jeremiah forbidden to marry; to mourn, or to...

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Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry; to Mourn, or to Feast

The Lord Promises Exile (But Also Restoration)

Jeremiah 16:1-21

Landmark Publications, Inc., 1045 Maynor Avenue, Nashville, TN 37216, U.S.A., John C. Sewell, Ph.D., Editor.


Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry; to Mourn, or to Feast

The Lord Promises Exile (But Also Restoration) Text: Jeremiah 16:1-21, 1. The Lord said to me, 2. “Do not get married and do not have children here in this land. 3. For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers. 4. They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals. 5. “Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: ‘Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it! 6. Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. 7. No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother. 8. “‘Do not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either. 9. For I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, tell you what will happen. I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.’”



10. “When you tell these people about all this, they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’ 11. Then tell them that the Lord says, ‘It is because your ancestors rejected me and paid allegiance to other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law. 12. And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors! Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me. 13. So I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have ever known. There you must worship other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.’” 14. Yet I, the Lord, say: “A new time will certainly come. People now affirm their oaths with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.’ 15. But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’ At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.” 16. But for now I, the Lord, say: “I will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks. 17. For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it. 18. Before I restore them I will punish them in full for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own with their detestable idols.” 19. Then I said, “Lord, you give me strength and protect me. You are the one I can run to for safety when I am in trouble. Nations from all over the earth will come to you and say, ‘Our ancestors had



nothing but false gods— worthless idols that could not help them at all. 20. Can people make their own gods? No, what they make are not gods at all.” 21. The Lord said, “So I will now let this wicked people know— I will let them know my mighty power in judgment. Then they will know that my name is the Lord.” (NET) Introduction: I. Hamilton wrote, “This section contains instructions to Jeremiah from Yahweh. They deal with: . . .

A. his personal situation (16:1-13).

B. prophetic messages he is to deliver to the people (16:14-18).

C. warnings and exhortations in poetic form (16:19-17:18). II. Henderson via Coffman outlined this chapter as follows:

A. Jeremiah forbidden to marry and have a family (verses 1-2).

B. God’s explanation for this prohibition (verses 2-4).

C. Funeral celebrations also forbidden (verses 5-7).

D. Festival celebrations likewise prohibited (verses 8-9).

E. God’s further elaboration of the reasons for such penalties (verses 10-13).

F. A prophecy of Israel’s restoration (verses 14-15).

G. The metaphor of the hunters and fishers (verses 16-18).



H. Prophecy of the conversion of the Gentiles (verses 19-20).

I. A reiteration of the certainty of impending doom for Judah (verse 21).

III. The events addressed in this chapter, as is true of other passages in the book of Jeremiah, are not necessarily arranged in chronological order.

A. Kuist via Coffman speaks of the “patchwork construction” of this chapter.

B. Jeremiah preached and what he said was later placed in written form, but not necessarily in chronological order.

C. Coffman reminds us that this in no way effects the book’s integrity and authenticity.

Commentary:

Jeremiah Forbidden to Marry; to Mourn, or to Feast Jeremiah 16:1, The Lord said to me, (NET) I. The Lord said to me, . . .

A. “The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, . . .” (NKJV)

B. These words from the Lord in verses 1-18 speak to how horrible Jerusalem’s suffering and destruction would be!

Jeremiah 16:2, “Do not get married and do not have children here in this land. (NET)



I. “Do not get married and do not have children born here in this land.

A. God commanded Jeremiah not to marry and not to have children.

1. Jeremiah was to live a single, celibate life.

a. 1 Corinthians 7:26, Because of the impending crisis I think it best for you to remain as you are. (NET)

b. Hosea 9:9, They have sunk deep into corruption as in the days of Gibeah. He will remember their wrongdoing. He will repay them for their sins. (NET)

2. While this may have added to his loneliness, it would have protected Jeremiah from the sorrows associated with the coming disasters. (See Smith.)

3. Willis wrote that Jeremiah was not to marry or father children as a sign to his audience that there is no hope for any families who remain in Judah.

a. The destruction of Jerusalem was inevitable!

B. Coffman quoting Feinburg wrote this command for Jeremiah not to marry nor have children must have come as a shock and surprise to the prophet.

1. Barnes via Coffman said, “Marriage was obligatory among the Jews; and the prohibition of it to Jeremiah was a sign that the impending calamity was so great as to override all ordinary duties.”



C. This command was necessary because it would be very inconvenient to have a family when the Babylonians attacked Jerusalem, Clarke wrote.

