Jeremiah 45 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Jeremiah 45 Bible Study
INTRO AND TIMELINE:
Jeremiah was a priest who lived in Anathoth (3 miles from Jerusalem). His ministry was directed towards the people of Judah, immediately before and during their exile in Babylon. His work as a prophet dates from 627 BC through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Jeremiah is the longest book in the English Bible by word count. The book has 52 chapters.
Jeremiah prophesied under the following Kings of Judah:
Manasseh (687-642 BC)
Amos (642-640 BC)
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoiakim (initially known as Eliakim, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
WHO WAS BARUCH?:
Baruch worked as Jeremiah’s scribe and was also his ally in the Lord.
Baruch was the man who administered the deed when God told Jeremiah to buy land in Judah during the Babylonian siege (Jeremiah 32).
Baruch was the one to whom Jeremiah dictated the scroll containing all the words of the Lord, the scroll King Jehoiakim burned (Jeremiah 36).
Baruch sided with Jeremiah in his opposition to the remnant of Judah moving to Egypt (Jeremiah 43:3).
OUTLINE:
BARUCH’S REWARD (45:1-5):
Jeremiah 45 is a prophecy directed towards one man, Baruch the son of Neriah.
The prophecy was spoken the same year of the events recorded in Jeremiah 36, the 4th year of King Jehoiakim of Judah.
Baruch, like Jeremiah, had a hard life serving God. He was weary and tired and persecuted.
God told Baruch that He was planning to bring disaster on Judah. He would break down what had been built up, and He would tear out what had been planted.
He told Baruch not to seek great things for himself in Judah. Perhaps this was because Baruch was overly ambitious, or maybe simply because there wouldn’t be a country for him to seek advancement in after God was done destroying it.
God promised Baruch that He would spare his life when the Babylonians came to destroy the country.
God said, “I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go” (45:5).
APPLICATION:
There was no point in Baruch pursuing the recognition of his countrymen because his country, as he knew it, was about to be nonexistent.
Wouldn’t we be wise to take similar advice?
We shouldn’t be overly ambitious to gain earthly recognition, because this earth as we know it won’t be around for very long.
You wouldn’t invest a lot of time and money into a house that you knew was going to burn down in 10 years, would you?
2 Peter 3:1-13 - Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness [what kind of investments should you be making?], waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to His promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.
Don’t pursue recognition in a land that will burn away, spend your time working for the new heavens and the new earth that will never pass away.
