Jeremiah 45:1-5. I want to apologize for the interruption in these posts. I had to migrate my site to a new server and after three very intense days of work was pretty tapped out. Plus I had other work that I put off and had to make up time for. It is very upsetting to me not to spend this time with God and share it with whoever is out there reading. Thank you for your time and I will try to remain faithful. Today’s reading is very short but very cryptic or mysterious. The phrase “we don’t know” just spins around this story. Today’s reading is a personal note from God to Baruch.

We don’t know a ton of stuff about Baruch. We do know he was the son of a guy named Neriah and the grand-son of a guy named Maaseiah (Jeremiah 32:16). We also know he was Jeremiah’s secretary or assistant, he was the guy who wrote all of Jeremiah’s prophecies down on a scroll and read it in the Temple to the people . He also read the scroll to the advisors to then king Jehoaikim (Jeremiah 36). That scroll was read by Jehudi (one of the advisors?) to the king. As the scroll was read the king cut off pieces of it and threw them in the fire, then he ordered that Jeremiah and Baruch be captured, probably with the intent of killing them. We also know that Baruch’s grand-father was an “official” (the Hebrew word “sar” most oftenly translated as prince, but also chief, leader, governor, or captain) in the city of Jerusalem in the time of Josiah (about 621 BC, 2 Chronicles 34:8). Finally we know that Baruch had a brother and that this brother was a leader (“sar”) in the court of Zedekiah (the last king of Judah. Zedekiah followed Jehoiachin who had been king for only a few months after the death of Jehoiakim (the guy who burned the scroll). Zedekiah was appointed by Nebuchadnezzar) (Jeremiah 51:59).

Today’s reading takes place in 605 BC (the fourth year of Jehoaikim). That was the year that Nebuchadnezzar first came to Jerusalem and took captives back to Babylon (including Daniel, another prophet. See Daniel 1:1 where Daniel may be counting the time a little differently).   This is before the time of Zedekiah but after the time of Josiah. Remember that Josiah was a pretty good king who tried to restore worship of Yahweh (the one true God) in Judah. Josiah had three sons who all were king after him. Jehoahaz for three months in 609 BC., Jehoiakim from 609 B.C. to 597 B.C. And Mattaniah (Zedekiah) from 597 B.C. to 586 B.C. All three of his sons were untrue to Yahweh however.

In verse 2 we find out that Baruch is feeling pretty down. Baruch has said, “Woe is me…” That word woe is “o-ee” in Hebrew, and seems to be related to a word that is sometimes translated as “sigh”. “O-ee!” Probably is the same in English, “O-ee!”. Then we see he said that Yahweh had added sorrow to his pain, he was tired, sighed a lot and found no rest.   Ok, he was burned out. I suppose copying the first 25 chapters or more of Jeremiah onto a scroll would not only be tiring but pretty depressing, there was a lot of judgment in there relating to the downfall of Judah and Jerusalem. To be fair there was some hope too, but a lot of it related to a good response to the message, the people needed to give in to Nebuchadnezzar, and that wasn’t happening; so we can figure that the “good” was out and more trouble was coming. The command to write the scroll came with hope that “all the people might hear and turn back to God”. So Baruch knew that what he was writing was going to be read tot the people, and he probably assumed they would not listen (which they did not). Pretty tough place to be for a guy who’s grandpa had been a “sar” in Jerusalem under a king who led the people to honor God (at least for a little while). And, although this is 7 years before Zedekiah became king Baruch’s brother probably wasn’t sitting out by a lake somewhere fishing, and even if he was at least he wasn’t working for a guy who everybody hated. No wonder Baruch was sighing.

In verse 4 Jeremiah is told to remind Baruch that this whole kingdom of Judah is about to be destroyed. And Jeremiah was to be sure that Baruch knew that the message was straight from Yahweh, too; “Thus says Yahweh (LORD).” In verse 5 we see that all of the “greatness” surrounding Baruch was having an effect on him, he wanted to be important too. His Grandpa had been a “sar” his brother would become one too. And here he was, probably spending several months writing a scroll that no one wanted to hear. In verse 5 we learn that it wouldn’t just be the buildings that would suffer in the invasion to come’ it would be the people too. And what would Baruch get for staying faithful? His life. The last phrase even implies that it wouldn’t be a very peaceful one either; “In all the places where you may go.” I wonder if Baruch thought, “Oh boy I get to live! But not settle down to a peaceful life.”

