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Skip Heitzig ministers to over 15,000 people as senior pastor of Calvary Church in Albuquerque. He reaches out to thousands across the nation and throughout the
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0:00 Welcome to Calvary Church with Skip Heitzig. We're so glad you've joined us today. Sometimes the Bible reads like a museum gallery. Stories unfolding in bright swatches of color and brushstrokes of glory with0:12 larger than life figures like Abraham, David, and Jesus himself showcased in beautiful lighting with polished plaques gleaming beneath them. But hidden in the corners of the gallery and tucked between the pages of0:24 scripture are stories that have been passed over. Through this message with pastor Skip, we'll encounter those who may have been overlooked for centuries, but were seen, called, and used by God.0:36 Good morning. Good morning. Happy New Year. I haven't seen you since last year. And you know, you actually look better than you did last year. Would you turn in0:48 your Bibles, First of all, do you have 1 of these things? Have 1 of these babies? Okay. New Year's resolution, this is a good 1. Get 1 of these things and read through it. So this is the Bible. Make sure you have1:00 1. It's always good to have 1 to follow along with us as well. Turn in your Bibles to Jeremiah chapter 45. Old Testament book of Jeremiah, pretty easy to find, pretty big book.1:13 Chapter 45 as we begin this series called Overlooked. So Leonard Bernstein, you may recognize the name, was the conductor of the New York1:24 Philharmonic Orchestra, a brilliant man. And he was asked by a reporter this question, what's the most difficult instrument to play?1:37 He looked at the reporter, twinkle in his eye, and he said, second fiddle. And then he explained. He said, I can get plenty of first violinists, but to find1:48 someone who will play second fiddle with as much enthusiasm, that's a problem. And then he said, but without a second2:00 violinist, there would be no harmony. And of course, his point is well taken. In any orchestra, it's not 1 instrument. It's several instruments together, all adding texture, all2:12 adding depth, all playing their part, all playing their notes to bring harmony. Second fiddle. This series is a series about2:24 second fiddles. Those people who are in the scripture, they are usually overlooked. We don't pay much attention to them. Yet without them, the story would not be2:35 complete. Whenever you see anybody who is successful, anybody who is visible, you must always remember they are not alone.2:48 Like the old quip that said, if you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you know it didn't get there by itself. Right? Somebody had to put that turtle on top.3:00 Whenever you see a quarterback who is a star quarterback, you realize there's an offensive guard who keeps the line strong. Whenever you see a successful surgeon, you realize there's3:12 a team of techs and nurses behind the scenes enabling that to happen. You see a musician on stage or a singer, there's a backup band that enables the concert to go3:24 forward. So here's an example. Everybody recognizes the name Charles Lindbergh. He is the man who in 19 27 flew that plane from Long Island,3:36 New York to Paris, France nonstop. First transatlantic nonstop flight. Charles Lindbergh, famous name. Yet fewer people recognize the3:48 name Claude Ryan of Ryan Aircraft who designed the airplane and provided that for him. Fewer people will remember the name Douglas4:00 Corrigan. He was the mechanic who modified the airplane to enable it to go 3600 miles, because that just didn't4:11 happen. By the way, his nickname was Wrong Way Corrigan. I don't know if I'd want a guy named that to be working on my airplane to fly across the ocean, but it4:23 worked. Another example is Martin Luther. Who doesn't know Martin Luther? Who hung and pounded into the door, the castle church door4:35 at Wittenberg, Germany, the 95 theses that started the Protestant Reformation in 15 17. Everybody knows that name, but what about4:46 the other name you should know who enabled Martin Luther? And that is Philip Melanthon, who was a friend, an associate, a scholar, who4:59 brought balance to Martin Luther's fiery approach with his scholastic calm approach. The name Billy5:10 Graham is also a famous name. Everybody recognizes that name, I'm sure. He has preached this individual has preached the gospel to more5:22 people on earth than any person who has ever lived. It's a very famous name. But behind him was a team of people, names like5:34 Grady Wilson, T. W. Wilson, Cliff Barrows, George Beverly Shea. These are the unsung heroes of the Christian5:45 faith. And the Bible is full of them, full of them. They could be called hidden saints. Hidden not because they're insignificant, but5:57 because we just don't know about them. We don't spend much time studying them. Second fiddle. John the Baptist played second fiddle to6:09 