• If You Seek Great Things for Yourself (Jeremiah 45:5)

  • Jul 1 2024
  • Length: 48 mins
  • Podcast

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If You Seek Great Things for Yourself (Jeremiah 45:5)

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  • God told Baruch, Jeremiah's scribe, "If you seek great things for yourself, seek them not" (Jeremiah 45:5). As we consider why God didn't want Baruch to seek great things, we can learn why God might not want us to seek great things. https://youtu.be/WmIzUoHD0T4 God told Baruch, "If you seek great things for yourself, seek them not" (Jeremiah 45:5). Learn why God might not want us to seek great things. Table of contentsDiscontent Being Jeremiah’s ScribeWhy Didn’t God Want Baruch to Seek Great Things?God Might not Want Us to Seek Things Because We Seek Them for OurselvesGod Might not Want Us to Seek Things Because They Won’t LastGod Might not Want Us to Seek Things Because They Aren’t Part of His Plan“Great Things” Often Aren’t That GreatSeeking Great Things in God’s EyesMoses Sought Great Things in God’s EyesJonathan Sought Greatness in God’s EyesJohn the Baptist Sought Greatness in God’s EyesContent with Despised Roles that Please God Before doctors administer a shot, they say, “Try to relax as much as possible. This will be worse if you resist.” The doctor tells you to accept what will happen because resisting worsens it. Elizabeth Elliot said something similar: “There is joy in acceptance.” We can’t change certain circumstances, and resisting worsens them; therefore, it is best to trust that God wants to use them for our good and His glory. This is what it means to choose contentment, and it can bring great peace. Conversely, refusing to be content, which is to say choosing discontentment, can bring severe turmoil and suck the joy out of life. To some extent, all of us would say our lives are not exactly what we want. Maybe we wish we made more money, lived elsewhere, had a different job, or enjoyed a bigger house. If we are single, maybe we wish we were married. If we are married, maybe we wish our marriage was better. We all have something (or some things) we wish were different. There is a man in scripture, Baruch, who wished his life was different. He was Jeremiah’s faithful scribe, and we can learn much from him. Discontent Being Jeremiah’s Scribe Baruch is one of the unsung heroes of the Old Testament. Jeremiah was the most despised man of his day, and throughout much of his ministry, Baruch was his only friend. Jeremiah faced rejection and persecution from his countrymen. Being the closest person to Jeremiah meant that when Jeremiah suffered, Baruch often did too. At one point, Baruch wanted something different for himself. The Lord learned of his discontentment and had the following words for him: The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch the son of Neriah, when he wrote these words in a book at the dictation of Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: “Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, to you, O Baruch: You said, ‘Woe is me! For the Lord has added sorrow to my pain. I am weary with my groaning, and I find no rest.’ Thus shall you say to him, Thus says the Lord: Behold, what I have built I am breaking down, and what I have planted I am plucking up—that is, the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself? Seek them not, for behold, I am bringing disaster upon all flesh, declares the Lord. But I will give you your life as a prize of war in all places to which you may go” (Jeremiah 45:1-5). Baruch was discouraged. The words “woe,” “pain,” “groaning,” and “find no rest” reveal that he suffered physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually. I hate to be critical of Baruch because I’m sure I would have been worse than him if I were in his situation, but he should have been content with his circumstances. The phrase “the Lord has added sorrow” reveals that he attributed his suffering to God. How did God respond? Did He feel sorry for Baruch or apologize to him? No. Instead, He criticized Baruch for “[seeking] great things for [himself]” and told him to “seek them not.” This is the opposite of the Prosperity Gospel,
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