Lesson 13 for the 25 th of December, 2010

Josiah died in the battle against Necho king of Egypt 609 BC Jehoahaz reigned in his place for 3 months 609 BC Necho deposed Jehoahaz and carried him to Egypt, placing Jehoiakim as king 609 BC Baruch was chosen as Jeremiah’s assistant. The king burnt the scroll written by Baruch. Jeremiah’s prophecy about Baruch. Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem 605 BC Daniel and his friends were deported to Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar deposed Jehoiakim and placed Jehoiachin as king 598 BC The priest and prophet Ezekiel is carried to Babylon as a captive. Nebuchadnezzar deposed Jehoiachin and placed Zedekiah as king 597 BC Hananiah’s false prophecy. Nebuchadnezzar destroys Jerusalem and placed Gedaliah as governor 586 BC Nebuchadnezzar orders to protect Jeremiah’s life. Gedaliah was murdered. The people runs away to Egypt and force Jeremiah and Baruch to go with them.

“Like cages full of birds, their houses are full of deceit; they have become rich and powerful and have grown fat and sleek. Their evil deeds have no limit: they do not plead the case of the fatherless, to win it, they do not defend the rights of the poor” Jeremiah, 5: Things were going economically well for part of the people. They were becoming wealthier by exploiting the poor.

Judah was under the yoke of Babylon. There were two factions in politics:  One faction agreed with submitting to Babylon (Jeremiah, 36: 12)  The other faction supported the rebellion against Babylon (Jeremiah, 36: 24)

THE PEOPLE Immorality was so common that divine tolerance was almost exhausted. THE PRIESTS The priests had to teach God’s law to the people, but they were worshipping idols in the Temple THE PROPHETS They were inventing messages of peace and prosperity and giving them in the name of God. Jeremiah had to tackle some prophets that prophesied the fall of Babylon and a national liberation, like Hananiah. The answer of the people to Jeremiah’s prophecies was: “We will not listen to the message you have spoken to us in the name of the Lord” (Jeremiah, 44: 16)

Jeremiah was called to the prophesying ministry when he was a very young priest in the reign of Josiah. He was banned from the Temple because of his messages in the reign of Jehoiakim. God ordered Jeremiah to write his messages in a scroll, so he called a scribe – Baruch– to be his hand and voice.

WHO WAS BARUCH? Baruch son of Neriah was the faithful secretary of Jeremiah. His mission was to write, to compile and to preserve the book known as “Jeremiah” in the Bible. His position as scribe and secretary of Jeremiah implied that he was very cultured. According to Josephus (Antiquities x. 9.1), Baruch was descendant of a very distinguished family in Judah. It seems that his brother was the main general of Zedekiah and go with him to Babylon. Baruch had a noble character and a strong influence, because the few people who wanted to run away to Egypt (the remnant) accused him of pressuring Jeremiah against them (Jeremiah, 43: 3). He was always faithful to Jeremiah. Barach went with him to Egypt when he was forced to go with the remnant of Judah (chap. 43: 5-7) Clay stamp; found near Jerusalem with the inscription: (belonging) to Berekhiahu son of Neriah the scribe

Baruch read the scroll with Jeremiah’s words before the people. Some princes listened to him and advised him to hide. When the king listened to that scroll he burnt it and ordered to arrest Jeremiah and Baruch. However, God had already hidden them in a safe place (Jeremiah, 36: 26) Baruch had a promising future as scribe of the court. Nonetheless, he became an exile because he stood faithful to the divine message. “Many refuse to obey the truth through fear that they will lose their standing in the world. They allow the inconveniences in the pathway of truth to prevent them from following the Saviour. They do not realize that to reject truth means to lose eternal life. The heavenly intelligences watch with intense interest the struggle between tempter and tempted. It is a life-and- death question that is being settled” (E.G.W., “Review & Herald”, November )

“This is what Jeremiah the prophet told Baruch son of Neriah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah, after Baruch had written on a scroll the words Jeremiah was then dictating: “This is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to you, Baruch: You said, ‘Woe to me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain; I am worn out with groaning and find no rest.'” 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. 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”” Jeremiah, 45: 1-5 Baruch was downhearted, so God encouraged him by sending a message with a promise.

“Darkness and discouragement will sometimes come upon the soul, and threaten to overwhelm us; but we should not cast away our confidence. We must keep the eye fixed on Jesus, feeling or no feeling. We should seek to faithfully perform every known duty, and then calmly rest in the promises of God” E.G.W. (Messages to young people, cp. 30, pg. 111) Following God sometimes involves losing something we want or even going through sufferings. Let’s remember in anguish, despair or despondency times the glorious promises of eternal life, not the uncertain benefits of this ephemeral life.