Day 206: The Book of Baruch

Isaiah 32:1-20 This messianic prophecy announces a future king who would provide justice and protection for his people. A sign of his coming would be the destruction of Jerusalem, which would serve the purpose of bringing the people to repentance and conversion. The Messiah would found a new kingdom that would last forever through the workings of the Holy Spirit.

Ch 32:17 True peace is the work of justice and a result of authentic love. Injustice in the form of violations of human rights and dignity severely threatens peace. Respect for human life and opportunities for the proper development of persons, families, and societies are the best guarantors against strife and unrest. (CCC 2304)

Ch 33:1-23 Destroyer: This could be Assyria or any number of nations that successfully battled Judah and Israel; it would in turn be destroyed after accomplishing its evil deeds. The prophecy, expressed in prayer, asked for the full measure of the Spirit to descend upon all the people. This request led to a hymn extolling the wonders of the newly restored Jerusalem.

Ch 33:15 Isaiah identified six moral duties that define a faithful and righteous believer. In essence, they all pertain to avoiding temptation through vigilance of sight, avoidance of loose talk, etc. “As it is easy to perceive, the principal senses of the body are challenged” by temptation, said St. John Paul II. “Indeed, the hands, feet, eyes, ears, and tongue are involved in human moral behavior.” The virtuous response is to practice temperance and self-denial, which foster “a complete refusal to have anything to do with evil. (General Audience, October 30, 2002)

Ch 33:24 The ancients believed that illness and misfortune were the result of personal sin or, in some cases, the sins of one’s parents. Although many sins do cause physical and psychological damage-for example, gluttony, drunkenness, or drug abuse-not all suffering is caused by sin. An important dimension to suffering is its redemptive value. When we unite our personal pain, sickness, discomforts, and tribulations to the sufferings of Christ, they provide wonderful opportunities for repentance, conversion, and spiritual growth. (CCC 1502)

The Book of Baruch

Author and Date:

• Baruch, who was secretary to the prophet Jeremiah, is credited with having written the Book of Baruch and the Letter of Jeremiah. 

• The latter appears in the Greek Septuagint as a continuation of Lamentations, but, beginning with St. Jerome’s Vulgate Bible, it became attached to Baruch.

• In the early Church, the Book of Baruch, like Lamentations, was thought to be an appendix to Jeremiah.

• For this reason it was not named in early lists of canonical books. 

• While the Book of Baruch probably was written in Hebrew, only its Greek translation has survived.

Audience:

• While the specific audience is not clear, Baruch was addressed to Jews who were still suffering from the destruction of Jerusalem and the Temple.

Main Themes:

• In terms of biblical literature, Baruch is essentially a prophetic book that contains elements of wisdom literature (cf. 3:9-4:4). 

• Some of the familiar themes include the sovereignty and transcendence of the one true God; the evil of paganism and idolatry; the sufferings of Judah, resulting from the persistent sins of its people; the hope for the restoration of Jerusalem and a homecoming for those Jews who had fled Judah during its various tribulations; and the recognition of such a restoration as a sign of redemption for the People of God.

• Naturally, such a restoration and redemption required a conversion of the people.

• Baruch underlines how God remained faithful and provident throughout even the darkest days of salvation history as he slowly prepared his people for the coming Messiah.

• In terms of it being wisdom literature, Baruch praises wisdom and personifies it as divine; to forsake wisdom is to forsake God himself.

• Wisdom of the world, which seeks selfish gains, is contrasted with divine wisdom, which is obtainable only from God (cf. 3:32-36).

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

Baruch 1-6 This book, like Lamentations, is associated with the Book of Jeremiah and was sometimes considered an appendix or companion piece to it. Baruch was a scribe who assisted Jeremiah during the years leading up to and following the Babylonian Exile; the book bearing his name corresponds to the years spent in exile. Not being part of the wave of people initially deported to Babylon, Baruch and Jeremiah remained in Jerusalem until they were forced to flee to Egypt, and some sources say they were among those taken to Babylon after Nebuchadnezzar invaded Egypt. Nevertheless, the Book of Baruch concerns both the exiles and the remnant left in Jerusalem. The Book of Baruch was written in Greek. Thus, it is not found in the Hebrew Bible, although it forms part of the deuterocanonical books of the Old Testament, which follow the Greek Septuagint.

