Are You Seeking Great Things for Yourself? (Jeremiah 45:5)

Introduction

Good to see all of you tonight. Today’s services have included two prayers by Ben, two song services conducted by Wiggingtons, and now the second sermon from Tom. Archaeology is truly extraordinary as you study the Bible. Archaeological discovery only corroborates. People, places, and events in the Bible. And things have been found in recent years that have been unknown from other than in biblical history. One that archaeologists had questioned was the pool of Siloam. And some guys are working on a water pipe underneath the city of Jerusalem. And then there was the discovery, just thirteen years ago, of the pool of Siloam. One of my favorites is the Moabite stone, because it mentions not Ahab, who we would probably think of as a far more prominent king than his father Omri, but it mentions Omri, king of Israel, in this well known artifact.

A discovery was made in 1975, not from ruins, but in an antiquities market. An item appeared that was later identified as the Bulla or seal of Baruch, the son of, or Ben Nariah, the son of Nariah, the scribe. A similar bullock was found also, a second bullock in Bull in 1996. I was doing Bulla and Baruch and getting bullocked. Because that’s the kicker of the bingles. And I don’t know why I came up with bullock. But that was interesting. What the mind does. So the seal of Baruch, and his name is actually up here at the top part of this seal. And what’s interesting about both of those finds, or really all three of them, is that these aren’t highlights of the Bible story. These are just smaller parts of the story and smaller people, really, in the whole story of the Bible.

And things have been found that corroborate their existence. And so, after 33 years of preaching, it was long overdue, my first sermon about Baruch. The scribe, son of Nariah, in the days of Jeremiah. Okay, so we’re going to study the whole story of Baruch as the Bible tells it, as he’s mentioned in just four chapters in the book of Jeremiah. So we’re going to read, no, we’re not going to read all four chapters. Although one of them is very short, the one that we’re going to ultimately get to. Four chapters. Now let me tell you something about the chapters and the way they’re on the screen here. 32, 36, 43, and 45. 43 and 45 don’t go together. 32 and 36 don’t go together. In the Jeremiah story, actually, 32 and 43 are closer together historically, and 36 and 45 are in the identical year.

And precede 32 and 43 historically. That’s one of the problems that we have as we study the book of Jeremiah. If you need any further clarification on any of this, ask Aaron. He’s dissected Jeremiah frontwards, backwards, and every other way. And if I get anything wrong tonight in some of these little notes about Jeremiah, I’m sure he’s going to correct me. But 32, chapter 32, and I’m going to mention just briefly what’s going on in 32 and 43, is very late. 32 is very late in the proceedings as the Babylonian destruction looms. It’s imminent, happening in 586 BC. It is very close, and Jeremiah is given the opportunity to buy land in his hometown of Anathoth, family property. And God says, confirms by inspiration. I want you to buy the land.

Now, normally, when another country overruns yours and is about to destroy you, that’s not an ideal time to buy land. But he got it for the bargain basement price of 17 shekels of silver. And I talked about that recently in a sermon about that purchase.

Baruch is involved in the securing of the deed of purchase of the land of Anatol, in the land of Anatol. So that’s that’s all that 32 involves Baruch. Chapter 43 is actually, after the Babylonian destruction and the murder of the governor, Gadalia, and it’s dealing with men, the arrogant men, the scriptures call them, who are wanting to go down to Egypt, and Jeremiah is telling them, this isn’t going to go well. You need to stay put in Judea. I mean, Judea is not like it was before Nebuchadnezzar got there. But you don’t need to go down to Egypt. Your fortunes will not be good there. And what’s interesting, and I’ll just throw this in. No extra charge. They come to Jeremiah saying, whatever God tells you to do, we will do it.

And then Jeremiah tells them what God says, and then they don’t do it. So often they want to hear what they want to hear when it wasn’t what they wanted to hear, but they did what they wanted to anyway. And the only thing about Baruch in this chapter is that they charge Baruch with inciting Jeremiah in all of this. So Baruch is of some influence, even as the people regard him, in chapter 43. But I primarily want to focus tonight on chapters 36 and 45. Now, every good sermon needs a good sermon title. This did not originate with me, and you’ll see why momentarily.

He takes full responsibility.

