Jeremiah 45 Study Notes: A Word to Baruch
The LORD answers Baruch, who wrote down Jeremiah’s messages and has been lamenting his sorrow and weariness. Since the LORD is tearing down the nation He planted, Baruch must not pursue greatness for himself. Though disaster will come on everyone, God promises to spare Baruch’s life wherever he goes.
General
True or False: Baruch had complained the LORD had piled grief on top of his pain and that he was worn out and could find no rest (Jeremiah 45:3).
Answer: True
This is true. Jeremiah spoke this message to Baruch at the time Baruch was writing down Jeremiah’s messages as the prophet dictated them (45:1; 36:4). The LORD repeated Baruch’s own complaint back to him: Baruch had cried out in distress that the LORD had added grief to his pain, that he was exhausted from groaning, and that he found no rest (45:2-3). Jeremiah had poured out a similar lament himself (15:10), and the psalmist also speaks of weariness from groaning (Psalm 6:6). The LORD did not ignore Baruch’s complaint. He answered it personally.
- Jeremiah 45:1-3 (BSB)“This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You have said, ‘Woe is me because the LORD has added sorrow to my pain! I am worn out with groaning and have found no rest.’””The LORD’s word to Baruch, given when he wrote Jeremiah’s words on a scroll, repeats Baruch’s own lament.
- Jeremiah 36:4 (BSB)“So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.”As Jeremiah dictated, Baruch recorded in a scroll everything the LORD had told the prophet.
- Jeremiah 15:10 (BSB)“Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife and conflict in all the land. I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.”Jeremiah himself had lamented being in constant conflict with everyone in the land.
- Psalm 6:6 (BSB)“I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.”The psalmist likewise speaks of being exhausted by his sighing and tears.
Theological
True or False: The LORD’s word to Baruch quoted his lament: the LORD had heaped grief on his pain, leaving him weary and without rest (Jeremiah 45:3).
Answer: True
This is true. The oracle is directed at Baruch in connection with his writing down Jeremiah’s words as the prophet dictated (45:1; 36:4). The LORD rehearses Baruch’s own lament: grief heaped on pain, exhaustion from groaning, and no rest (45:2-3). The complaint stands in line with Jeremiah’s own laments (15:10) and the psalmist’s (Psalm 6:6). That the LORD names it and answers it shows His personal attention to Baruch’s distress.
- Jeremiah 45:1-3 (BSB)“This is the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Neriah when he wrote these words on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah, king of Judah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You have said, ‘Woe is me because the LORD has added sorrow to my pain! I am worn out with groaning and have found no rest.’””The LORD’s word to Baruch, given when he wrote Jeremiah’s words on a scroll, repeats Baruch’s own lament.
- Jeremiah 36:4 (BSB)“So Jeremiah called Baruch son of Neriah, and at the dictation of Jeremiah, Baruch wrote on a scroll all the words that the LORD had spoken to Jeremiah.”As Jeremiah dictated, Baruch recorded in a scroll everything the LORD had told the prophet.
- Jeremiah 15:10 (BSB)“Woe to me, my mother, that you have borne me, a man of strife and conflict in all the land. I have neither lent nor borrowed, yet everyone curses me.”Jeremiah himself had lamented being in constant conflict with everyone in the land.
- Psalm 6:6 (BSB)“I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.”The psalmist likewise speaks of being exhausted by his sighing and tears.
General
What did the LORD promise Baruch in the coming disaster (Jeremiah 45:5)?
Answer: His life would be kept safe wherever he went
Though the LORD would send disaster on all living things, He promised Baruch that wherever he went He would let him keep his life as a prize won in battle (45:5). The LORD did not promise Baruch wealth, honor or an easy road, but He did promise to preserve his life. The same picture of a life kept as plunder was used for those who surrendered to the Babylonians (21:9) and for Ebed-melech, who trusted in the LORD (39:18). The LORD had already protected Baruch once, hiding him and Jeremiah when the king ordered their arrest (36:26).