Jeremiah 16:3, For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers. (NET) I. For I, the Lord, tell you what will happen to the children who are born here in this land and to the men and women who are their mothers and fathers.

A. The phrase, “In this land,” refers to the entire land of Judah. (Henderson via Coffman)

Jeremiah 16:4, They will die of deadly diseases. No one will mourn for them. They will not be buried. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground. They will be killed in war or die of starvation. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals. (NET) I. They will die of deadly (grievous) diseases.

A. Their deaths would be premature. (Clarke)

1. Jeremiah 14:16, The people to whom they are prophesying will die through war and famine. Their bodies will be thrown out into the streets of Jerusalem and there will be no one to bury them. This will happen to the men and their wives, their sons, and their daughters. For I will pour out on them the destruction they deserve.” (NET)



B. These deaths by grievous diseases remind us of the bubonic Plague (Black Death) that killed millions in Europe in 1347-1350 A.D.

1. Disease has always struck fear in the hearts of mankind.

II. No one will mourn for them.

A. How sad, for a person, here a nation, to have lived in such a way that not even one person would mourn for them when they die.

1. This scribe has known a very few people, buried in a pauper’s graveyard, who were laid to rest in a cardboard box with only city employees present to dig the grave and a chaplain to read the twenty-third Psalm and say the Lord’s prayer.

III. They will not be buried.

A. Related references:

1. Jeremiah 8:2, They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. These are things they adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. (NET)

2. Jeremiah 14:6, Wild donkeys stand on the hilltops and pant for breath like jackals. Their eyes are strained looking for food, because there is none to be found.” (NET)



3. Jeremiah 7:33, Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals to eat. There will not be any survivors to scare them away. (NET)

B. To the ancient Hebrews, this was a horrible thing; that is, not to be buried with honor.

IV. Their dead bodies will lie like manure spread on the ground.

A. Jeremiah 8:2, They will be spread out and exposed to the sun, the moon and the stars. These are things they adored and served, things to which they paid allegiance, from which they sought guidance, and worshiped. The bones of these people will never be regathered and reburied. They will be like manure used to fertilize the ground. (NET)

B. Talking about disgrace and a huge dishonor!

1. . . . dead bodies scattered over the ground like manure in a pasture.

V. They will be killed in war or die of starvation.

A. There was no point in Jeremiah’s raising a family only to have them butchered in the frightful carnage about to be loosed upon the inhabitants of Judah, Holley asked.

VI. Their corpses will be food for the birds and wild animals.

A. Relevant references:

1. 1 Samuel 31:11-13, When the residents of Jabesh Gilead heard what the Philistines had done to Saul, all their warriors set out and traveled throughout the night.



They took Saul’s corpse and the corpses of his sons from the city wall of Beth Shan and went to Jabesh, where they burned them. They took the bones and buried them under the tamarisk tree at Jabesh; then they fasted for seven days. (NET)

2. 2 Samuel 21:8-14, So the king took Armoni and Mephibosheth, the two sons of Aiah’s daughter Rizpah whom she had born to Saul, and the five sons of Saul’s daughter Merab whom she had born to Adriel the son of Barzillai the Meholathite. He turned them over to the Gibeonites, and they executed them on a hill before the Lord. The seven of them died together; they were put to death during harvest time—during the first days of the beginning of the barley harvest. Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain fell on them, she did not allow the birds of the air to feed on them by day, nor the wild animals by night. When David was told what Rizpah daughter of Aiah, Saul’s concubine, had done, he went and took the bones of Saul and of his son Jonathan from the leaders of Jabesh Gilead. (They had secretly taken them from the plaza at Beth Shan. It was there that Philistines publicly exposed their corpses after they had killed Saul at Gilboa.) David brought the bones of Saul and of Jonathan his son from there; they also gathered up the bones of those who had been executed. They buried the bones of Saul and his son Jonathan in the land of Benjamin at Zela in the grave of his father Kish. After they had done everything that the king had commanded, God responded to their prayers for the land. (NET)



3. Deuteronomy 28:26, Your carcasses will be food for every bird of the sky and wild animal of the earth, and there will be no one to chase them off. (NET)