1. Understand the Times in Which Baruch Lived

Not good. I don’t like that. That was Jared’s idea, but I’d throw it in. The real title of this lesson is a statement that is made in Jeremiah 45. Are you seeking great things for yourself? And if you’ll hold on with me until we get to that text in chapter 45, we need to do a little backstory. Then this is going to have some relevance to your circumstances and life. And we get to this particular question. Just a few things I want to look at before we get there. Number one. Let’s understand the times in which Baruch lived. And his friend and associate, Jeremiah. For two decades plus, Jeremiah has been prophesying of doom and destruction. And his message has fallen on deaf ears. In fact, he would actually prophesy for nearly four decades before his tenure would conclude.

But I’m talking about the events of chapter 36 that we’re getting to in chapter 45. He’s already been at it for a couple of decades. He was prophesying submission to a foreign king, a foreign emperor whose God was Marduk. And that was likely considered by the people, despite his message about their sins, as a rejection of Jehovah. And plus there were ominous words about the beloved temple and 70 years of captivity to boot. Now here’s a question What is the longest work of the Old Testament? What’s the longest book of the Old Testament? And we might quickly run to Psalms. Or we might go to Ezekiel. Or how about those 50 chapters in Genesis? Well, they’re all very close, actually, in length, but they are all just barely eclipsed by Jeremiah.

It’s a large book in terms of words. In fact, I originally thought of a sermon called 33,000 words of doom. To be exact, 33,02 Hebrew words comprise the prophetic message of Jeremiah. Now, the only problem with that good title that I came up with, 33,000 words of doom, is that all the words of Jeremiah are not words of doom. A lot of them are, as they relate to the coming Babylonian destruction, but not all of them. And so, Reagan, who has been saying before services tonight that every time he leads singing, I’m doing some obscure lesson that doesn’t relate to any of the songs. So I can’t tell him, you know, this is the theme for the songs tonight. There’s a rainbow in the cloud. The message of Jeremiah, there is a glimmer of hope, the promise of a new covenant.

And hey, there’s Baruch and Jeremiah, who were unto thee, O Lord, do I lift up my soul? And Jehoiakim, angry words. Oh, let them never love one another. He needed that. So, hey, we find a way to make all three of those songs work. So, why is Jeremiah so long? Well, Jehoakim may have had something to do with that. Again, both of these messages in 36 and 45 relate to the reign of Jehoiakim. Now, he’s not the last king. This is all going to really fall apart during Zedekiah. And if we had a competition, which king was worse, Jehoiakim or Zedekiah? It’d be a tough challenge. I think Zedekiah might actually have been better. Not good. But we talked about him in a recent sermon how that when Jerusalem was destroyed by the Babylonians, he was taken captive, and the last thing he saw was his young sons being slain before his eyes.

And the last thing he saw was that before his eyes were put out. But at least Zedekiah, it seems, had a little respect for Jeremiah, not so with Jehoiakim. Now remember, Josiah has died very recently. His son Jehoahaz takes his place, and he is immediately deposed by Pharaoh Nechem. And Jehoiakim, the brother of Jehoahaz, assumes the reins. And yet there is the ominous Babylonian presence that is beginning to sweep through the land. And we’ve had the prophecies of Jeremiah about what is coming with the Babylonians. And so, as this threat loses to the north, just like Assyria had done generations ago. It was a day of fasting that was called because of what’s happening in the land all around them. These were ominous signs. A day of fasting is called.

2. Jehoiakim Cuts It and Throws It Into the Fire

And so that was a prime opportunity to speak to the people, this message of repentance before the doom comes. Jeremiah is in lockdown at the time. Not in the cistern that he’s going to be in, which would be horrible and despicable. But he is under palace guard. And so, in chapter 36, he sends Baruch to preach to the people. To declare his words that have been given to him by inspiration. Once those words were declared to the people, apparently there was some response of fear and concern, as he was then ushered in before the officials and scribes, and then the words were reported to King Jehoiakim. And King Jehoiakim dispatches Jehuti to go and get the scroll. Judah comes in the presence of the king. And at this time, those scribes and officials have taken Baruch and Jeremiah into safety and hidden them.

There was another prophet in the book of Jeremiah by the name of Uriah, the son of Shemiah. And he actually fled from Jehoiakim, and they went down to Egypt and brought him back and killed him. Who uttered similar words of doom that Jeremiah had. So they hid Jeremiah and Baruch. But as Jehudi read the scroll in the presence of King Jehoiakim, he took a pen knife, which would have been used by a scribe like Baruch to sharpen the reeds by which they would write, the pens that they would use. It would also be used to cut papyrus, the scrolls that they would use. As the words of Jeremiah were being read in chapter 36, Jehoiakim takes one of those pen knives, and as three or four columns of the scroll is read, he cuts it and throws them into the fire.

