59. A Message to Baruch

Jeremiah 45:1-5 reminds us of how God keeps his promises even when we are selfish.

Photo by Elisa Ventur on Unsplash

Baruch was Jeremiah’s secretary. He was the one who took the words God gave to Jeremiah and wrote them down and, on occasion, read God’s words aloud when called upon. He was always by Jeremiah’s side, and it’s even said that he went to Egypt with Jeremiah and likely died alongside him.

Much like us, Baruch was a faithful servant but not perfect. He complained, but we can still learn a lot from him.‌

Baruch’s Complaint

This section in scripture is not sequential. It refers to chapter 36 when Jeremiah was prohibited from entering the temple. If you remember, Jeremiah couldn’t go into the temple, so he sent Baruch to read God’s words to the people and Jehoiakim the king. But Jehoiakim refused to listen, cut up the scroll, and threw it into the fire piece by piece.

We can imagine how Baruch felt. All that dictation and writing down the words for nothing. All that copying and effort was wasted as he watched his scroll go up in flames.

Anyone who has lost all their work on a computer can relate. It was like that, but only worse because Baruch couldn’t quickly type up Jeremiah’s words again. It would take weeks, if not months, to write everything down again.

So Baruch understandably complained. He said,

Jeremiah 45:2–3 (CSB)
“Woe is me, because the Lord has added misery to my pain! I am worn out with groaning and have found no rest.”

Baruch felt sorry for himself, perhaps due to Jehoiakim’s disregard for the truth and all the work he would have to reproduce or because of the severity of God’s words. Most likely, it was a combination of both.

In addition to those challenges, Jeremiah, his boss, was in prison and prohibited from going to the temple, which naturally increased Baruch’s workload. He’s physically exhausted. He’s worn out with groaning. He is so tired of crying and groaning over all his troubles that he’s getting physically sick. He can’t sleep. He can’t rest. It’s all too much. No wonder he cries out, “Woe is me!”

Maybe you can relate? Perhaps you’re tired of the routine: all the schoolwork, the housework, the chores, and the lack of appreciation. Your body and heart aches, and you need a break, but there’s no break in sight.

He Gets Us

Baruch would understand your pain, but more importantly, Jesus understands. Isaiah 53 tells us that Jesus was a man of sorrow and able to sympathize with our weaknesses because he was also worn out with groanings in the garden of Gethsemane.

Isaiah 53:3 CSB
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what sickness was. He was like someone people turned away from; he was despised, and we didn’t value him.‌

As Jesus poured out his heart to God in the garden, the whole world was against him. Even his disciples didn’t value him.

Perhaps you’ve seen the TV ads promoting the website HeGetsUs.com which has raised some concern about the “Jesus brand” being used as a marketing strategy. I think the concern is worth considering, but I also think it’s a good message that the world needs to hear.

Jesus understands our pain and weariness, and he has the most tender compassion for all his children because he, himself, has experienced our sorrow. But this truth is also why God’s response to Baruch is surprising.

God’s Answer

If someone you knew was going through a tough time like Baruch, what would you say to him? Maybe you tell him he needs to vacation or get a different job. Maybe we remind him that God loves him and everything will work out for the best.

But these aren’t the kind of things that God tells Baruch. Instead, God says,

Jeremiah 45:5 (CSB)
But as for you, do you pursue great things for yourself? Stop pursuing!

In other words, God tells him, “Stop being so selfish!” God corrects him for only thinking of himself.‌

To understand this more clearly, look back at Baruch’s complaint for a moment. He says Woe is me! God added misery to my pain! I am worn out! See, Baruch’s complaint is about himself, and God calls him out.

From Baruch’s point of view, God was messing up his plans. Baruch was complaining because he believed it was all God’s fault that he was miserable, worn out, and with nothing to show for all his hard work.

Here’s some more context to God’s word of correction:

Jeremiah 45:4–5 (CSB)
This is what the Lord says: “What I have built I am about to demolish, and what I have planted I am about to uproot—the whole land! But as for you, do you pursue great things for yourself? Stop pursuing! For I am about to bring disaster on all humanity...”

Humanity was falling apart, and yet Baruch was worried about himself. What about us? While the eternal destiny of our neighbors hangs in the balance, are we mainly worried about gas prices, the cost of eggs, and baby formula? These are important concerns, of course, especially the baby formula crisis, but life’s troubles can seem pretty petty compared with eternal salvation.

So, God’s message to Baruch was about his pettiness, but it was also about his desire to do great things for himself instead of for God.

Great Things for God?

Now, nearly every believer should want to do great things for God. Like Isaiah, we should have the attitude, “Here I am, Lord, send me!” And while that’s a good attitude, sometimes we have too much emphasis on the me part of “send me!”

What if God wants to send “Joe” instead of you? Isn’t that his right? Maybe our prayer should be, “Send anyone, Lord, as long as the job gets done.” See, Baruch was complaining because he wasn’t getting to do the great things he felt “destined” to do. He felt like God was holding him back.

So God told Baruch, “Do you pursue great things for yourself? Stop pursuing!” In other words, “Give your selfish attitude a rest!”

The Solution

So how do we go about changing our attitude? First, we have to die to self. Romans 6:6-7 puts it this way:

Romans 6:6–7 (CSB)
For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be rendered powerless so that we may no longer be enslaved to sin, since a person who has died is freed from sin.‌

Those truly taking care of themselves will take an active role in putting the sinful self to death. This is the ultimate kind of self-care. It’s a process that leads those in Christ to say with Paul in Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ, and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me...”‌

For those being transformed in this way, it’s Christ’s name that matters most. Once we completely give up the idea of making a name for ourselves, we can live truly productive, fulfilling lives set free from the burden of our selfish Baruch-like aspirations.

Rebuke Mixed with Encouragement‌

Now, if you were Baruch, hearing God’s correction, you probably wouldn’t have felt all that encouraged. The last thing a person wants to hear when life seems to be falling apart is, “Stop being so selfish.”

But that’s the message Baruch needed to hear, and it was the truth, but it wasn’t the only message God gave him.

Jeremiah 45:5 (CSB)
”For I am about to bring disaster on all humanity”—this is the Lord’s declaration—“but I will grant you your life like the spoils of war wherever you go.”

In addition to God’s correction, he also promised to protect him in the coming disaster. Now, considering all of the dangerous places Baruch had already been, this message must have been incredibly encouraging.

Baruch had been with Jeremiah in prison. He had been in the king's presence when he burned the scroll. He had been with Jeremiah and the rebellious remnant in Egypt. Danger followed Baruch wherever he went, but God always kept his promise of protection.

Baruch’s Message

This brings us back to why this message is here in chapter 45 instead of where it fits chronologically in chapter 36. We may wonder why Baruch would put it near the end of the book instead of earlier, where it seems to fit best.

‌I think the answer is that Baruch wants to emphasize to us how God always keeps his promises even when we are less than faithful. When we feel discouraged, perhaps for selfish reasons, God still keeps his promises. He is always faithful.

When focusing on ourselves, it’s easy to get discouraged and depressed. However, the antidote to “Woe is me!” is to focus on what Christ has done and promises to do.

We are sinners saved by grace alone. Thank God that whether we do great things for him or relatively little things, it doesn’t matter because salvation isn’t ultimately based on our works. Yes, we should strive to do all for the glory of God, but what matters most is that we rest in what God has done for us. That’s God’s message to Baruch and Baruch’s message to us.

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