Verse 5
It was wrong, therefore, for Baruch to expect a life of comfort and ease. Baruch was an educated man whose brother was a high official under King Zedekiah (Jeremiah 51:59). His grandfather had been the ruler of Jerusalem during Josiah’s reign (cf. Jeremiah 32:12; 2 Chronicles 34:8). He may have entertained hopes of attaining a position of distinction in the nation, but he, too, would have to participate in the fallout of Yahweh’s judgment. The Lord promised to bless Baruch by preserving his life wherever he went because of his faithful service.
"Ironically, the very suffering through which Baruch passed because of his loyalty to Jeremiah gained him honor beyond anything he could have anticipated." [Note: Thompson, p. 684.]
"A crisis doesn’t ’make a person’; a crisis reveals what a person is made of." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 135.]
The Lord’s command not to seek great things for himself presupposes a proud motive. Seeking to serve the Lord in a significant position of ministry is not wrong in itself, provided one’s motive is to glorify God. It is seeking position for one’s own glory that is wrong.
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