Jeremiah 45:1-5

III. A PERSONAL NOTE TO BARUCH Jeremiah 45:1-5

TRANSLATION

(1) The word which Jeremiah the prophet spoke unto Baruch the son of Neriah when he wrote these words in a book from the mouth of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: (2) Thus says the LORD the God of Israel concerning you Baruch: (3) You have said, Woe is me now! for the LORD has added grief to my hurt. I am weary with my sighing and I cannot find rest. (4) Thus you shall say unto him, Thus says the LORD: Behold, that which I have built I am about to tear down and that which I planted I am about to pull up, even the whole land. (5) And are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them, for behold, I am about to bring calamity upon all flesh (oracle of the LORD); but I will give you your life as spoil wherever you shall go.

COMMENTS

Chapter 45 dates back to the fourth year of Jehoiakim.[366] That was the crucial year in the political history of Judah and in the ministry of Jeremiah. It was in that year that Nebuchadnezzar was able to defeat the Assyrian-Egyptian coalition and assume control of the Near East. That was also the year in which the words of Jeremiah were first put into written form.

[366] This is the third time the fourth year of Jehoiakim has been mentioned (cf. Jeremiah 25:1, Jeremiah 36:1).

Chronologically chapter 45 would have fitted much better after Jeremiah 36:8 or at least at the conclusion of that chapter. Why has it been placed in its present location? It is impossible to say precisely. If Baruch was, as has been plausibly suggested, Jeremiah's biographer and the editor of his master's messages, it could well be that he has placed this chapter here for a definite purpose. Perhaps this chapter serves as his personal signature at the end of the biographical section of Jeremiah. It is only here that Baruch reveals himself as a person. Throughout the rest of the Book of Jeremiah he is content to remain in the background and simply record the message of his master. Whatever the reason for the placement of chapter 45 here, it is like a quiet meadow in the midst of a tumultuous battlefield. After the rumbling of chariot wheels, the carnage of battle, the fall of cities and nations the reader is ready for something more mild. Here the focus shifts from international conflict to the problems of a single individual. God is just as concerned about the troubled mind of one of His faithful as about the course of international politics. After an introductory word (Jeremiah 45:1) chapter forty-five contains a gentle rebuke (Jeremiah 45:2-4) and a gracious promise (Jeremiah 45:5).

A. A Gentle Rebuke Jeremiah 45:2-4

The gentle rebuke contained in Jeremiah 45:2-4 is in the form of a vivid contrast, In Jeremiah 45:3 the self-pity of Baruch is indicated. In contrast to this, in Jeremiah 45:4, the genuine and justifiable grief of God is indicated.

1. The self-pity of Baruch (Jeremiah 45:3)

Baruch had been complaining. He was disturbed, weary and tired. Woe is me now! for the Lord has added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest (Jeremiah 45:3). There is no indication as to why Baruch felt this way. But since the incident is associated with the writing of the scroll there is probably some relationship between Baruch's state of mind and what he had just written. Perhaps Baruch had become discouraged and depressed as he recorded from the lips of Jeremiah that long series of charges and threats against his people. For the first time he saw the deplorable spiritual condition of the nation. The thought of that impending catastrophic destruction brought anguish to his heart even as to the heart of his master. His city, the Temple and all he held dear would be swept away. His own personal hopes and aspirations would be dashed to the ground. As he contemplated these bitter prospects his depression grew into despondency.

Added to the burden which future prospects laid upon his heart was his present predicament. He was in hiding with Jeremiah under the threat of execution by the tyrant Jehoiakim. It seemed to him that ever since he had volunteered his scribal services to Jeremiah that one heartache, disappointment and sorrow had been added to another. The burden had become too great. He was utterly weary because of his own sighing. He could find no rest for his soul. Somewhere along the difficult way he had lost that quiet trust and confidence in the Lord. why? he would ask. Why must this be my lot? Baruch had to learn as Jeremiah before him had learned that the immediate persecution was only the beginning of his personal suffering. Between 605 and 587 B.C. Baruch was to suffer much as the companion and scribe of the weeping prophet.