Ch 1:1-9 Baruch read an account of the state of Jerusalem to the deportees in Babylon in order to provoke them to sorrow for their sins and to foster a spirit of atonement. The strategy worked, and subsequently a generous collection was taken to assist the people suffering the famine in Jerusalem. 

Wept, fasted, and prayed: These three penitential acts underscored the sincerity of their contrition.

Ch 1:10-21 The exiles fully recognized their sins and therefore asked for an offering of atonement. They also asked prayers for Nebuchadnezzar and his son since they were resigned to live under pagan rule as a just punishment for their sins. (CCC 1440)

Ch 2:1-5 The horror of the destruction of Jerusalem accompanied by a famine led to desperation and a breakdown of morality.

Ch 2:6-35 The exiles knew they had sinned, and they knew their punishments were just. In retrospect, the prophets had foretold the severe punishments due to violations of the covenant as far back as the time of Moses.

Proverbs 11:18 This proverb echoes Paul’s Epistle to the Galatians: “He who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption; but he who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life” (Gal 6:8). (CCC 1852, 2516, 2733)

(*The Didache Bible RSV-CE Ignatius Edition, 2006)

• So the Book of Baruch is part of the Deuterocanonical books of the Bible

• For Catholics, Orthodox, and the Early Christians, this book was ALSO PART OF THE CANON OF THE BIBLE

• So maybe this is the first time you’ve ever read The Book of Baruch

• Remember Martin Luther took out 7 books from the Bible because of various reasons, mostly that he didn’t agree with them….for a more detailed discussion on why he did that, I recommend diving deeper and reading good, reputed sources because this Study Guide is already over 1100 pages long 😉

• OH MAN! (He missed the first MAN 🤔)

• We are going to get to the Book of Baruch in just a second

• A little context for Isaiah Ch 32, we have this prophecy of a righteous king

• Isaiah could be talking about Hezekiah

• Hezekiah was righteous in many ways

• He prayed before the Lord as the Assyrians, led by Sennacherib were coming into Jerusalem

• It was a HUGELY DESPERATE situation

• What did Hezekiah do?

• He brought that letter from Sennacherib and he brought it to the Temple of the Lord

• He placed himself face-down, honored the Lord, and asked for His intercession

• God heard and answered his prayer

• So it could be that Hezekiah was that RIGHTEOUS KING

• BUT…

• It could also mean the great grandson of Hezekiah, Josiah

• 2 Kings Ch 22 mentions that Josiah was DEFINITELY a righteous king

• This could be Isaiah talking about Hezekiah or prophesying about the future king Josiah who was also righteous

• BUT ALSO…

• Isaiah is CALLING PEOPLE BACK

• There is this recognition not only of righteousness and integrity from the king and what a blessing that is 

• There is also a call to prepare for the COMING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

• It talks about COMPLACENT WOMEN (sorry, ladies 😉)

• A lot of times it’s YOU MEN OF JUDAH TURN BACK TO THE LORD BECAUSE YOU ARE WICKED

• Today, it is the COMPLACENT WOMEN

• So what is that?

• It’s the women WHO ARE AT EASE

• It’s the women WHO ARE COMPLACENT DAUGHTERS

• IT DOESN’T MEAN JUST THE WOMEN

• It is THE PEOPLE who are self-indulgent with a self-focused life

• “I am untroubled by all the trouble happening around me.”

• That COMPLACENCY, that SELF-SATISFACTION can ultimately become LUKEWARM

• So we know in the Book of Revelation the Lord God says to the Church at Laodicea in Ch 3:15, “I know your works: you are neither cold nor hot. Would that you were cold or hot! So, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spew you out of my mouth.”