Jesus Christ. He said, I must decrease. He must increase. Epaphroditus, Onesiphorus,6:21 Silas, Barnabas. These are names of people that played second fiddle to the great Apostle Paul. All of that to say, you have a role to play in the body of6:33 Christ. And Jesus Christ will never make his full impact into the culture without your role being exercised. And that is really what this series6:45 is going to be about, Overlooked. Now in Jeremiah 45, I'm taking you back to the seventh century BC. I'm just going to6:56 fill in the historical blanks. This is a time when the kingdom of Israel was at its end. You probably remember that that kingdom was divided already7:08 back in 9 30 BC after King Solomon. The kingdom split north and south. The northern part was called Israel. The southern part was called Judah. 10 tribes to the north, 2 tribes to the south.7:22 In verse 1 of Jeremiah 35, it says, the word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch, the son of Nuriah, when he had written these words in a book at the instruction of7:34 Jeremiah, in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, the King of Judah. Now that's a very important time signature.7:46 That tells us when these events are happening. So when this chapter was being written, uttered, it was a7:58 period of time when the pharaoh in Egypt was gaining strength. And there was about to be a power shift on Earth. The8:09 pharaoh took the king of Jerusalem after Josiah died. The king was a guy by the name of Jehoahaz. Pharaoh Necho comes in, kicks him off the throne,8:21 puts in his place a man named Eliakim, but changes his name to Jehoiakim. Don't worry, this will not be on the final exam.8:36 While that is happening, there's another kingdom gaining power. It's called Babylon under a guy by the name of King Nebuchadnezzar. And8:47 Nebuchadnezzar is about to face off in a decisive battle with Pharaoh Necho of Egypt in a place called Carchemish, the very famous battle of Carchemish 6 0 58:59 BC. Nebuchadnezzar will win. He will be king of the world effectively, that part of the world, the known world. He will then invade Judah,9:10 and he will defeat Jerusalem. There will be 3 successive deportations, 6 0 5 BC, 5 97 BC, 5 86 BC. Again, this will not be on the9:22 final. In 5 86 BC, he will destroy the city and destroy the temple. Meanwhile, we have Jeremiah the prophet who has been9:34 predicting that all of this is going to happen. He's been doing that for years. Babylon's coming. We're toast. The judgment of God is coming, etcetera. That's the book of Jeremiah. It fits in that9:46 time frame. But chapter 45 is not about Jeremiah. It is a word of the Lord through Jeremiah9:58 to his friend by the name of Baruch. And that's the 1 we're studying, Baruch. Chapter 45 is not a long chapter. Look at there's only 5 verses in it. It's a very10:10 short message to this man Baruch. And as we go through this, we're able to see 4 characteristics of this overlooked individual. I'm going give you 4 words that describe10:22 4 characteristics of Baruch, this overlooked individual. First is the word faith. Baruch was a man of faith. He believed in10:34 God. Let's look at all 5 verses together. Let's read the whole chapter. The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Nuria when he had10:45 written these words in a book at the instruction of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, King of Judah, saying, thus10:57 says the Lord, the God of Israel to you, O Baruch. You said that is Baruch said woe is me11:09 now for the Lord has added grief to my sorrow. I fainted in my sighing and I find no rest. Thus you shall say to him, thus says11:21 the Lord, behold what I have built I will break down. What I have planted I will pluck up. That is the whole land.11:33 And do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. For behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh, says the Lord. But I will give your life to you as11:45 a prize in all places wherever you go. Okay. Baruch, his name by the way means11:56 blessed or blessed 1. If you have heard Hebrew prayers, you're familiar with his name. Because Hebrew prayers usually begin, Baruch12:07 Ata Adonai. Blessed be the name of the Lord, or blessed be the Lord our God. Baruch means blessed. He is mentioned 21 times in the book of12:19 Jeremiah. And whenever his name appears, he shows as a person who believed in God, trusted God's word, and served God's12:31 prophet. So he's a man of faith. He is a man who has faith in God. And he has many other attributes, but this must be mentioned first12:43 because this is the most important thing about him. AW Tozer once said this, what we think about God is the most important thing about us.12:55 What we think about God is the most important thing about us. Why? Because everything else in your life is going to flow from that, from13:07 what you think of God and how much you trust God. So here we are, beginning of a new year. And as we enter the new year, this