FBC Morning Light (10/21/2023)

Good Saturday morning, people of faith. We're going to be reading from Jeremiah chapter 45. We're going to read the whole chapter eventually. It's a very short chapter and we're going to learn about a man named Baruch, the son of Neriah.

Baruch and Jeremiah’s Earlier Ministry Together

Let me read in chapter 45 and verse 1. The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying.

Now there's a lot of backstory here about Baruch, the son of Neriah. Let me go through some of that with you. There is a lot of relationship between Baruch and Jeremiah. They've been working together for quite some time and with a lot of things.

The Field Purchase and the Promise of Restoration

So it starts back in chapter 32, and if you look back in chapter 32, Jeremiah was commanded to go and purchase some land that was overrun with enemies. And he purchased this land and he took the deed, he took two copies of the deed, one was open and one was put in a sealed jar, and it says,.

Then I charged Baruch before them, that's Baruch son of Neriah, saying,. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Take these deeds, both this purchased deed which is sealed and this deed which is open, and put them in an earthen vessel that they may last many days.

For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, Houses and fields and vineyards shall be possessed again in this land. There is a future promise that the Lord is demonstrating through Jeremiah and Baruch here that the land which they're going into exile from will again be inhabited.

Baruch, the Scroll, and the Rejection by the King

Baruch makes an appearance again in chapter 36. Jeremiah is commanded to write the words of the scroll, the words on the scroll, how we got the book of Jeremiah. Verse 4 says,. Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book.

At the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the Lord which he had spoken to him. And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am confined. I cannot go into the house of the Lord. You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have written at my instruction the words of the Lord in the hearing of the people in the Lord's house on the day of fasting.

All right? And it goes on to say, It may be that they will present their supplication before the Lord, and everyone will turn from his evil way. And so what happens here is he does go into the temple and presents these words, and the people go then before the king, and the king takes the scroll and throws it in the fire.

There's many that want to turn to the Lord, but the leadership, the king himself, is rejecting that. Then in chapter 42, I believe, yeah, 43, excuse me, eventually all of the remaining people that haven't been taken into exile, into Babylon, are gathered up and forcibly taken to Egypt, and they look to Egypt for their protection, and that would include Baruch and Jeremiah.

God’s Warning to Baruch in Jeremiah 45

And so we get back to chapter 45 here, and I'll pick up in verse 2. Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch, you said, Woe is me now, for the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.

So what's happening here now is Baruch, in that, in being part of that forced deportation to Egypt, not wanting to go, he is even more discouraged and distraught, and so says, Thus you shall say to him, this is the Lord speaking to Jeremiah to speak to Baruch, Thus says the Lord, Behold what I have built I will break down, and what I have planted I will pluck up, that is this whole land.

So he's saying, the prophecies that I made about the land are going to be true, they're not false. Rest assured in that, Baruch. And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek for them. For behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh, says the Lord, but I will give you, give your life to you, as a prize in all places, wherever you go.

So even though you are now, you have now been forcibly transplanted into the land of Egypt, a place you did not want to go, the Lord will preserve your life, and you will see these things happen in the land, but the Lord will preserve your life.

The Believer’s Hope of Eternal Life

We have a similar promise ourselves as believers in the Lord Jesus Christ. We have the promise of that eternal life, that whatever happens here in this world, the pains, the sicknesses, the diseases, whatever trials may come, we have that promise that in the end, the Lord has promised us life.

So like in a similar way to Baruch, we have the promise of our lives. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for the example of Baruch and his faithfulness to obey you and to work with Jeremiah in preserving your word.

Thank you for your word this morning. May it be a blessing to us and help us to walk with you this day. It's in your Son's name, Jesus, we pray. Amen. Have an excellent day, people of faith.