Jeremiah responds to the Lord’s instruction by calling Baruch who “wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the Lord that he had spoken to him." Jeremiah was able to write himself (see Jeremiah 32:10; Jeremiah 51:60) but the size of the scroll meant that he needed the help of a skilled writer1. The fact that Jeremiah is banned from going to the temple, probably because of his confrontation with Pashhur in Jeremiah 20:1–18 or because of his temple sermon in Jeremiah 7:1–34, means that he has to continue his ministry through Baruch. Baruch not only helps Jeremiah write the scroll, but he is to read it to all the people in the Lord’s house on a day of fasting. Baruch was therefore more than just a scribe; he played a vital role in Jeremiah’s ministry. A fast day was normally called because of a great emergency facing the nation (see 1 Samuel 31:13; 2 Samuel 1:12; 2 Chronicles 20:3; Joel 1:14; Joel 2:15)2. The emergency in this case was the Babylonian threat. The reason for reading the scroll to all the people
was, once again, that they may come before the Lord
in repentance and avoid the destruction that is coming because of the Lord’s great anger and wrath.
4 Then Jeremiah called Baruch the son of Neriah, and Baruch wrote on a scroll at the dictation of Jeremiah all the words of the LORD that he had spoken to him.