is a good time to take13:19 inventory of your own faith. What kind of faith do you have in God? How much do you really trust God for your future? Faith13:31 is the basis of everything we as believers do. The prophet Abacca said, the just shall live by faith. Peter13:43 wrote, our hearts are purified by faith. Paul in Romans 5 said, being justified by faith we have peace with13:55 God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Very next verse we have access by faith into this grace in which we stand. So everything will flow14:06 from what faith we place in God. Now, we're entering into a new year. And every new year, I always think it never fails.14:18 First day of the new year, my mind goes to Psalm 90. In Psalm 90, written by Moses, only Psalm written by Moses, Moses said, teach us to number our14:30 days. Remember that verse? Teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart of wisdom. Numbering our days. Teach us to number our days that we might gain a heart14:42 of wisdom. Wisdom. Another way to put that is since time flies, it's up to you to be the navigator. You make choices about how you're going to spend your days.14:54 Number our days. Here's a little interesting statistic I came across. If you are 35 years old, you have 500 days left to15:06 live. And you're going, Skip, you need a math class really badly. Well, let me explain what this author was getting at. He said, if you15:17 subtract all the time you spend sleeping, working because because that's not really your time, it's the time the company is paying you for if you15:29 remove time you spend on personal hygiene, medical matters, meals, the time you spend eating, traveling, etcetera, the next 3615:41 years of your life I'm going by average time span, lifespan the next 36 years of your life, you will have 500 days left to spend as you wish.15:53 Well, when you look at it that way, it's not much time. Teach us to number our days. Now, I'm not trying to get you to get a calculator out and go, well, that's 35. How many days16:05 do I have left? Because counting time is not as important as making time count. And the way you make time count is by living a life of faith,16:17 trust, leaning hard into the promises of God as you begin the new year. So that's the first characteristic. That's the first word with Baruch, faith. He was a man of faith.16:29 Second, faithful. He was faithful. Go back to verse 1. The word that Jeremiah the prophet spoke to Baruch son of Nuriah16:40 when he that is when Baruch had written these words in a book instruction of Jeremiah in the fourth year of Jehoiakim.16:52 You see, Baruch was a scribe. He was a transcriber. He was the personal private secretary of the prophet Jeremiah.17:04 He would be called an amanuensis, the guy who writes down the dictation spoken to him by the prophet. So Jeremiah would receive messages from17:16 God. And he'd say, hey, Baruch, get over here. Get out your pen. Get out your pad of paper. Write this down. And Baruch would faithfully17:28 transcribe the words given by God to Jeremiah the prophet. Somebody once said, the greatest ability is dependability. And this guy Baruch was17:40 dependable. He was faithful. I'm going to read to you out of Jeremiah chapter 36, just a couple of verses. God said to Jeremiah, take a scroll of a book and write on it all the17:51 words that I have spoken to you against Israel, Judah, and against all the nations. Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Nariah. And Baruch wrote on a scroll of18:03 a book at the instruction of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord which he had spoken to him. So you have a pretty faithful guy who's hanging out with a18:15 prophet, dependably recording the words that God gives to him. He is faithful. Oh, by the way, little fun fact tidbit,18:27 FYI, Baruch is the only man in the Old Testament who has been fingerprinted. I'm just letting that hang so I can explain it.18:39 So let me explain that. In 19 75, a group of archaeologists discovered and purchased some clay document markers from18:51 an Arab antiquities dealer in the Middle East. And they didn't decipher these document markers until 19 86. And as they did, they discovered 119:03 that bore the seal of Baruch the son of Narayah. I'll show you a picture. Baruch the son of Nariah. They kept going through these document markers, and they19:15 found another seal of Baruch. And that's this 1, the seal of Baruch the son of Nariah. And up on the very right hand top corner, you can barely see it19:26 unless you know what you're looking for. The archaeologists said, that's a thumbprint. And we can see the marks of the thumbprint at the top of the seal. And they think that is the thumbprint, the19:38 fingerprint of Baruch from antiquity. So that's just a fun little fact. I don't know if that matters much to you, but I was geeked out when I saw that.19:50 So you have Jeremiah the prophet, who is he has a very lonely ministry, a singular ministry. And the only close friend