• God wants to VOMIT the lukewarm out of his mouth 

• There’s this element where the complacent people of Judah are self-satisfied and therefore are self-indulgent and therefore they don’t really care about the troubles that are happening around them

• So there is this call from Isaiah to WAKE UP AND TURN BACK TO THE LORD

• Isaiah Ch 34 (Fr. Mike said Isaiah Ch 34 but we did not read that chapter today so I’m guessing he misspoke?? Or maybe he’s just referencing Isaiah Ch 34?? My brain really hurts now) talks about the RIGHTEOUS JUSTICE of the Lord AGAINST ALL THE NATIONS (MAN OH MAN I am confused now because he is clearly referencing Isaiah Ch 34 but we didn’t read that today! AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!! Maybe Fr. Mike spoke so fast that he travelled forward into the future and we missed it? 🤔 WHAT IS GOING ON HERE?!?!?!?)

• And it talks about the COMPLETENESS OF THE JUDGMENT

• Remember, we read about the COMPLETENESS OF GOD’S JUDGMENT in the other prophets

• No one is going to ESCAPE GOD’S JUDGMENT

• All you nations here, all you people, LISTEN TO ME

• Because the indignation of the Lord is coming against ALL NATIONS

• God’s JUSTICE is coming against ALL NATIONS

• It’s THOROUGH

• One of the things that we can take away from this is that not only is God calling the People of Israel, and here in the current context Christian People, BACK TO REPENTANCE

• BUT…

• EVERYTHING BELONGS TO GOD

• EVEN THOSE PEOPLE THAT DON’T BELIEVE IN GOD BELONG TO GOD!!

• EVEN THOSE WHO DON’T PROFESS ANY RELIGION STILL BELONG TO GOD!!

• All those things that are not handed over to God will be BURNED AWAY

• Everything that doesn’t belong to the Lord will FADE INTO OBLIVION

• So if I don’t want to BELONG TO THE LORD then that’s one of the things that will be BURNED AWAY

• MAN, IT’S POWERFUL!!

• IT’S DREADFUL!!

• BUT IT’S ALSO TRUE!!

• Now let’s go to The Book of Baruch

• Baruch is one of the Deuterocanonical books

• IT IS PART OF THE CANON

• Fr. Mike didn’t fully explain this when we read The Book of Tobit

• Do you remember there were Sadducees and there were Pharisees in the time of Jesus (there were also other groups of people)?

• When it comes to the CANON of the Bible, the Sadducees ONLY acknowledge the FIRST FIVE BOOKS OF MOSES as Canon

• Genesis

• Exodus

• Leviticus

• Numbers

• Deuteronomy

• The Pharisees and others had a LARGER CANON

• We can see that in the time of Jesus, there was NO ESTABLISHED CANON

• Since there was NO ESTABLISHED CANON in the time of Jesus, then who was it up to for ESTABLISHING A CANON?

• Well, NOT the Jewish people POST-JESUS

• Because the Jewish people AFTER JESUS are meant to be in the FULFILLMENT 

• They are MESSIANIC PEOPLE NOW

• They were waiting for the MESSIAH

• The MESSIAH came in JESUS

• Jesus fulfilled all the HOPES

• Jesus fulfilled all the PROMISES

• Jesus fulfilled all the PROPHECIES

• Jesus fulfilled EVERYTHING THAT WAS MEANT TO BE FULFILLED IN JUDAISM

• So Jesus wasn’t STARTING SOMETHING NEW

• Jesus was DOING SOMETHING NEW

• Jesus was FULFILLING JUDAISM IN HIMSELF!!

• So those FIRST CHRISTIANS are the FULFILLMENT OF JUDAISM

• BECAUSE OF THAT...

• THOSE THAT DO NOT ACCEPT CHRIST HAVE ESSENTIALLY NO AUTHORITY TO ESTABLISH A CANON!!

• IT TOOK THE CHURCH THAT CHRIST FOUNDED TO ESTABLISH THE CANON!