Reading these verses made me thing of Psalm 23.   In that Psalm David wrote, “even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.” Unfortunately every time I read those words I remember the very next line which is, “your rod and your staff comfort me.” That line refers back to the first line of Psalm 23, “The LORD is my shepherd”. The rod and staff were tools that the shepherd used to guide and protect the sheep; keeping them safe and cared for. I’ve always focused on the fact that God is caring for us and that is why we don’t need to fear. In the Psalm David (the author) tells us that he is not afraid of evil or bad when he walks through the “valley of the shadow of death”. If you’ve ever been in the hills or mountains you know that it gets dark sooner in the valleys, the mountains around you block the sun and put you in a shadow. Now imagine yourself in the valley and you notice the darkness and you look around you and see mountains or hills but they represent death to you. You are surrounded by death and it seems to be closing in on you; pretty scary. The next part is the important part though, why wasn’t David afraid? Because the LORD was with him. How is that comforting? Because Jesus is that LORD (John 10:9-15, compare John 10:11 with Psalm 23:1) and he lays down his life for us so we can be saved (have access to God and Heaven). In 1 Corinthians 15 a guy named Paul told a group of believers in a city called Corinth that Jesus died in our place, was buried and then came back to life (resurrected). Jesus’ resurrection is proof to us that we too will come back to life one day and live with God. Death isn’t a closed off canyon from which there is no exit it is a passage to an existence on the other side. God is on the other side waiting for us personally. Unfortunately many will pass through the valley having decided they don’t want to be with God and they will be banished from God’s forever kingdom. You need Jesus with you to pass through with no fear; he is our guide and our guarantee.

Baruch was in a valley too, it was not the actual “valley of death” but probably felt like it to him, or would (after the scroll in the fire incident). He was afraid and the LORD made sure Baruch knew that he cared about his life. That is another good thing to see in these five verses, God knows we exist and how we feel and cares about our hopes and fears. Baruch didn’t necessarily get exactly what he was looking for (he never became a “sar” in his world)) but he is certainly a “chief” in God’s kingdom, with his help Jeremiah has been able to show us the holiness and mercy of God.

Finally it is interesting that Baruch was upset because he wanted to be “great”. The Hebrew word translated “great things” means something like “have a large influence”, like a prince of king. And God’s answer to him is “I’m bringing trouble on all the people around you.” What good is being king of an empty kingdom? That is why God allows trouble in our world today, trouble that sometimes touches us, he is allowing time for his kingdom to become filled (2 Peter 3:9).   As we experience trouble in our lives we need to appreciate the life God is allowing us to still live and we need to be sure we are using it to bring people into his forever kingdom. Don’t focus on the pain focus on the promise and share your hope with others today.

God help me stay focused on the promise. Help me live each day for your kingdom, even if it is uncomfortable. Help me remember my good shepherd, Jesus, who has opened the door to heaven. Let me not be afraid when I am threatened by death, real or not. Help me not look for false greatness. Let me be a servant of you and your forever kingdom.

Jeremiah 44:15-30. Yesterday saw a warning to the Jewish people who had moved to Egypt. Some had evidently moved there earlier and some had fled after Gedaliah had been murdered. Jeremiah was in this second group though he was certainly not there willingly. He had counseled the people to stay in Judah and Jerusalem. Because they had fled and not done what God had told them to do and because they had started honoring the false gods of Egypt, Jeremiah told them that they would be destroyed; only a few would ever return to Israel.   We also saw that part of the reason for their destruction was that they were setting a bad example for the people around them; they were not honoring the true God, Yahweh. It was important for them to understand that there are consequences for defecting from God. The consequences that they experienced on earth were a warning and a taste of what they could expect in eternity if they rejected God. That warning was for them and all who saw them; Jeremiah says all the nations of the Earth would notice.