2. The genuine grief of God (Jeremiah 45:4)

To the tired and weary Baruch God sent His messenger with a word of comfort. It is not a word of sympathy for this would merely have added fuel to the tormenting flames of self-pity within the soul of Baruch. Nor does God promise this secretary immunity from the difficulties of the time. Rather God deals with the despondency of Baruch by revealing to him the depths of the divine agony. The thought of the passage may be paraphrased as follows: You, O Baruch, are experiencing the very worst form of self-pity. Well, now, consider! What I Myself built I am about to tear down. What I planted, I am about to uproot. In other words God is saying to Baruch What is your hurt compared to mine? The amazing teaching of this little chapter is that God too experiences pain. One can sense the pathos in the words What I Myself built I am about to demolish. Perhaps here in Jeremiah 45 is the antidote to the self-pity of those who labor in the vineyard of the Lord today. Perhaps if more preachers and teachers and even church secretaries like Baruch would only stop to contemplate that God knows pain perhaps they would be able then to view their own trials and troubles in the proper perspective. When one begins to meditate on the Scripture God is not willing for any to perish but that all should come to repentance surely the magnitude of the divine hurt must be impressed upon the mind. When the modern Baruch comes to mentally grasp the depth of divine agony over lost mankind he must come to realize how trivial and superficial are the circumstances which cause him to feel discouraged and despondent. There are many Baruchs in the Bible. Elijah sat for a time under his Juniper tree (1 Kings 19:4); Jonah became terribly despondent over the loss of a shade-giving plant. Some of the Psalmists are in this category and above all there is Job. What they all needed to learn is the lesson of this chapter. Their grief was more than matched by that of God.

B. A Gracious Promise Jeremiah 45:5

Having pointed out to Baruch His own genuine grief, the Lord seems to chide this scribe by saying And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not! What were these great things to which Baruch aspired? One can only guess. Did he aspire to preach the word of the Lord in the masterful style of Jeremiah? Did he anticipate that the nation would heed the cry for repentance, recognize Jeremiah for the man of God he was, and give Baruch the recognition he deserved as the right hand man of this great prophet? Did he have his sights set on some position of political power? The truth will never be known. It is sufficient to note that the ambitions of the human heart often run counter to the plan and purposes of God. Baruch should have been praying Not my will but Thine be done! But like so many of his kind today, this secretary wanted to pour the purposes of God into the mold of his own ambition. All wishful thinking and hopeful dreams to the contrary, the judgment upon all flesh is coming. God's purpose will be carried out regardless of who it affects.
There is a note of consolation for Baruch in this verse. In the day of destruction and death God promises, I will give you your life for a prey. This expression, which occurs several times in Jeremiah,[367] probably originated in the army. Victorious soldiers customarily brought home the booty they had seized. A soldier returning after a defeat when asked where his share of the booty was might well have replied that his life was all the booty that he could bring away.[368] Baruch would escape from the forthcoming conflagrations with his life. That would be his reward. Instead of continuing to gaze upon the wreckage of his own ambitions Baruch should rejoice in the promise that through all those days of trouble God would spare him for the task of being the secretary of a prophet.

[367] Jeremiah 21:9; Jeremiah 35:2; Jeremiah 39:18.

[368] Bright, op. cit., p. 185.

That fourth year of Jehoiakim marked a turning point in the life of Baruch. It was indeed the moment of truth for him. Baruch had been brought low by the circumstances of life. He had been melted down and now he was being poured into a new mold. He was able to triumph over despondency and alter ambition to conform to the divine will. Through thick and thin he stayed close to Jeremiah during all those long years of ridicule and abuse. In the many passages which record the events subsequent to 604 B.C. there is never any hint that Baruch ever faltered again.