Baruch: Building a Legacy in a Crumbling World

Full Class Teaching Notes

December 25, 2010

Larry R Evans

Introduction

Rain and more rain. Day after day. That’s the story of many western states on the brink of Christmas. With the rain came devastation. Graphic pictures remind us of the power of water and mud. Many questions of the heart come to the surface as we see water racing down main streets, mud barging into living rooms and new homes falling from their perches and being escorted down swollen rivers by torrents of water. One home owner declared that this was enough for her. Her family’s lives were worth more than their house. Others wept saying, “We’ve lost everything.” In the midst of circumstances beyond our control we often ask, “Why?” “Where do we turn next?”

Baruch, the special scribe for the prophet Jeremiah, had his own questions too. He had been faithful. He had been loyal to Jeremiah and it appeared he had a good future ahead of him. But then calamity came in pieces—bit by bit and seemed overwhelming. Jeremiah was put in prison despite his best efforts to bring a revival in Israel. The leaders would have nothing to do with Jeremiah. His counsel was contrary to conventional wisdom. The scribal work of Baruch which contained Jeremiah’s counsel was cut up and burned. The nation seemed bent on self-destruction. If Baruch had any ambitions they were dashed. The Bible says he felt sorrow, pain and was worn out with groaning because of life’s circumstances. (Jer. 45:3) In the midst of his pain and uncertainty God spoke. The message wasn’t very encouraging except for one very important point: God spoke—and assured him that he was not overlooked or forgotten. An entire chapter of Scripture (Jer. 45) was dedicated to Baruch and to all others who may feel as he did. What Baruch did and felt along with God’s message to him and how God would ultimately intervene is what our study is about today. Baruch wasn’t Jeremiah. He wasn’t the prophet. Nevertheless, he was still special to God. You and I don’t need to be the “top dog” for God to hear our cries. God does care and it doesn’t stop there.

Brief Historical Overview

“The history of the southern kingdom of Judah since the captivity of the 10 tribes a century earlier was one of deepening national apostasy. By Jeremiah’s time it had become apparent that drastic measures must be taken if God’s purpose for Israel was ever to be fulfilled. Canaan was theirs only by virtue of their covenant relationship with God, and by their persistent violation of the covenant provisions they forfeited their right to the land. Captivity was inevitable, not as retributive punishment but as remedial discipline, and it fell to Jeremiah to explain the reasons for the Captivity and to encourage cooperation with God’s plan in that experience. Again and again, through Jeremiah, God appealed to His people to submit to the king of Babylon and to be willing to learn the lesson this bitter experience was ordained to teach.” (SDA Bible Dictionary, vol.8)

Application Questions

What happens when everything we believe in is smashed to pieces? How do we respond to reversals in life? When it happens, does catastrophe work to re-form our lives to conform to who God actually is and not the way we imagined or wished him to be? Does it lead to an abandonment of God? Do we out of anxiety, frustration or despair stubbornly grasp a formal and inflexible attitude towards God and live an unchanged life? These are issues addressed head-on in the book of Jeremiah.

The Reform Message of Jeremiah

Jer 7:1-11

7:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD: 2 "Stand at the gate of the LORD's house and there proclaim this message:

"'Hear the word of the LORD, all you people of Judah who come through these gates to worship the LORD. 3 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. 8 But look, you are trusting in deceptive words that are worthless.

9 "'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"--safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD. (NIV)

Reflective Questions Revised for Our Study

1. Wrong counsel is not bad if you are sincere when accepting it. False

Some refuse to seek counsel because it might interfere with what they want to do. That too is dangerous. In the case referred to in Jer. 7, the issue is wrong counsel. Rather than align their support with Egypt God told Judah to submit to the Babylonians. Note the strong words

4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!"

Three times the words “the temple of the Lord” is used emphasizing that they were clinging to a symbol of faith rather than faith in God’s Word. According to v.9 this was a misplaced trust!

4. Trust ye not. Evidently the false prophets maintained that God would never allow the Temple, His dwelling place, to fall into profane hands; that the presence of that Temple in Jerusalem would serve as a kind of charm to protect the city and its inhabitants (see on Micah 3:11). Similarly today many church members trust in external church . (SDA Com, vol.4)

2. “Reform” has a similar meaning to “discipline.” True

But keep in mind that “discipline” isn’t punishment but learning, training the develops self-control and character. Note the following:

Jer 7:9-11

9 "'Will you steal and murder, commit adultery and perjury, burn incense to Baal and follow other gods you have not known, 10 and then come and stand before me in this house, which bears my Name, and say, "We are safe"--safe to do all these detestable things? 11 Has this house, which bears my Name, become a den of robbers to you? But I have been watching! declares the LORD. (NIV)

3. In order to have an influence in a culture that has everything, it is important to first impress the senses before trying to impress the hearts. (Jer. 7:3-7) False

Jer 7:3-7

3 This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Reform your ways and your actions, and I will let you live in this place. 4 Do not trust in deceptive words and say, "This is the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD, the temple of the LORD!" 5 If you really change your ways and your actions and deal with each other justly, 6 if you do not oppress the alien, the fatherless or the widow and do not shed innocent blood in this place, and if you do not follow other gods to your own harm, 7 then I will let you live in this place, in the land I gave your forefathers for ever and ever. (NIV)

