Caught Inside a Wider Web

Baruch sat huddled 
within his scrolls 
deep in the throes of despair. 
Words darkened the parchment 
and his soul, relentlessly 
marking out tragedy, 
punishment! The torrent
of eviction, malediction
kept screaming in his mind,
the prophet’s warnings and lament.

But at the Throne
his pain was seen,
framed by the stain
of hemorrhage from
a heart off-center, 
rubbing on the cross-grain
of life gone contrary 
to all hoped for, 
one by one the dreams 
of grandeur snuffed out
(people hanging on words
so carefully stirred
in ink and sorrow,
smitten at last 
with heartsick yearning 
and turning to the prophet
and his scribe...)
.

And so, the prophet’s lips
now spoke to Baruch,
passing on a word from Yahweh:
This is no time for pout
or concentration on
one’s own small claim
to fame nor on the joy
of feeling used for good
and seeing things work out:
relationships restored
and people back in place,
accepting grace . . .
and yet within it all
desiring rest for self,
your peace the unsaid goal.

God’s purposes are broader.
This time is one for ripping,
not for mending. 
That time will come,
but not for your eyes, Baruch.
Your life is but one thread
appearing briefly, deep inside
the tapestry unfolding
of a nation’s discipline.
Should your desire for golden
resolution, and a spot of honor,
or just rest from all the turmoil,
come first in Yahweh’s plan?

Baruch kept on scribing, 
writing for the public
even this surprise aside,
now spoken not to nations
but to him, amazing witness
to the Lord’s commitment
to his people,
to care for them in trouble, 
even if their hopes get crushed
within the slow unscrolling
of Yahweh intervening
to finally make all well.
Time will tell.

So  Baruch wept his private tears 
and kept on serving, writing,
passing on the words
that burn my heart today:
We’re caught inside a wider web
but Yahweh is the weaver.
Enough. I rest.

 I hadn’t noticed Jeremiah 45, a short chapter with five verses, until I read it during a rough time for me. We were evacuated from our Côte d’Ivoire home and ministry due to war, and things were still very unsettled there. My beloved sister was dying from leukemia. And my work in Bible translation was temporarily on hold.

Now I am in a different life phase, actually translating Jeremiah into Nyarafolo with my coworker Moïse. We have not yet reached chapter 45, but the context of the first half of the book builds towards it: chapter after chapter is full of judgment of the rulers and people who are unfaithful to Yahweh their God. Jeremiah is sometimes called “the weeping prophet” for good reason: he wanted to cry fountains of tears (Jeremiah 9:1). It was a tough job he had been given, always relaying God’s messages of coming punishment because of their failure to stay faithful and their blatant wrongdoing.

And then Baruch, his scribe, is suddenly in focus. It’s clear that he and Jeremiah had shared many tough experiences. But most of the time Baruch is in the background, writing what he hears and sees. He is exhausted. It sounds like he not only has burnout but also overwhelming despair. Hope has withered into dust.

What a shock it must have been when suddenly Jeremiah passes on words that Yahweh is saying directly to him, Baruch! He is no longer just an observer and servant! Instead, Yahweh is affirming that he has heard Baruch’s heart:

² “The LORD God of Israel has a message for you, Baruch. ³ ‘You have said, “I feel so hopeless! For the LORD has added sorrow to my suffering. I am worn out from groaning. I can’t find any rest.” (Jer. 45:2-3 NET)

Yahweh’s message was not very comforting. This is what he told Jeremiah:

“Tell Baruch, ‘The LORD says, “I am about to tear down what I have built and to uproot what I have planted. I will do this throughout the whole earth. ⁵ Are you looking for great things for yourself? Do not look for such things. For I, the LORD, affirm that I am about to bring disaster on all humanity. But I will allow you to escape with your life wherever you go.”‘” (Jer. 45:4-5 NET)

Quit looking for peace, prosperity or any great future? Those words were tough, but God gave a little glimmer of hope. There are disasters in which not even the innocent are spared, but the Lord was promising to at least let him live through whatever horrors would come. He was just not to expect to see his world healed. Not in his lifetime.

What has hit home to me is the attention of the Master of the Universe to even people with little personal influence or standing. He hears, he knows what is going on even with those of us in the background. When we are walking with him, he is walking with us through everything swirling around us. No chaos can remove us from his love and attention.

Whatever you are facing these days in your family, community, country or ministry, you are his. Our hope is anchored to just one Person, and he loves us. He knows every single thought we think, every struggle we have and every moment that brings joy. He is loving, even when he is ripping things apart to fulfill his purpose. What we often miss is that his purpose is far greater than our personal expectations and what might finally be resolved in our life span. We need to remember our place in the scheme of things:

Your life is but one thread
appearing briefly, deep inside
the tapestry unfolding
of a nation’s discipline.
Should your desire for golden
resolution, and a spot of honor,
or just rest from all the turmoil,
come first in Yahweh’s plan?
. . . we’re caught inside a wider web
but Yahweh is the weaver.
Enough. I rest.

The  prophecies in Jeremiah are overwhelmingly about judgment, but they do include a promise that eventually there will be restoration. Jeremiah and Baruch did not see that happy day. But they stayed faithful, and their testimony to us is powerful! When the chaos around us wears us out, we need to let the Master of the Universe carry our heart’s burdens while we still continue to do what he gives us to do. It may be to relay messages like Jeremiah and his scribe did—both of their jobs were a part of God’s work. Even those of us who are in the background, doing what he gives us to do out of the limelight, are noticed and loved. He will use us to accomplish his purpose, and eventually his purpose will be accomplished!