• AND BARUCH IS PART OF THAT CANON THAT CHRIST’S CHURCH FOUNDED!

• So Baruch was a contemporary of Jeremiah

• Baruch wasn’t just Jeremiah’s travelling companion

• He might have been Jeremiah’s SCRIBE

• He might have been Jeremiah’s CO-PROPHET

• He is writing AFTER THE BABYLONIAN EXILE

• He is actually writing to the people of the EXILE

• That’s why he is in the BABY-BLUE ERA because they are SINGING THE BLUES IN EXILE IN BABYLON

• Baruch is administering to the people who are in Babylon

• He is writing a letter to Jerusalem

• They are taking up a COLLECTION

• Because they are exiled in Babylon and they are NOT in the Temple, which is the ONLY place where WORSHIP CAN HAPPEN

• So Baruch was asking for the people to PRAY FOR THEM, OFFER WORSHIP ON THEIR BEHALF

• BUT ALSO...AND THIS PART IS CRAZY…

• OFFER UP WORSHIP FOR NEBUCHADNEZZAR, KING OF BABYLON, AND FOR BELSHAZZAR, HIS SON!!

• That is REMARKABLE

• St. Paul is going to REPEAT THIS in Romans Ch 13

• Pray for rulers, even UNJUST RULERS

• Because at the time of St. Paul there were some pretty UNJUST RULERS

• Nebuchadnezzar is the one who BROUGHT THEM INTO EXILE IN THE FIRST PLACE!!

• So it’s remarkable that he is saying, “PRAY FOR THE RULERS.”

• But then he goes on to talk about CONFESSION OF SINS

• “Yeah, we disobeyed the Lord.”

• “We KNEW HIS LAW.”

• “We didn’t lack ANYTHING”

• “The only thing we lacked were HEARTS THAT WERE WILLING TO BE CHANGE.”

• “EARS THAT WERE WILLING TO LISTEN”

• “EYES THAT WERE WILLING TO TRULY SEE.”

• “LIVES WHERE WE ARE TRULY WILLING TO TRULY BE WHO GOD HAS CALLED US TO BE.”

• RIGHTEOUSNESS BELONGS TO GOD

• But the people chose something OTHER than RIGHTEOUSNESS

• He leads them in this PRAYER FOR DELIVERANCE

• “Lord God, bring us back.”

• Baruch even includes the WORDS OF GOD HIMSELF

• God basically says, “Don’t worry. I’m going to bring you HOME. I am going to bring you out of this land of exile because I have established my Covenant and I will bring you back.”

• We are going to continue journeying with Baruch for three days

• It is REMARKABLE to not only be with Isaiah BEFORE the Babylonian Exile

• But also to hear the words of Baruch DURING the Babylonian Exile

• Here is a people that have been HUMBLED

• They were a mass of people that had become a SMALL REMNANT

• AND YET…

• That REMNANT is saying, “God, don’t forget. God you WON’T forget and you WILL BRING US HOME.”

• Baruch 2:35, “I will make an everlasting covenant with them to be their God and they shall be my people; and I will never again remove my people Israel from the land which I have given them.”

• THAT IS GOD’S PROMISE

• WE GIVE GOD THANKS

• WE ARE SO GRATEFUL

• FR. MIKE IS SO GRATEFUL FOR YOU!!

• PRAY FOR FR. MIKE

• PRAY FOR EACH OTHER

Prayer by Fr. Mike: “Father in Heaven we give you praise and glory. We ask you to please help us, once again as we pray these Proverbs, we ask you to help us to become the people who are kind and the person who is righteous and the person who lives in right relationship with you. Help us to actually live in right relationship with you this day and every day. Lord God, help us to hear your words clearly. To understand them, and understand not only how you spoke to your People Israel but also how you are speaking in your Scripture today, to us, to your people now. We bear your name like they bore your name. So please, as you were faithful with them, be faithful with us. And we give you praise and we love you. We make this prayer in the mighty name of your son, Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.”