4. 1 Samuel 17:41-47, The Philistine kept coming closer to David, with his shield bearer walking in front of him. When the Philistine looked carefully at David, he despised him, for he was only a ruddy and handsome boy. The Philistine said to David, “Am I a dog, that you are coming after me with sticks?” Then the Philistine cursed David by his gods. The Philistine said to David, “Come here to me, so I can give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the field!” But David replied to the Philistine, “You are coming against me with sword and spear and javelin. But I am coming against you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel’s armies, whom you have defied! This very day the Lord will deliver you into my hand! I will strike you down and cut off your head. This day I will give the corpses of the Philistine army to the birds of the sky and the wild animals of the land. Then all the land will realize that Israel has a God and all this assembly will know that it is not by sword or spear that the Lord saves! For the battle is the Lord’s, and he will deliver you into our hand.” (NET)

5. 2 Samuel 21:10, Rizpah the daughter of Aiah took sackcloth and spread it out for herself on a rock. From the beginning of the harvest until the rain fell on them, she did not allow the birds of the air to feed on them by day, nor the wild animals by night. (NET)

6. Jeremiah 7:33, Then the dead bodies of these people will be left on the ground for the birds and wild animals



to eat. There will not be any survivors to scare them away. (NET)

7. Jeremiah 19:7, In this place I will thwart the plans of the people of Judah and Jerusalem. I will deliver them over to the power of their enemies who are seeking to kill them. They will die by the sword at the hands of their enemies. I will make their dead bodies food for the birds and wild beasts to eat. (NET)

Jeremiah 16:5, “Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: ‘Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them. For I have stopped showing them my good favor, my love, and my compassion. I, the Lord, so affirm it! (NET) I. “Moreover I, the Lord, tell you: . . .

A. Repeatedly the text specifies exactly what the Lord said and assures the readers that it is spoken and recorded correctly.

II. ‘Do not go into a house where they are having a funeral meal. Do not go there to mourn and express your sorrow for them.

A. Jeremiah was not to participate in or be present for festive occasions, social gatherings, funerals or funeral meals to emphasize the sad days of anguish awaiting them. (See Smith.)

1. Ezekiel 24:15-27, The word of Lord came to me: “Son of man, realize that I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a jolt, but you must not mourn or weep or shed tears. 17 Groan in silence for the dead, but do not perform mourning rites. Bind on your turban and put your sandals on your feet. Do not cover your lip and do not eat food brought by others.” So I spoke to the



people in the morning, and my wife died in the evening. In the morning I acted just as I was commanded. Then the people said to me, “Will you not tell us what these things you are doing mean for us?” So I said to them: “The word of the Lord came to me: Say to the house of Israel, ‘This is what the sovereign Lord says: Realize I am about to desecrate my sanctuary—the source of your confident pride, the object in which your eyes delight, and your life’s passion. Your very own sons and daughters whom you have left behind will die by the sword. Then you will do as I have done: You will not cover your lip or eat food brought by others. Your turbans will be on your heads and your sandals on your feet; you will not mourn or weep, but you will rot for your iniquities and groan among yourselves. Ezekiel will be an object lesson for you; you will do all that he has done. When it happens, then you will know that I am the sovereign Lord.’ “And you, son of man, this is what will happen on the day I take from them their stronghold—their beautiful source of joy, the object in which their eyes delight, and the main concern of their lives, as well as their sons and daughters: On that day a fugitive will come to you to report the news. On that day you will be able to speak again; you will talk with the fugitive and be silent no longer. You will be an object lesson for them, and they will know that I am the Lord.” (NET)

B. Willis wrote, “ . . . traditional funeral rites will not be observed in the days ahead. There will be no mourning of the dead, no show of sympathy, no burial, no disfigurement to express one’s grief, no meals in honor of the deceased.”

1. 1 Kings 18:23, Let them bring us two bulls. Let them choose one of the bulls for themselves, cut it up into pieces, and place it on the wood. But they must not set it



on fire. I will do the same to the other bull and place it on the wood. But I will not set it on fire. (NET)

2. Jeremiah 5:7, The Lord asked, “How can I leave you unpunished, Jerusalem? Your people have rejected me and have worshiped gods that are not gods at all. Even though I supplied all their needs, they were like an unfaithful wife to me. They went flocking to the houses of prostitutes. (NET)

C. Clarke explained, “The public calamities are too great to permit individual losses to come into consideration.”

III. For I have stopped *showing them my good favor, my love, and my compassion.

A. *NET Footnote: Hebrew my peace

B. God had withdrawn his love and peace from the people. (See Willis.)

1. Hosea 1:6, She conceived again and gave birth to a daughter. Then the Lord said to him, “Name her ‘No Pity’ (Lo-Ruhamah) because I will no longer have pity on the nation of Israel. For I will certainly not forgive their guilt. (NET)

2. Coffman rightly wrote, “It is a serious and terrible thing indeed for God to remove his peace from any person or from any nation.”

