Lives of Scripture

Micaiah, son of Gemariah and grandson of Shaphan, appears in the account of Jeremiah 36, which describes how the LORD instructed Jeremiah to dictate all his prophecies to his scribe Baruch on a scroll, then have it read publicly in the temple (36:1-8). When Baruch read the scroll aloud to the people in the temple, Micaiah happened to be present and 'heard all the words of the LORD from the book' (36:11). He immediately went down to the king's house, into the scribe's chamber where the officials of Judah were sitting, and personally relayed everything Baruch had read (36:12-13). This report prompted the officials to send for Baruch and have him read the scroll again to them directly (36:14-15), and eventually to report its contents to King Jehoiakim -- who responded by cutting the scroll into pieces and burning it in a fire pot, showing open contempt for the LORD's word (36:22-23). Micaiah's role is brief but pivotal: his attentiveness and willingness to pass along what he heard is the hinge that moves Jeremiah's warning from the temple courts to the highest levels of government, even though the king himself ultimately rejected it.