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Devotional thoughts (Monday through Thursday mornings) from the pastor of Exeter Presbyterian Church in Exeter, NH // Sunday Worship 10:30am // 73 Winter Street

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Jeremiah 45

Jeremiah 45 is one of the briefest chapters of the Bible. It is also one of the most personal, as God brings a word through Jeremiah to the prophet’s scribe Baruch. It is easy to see the importance of this short message to our own lives, since God is responding to the scribe’s complaint. We know something of disappointment, so we are interested in what God has to say to this man.

The historical context of the passage is important. This message came during the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah. Jehoiakim was a wicked king. In chapter 36 we read of how this king treated the Word of God, burning it piece by piece in the fire pot before him in his winter house. It is hard to imagine a more disrespectful attitude toward the Word of God. I wonder if Jeremiah knew that something like this was going to happen. It is clear that Jeremiah and his scribe were facing great difficulty during the time that the scroll was being prepared. When it was first made known to various officials that such a scroll existed, they were very concerned. They knew that they had to report on this to the king, and they seemed to have some fear of what it might mean for the king to reject these words, which he did. They also were aware of the danger that all of this might bring to Jeremiah and his scribe. They were not permitted to be there when the king heard the scroll read. They were to hide, and were told to keep their location a secret. After the king heard the words, and burned the scroll, he gave the command to have Jeremiah and Baruch seized. We are told that the Lord hid them.

It was the fourth year of Jehoiakim when the Lord commanded the writing of this massive scroll, and it was the ninth month of the fifth year when the king heard it read. It was also during the fourth year of Jehoiakim when God’s special word to Baruch was given, so we should consider that this word came during the preparation of the scroll, but before it was read publicly. Surely, based on the contents of the message and the experiences that had gone through prior to this moment, it would have been clear to Baruch that the thing that they were doing was dangerous. This may have had something to do with the scribe’s complaint before the Lord.

We do not know the specifics of what was troubling Baruch. We do know that he had some complaint. It does not take much imagination to consider the kind of difficulties that would have come to him through his association with Jeremiah. We know that many people considered Jeremiah and Baruch disloyal to Judah, because of the prophesies that Jeremiah spoke concerning the need to surrender to the Babylonians. It is very possible that Baruch also had physical pain, as well as the strain of his work as he assembled a substantial scroll that would be burned piece by piece by the most powerful man in the land. He also recognized the sovereignty of God in His afflictions, which was right. Although God uses secondary means, it is God who is the first cause of all things. Though not the author of sin (there is no evil motive in what God ordains), He certainly had decreed sorrow, pain, groaning, and weariness for Baruch.

Baruch does seem to be lacking perspective, and this is what comes to Him in the words of God’s lament. We think regularly about our complaints. How often do we consider God’s lament? Here we are given a glimpse of God’s sadness. God, for His own good purposes, is breaking down Israel, the very Israel that He spent centuries building up. He is plucking up the whole unfruitful land, the land that He planted. Think about that. Think about Your greatest disappointment. Consider how many times greater is the trouble that God must go through. In the midst of His grief, God has something that we don’t have. He has the perfect perspective of complete faith. He knows what He is going to do in accord with His great promises. He has not the slightest doubt concerning the good that He will bring through the most significant trials. This does not negate the reality of the sadness that He experiences with the disobedience of Israel and with her destruction by foreign powers. Nonetheless, He approaches this tragedy with perfect faith and an unwavering commitment to the greatest good of His own glory.

Is it right for Baruch (and for us) to have a lament? It is. Even God laments. What is not right is when we have no perspective on our laments. Baruch was seeking great things for himself, when God was bringing destruction upon the whole land. Through these words we learn to measure our lamentations according to the scale of the Lord’s holy lament. This is very helpful to us in our trials, and encourages us in the way of faith and holiness.

The loss of Israel and the trouble of the Old Covenant saints was by no means the biggest lament that the Lord ever faced. Consider the suffering of Christ, the Son of God. What did Christ and our heavenly Father have to face in order to bring about our redemption? Theirs was a pathway of the most horrible suffering. How did God face this trial? With the perfect faith of One who knew the good that was ordained through the suffering of the Lamb, and who knew of the life of resurrection ahead. Baruch was promised his life. That was no small gift, since he and Jeremiah were brought into Egypt against their will and against the Lord’s commandment. More than that, Baruch was granted eternal life, through faith in the One to come, who suffered our hell, that we might know His heaven.

posted by Pastor Magee @ 7:00 AM

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