IV. I, the Lord, so affirm it!

A. Again, it is made absolutely clear what the Lord said and that God affirmed it was true.



1. How could anything be more trustworthy than that.

2. It is made perfectly clear what God said and what he did not say.

Jeremiah 16:6, Rich and poor alike will die in this land. They will not be buried or mourned. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair to show their grief for them. (NET) I. Rich and poor alike will die in this land.

A. Sinners, even rich ones, could not buy their way out of the devastation that would befall them.

II. They will not be buried or mourned.

A. Jeremiah quoting the Lord repeats this fact telling of the humiliation, disgrace and dishonor which would befall them.

III. People will not cut their bodies or shave off their hair* to show their grief for them.

A. “NET Footnote: Apparently pagan customs associated with mourning.

1. Isaiah 15:2, They went up to the temple, the people of Dibon went up to the high places to lament. Because of what happened to Nebo and Medeba, Moab wails. Every head is shaved bare, every beard is trimmed off. (NET)

2. Jeremiah 47:5, The people of Gaza will shave their heads in mourning. The people of Ashkelon will be struck dumb. How long will you gash yourselves to show your sorrow, you who remain of Philistia’s power? (NET)



B. This is a reference to pagan customs which were strictly forbidden in Israel, but were evidently widely practiced among the Israelites.

1. Leviticus 19:28, You must not slash your body for a dead person or incise a tattoo on yourself. I am the Lord. (NET)

2. Leviticus 2:5, If your offering is a grain offering made on the griddle, it must be choice wheat flour mixed with olive oil, unleavened. (NET)

3. Deuteronomy 14:1, You are children of the Lord your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave your forehead bald for the sake of the dead. (NET)

4. Jeremiah 41:5, eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves to show they were mourning. They were carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. (NET)


6. Ezekiel 7:18, They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all of their heads will be shaved bald. (NET)

7. Amos 8:10, I will turn your festivals into funerals, and all your songs into funeral dirges. I will make everyone



wear funeral clothes and cause every head to be shaved bald. I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. (NET)

8. Micah 1:16, Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; shave your foreheads as bald as an eagle, for they are taken from you into exile. (NET)

9. Leviticus 21:5, Priests must not have a bald spot shaved on their head, they must not shave the corner of their beard, and they must not cut slashes in their body. (NET)

10. Jeremiah 41:5, eighty men arrived from Shechem, Shiloh, and Samaria. They had shaved off their beards, torn their clothes, and cut themselves to show they were mourning. They were carrying grain offerings and incense to present at the temple of the Lord in Jerusalem. (NET)


12. Isaiah 22:12, At that time the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, called for weeping and mourning, for shaved heads and sackcloth. (NET)

13. Amos 8:10, I will turn your festivals into funerals, and all your songs into funeral dirges. I will make everyone wear funeral clothes and cause every head to be shaved bald. I will make you mourn as if you had lost your only son; when it ends it will indeed have been a bitter day. (NET)



14. Micah 1:16, Shave your heads bald as you mourn for the children you love; shave your foreheads as bald as an eagle, for they are taken from you into exile. (NET)

15. Ezekiel 7:18, They will wear sackcloth, terror will cover them; shame will be on all their faces, and all of their heads will be shaved bald. (NET)

Jeremiah 16:7, No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother. (NET) I. No one will take any food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them.

A. Taking food to those who have suffered the loss of a loved one was an ancient custom which continues to the present time.

II. No one will give them any wine to drink to console them for the loss of their father or mother.

A. Coffman wrote, “The cup of consolation was given to the mourners on the completion of their fast; and the significance of the statement here is that not even for father or mother were such rituals to be observed.”

1. Clarke wrote, “ . . . the cup of consolation was strong mingled wine which was given to those who were deepest in distress, to divert their minds and to soothe their sorrows.

B. The Pulpit Commentary states, “The Jews had a conception of the nature of the life of the other world only less distinct than that of their Egyptian neighbors.”



1. The funeral feast was not merely for the living, but for the dead.

2. Indeed, it was primarily intended for the spiritual nourishment of those who had gone before to the unseen world.”

Jeremiah 16:8, “‘Do not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either. (NET) I. ‘“Do not go to a house where people are feasting and sit down to eat and drink with them either.

