It was during the reign of Jehoiakim, one of the last kings of Judah. Great destruction was to come upon Jerusalem. Even the temple, the centre of God’s worship, was to be burnt. Baruch was acting as a faithful scribe to Jeremiah the prophet. Baruch seems to have been tempted to seek great things, even in those tumultuous times, but the Lord spoke to him through the prophet: “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not” (Jer 45:5). He was not to seek great things – not in any worldly sense. We may be in very different circumstances from Baruch, but we may be open to similar temptations: to seek what the world considers to be great things, such as a substantial bank balance, a luxurious home, an expensive car, or to go far in our employment, or, more generally, to be recognised as someone important. Now, whatever good things God may give us in providence, we are not to set our hearts on them, which would be to make idols of them. Indeed, we may make idols of what may be very much less than any of the examples listed above. And God is saying to each of us: “Seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them not”. We are not to make idols of anything, whether great or small. So C H Spurgeon expressed himself: “I feel I would rather be the meanest slave in [God’s] kitchen than live in the best palace the devil ever built”.1
But there are great things that we should set our hearts on, great things that we should seek earnestly and urgently – such as the salvation of our souls: to be born again, to have our sins forgiven, to be reconciled to God through Jesus Christ, to be made holy. If, by God’s grace, the blessings of salvation are ours, we are to seek further great blessings, such as: to learn more of what God has revealed for our spiritual good, to grow in grace, to be made more holy, to be kept increasingly from sin and to walk more and more in all the paths of new obedience.
We need a right perspective on life. On the one hand, we should be thankful for the good things God gives us in the temporal sphere. But the Saviour warned, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal”. Many things in this world are useful, even necessary, but we are not to consider them our most valuable possessions, especially as they may be destroyed by insects or corrosion, or they may be stolen – and these are only examples of how they may be taken from us or become useless. In any case, they are not permanent; what is more, we cannot presume to continue in this world for ever. So “what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?” (Mk 8:36). It should be clear that we need good things that we will not have to give up at death, which was what Jesus was pointing to when He went on to say, “But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Mt 6:19,20). Spiritual blessings will last for ever; they cannot decay; they can never be taken from us. How earnest we should then be to obtain them, making use of all the means of grace within our reach and seeking God’s blessing on these means!
Paul speaks of those “that use this world”, distinguishing this from “abusing it” (1 Cor 7:31). John Calvin, in commenting on this verse, explains that Paul is speaking of “using things in a moderate and disciplined way, such as will not hinder or delay us on our journey [to heaven], but enable us to keep pressing on to the goal”. To use this world then is to receive with thankfulness the good things that God gives us to keep body and soul together in this world, and even to spend our time here in a greater or lesser degree of comfort – but not to give our hearts to these things, not to make idols of them, and instead to be so “redeeming the time” that we give priority to the needs of our souls.
Peter speaks of the end of the world – “the day of the Lord” – coming unexpectedly, “as a thief in the night”, when “the earth . . . and the works that are therein shall be burned up” (2 Pet 3:10). From this he draws the lesson: “What manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation [way of life] and godliness”. That is, because everything temporal will be destroyed, we should be altogether serious in seeking, not the great things of this world, but to be truly godly in our whole way of life. Even although the day of the Lord cannot come until God’s promises of great spiritual blessing on a vast scale are fulfilled, when “the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Is 11:9), Peter’s lesson about godliness applies equally to those who will be taken away from this world by death. Because our lives here will most certainly come to an end, perhaps unexpectedly, how serious we ought to be about being prepared for eternity and living godly – trusting in the Lord Jesus Christ and seeking to live to God’s glory while we are spared in this world.
In a fallen world, where disappointment meets individuals and communities so frequently, many people will ask, “Who will show us any good?” (Ps 4:6). Matthew Henry describes such people further: “They enquired for any good, not for the chief good; all they want is outward good, present good, partial good, good meat, good drink, a good trade . . . and what are all these worth without a good God and a good heart?” And he quotes the words of Abraham to the rich man in hell: “Son, remember that thou in thy lifetime receivedst thy good things” (Lk 16:25); he had good things in plenty in the past, but he never sought the spiritual good things that brought Lazarus to heaven, the beggar who used to lie hungry at his gate.
It was David who wrote Psalm 4 and he knew the answer to the question just quoted. The appropriate answer is, “Lord, lift Thou up the light of Thy countenance upon us”. David, in other words, was praying to God to look upon him with favour – which implies, to show him mercy. Matthew Henry goes on to say, “Good people, as they are distinguished by their practices, so they are by their prayers, not the length and language of them, but the faith and fervency of them . . . though others may speak the words of [their prayers], only they offer [them] up in sincerity. . . . All the saints come to the throne of grace on the same errand, and in this they are one: they all desire God’s favour as their chief good. We should beg it for others as well as for ourselves, for in God’s favour there is enough for us all and we shall have never the less for others sharing in what we have.” To think of God’s favour is to think of the source of all the great things that we should desire, that are brought to sinners for the sake of Christ.
God showed favour to Baruch, although He did not give him the great things he might have desired. He gave Baruch a promise that his life would be spared, even in the midst of all the turmoil of the times in which he lived. So whatever good things the Lord may deny to His children today, He gives them many promises. For instance, the Saviour assures His sheep, those who sincerely follow Him: “I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of My hand” (Jn 10:28). What great things are promised them here! They will be brought to the never-ending blessedness of heaven at last; they will never be lost; and no one, not the devil himself, will ever be able to destroy them; they will be safe in Christ’s keeping. And His promises are completely dependable.
Baruch was being called to contentment; so are God’s children in every generation: “Be content with such things as ye have”. And that call comes with an emphatic promise from God: “He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb 13:5). The promise of His presence guarantees that His favour will never be withdrawn from them. A great blessing indeed!
1W Williams, Personal Reminiscences of Charles Haddon Spurgeon, London, 1895, p 26.