Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah"
Text: Jeremiah 36:4
BARUCH, THE SCRIBE OF JEREMIAH
Jeremiah was not alone in his ministry for the LORD. There were some who stood with him. Baruch, the son of Neriah was one of them!
“Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah;
and Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book, at the instruction of Jeremiah,
all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him.
And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying,
‘I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the LORD.
You go, therefore, and read from the scroll
which you have written at my instruction, the words of the LORD,
in the hearing of the people in the LORD’s house on the day of fasting.
And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities.'”
Jeremiah 36:4-6
1. “Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah; and Baruch wrote on a scroll of a book,
at the instruction of Jeremiah, all the words of the LORD which He had spoken to him”
a) Jeremiah called out to Baruch, the son of Neriah.
b) The prophet dictated to Baruch the message to be read.
c) The contents of the message:
i) The Source was the LORD Himself.
ii) God had given His word to Jeremiah.
iii) This word was now written down in a scroll.
2. “And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying,
‘I am confined, I cannot go into the house of the LORD'”
a) Jeremiah was “confined”.
i) He was not allowed to go into the Temple.
ii) The Temple was controlled by wicked priests.
b) Baruch was not banned from the Temple.
c) He was ordered to read what had been dictated to him by Jeremiah.
3. “You go, therefore, and read from the scroll which you have written at my instruction,
the words of the LORD, in the hearing of the people in the LORD’s house on the day of fasting.
And you shall also read them in the hearing of all Judah who come from their cities”
a) The instruction came from Jeremiah.
b) But the actual contents came from the LORD Himself.
c) The audience:
i) The worshippers who had come to the Temple.
ii) On this occasion, fasting was the feature of the day.
iii) The worshippers had come from all the cities of Judah.
d) The people would do better to hear the Word of the LORD than to merely perform religious activities.