- Jeremiah 45:5 (BSB)“But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.””Though disaster is coming on every living creature, the LORD promises Baruch his life wherever he goes.
- Jeremiah 21:9 (BSB)“Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who besiege you will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war.”The same picture of a life kept like a prize of war was promised to those who surrendered to the Chaldeans.
- Jeremiah 39:18 (BSB)“For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.’””The LORD gave Ebed-melech the same kind of promise because he trusted in the LORD.
- Jeremiah 36:26 (BSB)“Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.”When the king ordered Baruch and Jeremiah seized, the LORD hid them.
Theological
What promise did the LORD give Baruch amid the coming disaster (Jeremiah 45:5)?
Answer: His life would be kept safe wherever he went
Against the backdrop of disaster on all living things, the LORD promised Baruch that wherever he went He would grant him his life like plunder carried off from battle (45:5). The promise is modest in scope but sure: not greatness or ease, but preservation by God’s hand. The same phrase marks the LORD’s promise to those who surrendered to the Chaldeans (21:9) and to Ebed-melech, whose deliverance was grounded in trust in the LORD (39:18). The LORD had already shown His keeping care for Baruch when He hid him and Jeremiah from the king (36:26).
- Jeremiah 45:5 (BSB)“But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.””Though disaster is coming on every living creature, the LORD promises Baruch his life wherever he goes.
- Jeremiah 21:9 (BSB)“Whoever stays in this city will die by sword and famine and plague, but whoever goes out and surrenders to the Chaldeans who besiege you will live; he will retain his life like a spoil of war.”The same picture of a life kept like a prize of war was promised to those who surrendered to the Chaldeans.
- Jeremiah 39:18 (BSB)“For I will surely rescue you so that you do not fall by the sword. Because you have trusted in Me, you will escape with your life like a spoil of war, declares the LORD.’””The LORD gave Ebed-melech the same kind of promise because he trusted in the LORD.
- Jeremiah 36:26 (BSB)“Instead, the king commanded Jerahmeel, a son of the king, as well as Seraiah son of Azriel and Shelemiah son of Abdeel, to seize Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet. But the LORD had hidden them.”When the king ordered Baruch and Jeremiah seized, the LORD hid them.
General
What did the LORD tell Baruch about seeking great things for himself (Jeremiah 45:5)?
Answer: He should stop chasing them for himself
The LORD asked Baruch whether he was looking for great things for himself, and told him to stop (45:5). The reason was the disaster the LORD was about to bring on all living things (45:5). When the LORD was tearing down a whole nation, it was no time for Baruch to chase importance for himself. Elsewhere the LORD says no one should boast in wisdom, strength or wealth, but only in knowing Him (9:23-24). Jesus tells His followers to seek God’s kingdom first (Matthew 6:33), and Paul warns against selfish ambition (Philippians 2:3).
- Jeremiah 45:5 (BSB)“But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.””The LORD tells Baruch to stop pursuing greatness for himself, since disaster is coming on all, but promises to keep him alive.
- Jeremiah 9:23-24 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”The LORD says no one should boast in wisdom, strength or riches, but only in knowing Him.
- Matthew 6:33 (BSB)“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”Jesus calls His followers to make God’s kingdom and righteousness their first pursuit.
- Philippians 2:3 (BSB)“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.”Paul tells believers to act in humility rather than from self-seeking or conceit.
Theological
What instruction did the LORD give Baruch concerning great things for himself (Jeremiah 45:5)?
Answer: He should stop chasing them for himself
The LORD confronted Baruch with a question about whether he was seeking great things for himself, and commanded him to stop (45:5). The ground was the universal disaster the LORD was bringing on all living things (45:5): self-advancement is out of place while God is judging His own house. The rebuke redirects him from self to God, in keeping with the LORD’s word that one should glory only in knowing Him (9:23-24), Jesus’ command to put God’s kingdom first (Matthew 6:33), and Paul’s warning against selfish ambition (Philippians 2:3).