The fact that the Jewish people now living in Egypt were honoring the Egyptian gods was a big problem. As I mentioned yesterday people living in the Ancient Near East thought that gods were local, regional, or territorial; that they only had power in their area. But the God of the Jewish people, Yahweh, is the one true God; the creator of all that exists. God wants a relationship with us; each of us. Our relationship with him is broken because of or disrespectful actions toward him. The Israelite people were to help us understand our broken relationship with God and how to get it fixed (through the Messiah, chosen one, who we now know is Jesus). When Moses led the people out of bondage from Egypt (1440 BC, about 950 years before our story here in Jeremiah) God gave him a rule book and also laid out the consequences for how they “played”. If the people would honor God by taking Him and his rules seriously then they would be “blessed” (good would be in their lives), if they rebelled and were disobedient they would be “cursed” (That is what Jeremiah is predicting here and what has already happened in Israel and Judah).

The book of Deuteronomy is sort of a contract between the original Israelites who took over the land and God who was giving it to them. It can also be looked at as a sort of constitution for their new nation. It begins by remembering the history of God in their then recent past; how he had led them and provided for them in the “wilderness” (chapters 1-4). Then the “rules” for their new nation are laid out (chapters 5-26). Next comes the actual ceremony where the people decide, the vote. Part of that ceremony included the blessings and the curses related to submitting to the deal God was offering. There were also provision on what to do when laws were broken; how to keep the contract with God “alive”. In Deuteronomy 30:19 Moses said that that day he had set before the people both “blessings and curses” and in Deuteronomy 26:16-19 we see that they had accepted the “deal”. Clearly from their history they didn’t take the whole thing too seriously and had repeatedly seem the “curses” upon themselves. Now in Egypt the refugees from Judah faced the same sort of choice to obey or not, and it looked like they were going to follow the pattern of bad choices that the Israelites had followed over their over 900 years of history. For those in Egypt the consequences would be permanent. They would not be going back to the land promised to their ancestors and neither would their children, only a very few from there would ever return.

Evidently quite a few Jewish people living in Egypt had gathered together wherever Jeremiah was giving this message (v. 15). That might be expected if a group from Judah suddenly showed up, everyone (at least as many as could get there) would probably come to hear news from home, and Jeremiah was taking this opportunity to tell them what was what. We also see that the problem involved the wives, they were burning incense in their homes and making other offerings to the false gods of Egypt and to one called the Queen of Heaven in particular. IN the Bible this “god” is only mentioned here and in Jeremiah 7:18. She is also mentioned on some ancient Egyptian monuments. Experts are not sure about the particular “god” Jeremiah is talking about is but some think it is Ishtar (Babylonian) or Astarte (Canaanite, local). And we also see that the husbands knew about what their wives were doing. In the Israelite culture the men were supposed to be leaders in their homes, here it appears that the wives were taking the lead.

In verses 16-17 the people answered that they were not going to listen to Jeremiah, they were going to keep on honoring the false gods. Just as they had done back home and just as their ancestors had done back home (Jeremiah 7:18). In verses 18-19 the people insist that life was better when they were honoring this false god and things only got bad when they stopped. The funny thing is, when you read the history in the Old Testament, they almost never were faithful to God and were almost constantly honoring false gods. In Hosea 8:7 a prophet was talking to the Israelites about false gods and the trouble they would experience for honoring them. Hosea told them that they were “sowing wind and would reap a whirlwind”. Sowing is the process of scattering seeds in a field. Reaping is the process of harvesting or gathering what has grown in the field from what you have sown. Hosea used the picture of scattering hands full of wind (a ridiculous idea) for their worship of false gods. What they would “reap” would be a “whirlwind”. The word means a violent storm or wind and is based on a word that means to completely destroy. Some Bible teachers use this idea of sowing and harvesting and say there are laws to the harvest described in the Bible. From this verse we see that you reap what you sow (wind and wind), you reap more than you sow (wind and a violent storm), and of course you reap at a different time than when you sow (generally, after the plant has grown). What the people talking to Jeremiah were failing to see was this last part. They may not have seen trouble on the day they were making their sacrifices to the false gods but trouble did come because of that and not for honoring the one true God. We need to be careful that we don’t fall into the same trap and think that sin will never have consequences or even worse that it is good (see Isaiah 5:20).

