God directed Jeremiah to write down all the words of warning He had spoken to the nation of Judah.  Then God said, "Perhaps when the people of Judah hear about every disaster I plan to inflict on them, each of them will turn from his wicked way; then I will forgive their wickedness and their sin."
This is a very clear directive that it is a matter for each individual to repent.  Only when individuals repent will there be forgiveness for the nation.

When the scribe Baruch read the scroll that he had dictated from Jeremiah, the people responded with repentance and fasting. The officials however were afraid of what the king might say and reported the reading of the scroll to him.

Of course what followed was the burning of the scroll because there were words there that the king didn't want to know about. Ever feel that way sometimes? Some words of Scripture that we just don't want to be reminded of? Seems as if some words of Scripture are so convicting that we want to delete them or simply not read them.

The burning of the scrolls is symbolic of destroying the truth of God's Word.  How often is that done today?  Destruction can be done with a match or a tongue.

As we looked holistically at the writing for today, it seemed that the burning of the scroll was the "last straw" for God. The people had consistently disobeyed Him and refused to listen to the prophet Jeremiah and then the king ordered the burning of the scroll. It made us think about what our "last straw" as a nation, as a church, as individuals will be. Think about all the things we tolerate. Just which of these will be the "last straw"?

Then poor Baruch, he had to redo the tedious writing of the scroll. Ever think about service to the Lord as being tedious?

What if Baruch hadn't rewritten the scroll? Look what we would have missed!