Baruch: Dealing with Disappointment

Lessons from the Bench: Baruch, Dealing with Disappointment Spring Valley Mennonite; June 26, 2019; Jeremiah 36, 45 Disappointment seems to be part of life. So many things in life are influenced by forces beyond our control. A number of years ago, Alice and I were part of a mission trip which was to go to India. Our group of Campus Crusade staff traveled from Indianapolis to Washington DC where we were to pick up our visas and catch our flight to India. Upon our arrival we learned that our visas had not yet been approved for the trip, so we settled into a waiting pattern, praying fervently for the Lord to intervene. Every day for over two weeks we waited for approval to travel, but permission to enter India finally was denied. It seems India was having a dispute with a major US corporation, and all tourist visas were being denied in retaliation. Talk of being disappointed! All our preparations, all the money raised for the trip, all the gospel performances that had been scheduled for the group—all cancelled because of something beyond our control. That is the stuff of life! Many times we are faced with disappointment as our plans fall apart. How do we handle such times? Disappointment is such a common thing, surely God has given instruction in how to handle it. Our character study this morning will give us some perspective about handling disappointment. Our focus will be on an Old Testament character named Baruch. I would not be surprised if you do not remember him, as he is mentioned only in a few chapters in the book of Jeremiah. If you were familiar with the Apocrypha, the uninspired books inserted between the Testaments in the Eastern Orthodox and Catholic Bibles, you would find a book of Baruch, which bears the claim to be written by this man. Such claims are questionable at best. Baruch served as Jeremiah’s scribe or secretary. As Jeremiah dictated what God spoke to him, Baruch wrote it down. Turn if you will to the 45th chapter of Jeremiah: (Read Jer. 45.) I. THE LIFE AND TIMES OF BARUCH The revelations of Jeremiah first center around those regarding Judah, chapters 1-45, followed by prophesies regarding other nations. The response of Baruch as recorded in chapter 45 chronologically follows the events of chapter 36, so turn back there as we observe: • The King of Judah is Jehoiakim, son of good king Josiah. He was not a particularly good king who came to power roughly 20 years before Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem. He had little regard for following the ways of his father or of the Lord. • In this chapter, Baruch is told to record all Jeremiah’s prophesies on a scroll. • Jeremiah is prophesying about the coming captivity of Judah because of their sin of idolatry, as well as many other sins. Apparently, these prophesies had not been committed to writing until God gave this instruction at the beginning of chapter 36. There was still hope that there would be national repentance upon hearing these words read. (Read verse 3) • On a special day Baruch was to read his scroll to all the people, as Jeremiah was restricted and under “house arrest” in response to the unpopularity of his previous messages. • The scroll was read three times, first in the Temple Court, second to the princes, who responded in fear (cf. v. 16), and promised to bring the words to the attention of the King; They also advised Baruch to go into hiding with Jeremiah, anticipating the King’s response. The third reading was before King Jehoiakim. • Read vv. 22-26. When the scroll was read before King, the King took a knife, cut the scroll into pieces and threw it into the fire! • Jeremiah’s words were considered treasonous, and as his companion, Baruch was condemned also. • Jeremiah’s response was to tell Baruch to start all over again with writing all the previous scroll had held, as well as some additions. After the event of the scroll burning comes the record of Baruch’s lament in chapter 45. II. BARUCH’S LAMENT “Woe is me! The Lord has added sorrow to my pain.” It will add to our understanding of Baruch’s distress if we know a bit about him. He was of noble birth, his grandfather having served in the court of King Josiah. His father Neriah and his brother also served in the royal court of Judah’s Kings. So, Baruch was an educated man, of noble birth, whose father and brother held high political offices. Baruch would have high goals and aspirations, but the prophesies he had copied twice did not describe a bright future. Judah was going to go into exile, Jerusalem would be destroyed and most people would not survive. Baruch’s future was grim. Along with Jeremiah, he was viewed as a traitor, and faced probable execution if found by the King. If he escaped Jehoiakim, he probably would be killed by the Babylonians. We can understand his cry of “Woe is me!” As a righteous man, he would have been grieved by the sad state of Jerusalem, both morally and spiritually. The warnings of Jeremiah had not produced repentance; he probably felt that all his efforts and ministry had ended in failure. After years of trying, there was no response from the people. Baruch, to say the least, was disappointed with life and ministry. His personal goals had gone south. Chapter 45 is the record of God, through Jeremiah, restoring Baruch’s perspective. III. GOD’S PERSPECTIVE Read Verses 4 and 5. The first step in dealing with Baruch’s despondency was to remind him that God was in control of the situation, and the fall of Judah was inevitable. The Lord was about to tear down and uproot Judah. Nothing was going to change that. But also implied is the principle of God’s sovereignty. What He has built up He has the right to tear down. God