply records that he slept with his fathers.
What remains unmistakable is the legacy of his reign.
Jehoiakim inherited a kingdom that had experienced spiritual reform under his father. He heard warnings delivered by God's prophets. He witnessed the growing danger surrounding Judah.
Yet he continued along a path of disobedience.
His story is a reminder that possessing authority does not make a person wise, and hearing God's word is not the same as obeying it.
Jehoiakim could command servants, impose taxes, punish prophets, and destroy a written scroll. But he could not prevent the fulfillment of God's warnings.
There is something especially revealing about the image of a king sitting comfortably before a fire while cutting apart the words he did not wish to hear.
He may have destroyed the parchment, but the truth written upon it was beyond his power to erase.
King Jehoiakim burned the scroll. He could not burn away God's judgment.
