[1] Here is what Yirmeyahu said to Barukh the son of Neriyah when he wrote these words in a book at Yirmeyahu’s dictation, in the fourth year of Y’hoyakim the son of Yoshiyahu, king of Y’hudah: [2] “This is what Adonai the God of Isra’el says concerning you, Barukh. You said, [3] ‘Woe to me now! Adonai has compounded my pain with sorrow, I am weary from groaning, and I can find no relief!’ [4] “Tell him that Adonai says: ‘I will tear down what I build up, I will uproot what I planted, and this throughout the land. [5] Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don’t! For I am bringing disaster on everything living,’ says Adonai. ‘But wherever you go, you will escape with your life.’” Jeremiah 45
Barukh was Jeremiah’s scribe and close friend. A lot of what Jeremiah went through and experienced, Barukh undoubtedly did as well, guilty by association. From a previous chapter we know that Barukh took dictation on a scroll that he then read in the temple, a scroll that the king would have burned. He was a man that was faithful to both Jeremiah and Adonai. However, when we read this small chapter directed to him, we find a verse that gives a little bit of insight to him. Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don’t! For I am bringing disaster on everything living,’ says Adonai. ‘But wherever you go, you will escape with your life.” (v5)
The second half of this verse is confirmation that the destruction Jerusalem would face was indeed going to come to pass, and that even he and Jeremiah were not going to be immune from the calamity to come. He was however given a message of hope that he would live through the judgement that was to be poured out, no matter where he went, even into Egypt, which we know that from the chapters preceding this one that he would be taken into Egypt with Jeremiah. I have no doubt that his faithfulness to both Jeremiah and Adonai played into this, as well as the fact that he was being used by Adonai to make sure the words given to Jeremiah were going forth and would continue to go forth throughout the centuries.
Out of this entire chapter, the first part of this verse are the words that struck my heart like an arrow. “Are you seeking great things for yourself? Don’t!” I quickly brushed them aside to not use them like a magnifying glass for myself but to focus on why Adonai would have said this to Barukh knowing full well that I would come back around to examining my own heart with them. According to the Complete Jewish Study Bible, a rabbinical interpretation of this is that Barukh was complaining that he had not received the gift of prophecy as had the disciples of other prophets such as Joshua who followed Moses, and Elisha who followed Elijah. He was rebuked and told he must expect no personal aggrandizement, not even of a spiritual nature. (CJSB notes on Jeremiah 45:5) A modern look of how he might have been feeling was, “I have traveled with and written for one of the greatest prophets of Adonai, and all I got was this T-shirt”.
The age-old lesson of “it’s not about you, it’s about Him”. Johnathan Cahn has a monthly publication called Sapphires, and the entry for March 9th of this year is a great example of this. From the message David’s Sukkah he writes, “In Acts 15, the Council of Jerusalem had to make a decision regarding circumcision for the Gentiles. But Acts 15 is also the very last time Peter is mentioned in the historical account of the Bible. Though he turns up in Paul’s letters and his own letters, he vanishes after Acts 15. The rest of Acts centers on Paul’s ministry. And yet a very striking thing: In his letter, Peter only blesses Paul. There is no indication of ego, pride, or hurt feelings from Peter toward Paul. Like Peter, it isn’t about us. You can’t serve the Lord and be wrapped up in ego or pride. The Lord is the One who gave Himself up on the cross. So you must serve him with selflessness and humility. Be honest! Could you disappear like Peter? Could you continue to serve God’s purposes while someone else became the focus of attention? If not, then learn the joy of being so wrapped up in God that you disappear. For the one who can disappear with joy will appear in glory in the Kingdom of God – just like Peter, the vanishing apostle.”
We are cautioned throughout the Word concerning pride and self-promotion. Yeshua Himself taught on this very thing in Matthew 23 when He said, [10] “Nor are you to let yourselves be called ‘leaders’, because you have one Leader, and he is the Messiah! [11] The greatest among you must be your servant, [12] for whoever promotes himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be promoted.” Matthew 23:10-12 It is an easy thing to get caught up in being the best minister, paster, worship leader, youth pastor and so on that we can be, that we forget it is more important to just BE. To be in His presence, to spend time in His Word, to be and live in a lifestyle of worship to Him. We are to be in Him and Him in us. We will not have to worry about our ministry, and we are on the right page if we are focusing on being in Him, and not focused on making our ministry the best it can be. When we promote Him instead of ourselves, we can rest assured that it will be.
