Jeremiah 45
by Pastor David Groendyk

Paul Tripp wrote a book a while back about marriage called “What Did You Expect?” In that book, Tripp explains how people tend to enter into marriage with unrealistic expectations and then are sorely disappointed and frustrated when their new spouse and new marriage aren’t perfect. “What Did You Expect?” would also be an appropriate title for Jeremiah 45.

In this very short chapter, Jeremiah’s scribe Baruch is lamenting the sorrow, pain, and weariness that he has endured for the sake of doing the Lord’s work with Jeremiah. But Baruch is not merely lamenting the losses. Based on what God says in verse 5, it appears Baruch had hoped for and expected great things for himself! Personal success, fame, and ease may have been at the forefront of Baruch’s mind when he signed up to help Jeremiah. Or perhaps what he had in mind was that he himself would not be affected by the judgment that was coming. Maybe he personally would still keep his home and possessions and wealth when Babylon came. Either way, he was very much mistaken. Apparently, hardship and suffering was not what Baruch expected, and he was disappointed and frustrated.

This situation might be good for present-day Christians in America to meditate on: in the midst of a dying, decaying, spiritually-dark world, what do you expect to happen when you become and live like a Christian? Although it’s relatively easy to be a Christian in our country, don’t ever expect to feel at home here. Do you expect political policies and Supreme Court decision to align with biblical moral standards? Do you expect not to be affected by the spiritual decay and darkness of a secular world? Do you expect to be loved and accepted by everyone? As Christians, we ought to expect to be the minority. We ought never to expect great things in this earthly life. Yes, we must be salt and light and be zealous for righteousness and holiness, and, yes, God is sovereign over all things; but if you expect Christianity to triumph at every turn in this world (or even if you expect Christianity to triumph at most turns or even some turns), you will be extremely unprepared for the hardships that come along with associating yourself with Christ.

But despite that seemingly-gloomy outlook, there is a much, much brighter future on the horizon. In Baruch’s time, God is warning him that the whole land will come under judgment; Baruch is not segmented off from the rest of the people. But verse 5 is preparing us for the rest of the book of Jeremiah in which God proclaims that there will come a day when every enemy of God and God’s people will be triumphed over. There is something so much better in store for Christians than this world. There is something so much better than earthly recognition and acclaim and wealth. While we lament the tragic and horrific moral decay around us, and while we mourn the frustration of deaf ears and hard hearts, we keep our eyes fixed on the new heavens and the new earth and a perfect dwelling with God himself, and that hope should invigorate us and galvanize us for the work we have in front of us.