TO BARUCH

Jeremiah 45:1-5 NET.

¹ The prophet Jeremiah spoke to Baruch son of Neriah while he was writing down in a scroll the words that Jeremiah spoke to him. This happened in the fourth year that Jehoiakim son of Josiah was ruling over Judah. ² “The LORD God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch. ³ ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! For the LORD has added sorrow to my suffering. I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.”‘” ⁴ The LORD told Jeremiah, “Tell Baruch, ‘The LORD says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth. ⁵ Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the LORD, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go.”‘”

Forty-seven years ago, I packed my bags and headed to Lenox, Massachusetts, to attend college. It was a unique institution. It was a four-year Bible college, but its professors were all top-notch scholars. It was just where I wanted to be because I wanted to be a minister of the gospel and to know everything possible.

One of my professors taught the biblical languages. He was Dr. Fred Ehle. Even before I went to college, I knew I wanted to learn the languages in which the Bible is written. The only resource I had as a teenager was the dictionaries in the back of Strong’s Concordance. That is where I started. But when I signed up for my first Hebrew class with Dr. Ehle, I was ecstatic. After we learned the basics, Dr. Ehle would start each day’s class with a look at a Bible text.

I remember the day Dr. Ehle introduced us to Jeremiah 45. He asked us whether we knew there was a whole chapter in the Bible dedicated to a secretary. Then he opened his Hebrew Bible and slowly read and explained the chapter. He explained that Baruch was depressed because his life seemed to be going nowhere, and he felt insignificant. But God wanted Baruch to know that he was not looking at life from the proper perspective. It was a lesson in humility and in being faithful to God in the small things, because God himself would take care of the big things.

I was really impressed with Dr. Ehle’s lesson that day. I hope I can explain the text to you as well as he did that day. I think the lesson is relevant to every Christian. We sometimes feel trapped in our current situation. We want to be great and have significance beyond the normal life we live. But we get frustrated because success and significance seem to be things others achieve, while we too often find ourselves lower down the ladder. Let’s look at the text.

Baruch’s job (1).

The prophet Jeremiah addressed Baruch, son of Neriah, while Baruch was recording Jeremiah’s words in a scroll. Baruch was not a prophet. He was a secretary to a prophet. He was not top dog. He was an underdog. Even Jeremiah, Baruch’s boss, was the least respected of all the prophets in Judah at that time. The other prophets had predicted that Israel would resist the great Babylonian empire and remain intact despite Nebuchadnezzar’s armies. But Jeremiah said no. That made him public enemy number one in his own nation. That made Baruch a turncoat who helped the enemy.

Baruch had ambition. He did not want to be a second fiddle to a radical prophet. He wanted to be a person of stature and influence. Everything that happened left Baruch disgruntled. He would do his job, but he didn’t like it. He would write what Jeremiah told him to write, but he was restless. He was unsatisfied. He felt he was missing the boat. He grew to regret his life choices.

The event described in today’s text occurred in the fourth year of Jehoiakim’s reign over Judah. It was before the fall of Jerusalem and before the reign and capture of Zedekiah. The historical records of Jeremiah end at chapter 44, and everything from this chapter to the end of the book is like footnotes. That’s why the Scriptures date this text. It is not in chronological order. This incident occurred while Jeremiah was being persecuted for prophesying bad news, and the kings of Judah did not want to hear what he had to say. That makes Baruch the one responsible for recording the books the King wanted destroyed.

It would be the same king, Jehoiakim, who would get hold of a scroll that Baruch had produced of Jeremiah’s prophecies and would cut it up and burn it in the fire. We read about that event on Monday. It is recorded in chapter 36. Baruch had to start again and rewrite the scroll. This shows why Baruch was not feeling too optimistic about his life’s plan. He was depressed and felt that even if he did his job well, it would not matter.

Baruch’s fear (3).

Baruch’s words are recorded in verse three: “I feel so hopeless! For the LORD has added sorrow to my suffering. I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.” These are the words of a gerbil who is running on the wheel, but no matter how fast he runs, he doesn’t get anywhere. The Greeks told a myth about Sisyphus, who was condemned to the punishment of pushing a boulder uphill for eternity, only for it to roll downhill, and then he would have to start it rolling again. So now, when we want to describe something we work hard at but that never accomplishes anything, we call it a Sisyphean task.

This is what Baruch feared. Writing was hard work, and he took his job seriously, but he was haunted by the idea that it would eventually be meaningless and accomplish nothing.

Baruch’s blindness (4).

Now, listen to what God told Baruch through Jeremiah. He said, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth.”  Why would God say that to Baruch? Notice that God says he was going to do the very thing that Baruch feared. If a person tears down what he has built, all his effort would be meaningless. Great architects do not get famous by tearing down their work. They get famous because something they did lasts.

Baruch wanted to be part of something that lasted. He did not want to be forgotten. But here God tells him that he would be torn down, along with everything else God had created. God was going to pull up the plants that he had planted. That is not good news to a farmer. If you pull up what you have planted, you will have no harvest.

What’s more, God tells Baruch that he himself will not be spared. He said he will do this throughout the whole earth.

Baruch’s problem was basically blindness. He could not see anything beyond his personal ambitions. He could see no future that did not involve the projects he was personally working on. He did not see the significance of the time he was living in. He was blind to history.

Baruch’s blessing (5).

The LORD asks Baruch, “Are you looking for great things for yourself?” Many are doing the same thing today. In fact, in today’s culture, everyone is encouraged to seek greatness and believe in their own potential for excellence. Even religion today seems to call on everyone to strive for fulfillment and significance. Despite Jesus himself challenging his disciples to serve everyone, our preachers keep telling us to answer the call to become great leaders.

But God told Baruch not to look for greatness. He said that he was about to bring disaster on all humanity. In times of great disaster, people stop worrying about greatness. They are too busy worrying about daily survival. That would be the blessing God was going to give Baruch. The name Baruch means “bless.” God’s blessing for Baruch was that he would allow him to escape with his life.

Baruch’s importance (2).

Verse two has Jeremiah (Baruch’s boss) telling him that God had a special message for him. That is why there is a whole chapter in the Bible written to a secretary. He serves as a perfect example for all of us who struggle to make sense of the life we are living.

When we went through a series of sermons on Hebrews 11, we discovered a few heroes of the faith who accomplished much and left a great testimony. But we also discovered that countless faithful believers believed, remained faithful, never saw any miracles, and died. We don’t know their names. But God does.

The message God is telling us today is the same one he gave to the prophet’s secretary. It is the same one another prophet summarized: what God wants from us is to promote justice, be faithful, and live obediently before him.

 He is not impressed by our achievements. He wants us to walk humbly before him.

Communion Meditation:

“He humbled himself, by becoming obedient to the point of death — even death on a cross!” (Philippians 2:8).

No one knew this lesson better than our Lord Jesus Christ. He was the exalted Son of God. Yet he humbled himself and became like a slave. He did not take up his cross because he deserved it. He took it up for us. He emptied himself of the greatness he deserved because it was necessary for our deliverance. So he chose to be obedient, even though obedience meant a horrible, agonizing, shameful death.

We now live on the other side of that decision. This meal we take is to remind us that it took place. We celebrate the event because it resulted in him who knew no sin becoming a sin offering for us. We benefit from his loss. He died so that we may live. He was broken so that we could be healed.

Think about all the great accomplishments of humanity from the beginning of creation until now. Now, consider what God said to Baruch. All those great buildings are being torn down. All those plants are being plucked up. The only lasting accomplishment that will matter is the work of Christ on the cross.