Paul spoke about this as well in both his letters to the Romans and the Corinthians. [3] For I am telling every single one of you, through grace that has been given to me, not to have exaggerated ideas about your own importance. Instead, develop a sober estimate of yourself based on the standard which God has given to each of you, namely, trust. [4] For just as there are may parts that compose one body, but the parts don’t all have the same function; [5] so there are many of us, and in union with the Messiah we comprise on body, with each of us belonging to the others. [6] But we have gifts that differ, and which are meant to be used according to the grace that has been given to us. If your gift is prophecy, use it to the extent of your trust; [7] if it is serving, use it to serve; if you are a teacher, use your gift in teaching; [8] if you are a counselor, use your gift to comfort and exhort; if you are someone who gives, do it simply and generously; if you are in a position of leadership, lead with diligence and zeal; if you are one who does acts of mercy, do them cheerfully. [9] Don’t let love be a mere outward show. Recoil from what is evil, and cling to what is good. Romans 12: 3-9
Let us now look again at Barukh in light of Paul’s words. If your gift is prophecy, use it to the extent of your trust; if it is serving, use it to serve. Barukh was walking with one of the most God-fearing men of his time. A man who had the gift of prophecy. Yet he seemed to see himself as being not as important. That his gift of serving Jeremiah as his scribe and more importantly as his friend wasn’t impactful. How many in our churches feel this way? How many feel that because their ministry isn’t seen and out in the open that it isn’t as important? How many Barukh’s sit within the walls of our churches feeling they don’t make a difference in the Kingdom of God because they’re name isn’t in lights, on the marquee, or on the latest book or CD? The janitor of a church, when they perform that duty and service as unto the Lord, is making an impact that they may never realize. The nursery worker, greeter, or silent member of a prayer team are just as important as the pastor or worship leader. As Paul said, no matter our role, let us do everything in love, recoiling from evil and clinging to what is good, and there is only One who is good. 1 Corinthians 12:4-5 reads, “Now there are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. Also, there are different ways of serving, but it is the same Lord being served.” Jeremiah and Barukh served the same Lord, just in different ways, and in this modern age we live in, while we see the impact of Jeremiah’s words in our Bibles, and we know of his life and what took place, it is Barukh that we have a tangible piece of his life that can be held in one’s hand.
A seal of Barukh is an archeological find that is truly remarkable. Remember, in a previous chapter, Barukh sealed a land transaction on behalf of Jeremiah. No doubt this was only one of many documents that contained his seal, but to know that there is a preserved seal belonging to him is exciting and for me personally telling. In his lifetime, very few knew who he was. He wasn’t the prophet, but today, his name has become just as big as the prophet he walked with. Not only has a seal with possibly his fingerprint preserved in it been found, but he is also mentioned in Johnathan Cahn’s book The Harbinger. A man who was an unknown figure, who felt like he wasn’t important in God’s work, centuries later is known throughout the world. Galatians 6:9 says, “So let us not grow weary of doing what is good; for if we don’t give up, we will in due time reap the harvest.” The harvest of Barukh is being reaped even to this day. While not exalted during his life, he has without a doubt been exalted after his death. Biblical Archeology: Bringing the Bible to Life - aish.com
The more I read about the men and women in the Bible, the more real they become. We begin to see how much like us they really were. They struggled with some of the same struggles that we do within our walk and show us that even separated by a span of time, God really is the same yesterday, today, and forever, as their life’s lessons can be taken on as our own. We are able to learn from them, grow as they did, step out in faith as they did, or even by our own choosing, fall as they did. May we each fulfill our role in the body of Messiah as He has called us, doing all things as unto the Lord, in love and humility. May we not seek greatness for ourselves, but live to love and serve Yeshua, and others.
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