Baruch: Building a Legacy in a Crumbling World

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LESSON 13

*December 18 - 24

Baruch: Building a Legacy in a Crumbling World

SABBATH AFTERNOON

Read for This Week's Study:

Isa. 53:1–5; Jer. 7:1–11; 28; 45; Matt. 6:25–34.

Memory Text:

“To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (Isaiah 8:20).

The world, as Baruch knew it, was drawing to a close. Jerusalem and Judah were in their final moments. Assyria, which had dominated the ancient Near East for well over two hundred years, was internally divided, engaged in civil war, and losing its grip on its vassal states. Meanwhile, a new superpower was on the horizon: Babylon. For a little time, Judah had some respite and, under good king Josiah (640-609 B.C.), the nation managed to expand its territory and renew its commitment to the worship of the true God. However, with rapid changes occurring at the end of the seventh century B.C., time was running out for Jerusalem. King Josiah died in battle against the Egyptians (2 Kings 23:29). His sons, reigning after him, did not have the same status as their father, and they rebelled repeatedly against Babylon, a fatal mistake. Finally, in 586 B.C., Jerusalem was taken, the temple destroyed, and many Judeans taken captive. Baruch lived in this time of dramatic change and loss. However, though his world was crumbling, he left a legacy that no king or war could destroy. What can we learn from Baruch, our final background character in the Bible?

*Study this week's lesson to prepare for Sabbath, December 25.