Zech 8:23

23 This is what the LORD Almighty says: "In those days ten men from all languages and nations will take firm hold of one Jew by the hem of his robe and say, 'Let us go with you, because we have heard that God is with you.'" (NIV)

“ It is not large, expensive buildings, it is not rich furniture, it is not tables loaded with delicacies, that will give our work influence and success. It is the faith that works by love and purifies the soul; it is the atmosphere of grace that surrounds the believer, the Holy Spirit working upon the mind and heart, that makes him a savor of life unto life and enables God to bless his work.” Counsels on Health, p.278

4. Being a messenger of the Lord may have some disadvantages but at least the messenger is protected from threats and dangers. (Jer 36:26; Heb. 11:32-38) False

Jer 36:21-26

21 The king sent Jehudi to get the scroll, and Jehudi brought it from the room of Elishama the secretary and read it to the king and all the officials standing beside him. 22 It was the ninth month and the king was sitting in the winter apartment, with a fire burning in the firepot in front of him. 23 Whenever Jehudi had read three or four columns of the scroll, the king cut them off with a scribe's knife and threw them into the firepot, until the entire scroll was burned in the fire. 24 The king and all his attendants who heard all these words showed no fear, nor did they tear their clothes. 25 Even though Elnathan, Delaiah and Gemariah urged the king not to burn the scroll, he would not listen to them. 26 Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel to arrest Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them. (NIV)

Heb 11:32-40

32 And what more shall I say? I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets, 33 who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, 34 quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. 35 Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a better resurrection. 36 Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. 37 They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated- 38 the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground.

39 These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised. 40 God had planned something better for us so that only together with us would they be made perfect. (NIV)

Now consider what the Lord said to Baruch:

Jer 45:4-5

4[The LORD said,] "Say this to him: 'This is what the LORD says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land. 5 Should you then seek great things for yourself? Seek them not. For I will bring disaster on all people, declares the LORD, but wherever you go I will let you escape with your life.'" (NIV)

Yes, Baruch’s plans were interrupted. Yes, his life had some major reversals. Baruch, by the very nature of being a scribe, was destined to even greater things but they were not to be. In the end the Lord did promise him his life but not the honors of this life.

But if we stop there we will have missed something very important and perhaps a vital point for the book of Jeremiah. Read again verse 4,

4[The LORD said,] "Say this to him: 'This is what the LORD says: I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land. (Jer. 45:4)

It is easy for us to get so focused on ourselves and our losses and miss the even bigger loss! Do you hear the Lord’s pain coming through! Do you hear His own anguish. Listen again, “I will overthrow what I have built and uproot what I have planted, throughout the land.” All that God has done – the building up of His people, the planting of His special people through out the land He must now overthrow and uproot. God had such great plans but His people turned their backs on Him. True God’s prophets paid the price but so did God! The hurt was not only disappointment of failed plans but the failed plans meant that His own people had chosen sickness, pain and death over the life outlined for them. Isn’t that true today as well?

5. It is a sin to feel distressed when we have a God that is powerful enough to create the universe. (Jer. 45; 1 Ki 19:4; Job 6:2,3; Ps. 55:4) True and False

Despondency and discouragement have often been the lot of God’s leaders and His people in general. Trials and tribulations are often the consequence of choosing to stand for truth and especially when it is counter to the culture in which one lives. It was true of Jeremiah and Baruch, of Elijah and of David. Note David’s discouragement coming through in Psalm 55:4,

Ps 55:4-7

4 My heart is in anguish within me;

the terrors of death assail me.

5 Fear and trembling have beset me;

horror has overwhelmed me.

6 I said, "Oh, that I had the wings of a dove!

I would fly away and be at rest--

7 I would flee far away

and stay in the desert; (NIV)

No doubt there have been times when you wish you could fly away from the troubles at hand. I found the words of Ellen White quite insightful:

“Our spiritual strength depends upon our faith, When I know this, how can I keep silent upon this subject? The world's Redeemer says, “According to your faith be it unto you.” When you settle down in gloom and despondency, you sin against God; because it shows that you have not faith in Jesus. It shows to those around you that you do not take God at his word. When he has done so much to evince his love for you, how great this sin must appear in his sight! “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” {HS 130.7}

We do not know what faith really is until we try to exercise it. We all need more of that firm, persevering faith that Jacob manifested while wrestling with the angel on that eventful night.”(Ellen White in Historical Sketches of the Foreign Missions of Seventh-day Adventsits, p.131.)

Concluding Thoughts

Baruch had to live by faith in the prophecies of what was to come even when the wicked were living around him in apparent prosperity. Our situation is often not unlike his. Life in the short view seldom answers all of our questions of “why” but the long view is solidly built on hope. Can we stand? Can we remain faithful to the end? These are the questions that need to reside in our heart as well as the answer: Yes we can stand firm. We can be strong in in the midst of disappointments because our focus is on Him and not on our plans, our ambitions or the expectations of others. I have found the words of Habakkuk inspirational and challenging for they are filled with faith and hope:

Hab 3:16-19

Yet I will wait patiently for the day of calamity

to come on the nation invading us.

17 Though the fig tree does not bud

and there are no grapes on the vines,

though the olive crop fails

and the fields produce no food,

though there are no sheep in the pen

and no cattle in the stalls,

18 yet I will rejoice in the LORD,

I will be joyful in God my Savior.

19 The Sovereign LORD is my strength;

he makes my feet like the feet of a deer,

he enables me to go on the heights. (NIV)