The very words of God. How obstinate and rebellious and stubborn is this king. That he thinks he can disregard the words of a prophet of God, that he can kill a prophet like Uriah, and that he can somehow get away with it or alter what these words are declaring. And the disrespect that he would take the word of God and cut it and throw it into the fire. What’s interesting about this story in Jeremiah 36 is in verse 27, then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah after the king had burned the scroll. And then mark this down, folks. Verse 28.

Pick up another scroll. And write on it all the former words. Here’s the thing. God doesn’t forget anything that’s been revealed. In fact, he doesn’t forget things. And so he says, now just take out another scroll and write all the former words that were on the first scroll, which Jehoiakim burn. And concerning Jehoiakim, you shall say, You have burned this scroll. Saying, why have you written on it that the king of Babylon shall certainly come and destroy this land and shall make man and beast to cease from it? This was not a popular message. Wasn’t popular with the king. Therefore, thus says the Lord concerning Jehoiakim, king of Judah, he shall have no one to sit on the throne of David, and his dead body shall be cast out to the heat of the day in the frost of the night.

And he did indeed suffer an ignominious death when Nebuchadnezzar arrives later. I shall also punish him and his descendants and his servants for their iniquity. But then verse 32, then Jeremiah took another scroll and gave it to Baruch, the son of Nariah the scribe, and wrote on it at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoachim, king of Judah, had burned on the fire. And we love this. And many similar words were added to them. It’s not enough that he has rejected the word of God and cut it and thrown it in the fire. I’m going to add more words on top of that. Speaking to the doom of this place and your doom, King Jehoiakim. So that might explain why Jeremiah eclipses those other three books in length that I have mentioned tonight.

3. Trouble by Association

What does this illustrate? The word of the Lord endures forever. Heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall never pass away. Passages that we’ve read many times in the New Testament. Now I want to make this observation before we get to the final part tonight. I want you to notice what happened and what why trouble came to the life of Baruch. Yes, it was his faith. But I want you to notice that he is identified as an associate of Jeremiah, who is the prophet of God. He’s just the scribe, he’s just the guy writing this down. You might give the guy a pass, because he’s just writing it down for Jeremiah. But obviously, he is more than just the writer of words, but is a believer of the words.

Trouble by association. And if I might make an application there to us. Sometimes when, and this gets to the final point that has a lot of relevance. But sometimes our stand for truth, even among perhaps covenant people. People who have been baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of their sins, but have lost sight of the right way. Who have stopped practicing words of truth in their lives, perhaps individually, perhaps corporately. There comes times we who have been around a while have seen occasions where conflict has come to the local church. Sometimes folks that should know better and do better do not.

And a stand has to be taken. I want to admonish you. Be courageous.

Don’t stand on the sidelines and say, I don’t want to get involved because that can bring trouble to my door. Trouble has come to the doors of Baruch because he is identified with the prophet Jeremiah. And so troubles may come to you when you take a stand for what is right and what is good. When sometimes covenant people have lost their way. Don’t be afraid. Well, if I speak up, then some of that’s being expressed, some of that anger and angst, that might come my way. And it might. We’re not promised exemption from trouble, even among the Lord’s people. John says Diotrepes doesn’t accept what we say. Well, I’m not going to say anything to Diotrephes because he has power. He could cast me out of the church, and he’s done that kind of thing.

4. Are You Seeking Great Things for Yourself?

I’m not going to say anything to him. Better be a member of another congregation. Then a place where diotrophies is random and ruling. I’m going to stay with the apostle John, a prophet, an apostle. I’ve got to identify with him and not diotrophes. So don’t be afraid. Take a stand. Even in the midst of covenant people. But finally, I want to get to the admonishing revelation of a very short chapter in chapter 45. This is an intriguing little chapter. It’s five verses. I want to read it with you and make some observations, and we’ll be done tonight. This is the message which Jeremiah, the prophet, Jeremiah 45 and verse 1, spoke to Baruch, the son of Nariah. When he had written down these words in a book at Jeremiah’s dictation, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, King Judah.

