By Eugene Garner

JEREMIAH - CHAPTER 16

GRIEVOUS TROUBLE AND ULTIMATE REDEMPTION

    In the next five chapters one may behold the intimate workings of the prophetic heart and soul. Often referred to as the "confession" of Jeremiah, it is obvious that the prophet is near unto despair - thinking that death is the only possible solution to his intense suffering.
    It seems evident that the setting is in the days of Jehoiakim whose personal dislike and animosity toward Jeremiah actually encouraged others to seek his life.

    The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, 2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. 3 For thus saith the LORD concerning the sons and concerning the daughters that are born in this place, and concerning their mothers that bare them, and concerning their fathers that begat them in this land; 4 They shall die of grievous deaths; they shall not be lamented; neither shall they be buried; but they shall be as dung upon the face of the earth: and they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine; and their carcases shall be meat for the fowls of heaven, and for the beasts of the earth.

    1. To be denied the privilege of a home and family is a painful experience in any age, but in Jeremiah's day it must have seemed tragic.
      a. Some boys married as early as 14.
      b. All were expected to be married, and in the way of producing children, by the time they were l8 or 20; to be over 20 and unmarried was considered a curse!
      c. Not only was it understood that God wanted men to marry and multiply; one's property could not be held within the family without children.
    2. One of the sacrifices a person has to make in order to be an acceptable servant of God, is the yielding of his own feelings, desires and inclinations to the sovereign will and purpose of His Lord, (Lk. 9:23-24).
    3. But, the divine prohibition is actually rooted in divine love, and is designed to spare Jeremiah deep grief, (vs. 3-4; comp. 1 Cor. 7:26).
      a. Grievous sickness - unto death - awaits the children born in this land and the parents who gave them birth, (vs. 3; comp. 6:11, 21; 15:2, 8).
    b. Unlamented, and unburied, their carcasses will lie, as dung, upon the face of the ground - to be consumed by the birds of heaven and the beasts of the field, (vs. 4; 9:22; 25:33; 44:12, 27; 15:3; 34:20; comp. Isa. 18:6).

    5 For thus saith the LORD, Enter not into the house of mourning, neither go to lament nor bemoan them: for I have taken away my peace from this people, saith the LORD, even lovingkindness and mercies. 6 Both the great and the small shall die in this land: they shall not be buried, neither shall men lament for them, nor cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them: 7 Neither shall men tear themselves for them in mourning, to comfort them for the dead; neither shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or for their mother. 8 Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting, to sit with them to eat and to drink. 9 For thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will cause to cease out of this place in your eyes, and in your days, the voice of mirth, and the voice of gladness, the voice of the bridegroom, and the voice of the bride.

    1. There must be no attempt to comfort the mourning, (vs. 5; comp. Ezek. 24:15-24).
      a. The Lord has withdrawn His peace from them; with that gone it is futile for anyone else to offer them comfort, (vs. 5a; 12:12; 30:5; 15:1-4).
      b. Furthermore, the Lord has withdrawn His loving-kindness and covenant mercy - which has been extended to Israel exclusively, (vs. 5b; 13:14; Isa. 27:11; comp. Psa. 25:6).
    2. It appears from verses 6-7 that none will extend comfort to another because ALL "great and small' (2 Chron. 36:17; comp. Ezek. 9:6) will be bowed down in their own grief.
      a. There will not be leisure for either burial of, or lamentation for, the dead.
      b. Nor will there be opportunity to follow the heathen practices of cutting themselves, or shaving their heads, for the dead - a thing that had been widely practiced in Judah, though forbidden by the Law of Moses, (Lev. 19:28; 21:5; Deut. 14:1; comp. Jer. 41:4-9).
      c. The custom of providing a meal, and a cup of consolation, for mourners - following the funeral rites - will be discontinued, (vs. 7; comp. 2 Sam. 3:35; Ezek. 24:17; Hos. 9:1-4).
    3. The prophet is also forbidden to enter a house of feasting and merriment, (vs. 8-9).
      a. In his day the Lord will cause the shouts of joy and merrymaking to cease in Jerusalem, (7:34; 25:10).
      b. Jerusalem will soon be under siege; even the celebration of marriage will be no cause for festivity - for Judah's prospect for the future is dark indeed!
    4. Thus is Jeremiah to disassociate himself from both the sorrows and joys of his people - a people upon whom the consuming judgment of Jehovah is about to fall! (comp. 2 Cor. 6:17-18).