A. Occasions of joy would also cease. (See Willis.)

1. Jeremiah 7:34, I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, or the glad celebration of brides and grooms throughout the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. For the whole land will become a desolate wasteland.” (NET)

2. Jeremiah 25:10, I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in these lands. I will put an end to the sound of people grinding meal. I will put an end to lamps shining in their houses. (NET)

3. Jeremiah 33:11, Once again there will be sounds of joy and gladness and the glad celebrations of brides and grooms. Once again people will bring their thank offerings to the temple of the Lord and will say, “Give thanks to the Lord who rules over all. For the Lord is good and his unfailing love lasts forever.” For I, the Lord, affirm that I will restore the land to what it was in days of old.’ (NET)



B. These prohibitions removed practically all of the social duties that pertained to Jeremiah. (Coffman)

Jeremiah 16:9, For I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, tell you what will happen. I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.’” (NET) I. For I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, tell you what will happen.

A. God knows the future as if it were the past.

1. Certain things the Lord reveals and other things the Lord keeps in his own counsels.

II. I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, to the glad celebration of brides and grooms in this land.

A. In view of the coming devastation, all sounds of joy and gladness generally associated with weddings would vanish from the land.

1. Jeremiah 7:34, I will put an end to the sounds of joy and gladness, or the glad celebration of brides and grooms throughout the towns of Judah and the streets of Jerusalem. For the whole land will become a desolate wasteland.” (NET)

III. You and the rest of the people will live to see this happen.’”

A. These events would occur in the near future, during the life times of Jeremiah and the rest of the people then living.



The Lord Promises Exile (But Also Restoration) Jeremiah 16:10, “When you tell these people about all this, they will undoubtedly ask you, ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?’ (NET) I. “When you tell these people about all this, they will undoubtedly ask you, . . .

A. The rationale for these edicts is herewith provided in verses 10-13.

II. ‘Why has the Lord threatened us with such great disaster? What wrong have we done? What sin have we done to offend the Lord our God?

A. Jeremiah’s message was unpopular in that it condemned the people to whom he was preaching and foretold the horrors which would befall them because of their sinful living. (See Smith.)

B. These sinners of Judah and Jerusalem denied having done anything wrong. They denied having done anything to offend the Lord.

1. How could they possibly have been unaware of their wickedness?

2. Were they hypocrites, liars who were simply denying their sinfulness?

3. This reminds a person of a mass murderer, a serial killer who pleads innocent to all charges.



Jeremiah 16:11, Then tell them that the Lord says, ‘It is because your ancestors rejected me and paid allegiance to other gods. They have served them and worshiped them. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law. (NET) I. Then tell them that the Lord says, ‘It is because your ancestors* rejected me and paid allegiance to other gods. They have served them and worshipped them.

A. NET footnote: Hebrew fathers.

1. See this term as used in verses 12, 13, 15, 17.

2. Jeremiah 17:22-23, Do not carry any loads out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath day. But observe the Sabbath day as a day set apart to the Lord, as I commanded your ancestors. Your ancestors, however, did not listen to me or pay any attention to me. They stubbornly refused to pay attention or to respond to any discipline.’ (NET)

3. Jeremiah 19:4, I will do so because these people have rejected me and have defiled this place. They have offered sacrifices in it to other gods which neither they nor their ancestors nor the kings of Judah knew anything about. They have filled it with the blood of innocent children. (NET)

B. Hebrew ancestors had been sternly warned of sinfully rejecting God and serving idols.

1. Deuteronomy 29:25-28, Then people will say, “Because they abandoned the covenant of the Lord, the God of their ancestors, which he made with them when he brought them out of the land of Egypt. They went and



served other gods and worshiped them, gods they did not know and that he did not permit them to worship. That is why the Lord’s anger erupted against this land, bringing on it all the curses written in this scroll. So the Lord has uprooted them from their land in anger, wrath, and great rage and has deported them to another land, as is clear today.” (NET)

2. Joshua 24:16, 19-20, The people responded, “Far be it from us to abandon the Lord so we can worship other gods! Joshua warned the people, “You will not keep worshiping the Lord, for he is a holy God. He is a jealous God who will not forgive your rebellion or your sins. If you abandon the Lord and worship foreign gods, he will turn against you; he will bring disaster on you and destroy you, though he once treated you well.” (NET)

3. 1 Kings 9:9, Others will then answer, ‘Because they abandoned the Lord their God, who led their ancestors out of Egypt. They embraced other gods whom they worshiped and served. That is why the Lord has brought all this disaster down on them.’” (NET)