Same year as chapter 36. Perhaps, if you can read between the lines here, perhaps he is reeling from the response of the king. Remember, they’ve been ushered off into hiding. Perhaps he is reeling from the response of the king to the reading of Jeremiah’s words. And his absolute opposition. Same here. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch. Oh, in the midst of all of this, the words against Jerusalem, the words against Judah, and their false trust in the temple, the words against Nebuchadnezzar. In the midst of all this, there’s a message to this man, to the scribe, to Baruch. You say, you said, Ah, woe is me. For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning and have found no rest.

There’s a lot of folks that can identify with those words. The troubles that have come to their lives, that they could almost repeat these words. Woe is me. The Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I have found no rest. Thus you are to say to him. Thus says the Lord. Behold, what I have built, I am about to tear down. And what I have planted, I am about to uproot. That is the whole land. That goes back to the very beginning of Jeremiah chapter 1 and verse 10 and his call and purpose. But you are you seeking great things for yourself? We’re deriving a title for this lesson. Let’s go with Jeremiah 45, 5. Not if it ain’t Baruch, don’t fix it.

Okay, let’s go with this. Do not seek them. For behold, I am going to bring disaster on all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give your life to you as booty in all the places where you may go. And so we have these words spoken to Baruch in chapter 45 in the fourth year of Jehoiakim. And apparently Baruch, perhaps as a result of what’s happened with this scroll, is in a significant amount of pain. But what’s the message in Jeremiah chapter 45? There are bigger things going on, Baruch, than your own personal circumstances. He says, Are you seeking great things for yourself? I’m about to bring disaster on all flesh. Why don’t you look at this from God’s point of view? Look at what God is doing to his own covenant people.

You’ve got difficult things going on in your life, Baruch. But I want you to see a bigger picture of what God is having to do to his own people, for whom he has done so much. Your private drama is not the bigger issue here. But it’s the tragedy that is about to befall the nation. God is destroying on a vast scale that which he had carefully built and planted. A whole people. And the place where they were appointed to worship him in a special way. That too will be brought to ourselves, God is getting on Baruch. And he is. But I don’t think the point of this chapter is to be a biographical note about Baruch or considered an historical summary of his life that he is now somehow a spiritual loser.

I don’t think that’s the point of Jeremiah 45. When he says, Are you seeking great things for himself? I don’t think it’s saying, okay, you’re being a loser here, Baruch. I think it’s more in this message to Baruch, there is another, yet another announcement of the coming judgment of God upon the nation. But here’s the point. In the midst of this momentous working, God takes the time to instruct Baruch. To assure him, to shepherd him in the midst of his pain. God does not leave his own unattended. That’s right. Cast all your cares upon him because he cares for you. 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 7. So I’m not seeing this in a negative light at all. But as Jameson Fawcett Brown says in the commentary, do we expect to be exempt from all hardship?

Baruch had raised his expectations too high in this world. And this made his distresses harder to be born. The frowns of the world would not disquiet us if we did not eagerly covet its smiles. What folly to seek great things for ourselves here, where everything is little and nothing certain. God speaks to Baruch as he experienced frustration in regard to personal ambition. But to Baruch’s credit, he doesn’t say, well, okay, this is a very short message. We’re going to delete it. Nice cut and paste job here. We’re going to take this out of the message. To Baruch’s credit, it’s recorded anyway. God’s chastening. Of Baruch. And he’s even offered a reprieve. I’ve noticed your work, Baruch. And I’m going to give you something. You’re not dying in the onslaught that’s coming.

As we see in the earlier chapter, he survives the Babylonian destruction brought by Nebuchadnezzar. And he wasn’t the only one. And here’s the point that I would make. What was left unsaid and unknown was the admiration of every generation of the Lord’s people’s sins for what Jeremiah, Ebon Melech and Baruch dared to do. I haven’t mentioned Ebon Melech yet. I love his story. He, I preached a sermon on him, though. Remember it? No. The other Ethiopian eunuch. We talk about the Ethiopian eunuch of Axad. There’s another Ethiopian eunuch in the Bible. And it’s Ebon Melech, whose name means servant of the king, and that’s what he was. And he also was a servant of Jeremiah and was promised the same thing Baruch was promised about the impending judgment that was coming.

