God's Word Must Speak

Read Jeremiah 36:1-10

Exasperated by Jeremiah's apparent defeatism, the authorities had obviously banned him from making any further public statements. Now the only way he could get his message across was through his faithful secretary, Baruch.

Jeremiah's enterprise. Here was a man burdened with a tremendous message for his people. Prevented from speaking, Jeremiah went into print, so to speak, a simple but effective method of accomplishing his task. Paul faced a similar problem and overcame it. See II Timothy 2:9, God's Word cannot be chained or muzzled.

Where there is a will, a way can be found to transmit the Gospel. History is full of stories of men and women who risked their lives in an attempt to bring the message to those who needed to hear it. Death is better than a guilty silence.

Baruch's courage. Many secretaries remain anonymous, some do not wish to be identified with their bosses' opinions. Baruch was not like that. He stood shoulder to shoulder with Jeremiah. He was willing to speak Jeremiah's message, and to share his fate (v.19,26). He joins that great army of "second violins", people like Aaron, Jonathan, John the Baptist, and Silas. These were the men whose loyalty and devotion made the work of others possible.

Prayer: Lord, make me willing to play the second fiddle if necessary in order to make the Gospel known. For Jesus' sake. Amen.

Image: Jeremiah and Baruch.