- Jeremiah 45:5 (BSB)“But as for you, do you seek great things for yourself? Stop seeking! For I will bring disaster on every living creature, declares the LORD, but wherever you go, I will grant your life as a spoil of war.””The LORD tells Baruch to stop pursuing greatness for himself, since disaster is coming on all, but promises to keep him alive.
- Jeremiah 9:23-24 (BSB)“This is what the LORD says: “Let not the wise man boast in his wisdom, nor the strong man in his strength, nor the wealthy man in his riches. But let him who boasts boast in this, that he understands and knows Me, that I am the LORD, who exercises loving devotion, justice and righteousness on the earth—for I delight in these things,” declares the LORD.”The LORD says no one should boast in wisdom, strength or riches, but only in knowing Him.
- Matthew 6:33 (BSB)“But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.”Jesus calls His followers to make God’s kingdom and righteousness their first pursuit.
- Philippians 2:3 (BSB)“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or empty pride, but in humility consider others more important than yourselves.”Paul tells believers to act in humility rather than from self-seeking or conceit.
General
What did the LORD tell Baruch He was about to do throughout the land (Jeremiah 45:4)?
Answer: Pull down and root up what He Himself had established
The LORD told Baruch that across the whole land He was about to tear down what He Himself had built and pull up what He Himself had planted (45:4). This is the language of Jeremiah’s call: pulling up and tearing down, and also building and planting (1:10). Judah was the LORD’s own people, which He had planted, and giving it up to its enemies was no small thing to Him (12:7). Baruch’s grief was set within this larger judgment. Yet tearing down was not the LORD’s last word: He promised that He would one day watch over His people to rebuild and replant them (31:28).
- Jeremiah 45:4 (BSB)“Thus Jeremiah was to say to Baruch: “This is what the LORD says: Throughout the land I will demolish what I have built and uproot what I have planted.”The LORD tells Baruch He is tearing down and uprooting throughout the land.
- Jeremiah 1:10 (BSB)“See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.””Jeremiah’s call used the same language of uprooting, tearing down, building and planting.
- Jeremiah 12:7 (BSB)“I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance. I have given the beloved of My soul into the hands of her enemies.”The LORD speaks of abandoning His own house and handing the people He dearly loves over to their enemies.
- Jeremiah 31:28 (BSB)“Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.”The LORD promises that after tearing down He will again watch over His people to rebuild and replant.
Theological
What did the LORD declare He was about to do throughout the land (Jeremiah 45:4)?
Answer: Pull down and root up what He Himself had established
The LORD answered Baruch’s lament by disclosing His own work: throughout the land He was demolishing what He had built and uprooting what He had planted (45:4). The vocabulary is that of Jeremiah’s commission (1:10). The nation being dismantled was the LORD’s own planting, the people He dearly loved, handed over to enemies (12:7), so Baruch’s sorrow is set within the LORD’s larger judgment on His own house. Yet the uprooting is not final, for the LORD pledges to watch over His people to rebuild and replant (31:28).
- Jeremiah 45:4 (BSB)“Thus Jeremiah was to say to Baruch: “This is what the LORD says: Throughout the land I will demolish what I have built and uproot what I have planted.”The LORD tells Baruch He is tearing down and uprooting throughout the land.
- Jeremiah 1:10 (BSB)“See, I have appointed you today over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and plant.””Jeremiah’s call used the same language of uprooting, tearing down, building and planting.
- Jeremiah 12:7 (BSB)“I have forsaken My house; I have abandoned My inheritance. I have given the beloved of My soul into the hands of her enemies.”The LORD speaks of abandoning His own house and handing the people He dearly loves over to their enemies.
- Jeremiah 31:28 (BSB)“Just as I watched over them to uproot and tear down, to demolish, destroy, and bring disaster, so I will watch over them to build and to plant,” declares the LORD.”The LORD promises that after tearing down He will again watch over His people to rebuild and replant.