Read Jeremiah 45 in the King James Bible (opens in a new tab)
Jeremiah 45 records a personal message from the Lord to Baruch, Jeremiah’s faithful scribe, during the reign of Jehoiakim. Burdened by sorrow and exhaustion, Baruch laments that the Lord has added grief to his pain and that he can find no rest. God answers by revealing that He is about to tear down what He has built and uproot what He has planted throughout the land, placing Baruch’s personal struggles within the larger reality of divine judgment. The Lord then confronts him with a searching question about seeking great things for himself and commands him not to pursue them. Yet in the midst of widespread calamity, God gives Baruch a personal promise of preservation, teaching that faithfulness is not measured by earthly greatness but by trusting God and remaining obedient when everything familiar is being shaken.
Jeremiah 45:1 - 45:5
1 The word that Jeremiah the prophet spake unto Baruch the son of Neriah, when he had written these words in a book at the mouth of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
2 Thus saith the Lord, the God of Israel, unto thee, O Baruch;
3 Thou didst say, Woe is me now! for the Lord hath added grief to my sorrow; I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest.
4 Thus shalt thou say unto him, The Lord saith thus; Behold, [that] which I have built will I break down, and that which I have planted I will pluck up, even this whole land.
5 And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek [them] not: for, behold, I will bring evil upon all flesh, saith the Lord: but thy life will I give unto thee for a prey in all places whither thou goest.