Jeremiah 16

Jeremiah 16 reflects God’s instruction to Jeremiah about the impending disaster for Judah. God commands him not to marry or have children due to the severe judgment coming upon the nation. Jeremiah is told to avoid mourning or participating in joyous gatherings, symbolizing the desolation and removal of God’s blessings. This chapter highlights the inevitability of judgment due to the people’s idolatry, with future restoration only hinted at. The chapter emphasizes God's sorrow over Judah's stubbornness and the need for repentance.

Jeremiah 16:1-10 (NKJV)
1 The word of the Lord also came to me, saying,
2 “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.”
3 For thus says the Lord concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land:
4 “They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”
5 For thus says the Lord: “Do not enter the house of mourning, nor go to lament or bemoan them; for I have taken away My peace from this people,” says the Lord, “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, cut themselves, nor make themselves bald for them.
7 Nor shall men break bread in mourning for them, to comfort them for the dead; nor shall men give them the cup of consolation to drink for their father or their mother.
8 Also you shall not go into the house of feasting to sit with them, to eat and drink.”
9 For thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will cause to cease from this place, before 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.
10 “And it shall be, when you show this people all these words, and they say to you, ‘Why has the Lord pronounced all this great disaster against us? Or what is our iniquity? Or what is our sin that we have committed against the Lord our God?’

God instructs Jeremiah not to marry or have children, symbolizing the devastation to come. The offspring of the land will suffer gruesome deaths, and there will be no customary mourning for the dead. The Lord withdraws His peace and compassion, allowing famine and the sword to take lives indiscriminately. Funeral customs and mourning rituals are forbidden, signifying the depth of God’s judgment. The ban on feasting reflects the loss of joy, while the absence of bridal celebrations highlights a bleak future. When the people question this judgment, it reveals their unawareness of their sin.

Jeremiah 16:11-13 (NKJV)
11 Then you shall say to them, “Because your fathers have forsaken Me,” says the Lord; “they have walked after other gods and have served them and worshiped them, and have forsaken Me and not kept My law.
12 And you have done worse than your fathers, for behold, each one follows the dictates of his own evil heart, so that no one listens to Me.
13 Therefore I will cast you out of this land into a land that you do not know, neither you nor your fathers; and there you shall serve other gods day and night, where I will not show you favor.”

God answers their question through Jeremiah: the coming disaster is due to the people forsaking Him for other gods, worsening with each generation. Unlike their forefathers, they persistently follow their own evil desires, disregarding God’s law. Consequently, God will exile them to a foreign land where they will be forced to serve false gods and will receive no mercy from Him.

Jeremiah 16:14-15 (NKJV)
14 “Therefore behold, the days are coming,” says the Lord, “that it shall no more be said, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of Egypt,’
15 but, ‘The Lord lives who brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had driven them.’ For I will bring them back into their land which I gave to their fathers.

God promises future restoration, shifting the emphasis from the exodus from Egypt to a new deliverance from captivity in the north. This return will be a sign of His enduring covenant, providing hope for restoration despite current judgment. God’s mercy will eventually bring the people back to their homeland.

Jeremiah 16:16-18 (NKJV)
16 “Behold, I will send for many fishermen,” says the Lord, “and they shall fish them; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain and every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.
17 For My eyes are on all their ways; they are not hidden from My face, nor is their iniquity hidden from My eyes.
18 And first I will repay double for their iniquity and their sin, because they have defiled My land; they have filled My inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable idols.”

God metaphorically describes sending “fishermen” and “hunters” to capture the people, showing His thoroughness in pursuing justice. No one can hide from His sight, as He is fully aware of their sins. The people’s defilement through idolatry and abominations will be met with doubled recompense, underscoring the severity of their actions and God’s determined response.

Jeremiah 16:19-21 (NKJV)
19 O Lord, my strength and my fortress, My refuge in the day of affliction, The Gentiles shall come to You From the ends of the earth and say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, Worthlessness and unprofitable things.”
20 Will a man make gods for himself, Which are not gods?
21 “Therefore behold, I will this once cause them to know, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; And they shall know that My name is the Lord.

Jeremiah acknowledges God as his refuge and strength, foreseeing a day when even the Gentiles will recognize the futility of their inherited idols. They will question the worth of man-made gods. God responds by affirming that He will reveal His power, leaving no doubt that He is the true God. This revelation serves as both a warning and a promise of eventual acknowledgment of God’s sovereignty among all nations.