that he has to him during all of his years of ministry20:03 is this man by the name of Baruch. And it's the faithfulness of Baruch to Jeremiah that brought a close relationship, created a bond between20:15 them. Because they went through the same experiences of rejection, and scorning, and loneliness, and eventually exile. And any time you have a friend who will stick by you during those20:26 kind of experiences, you have a friend indeed. Proverbs chapter 20 verse 6 states, most men will proclaim each20:38 his own goodness, but who can find a faithful man? Boy, that's true, isn't it? A lot of people say, well, know, I've done this and I've done that. And they brag about things. But the author says,20:50 yeah, but who can find a faithful man? Well, Jeremiah found a faithful man in this scribe named Baruch. And you know faithfulness is 1 of those characteristics and21:02 attributes that are more meaningful and more important than wealth, status, skill, and ability.21:13 Faithfulness, dependability. You're always there for me. I don't know if you've ever been to Yellowstone National Park, but my dad used to take us there on vacations a21:25 few times in our life. The most popular tourist attraction in Yellowstone National Park is this thing. It's called Old Faithful. Now this is not the highest geyser. This is not the most21:36 powerful geyser in the park. For that, you'd have to go to Steamboat Geyser or a few others. But the reason this is the most popular is because it's21:48 regular. It's dependable. Every 90 minutes, give or take a couple minutes, that thing goes off. It's been doing it. It will continue, I guess, to do it.22:00 So people show up because they know it's faithful. It's dependable. If you are just faithful to your spouse, if you're just22:12 faithful to your employer, if you're just faithful to your friends, if you're just faithful to your church, you become the most important person in the system. You're dependable.22:24 You're dependable. You show up. You're regular. And that was Baruch. He's always there. We see him throughout the book of Jeremiah beginning in chapter 32 onward. He's the guy who's putting all this22:36 together. In fact, because he is the scribe for Jeremiah, he is actually the author of the book of Jeremiah. He's the guy that actually wrote it down. Jeremiah22:48 dictated it. So we have 2 qualities. He's a man of faith, and he's a faithful man. And those are good qualities, but now we begin to see that he's just a man. He has23:00 some weaknesses. So that takes us to the third characteristic, the third word in our little outline after faith and faithful. He was faint hearted. He was faint hearted.23:13 Go back to verse 2. This is now God speaking to Jeremiah to speak this to Baruch. Thus says the Lord, Yahweh, the God of Israel to you, O23:24 Baruch. You said, you Baruch said, woe is me now, for the Lord has added grief to my23:36 sorrow. I fainted in my sighing, and I find no rest. Okay, so this lets us know that Baruch has been complaining about23:47 something. For him to say, woe is me now, I have no rest, he's complaining about something. And I would say, understandably so. Think of all that he has been through. If you're23:59 familiar with the book of Jeremiah, he's been writing down predictions of judgment. He has been living amongst a people who are corrupt and increasingly24:11 so in his nation. He is around a group of people that he loves, but will soon be going into Babylonian captivity because he and Jeremiah have been predicting it.24:23 So God's judgment is inevitable. It is irreversible. And nobody's listening to Jeremiah. Not a single person so far has repented.24:36 Nobody seems to care when this preacher is preaching. In fact, I'm going to just read something to you. And I'm reading it to you because it just I was reading this in my quiet time24:48 the other day. And it's the end of 2 Chronicles 36. You don't have to turn there. I'll just read a couple of verses. This is the same time period. This is the end of the kingdom. We read24:59 this. And the Lord God of their fathers sent warnings to them by his messengers rising up early and sending them because he had compassion on his people and25:11 on his dwelling place. But they mocked the messengers of God. They despised his words and scoffed at his25:23 prophets until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, until there was no remedy. Therefore, He brought against them the King of the25:35 Chaldeans, who killed their young men with a sword in the house of their sanctuary and had no compassion on their young man or virgin. On the aged or the weak, He gave them25:47 into his hand to fulfill the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah the prophet. So25:58 Jeremiah and Baruch, who's writing down the words, are constantly getting these messages from the Lord of judgment. And nobody's paying attention. Nobody's listening.26:10 Nobody is changing. Oh, here's something else. Not only was Jeremiah beaten, not only