The Law of Chastisement

IN Jeremiah 36:32, we read, "And there were added besides unto them many like words." The circumstances in reference to which this declaration was made, were these: God had sent Jeremiah to the nobles and rulers of Israel with terrific warnings and fearful denunciations against their wickedness, designing thereby to turn them from their evil ways. Jeremiah being in confinement called in Baruch to act as scribe for him, who wrote from his lips upon a roll of a book all the words that the Lord uttered by the prophet against Judah and Jerusalem. This roll Baruch then took and read in the house of the Lord, and before the princes, and was finally called in to read the same words before the king. Did the king learn wisdom from the denunciations he received? Did he heed the warnings given, and seek by repentance, and turning to the Lord, to avert impending calamities? By no means. But on the contrary, in the anger of his rebellious heart he took the roll, and, with his penknife, impiously cut it up and threw it into the fire before him.

What did he accomplish by this? He had destroyed the roll; its words of warning which he hated were no longer before him; he had endeavored to vent his spite upon their author; but were the purposes of God frustrated thereby? Because the written record was destroyed, did God forget his intended judgments, or lose the power to bring them to pass? The sequel shows. Jeremiah was immediately commanded of the Lord to take another roll, and write in it all the former words of the first roll which the king had destroyed; but this time the matter did not stop here; for, in the language above quoted, "there were added besides unto them many like words." The first denunciation of wrath and coming judgments against the king and the people were designed to turn them from their evil ways, and lead them to repentance and the service of the Lord; and had they received it in this way, he would have turned from the evil he thought to do unto them. But instead of this they rose up in rebellion; they despised the counsel and scorned the reproof. And then not only the original threatenings were made to stand against them, but many more were added, the judgments were multiplied, and their severity increased. And this is what we mean by the law of God's chastisements: Whenever they do not have their designed effect upon us, they are increased in severity, till they do bring us into a right position or we get beyond hope.

In this, there is an important lesson for us. Whenever a test is presented before us, if we cannot stand that, a severer one will come. If a trial is sent us to bear, designed for our benefit, if not received aright, if we by our resistance and rebellion prevent its having its designed effect upon us, a harder one still will be given to school us into the way of right. If one chastisement from the Lord does not work in us the needed reformation, a heavier will be inflicted.

We had better, therefore, yield at the outset. We had better not be stubborn or rebellious scholars in the school of Christ. We had better so profit by the first lesson, that it will not need to be repeated with many things added thereto. We had better, at the first intimation of the will of our Lord, seek earnestly to know all his counsel, and yield to it a prompt and willing obedience. Such a course will save others much perplexity on our account, and ourselves much sorrow in the end.