sits in the heavens and does what He pleases. It does not matter if we agree with His methods or whether we understand them. He has a master plan for the ages, and He is working His plan. Baruch was disappointed and despondent over the death of his personal vision. Life had not turned out as he had planned. He had lost sight of the bigger picture of what God was doing. He was thinking of his own plans being crushed and forgetting that the whole nation was about to be conquered by a cruel and ruthless people. When all the people of Judah and the Temple itself were to be destroyed, did he expect to be exempt from all hardship? Baruch’s personal ambitions and expectations did not match reality. The future was very uncertain, and he needed to realign his perspective. Viewing what was going on in the country, he would be fortunate to escape with his life! God’s advice? “Are you seeking great things for yourself? Do not seek them.” “But…while disaster will come on all people, I will preserve your life.” It seems like God is condemning personal ambition, at least to Baruch. Is personal ambition wrong? Let’s look at that for a moment: IV. WHEN PERSONAL AMBITION IS WRONG To say that all ambition is wrong would certainly be overstating the case. Scripture presents a balance in the issue. We are to use and develop our gifts and opportunities to God’s glory. The book of Proverbs repeatedly affirms hard work and perseverance. I like what someone has said, “Undertake something that is difficult; it will do you good. Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered, you will never grow.” J. Oswald Sanders put it in perspective: “Nothing is wrong in seeking great things. But it is wrong to seek great things for yourself.” Ambition becomes wrong when God is left out of the picture. I remember once when I made a major decision in my life, then informed God of what I had decided! Needless to say, God did not put up with that foolishness! He had much better plans for my life, and I am so glad He stepped in and crushed those plans! But although it was extremely painful and disappointing at the time, in the aftermath, I surrendered myself fully to His will, and that decision directly led to my career in Christian Ministry. Our old nature would seek to ambitiously exalt ourselves regardless of the cost to those around us. We see it every day when a father so dedicates himself to his career that he neglects his family—and loses them. He tells himself “I am doing this to provide for my family” but they would much rather have time with him than more money to buy things. Personal ambition is wrong when it harms other people, seeking personal gain at the expense of others. Personal ambition is wrong when it disregards the good of others, like in the spirit of Cain who cried, “Am I my brother’s keeper?” Yes, as a Christian, we are to consider others as, or more important than ourselves. As a believer in Jesus Christ, it is not enough to live as not to injure others, we must seek to help them. It is not enough not to steal, but to give to those in need. I could not put it better than what one has stated: “We are not free to live to ourselves, because we are not our own masters. We are called to God’s service. Our duty is to serve God, not self, so that whatsoever we do may be done “unto the Lord.” Self-seeking is rebellion against our Lord and Master. In times of public distress self-seeking is peculiarly odious. Such were the times in which Baruch lived. Then there are loud calls of duty and noble tasks to be done. The general grief makes the thought of one’s own pleasure and profit out of place. To use that distress as a ladder by which to rise to greatness is indeed despicable.” Consider Jesus’ words in light of our personal ambitions: “The first shall be last, and the last first.” The reason he gives is that “Whosoever would save his life shall lose it: and whosoever shall lose his life for my sake shall save it.” Only in proportion as we live out of self can we enjoy a life worth living; only then, indeed, do we truly live at all. By trying to make ourselves great, though we may reach a high external position, we fall to a low internal condition—we become mean and small; while in forgetting self and sacrificing self for God and for mankind we become unconsciously great.1 V. WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM BARUCH IN FACING PERSONAL DISAPPOINTMENTS • We must take a step back and see if we are allowing Christ control of our lives, or if we have taken control. Many times, we make poor choices which do not work out and then face disappointment. Is there sin involved which must be confessed? • We must look at the issue of our disappointment in light of the “Big Picture” of God’s plan for our lives, then acknowledge His right to do what is best. • We then are to trust the Lord and realize that He is able to preserve and protect us even though we are victims of circumstances beyond our control. He can put a silver lining around any cloud. When God closes a door, we weren’t supposed to walk through it. • Consider that this disappointment might be an issue of timing; what is waiting on the other side of the closed door might need time to develop to where it will be ready for us. We need to be patient and wait for God’s best. • People will often disappoint us, so in a sense, expect it; God will never leave or forsake us. He is an ever-present help and source of strength. Our disappointment may end up like Baruch’s: “Ironically, the very suffering through which Baruch passed because of his loyalty to Jeremiah gained him honor beyond anything he could have anticipated.” God’s message has ministered to countless people for thousands of years.