Just because God is patient doesn’t mean that he will forget. In verses 20-23 Jeremiah make this very point. In a very direct way Jeremiah spoke to all the people, men and women, or at least all who were saying that they were going to keep on honoring the false gods. It is kind of unusual that God addressed the women (remember the men were supposed to be their leaders) as well as the men. I think we need to understand we cannot hide behind each other we all are responsible for our own relationship with God. (see Genesis 3:1-19) In verse 21 we see that God does know all the cheating we do on him. We also see Jeremiah mention that this has been going on for a long time (“you and your forefathers” (ancestors)). In verse 22 Jeremiah tells them that God finally decided enough was enough. So that is why Jerusalem and Judah were destroyed.    When he says that God could not endure it any longer that does not mean that God is weak, like “God couldn’t take it anymore so he went and blasted those guys.” It’s kind of interesting that some people say that God is weak because he doesn’t “blast those guys”. You’ve probably heard some say “If there’s a God how could he let THAT happen?” God is patient that’s why. If he just came in blasting all the evil people all that would be left on earth would be a bunch of smoke (see Isaiah 53:6). But God doesn’t want people to perish so he gives us time to turn back to him, remember that often Jeremiah said, “If you will turn back …” (See also 2 Peter 3:9).

In verses 24-28 Jeremiah makes this whole message very personal. Again he talks to the men and the women. He repeats their “vow” or promise to dishonor him and to honor false gods. This is important because it was thir promise to God to blow him off. God sees and knows all that we do and just how serious we are about it. The answer to them is very scary, “Never again will you call out my name. I am making sure harm will come to them and no good. The word for “harm” means something that is unpleasant, we might say God is going to make sure their lives “suck”. In verse 28 we see two things; first a few will escape, so there is a little hope, and second this punishment would result in the people recognizing that God really is God and what he says will happen will happen.

In verses 29-30 God told them he would give them a “sign” so that they would see that he really is God and is going to do what he says (see 2 Peter 3:1-10). There would be very little waiting for this. Pharaoh Hophra became king of Egypt in 589 BC (just three years earlier) and he was overthrown and executed in 570 BC. Maybe 15-16 years from the time of the prediction. In verse 30 Jeremiah mentions Zedekiah and Nebuchadnezzar and I think there are two reasons. First by bringing up Zedekiah being overthrown and killed by Nebuchadnezzar Jeremiah ties these two predictions together. Just as certainly as that happened this new one would too and also that old history is just like this future even, proof of God’s power and control. The second reason I think it is important is because Jeremiah already told the refugees that they would not escape Nebuchadnezzar, that he would set up his throne on Hophra’s patio in Tahpanhes. But it would not be Nebuchadnezzar who would kill Hophra it would be others who were his enemies. I think by mentioning Nebuchadnezzar God makes it very clear that he remembers Nebuchadnezzar is out there, but by not saying that Hophra would be killed by Nebuchadnezzar God makes it clear it will be by another. At least when Nebuchadnezzar finally came and then left an Hophra was left alive no one could say that Jeremiah’s prediction failed or that he meant that Hophra was going to be killed by Nebuchadnezzar andjust didn’t mention him.

I think it is very sad that these people completely turned their backs on God. God had been there for them for centuries and had been patient. They missed the point of God being patient and thought he was powerless. They had become so convinced of that that they totally ignored all of the signs, all of the judgments in the past. And they ignored all of the times called them to come home to him. We need to be careful that we don’t miss God because of some ideas we have about him either. We need to look at the evidence he has given us and then respond to him.

God thank you for evidence, from your creation, to our conscience, to every word you have sent to us in the Bible. Help us learn and understand your messages to us. Help us see your love and protection. Help us understand your discipline or punishment. Help us turn back to you when we have turned away. Help us never get so stuck in what we think that we miss the opportunity to return to you. Thank you for your patience help me never mistake it for powerlessness, lack of love, or the inability to act. Thank you for Jesus.