was he put in stocks, not only was he thrown in a cistern with mud and sinking in the26:22 mud, not only was he hated by everybody in the country, including the kings of that country, they even burned the first copy of the book of26:33 Jeremiah that Baruch had written down. They burned it in a fire. So Baruch had to start all over again and write down what had been burned up. I don't know if you've ever had the26:45 experience of working all day on your computer, then it crashes, and you lose a day of work, and you think it's the end of the world now. Imagine losing the entire book up to that point of Jeremiah26:57 and having to start again. That would have taken weeks or perhaps months. So this is what Baruch has been saying. Woe is me27:09 now. My life is terrible. Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me. Right? That's what he's singing. That's his song.27:22 So this is self pity. He's wallowing. There's 5 pronouns in 2 verses, me, my, I, my, I. What's his focus27:34 on? Himself. And again, understandably so, given all that he is seeing, all that he has experienced, and his mentor Jeremiah27:46 was saying the same thing. So he's just really taken his cue from his boss. Jeremiah 15, the prophet says, woe is me. Same words. Woe is me, my mother, that you have27:58 borne me, a man of strife, a man of contention to the whole earth. Then we get to chapter 20 and Jeremiah says, I will not make mention of Him, that is of God,28:10 nor speak anymore in His name. In other words, I quit. I'm done. I want to be a nonprofit organization from now28:22 on. I don't want this prophecy gig anymore. But it goes on and says, but his word was in my heart like a burning fire, shut28:34 up in my bones. And I was weary of holding it back, and I could not. So Jeremiah was dejected. Jeremiah was discouraged and said, woe is me.28:45 So likewise, Baruch now is saying the same thing. And if that's not bad enough, look in verse 3, the end of it. Woe is me, the Lord28:57 has added grief to my sorrow. I've fainted in my sighing. I find no rest. So God isn't helping my burden. That's what he29:09 feels like. He just keeps pouring on more. The city that I love is going to be burned. The city that I love is going to be exiled. He says, I find no rest.29:21 In other words, my entire life's investment has been a failure. I mean, think of it. Jeremiah preached for a long time in29:33 Jerusalem. And there's no record of any, even 1 person repenting, listening to him. No measurable results. So here's what I want you29:45 to get in your head, and my head, and our hearts. Jeremiah and Baruch did everything right. But29:56 everything wrong seems to be happening to them. Woe is me now. Some of you have been saying, woe is30:08 me now. That's been your song. Nobody likes me. Everybody hates me. That could be your song. You've been saying that especially if you're a man30:20 of faith and a faithful man, especially if you're a woman of faith and a faithful woman. If you're faithful and you believe and yet you're experiencing hardship, you might30:32 be tempted to say, woe is me. Because you're thinking this, shouldn't there be some kind of immunity for people who believe if we live right, shouldn't we somehow be30:44 shielded from all the bad things that can happen? That's what we figure. Shouldn't we be shielded? Well, ask that question to Job.30:57 Ask that question to Joseph. Ask that question to Daniel. Ask that question to Jesus. Seemed that God poured grief on their31:08 sorrow. And if you notice something about suffering, our suffering always seems bigger. No 1 else's woe is as bad as31:20 our woe. No 1 else's sorrow is as bad as our sorrow. If I need an operation, it's major surgery. If they need the same operation, minor surgery.31:32 Our suffering becomes unique. And that's the reason I'm convinced this is the reason we love stories like this 1, because it shows us that we're not alone when we31:44 suffer, that this is common. This is the common lot of even biblical heroes. But here's the best part.31:56 We never hear of the word of the Lord coming to Baruch when he was happy and living in the sunshine, we read about God speaking to Baruch when he was in32:08 distress. When he was at his darkest moment saying, woe is me now. I find no rest. The word of the Lord came to him. God's voice became clearer and32:19 unmistakable. Remember that old CS Lewis quote? God whispers to us in our pleasures, but he shouts to us in our pain.32:31 When Jesus came to his disciples 1 night, they were in a boat on the Sea of Galilee. I know you know the story. The waves started churning up. Disciples started getting32:43 afraid because of the storm on the Sea of Galilee. Even though they were seasoned fishermen, this is a very unique storm. And the waves were very large, unpredictable. They thought they were going32:55 down. They looked out on the water, and who did they see? They saw Jesus, and what was he doing? He was walking. And what was he walking on? He was walking on the