When they heard all these words, they looked at each other in fear and said to Baruch, "We must report all these words to the king." – Jeremiah 36:16

Today's Scripture Reading (June 4, 2020): Jeremiah 36

Fear has many sources, and sometimes it is hard to tell why we are afraid. I write these words as the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic seemingly begins to lessen, but there is still much to fear. But the reason for that fear is not always as apparent. For some, it is the fear for personal health that is the primary reason to be afraid. The virus kills, especially those who are older or who have certain pre-existing conditions. It is a danger to our very lives and therefore is worthy of our fear. For instance, in the United States, more people were killed by the virus in three months than died in twenty years of the Vietnam War. The comparison, at least to me, is chilling.

But the danger to life is only one of the fears that are present with the novel coronavirus. Another genuine concern is the economic worry that the virus brings. I am afraid of what it means to my financial status and what it means to the economic status of local, regional, and federal governments. There is so much that is unprecedented about our situation. But one of those significant factors is the spending of governments at every level, all of which generates a genuine economic fear.

Another fear is political and what the pandemic might do to political structures. This fear is manifested in the conspiracy theories present in social media. One of the most recent is a theory that suggests that Nancy Pelosi was in Wuhan, China, days after the impeachment attempt failed. The implication is that she had something to do with the manufacture and release of the virus to magnify her personal political career and that of her party. Of course, the careful thinker will quickly realize that the timing is off, and it is likely that the first case of the novel coronavirus was already in the United States before any China visit could have possibly been made. Still, for those caught in the grasp of political fear, maybe the argument is compelling. A couple of weeks ago, I received a phone call from a local political operation wanting me to donate to their cause as they critiqued government spending. My reaction was, "Are you kidding me? You are asking me that question now?"

The leaders in Jerusalem bring Baruch, Jeremiah's secretary, into their presence to have him read the words that Baruch had been reading to the people of Jerusalem concerning the city's fate. And they were scared by the words. But the reason for their fear is a little unclear.

There was no doubt that Jeremiah's words predicting the fall of Jerusalem were scary. Jeremiah did not present a gentle take over of the city by the Babylonians. He described a violent fall of the city and the death or imprisonment of the majority of Jerusalem inhabitants. If you were living in Jerusalem and heard the words, you would have been terrified by them.

But that was not the only fear present for these leaders. After hearing Baruch read all of the words he had written down at the express direction of Jeremiah, they knew that they were going to have to make a report to the King, who was not going to be pleased by what Baruch had been telling the people. The Babylonians presented a genuine fear for their future, but the King threatened their present situation. Those two forces combined to make them very afraid.  

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 37