When I was young and first started preaching, the first commentary saw commentaries that I ever bought, commentary set, was written by another Christian, and that’s why I bought it. A lot of the commentaries were written by people that I don’t think are covenant people. They wrote good commentaries, but they don’t believe the truth about baptism. So I bought the Christian’s commentary written by Ian Zer. I thought, initials, E.M. Ah. Ebon Melech. And so if I wanted my son to follow in my footsteps as a preacher, I could have named Brett Ebon Melech Mach. Has a nice ring. He could have been Ian Moch. I said that for a while. I think Sherry vetoed that one. But servant of the king, Evan Melch. Brett could have been Ebon Melik.

5. The Impact of Your Faithfulness

I think he’s glad I chose Brett. But Evan Melik had pleaded to Zedekiah to rescue Jeremiah from the filthy sister into which his enemies had plunged. In this story, a sad, tragic story, there’s a rainbow with a cloud. It’s what three men dared to do. Jeremiah the prophet, his scribe Baruch, and the servant of the king. Three bright spots in a dismal era for God’s people. Now I want to bring this home in the last five minutes. Do you seek great things for yourself? You know, if you could change places with somebody in history in the Bible, who would you change places with? Abraham, maybe? Barnabas. Pick a spot. Who would you choose? Nobody say, hey, can I be Baruch? Can I be Jeremiah?

What did this lie, and getting back to James of Boston and Brown’s commentary? What if this life really had to offer of the trinkets, for example, that you and I enjoy, what did this life really had to offer Baruch? Not a lot. Some people are born in very tough times and very tough circumstances. And so Baruch is concerned about his circumstances. Where is this all going to lead? This looks dire. This looks terrible. This is going to be awful for me and my family. And guess what, Baruch? It is. It is awful. Put your hope and trust in God anyway. And who knows? People may be talking about you for centuries. And we still are. So I want to talk to you for a second about the impact of your faithfulness.

Quit thinking in terms of the struggles of your circumstances. I have struggles. Sometimes my circumstances are not what I would like them to be, but I’ve got to tell you, they’re pretty good. And as far as on the scale with me and Baruch, a lot better. A lot better circumstances. Maybe not better for me spiritually, but things that I would like, I have going on. Even though the circumstances are not always like I would want them to be. But even if they were to turn very negative and not what I’ve liked, perhaps things will happen in our country where the freedoms we now enjoy will go up and smoke, and our lives as we know it could be drastically changed. Don’t think that’s not possible.

Are we then going to be with Baruch? Elias, well with me, my circumstantial pain is terrible. And it might be.

Barut teaches us something. The message to Baruch teaches us something. Are we seeking great things for ourselves? Or do we realize that I have a role to play in my space, in my circumstances, in my time, however desirable or undesirable my circumstances might be, I can advance God’s cause in a significant way in ways that I can’t even begin to fathom.

There are a lot of people who were given promises who did not receive the benefits of those promises. Abraham being one. They died without the promises, the Hebrew writers said. They were long range forecasts. They were exiles and strangers in the earth. But they ultimately got the big prize.

Too many people look at their role in the kingdom and say, I’m not the preacher. I’m not the elder. I’m not even that influential in the woman, but little old me in the kingdom. You have no idea how significant your impact is. And that’s why Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12 about the part that each member of the body supplies being significant. God gives more abundant honor to the member that lacked. That’s the way he’s composed the body. Don’t ever think your little contribution, whatever it is insignificant. Look, if everybody said my contribution is insignificant, therefore I’m not going to participate, I’d be preaching to MVQs tonight. Our singing wouldn’t be nearly as encouraging if there was 150 less people here who said my role’s not important.

And I’ll tell you, if you stop coming for a couple of weeks, that’s discouraging.

When we see a full house on Sunday night, wow, these people are committed. That enlivens me. That helps me. Empty seats do not think that your role is insignificant.

Little people matter.

Conclusion

One of the first humans to walk the face of the earth is murdered by his brother. But he being dead yet speaks. Jeremiah, Ebonnah, and Baruch. They being dead. Yet speak.

Do you realize what we’re involved in? We are those, according to 1 Corinthians 10 and verse 11, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. That should enliven us as we sing praises. Give us fuel to be committed, though at times we are weary. And provoke us to be devoted to prayer and advancing his cause. Play your role. Play it with all the strength and courage and faith that you can muster. And the reward will be worth it all. If you need to respond, we’ll stand and sing together.