very thing they feared33:07 the most, The waves. He was walking on the thing they Jesus came to them on the very thing they feared the most. Do you suppose33:19 Jesus might come to us on the very thing we fear the most? It's in those darkest times that His voice is unmistakable, like it was here.33:31 Now, I'm going to say something general about life that I think you'll agree with. Life is a series of trials. I'm going to make this little33:43 prediction. Right now, you are either in a trial, or you just came out of a trial, or you're about to go in a trial. And yeah, you're going,33:55 yeah, I think I resonate with that. The next question is why? Why would God allow so many hardships to come into the lives of his children?34:07 And here's the answer. Because God is more interested in your character than in your comfort. God is more interested in making you holy than just making you happy. He34:18 wants you to be valuable to others more so than just joyful for yourself. And so distress34:30 comes, hardships come, trials come. You're coming out of 1, you're in 1, or you're going to be in 1. If Christopher Columbus would have decided, I'm not34:42 going, or midway in the journey over here he said, I'm going back, Nobody would have blamed him. It was a tough journey. Nobody would have blamed him.34:55 But nobody would have remembered him either. If Jeremiah and Baruch would have quit and abandoned their mission like they wanted to35:06 do, nobody would have blamed them. But nobody would have remembered them. And we wouldn't be here this morning getting benefit from the lesson of their35:17 example. So if you want to be memorable and you want to be valuable, you're going to have to allow for the miserable because that's what shapes us. Now in verse 4,35:32 Jeremiah is sent to go to Baruch and to call him out on this and to encourage him. So we go now to the fourth and final word or characteristic, and that is35:44 he was fretful. He was a faith he had faith. He was faithful. He was fainthearted, but he was also fretful. Look at verse 4, a little closer. Thus you shall say to him,35:56 thus says the Lord, behold, what I have built I will break down. That's the city of Jerusalem. What I have36:07 planted I will pluck up. That is the whole land. And do you seek great things for yourself?36:19 Do not seek them. For behold, I will bring adversity on all flesh, says the Lord. But I will give your life to you as a prize in all36:31 places wherever you go. So Baruch is fretful. I mean, he's anxious. He's restless. He is unstable. He has36:43 some unrealistic expectations. And then God gives him this message. And you wonder, what kind of a message is that to a guy who's discouraged?36:56 Now hold that thought. What if you were there? Let's say you're in Jerusalem and you hear Baruch complaining, woe is me now. I have no rest.37:09 What would your counsel have been to Baruch? Would you tell him, look, dude, you just need to take a few days off. You need a rest. You need a Sabbath.37:21 Take a week off and then hit it the next Monday hard. Or maybe you would just give him a sympathetic ear or a big hug. Or maybe you would say,37:33 look, I don't think this ministry is a good fit for you because if God was in it, it'd be much easier because serving God when you're in God's perfect will is going to be just easy. Maybe you would have told them that.37:44 Or maybe you would have said, you know, God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life. Well, how does God answer him? He says, you seek great things for yourself, don't do it. For37:56 behold, I'm going to bring adversity on all flesh, says the Lord. But I will give your life to you as a prize in all places wherever you go. In other words,38:07 be thankful that I'm letting you escape with your life. What kind of an answer is that? It's this kind of an answer.38:19 Baruch, stop making this all about you. I know you're discouraged. I know you're distressed. But think how I feel. This is my city. I built this38:31 nation. I planted this nation. I made covenants with this nation. I am now forced to destroy that which I have built. Think how it hurts my heart.38:44 And think how it's going to hurt them when the judgment of the Babylonians fall upon them. You're thinking about yourself, but think about them. And think about me.38:56 But then in verse 5 is this strange question with a rebuke, sort of. Do you seek great things for yourself? Do not seek them. Now, we39:08 don't know what that is exactly. What was he expecting? He had some expectation of some special treatment perhaps because he was faithful that he would39:20 escape it. Maybe he had big plans for his future. Maybe he thought, I'm going to I would like to be in a governmental position. The reason I say that is because39:31 Baruch did come from a prominent family. If you read through 2 Chronicles in chapter 34, we find out that Baruch's grandfather had been the governor ofShow more
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