Section X God's Message to Baruch

Jeremiah 45:1-5

From a chronological standpoint this excerpt from the life of Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, would have fitted much better after 36:8. If it had been placed there, however, it would have interrupted the carefully arranged order of that passage as it stands today. Its present position is to be preferred. Some scholars insist that it was not written until long after the event had taken place. While this is possible, “the precise language” of v. 1 militates against this view.¹

As the chapter opens the reader is suddenly shifted back to the fourth year of Jehoiakim, and the writing of Jeremiah's prophecies by Baruch the son of Neriah (1). By the time Baruch had finished writing Jeremiah's words, he was in great distress of mind. The inference is that there was some relationship between his own troubles and what he had written. His affliction of mind became very great and very real. In the midst of his pain, the Lord gave Jeremiah a message for him. God reminded Baruch of his words of anguish, Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest (3).

The reasons for Baruch's intense sorrow are not given. It may be that through Jeremiah's prophecies he had gotten an insight into the corrupt spiritual condition of the nation, and the horrifying sight brought sorrow to his soul. Then when he realized that his own future, so hopefully planned, was to be swept away, along with the city, the Temple, and all the familiar things that he had known, his grief became almost unbearable.

In the midst of his sorrow, God pointed out to Baruch His own great sadness. That which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up (4). “It was a time of suffering for God himself for he must destroy His own creation.”² The Lord seems to chide Baruch by saying, And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not (5). In other words, God was saying, And you are upset over your own small affairs! Behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh. Thus God informed the scribe that His purpose must be carried out regardless of whom it affects. However, the Lord consoles Baruch by promising him that his life will be given to him as a prey, i.e., as a prize of war.

All indications point toward the fact that out of this experience Baruch came to “a moment of truth” concerning himself and God. Something of deep spiritual significance happened. After this Baruch will continue to have human frailties, but the trend of his life will be forever in a new direction.

As these verses are analyzed, several things are worth noting. (1) The passage recapitulates the central theme of Jeremiah's own message—purgation, followed by new life on a higher level—root out, pull down, destroy, build, plant (1:10). The old pattern of life must go, the old mold must be broken; then life can be formed anew on a different basis. (2) Baruch is a truly human individual with troubles like everyone else. (3) God's ways of executing His plans and purposes distressed his finite mind. (4) He experienced a “shattering process” that led him through the valley of personal despair to a surrender of self. (5) Self-renunciation led to a reorganization of life around a new center, with new perspectives. (6) The passage speaks of a continuing obedience to God's spoken word. (7) Other references to Baruch in the book indicate that he accepted the challenge of God. “Whatever his feelings, and regardless of his personal interests, he stayed with Jeremiah to the end.”³