What I Learned From Baruch

I was recently asked to lead a devotional time for a small group and it happened that I’ve been reading through the book of Jeremiah and one of the minor characters in the drama, Baruch, kept standing out to me.  I relate to some of the minor characters in the stories of God’s redemptive plan because I’m a pretty minor character in the grand scheme of things.  I also think that deep down inside we all really want to be a Paul or a Peter or an Abraham or a Sarah and it’s a comfort to me that even those relegated to the status of rank and file still sometimes get an honorable mention in the scriptures.

You may or may not remember Baruch, and that’s probably because you may or may not have spent much time reading the book of Jeremiah.  It’s a difficult book full of history and prophetic language about times and places that are unfamiliar.  It has a few short passages that people tend to remember & quote, but the majority of it is easy to get bogged down in.  The important thing to remember, for my purposes here, is that Jeremiah was called by God to be a prophet in Judah’s last days under the failing kingships of Jehoiakim and Zedekiah.  He prophesied Judah’s final destruction by Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, which made him a pretty unpopular guy.  And during Jeremiah’s ministry, Baruch keeps showing up as a friend and ally of Jeremiah.

I like Baruch for a few reasons, not the least of which is his name, which I think is kind of cool and which is one of the easier Old Testament names to pronounce.  And also, I know a guy named Brauch and I find it easier to identify with biblical characters when I can attribute some physical characteristics to them.

Here are some other things about Baruch that I like:

He’s a reminder that even in the halls of power there are always found men who are faithful to the Lord.  See, Baruch was a scribe, which was kind of like an official in the Secretary of State’s office and probably also had some legal responsibilities. 

He was also a discerning man.  Remember that Jeremiah wasn’t the only prophet game in town.  There were a bunch of other prophets at the time and they all had something to say, namely that the kingdom of Judah was going to triumph over the Babylonian hoard through the power of God.  Jeremiah, on the other hand, was “that guy” who said give it up.  The Bablonians are going to destroy Judah because their sin was totally out of control and if the king and the people had any sense, they’d give themselves up to Nebuchadnezzar, take God’s punishment on the chin, and repent for their evil ways.  Baruch would have heard all that, known the law and the prophets and like Nicodemus in the New Testament allied himself with God’s man.

He gives credibility & legitimacy to Jeremiah’s ministry.  In Ch. 32 he was the guy who recorded the deed when Jeremiah purchased a field to indicate that in the future, God would restore Israel to their land.

He had political access and he was willing to put his neck on the line for the truth.  In Ch. 36, he’s the guy who wrote down Jeremiah’s prophecies from the Lord on a scroll and read it to king Jehoiakim.  Listen to what Jeremiah told him in v. 4, “Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him. And Jeremiah ordered Baruch, saying, “I am banned from going to the house of the Lord, so you are to go, and on a day of fasting in the hearing of all the people in the Lord’s house you shall read the words of the Lord from the scroll that you have written at my dictation. You shall read them also in the hearing of all the men of Judah who come out of their cities. It may be that their plea for mercy will come before the Lord, and that every one will turn from his evil way, for great is the anger and wrath that the Lord has pronounced against this people.” And Baruch the son of Neriah did all that Jeremiah the prophet ordered him about reading from the scroll the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.”

You probably know what happened because this is one of the more familiar stories in Jeremiah.  The king took the scroll and as he read stuff he didn’t like, he cut it off & burned it in the fire until the whole scroll was gone.  Verse 26 says, “And the king commanded Jerahmeel the king’s son and Seraiah the son of Azriel and Shelemiah the son of Abdeel to seize Baruch the secretary and Jeremiah the prophet, but the Lord hid them.”

He’s treated like a political operative & and hack.  After the Babylonians finally destroy Jerusalem, the remnant of the people left behind decided they’d be better off running to Egypt for protection.  The Lord, through Jeremiah, says, “You better not do that or I’m really gonna get mad.”  But the people said that Jeremiah was lying to them; 43:2-3 “Azariah the son of Hoshaiah and Johanan the son of Kareah and all the insolent men said to Jeremiah, “You are telling a lie. The Lord our God did not send you to say, ‘Do not go to Egypt to live there,’ but Baruch the son of Neriah has set you against us, to deliver us into the hand of the Chaldeans, that they may kill us or take us into exile in Babylon.””

But the main thing I like about Baruch is that he gets his own chapter of scripture.  And here in chapter 45 is where I really identify with him the most.  Baruch had finally had it with all the persecution and judgement of God & being caught up in the middle of it all.  I’m speculating here, but could it be that Baruch, who had been a staunch and faithful ally of the truth and stood with Jeremiah through all the crap he had to deal with, maybe thought that because he picked the right side that he’d finally get some vindication and that perhaps God would reward him handsomely for all his faithfulness.  And when it didn’t seem to work out like that, he got mad at and frustrated with the Lord.  Do you ever do that?  I know I do!

Listen to what the Lord says (and this is most of Baruch’s chapter… it’s pretty short): “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: You said, ‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’ Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go.”

In essence God says, “You know, Baruch, I’m pretty busy here fulfilling my word and you’ve got a front row seat to it.  And guess what?  You’re going to make it through.  You’re going to live to tell about it, unlike some of these other jokers.”  Think about that.  The Lord, through Jeremiah, speaks personally and directly to Baruch in the midst of his own crisis of faith.  Baruch’s world is falling apart, there’s chaos everywhere around him, he’s depressed and struggling and God reminds him that the chaos itself is God working out his purposes and that he will personally sustain Baruch through it all.  Baruch is part of an unfolding drama that’s infinitely bigger than himself and yet God cares for him.

It’s some more speculation, but I like to think that when the scribes were writing down Jeremiah’s great lamentations in the book by that same name, that Baruch was right there with them, and maybe even penned the words in Ch. 3,

“The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases;
his mercies never come to an end;
they are new every morning;
great is your faithfulness.
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,
“therefore I will hope in him.”
The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.”

So I hope you’re encouraged by the story of Baruch and that you think about him when the world around you seems to be going to hell in a hand basket and you’re feeling kinda blue because you’ve tried to be faithful and it doesn’t seem like it’s working out all that well.  Take heart.  There’s a bigger story unfolding and the Lord is faithful to his people.