    10 And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt shew this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath the LORD pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against the LORD our God? 11 Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith the LORD, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; 12 And ye have done worse than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the imagination of his evil heart, that they may not hearken unto me: 13 Therefore will I cast you out of this land into a land that ye know not, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; where I will not shew you favour.

    1. It is obvious that Jeremiah is to inform the people of Judah concerning the divine prohibition that was upon him; verse 10 reveals the exasperation of their startled unbelief.
    a. Why has the Lord pronounced such evil against us? What is our iniquity? or what have we done to cause Him to act like this? (comp. 5:19; 13:22; Deut. 29:24-25; I Kings 9:8-9).
    b. In the blindness of self-deception, they are deeply perplexed.
    2. God has furnished His servant with adequate answers to their inquiries (vs. 11-12; Ezek. 14:12-23).
      a. Their fathers have forsaken Jehovah to walk after, worship and serve other gods - which are no-gods, (5:7-9; Psa. 106:35-41; Ezek. 11:21; comp. I Pet 4:1-3).
      b. They have refused to walk in God's covenant - discarding it in favor of gross idolatry!
      c. The children have done worse than their fathers - walking after the stubbornness of their wicked hearts, and refusing to obey Jehovah's voice, (vs. 12; 7:24-26; 9:14; 13:10; comp. I Sam. 15:23; Eccl. 9:3; Mk. 7:21).
    3. Since they refuse to walk in God's covenant (a rejection of covenant-love), they have forfeited the blessings thereof: they will be delivered up to that which they have deliberately chosen for themselves until they are willing to return to Jehovah with their whole hearts, (vs. 13; Deut. 4:27-31).
      a. They will be cast out of the Land of Promise - taken captive into a land that neither they nor their fathers have known, (15:1; 2 Chron. 7:20-22; Jer. 15:14; 17:4).
      b. There they will have opportunity to serve other gods "day and night," (5:19).
      c. Nor may they expect their rejected Lord to show them any favor, (comp. 5b).
    4. Judah, and men of every nation and age, must learn that "the wages of sin is death"; the only escape is through one's acceptance of the divinely-offered provision, and the willing acknowledgement of the Lord's sovereign claim upon our hearts, our love, our lives and our ALL! (Rom. 6:23; 1 Cor. 6:19-20).

    14 Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that it shall no more be said, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; 15 But, The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them: and I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers. 16 Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks. 17 For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. 18 And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcases of their detestable and abominable things. 19 O LORD, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. 20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? 21 Therefore, behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know mine hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is The LORD.

    1. Wedged between threatenings of imminent judgment is one brief, shining ray of hope: here is the promise of a New Exodus, (vs. 14-15).
      a. It was not unusual for pre-exilic prophets, in their denunciations of national sins and threatenings of inescapable judgment, to intersperse some ray of hope for a brighter future, (comp. Joel 3:18-21; Amos 9:11-15).
      b. The deliverance from Egypt will be eclipsed by a more astounding Exodus from Babylon.
    2. Like fishermen and hunters, the Chaldeans will catch them and take them captive to Babylon, (vs. 16-18; Amos 9:1-4; Hab. 1:15; Ezek. 12:13).
      a. This judgment is of the Lord, from whose eyes Judah has not concealed her iniquity, (vs. 17).
      b. Judah will receive, from the Lord's hand, ADEQUATE (better than "double") recompense for her pollution of His land and inheritance with the carcases of her lifeless and detestable idols that are an abomination to Jehovah, (vs. 18; comp. Lev. 11:24-40; 26-30).
    3. The power of God will yet be revealed, (vs. 19-21).
      a. Jeremiah looks to Jehovah as his "strength, fortress, and refuge" in the day of distress, (vs. 19a; 15:11; comp. Psa. 18:1-2; Isa 25:4).
      b. He sees a coming day (evidently in Messianic times) when the nations will acknowledge the bankruptcy of their idols and turn to Jehovah, (vs. 19b; see 3:17; 4:2).
      c. The "no-gods" which the fathers have inherited, to "no profit," will soon be revealed as "lies," (vs. 19c-20; 2:11; 5:7; Psa. 115:4-8; Isa 37:18-19; Jer. 10:14; Isa. 44-20; Hab. 2:18-20).
      d. The judgment about to be executed will not be futile or meaningless; it will result in a universal recognition of the authority of Jehovah - the self-existent, ever-living and sovereign LORD OF ALL! (vs. 21; Psa. 9:16; 83:17-18; Amos 5:4-9).