There was a king in the Old Testament who practiced pen knife religion – that is, the parts of God’s Word that he did not like, he simply cut out of the scroll with a pen knife. What was the name of this king and what was written in the scroll that he didn’t like? What else did he do to the scroll and what was God’s response?
Answer: King Jehoiakim of Judah did not like the words of God that were read to him from a scroll which Jeremiah had dictated to Baruch the scribe. It contained a warning to Judah to turn from their sinful ways and be forgiven, or God would bring calamaties upon them (Invasion and captivity by Babylon). This warning did not compel the king to repent, but instead, it hardened his heart and he cut the parts out of the scroll which he did not like and then proceeded to burn the scroll until it was consumed. God’s response was to have Jeremiah give another scroll to Baruch to write the same exact message as before. God’s Word can never be destroyed! This account can be found in Jeremiah chapter 36.