C. In view of these sinful behaviors, God was justified in punishing evildoers.

1. Judges 2:10-15, That entire generation passed away; a new generation grew up that had not personally experienced the Lord’s presence or seen what he had done for Israel. The Israelites did evil before the Lord by worshiping the Baals. They abandoned the Lord God of their ancestors who brought them out of the land of Egypt. They followed other gods—the gods of the nations who lived around them. They worshiped them and made the Lord angry. They abandoned the Lord and worshiped



Baal and the Ashtoreths. The Lord was furious with Israel and handed them over to robbers who plundered them. He turned them over to their enemies who lived around them. They could not withstand their enemies’ attacks. Whenever they went out to fight, the Lord did them harm, just as he had warned and solemnly vowed he would do. They suffered greatly. (NET)

2. 2 Kings 17:7, 16, This happened because the Israelites sinned against the Lord their God, who brought them up from the land of Egypt and freed them from the power of Pharaoh king of Egypt. They worshiped other gods; They abandoned all the commandments of the Lord their God; they made two metal calves and an Asherah pole, bowed down to all the stars in the sky, and worshiped Baal. (NET)

II. But they have rejected me and not obeyed my law.

A. They had stubbornly refused to listen to God! They certainly did not obey him. (See Willis.)

1. Jeremiah 7:25, From the time your ancestors departed the land of Egypt until now, I sent my servants the prophets to you again and again, day after day. (NET)

2. Jeremiah 25:4, Over and over again the Lord has sent his servants the prophets to you. But you have not listened or paid attention. (NET)

3. Jeremiah 26:5, You must pay attention to the exhortations of my servants the prophets. I have sent them to you over and over again. But you have not paid any attention to them. (NET)



4. Jeremiah 29:19, For they have not paid attention to what I said to them through my servants the prophets whom I sent to them over and over again,’ says the Lord. ‘And you exiles have not paid any attention to them either,’ says the Lord. (NET)

5. Jeremiah 35:15, I sent all my servants the prophets to warn you over and over again. They said, “Every one of you, stop doing the evil things you have been doing and do what is right. Do not pay allegiance to other gods and worship them. Then you can continue to live in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.” But you did not pay any attention or listen to me. (NET)

6. Jeremiah 44:4, I sent my servants the prophets to you people over and over again warning you not to do this disgusting thing I hate. (NET)

7. 2 Kings 17:13-14, The Lord solemnly warned Israel and Judah through all his prophets and all the seers, “Turn back from your evil ways; obey my commandments and rules that are recorded in the law. I ordered your ancestors to keep this law and sent my servants the prophets to remind you of its demands.” But they did not pay attention and were as stubborn as their ancestors, who had not trusted the Lord their God. (NET)

B. Both these people and their ancestors had sinned grievously against God, that present generation being even more wicked than their fore-fathers. (See Coffman.)

Jeremiah 16:12, And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors! Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me. (NET)



I. And you have acted even more wickedly than your ancestors!

A. Judah’s ancestors had sinned grievously, but Jeremiah’s generation was even more wicked than their forebears.

1. How much good do you think it will do you at the judgment to tell the Lord, “That other fellow is a worse sinner than I am?”

II. Each one of you has followed the stubborn inclinations of your own wicked heart and not obeyed me.

A. That present generation was worse than their ancestors in regard to the stubbornness of their evil hearts. (Willis)

1. Jeremiah 9:14, Instead they have followed the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts. They have paid allegiance to the gods called Baal, as their fathers taught them to do. (NET)

2. Jeremiah 11:8, But they did not listen to me or pay any attention to me! Each one of them followed the stubborn inclinations of his own wicked heart. So I brought on them all the punishments threatened in the covenant because they did not carry out its terms as I commanded them to do.’” (NET)

3. Jeremiah 13:10, These wicked people refuse to obey what I have said. They follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts and pay allegiance to other gods by worshiping and serving them. So they will become just like these linen shorts which are good for nothing. (NET)



4. Jeremiah 18:12, But they just keep saying, ‘We do not care what you say! We will do whatever we want to do! We will continue to behave wickedly and stubbornly!’” (NET)

5. Jeremiah 23:17, They continually say to those who reject what the Lord has said, ‘Things will go well for you!’ They say to all those who follow the stubborn inclinations of their own hearts, ‘Nothing bad will happen to you!’ (NET)

6. Psalm 81:12, I gave them over to their stubborn desires; they did what seemed right to them. (NET)

7. Jeremiah 3:17, At that time the city of Jerusalem will be called the Lord’s throne. All nations will gather there in Jerusalem to honor the Lord’s name. They will no longer follow the stubborn inclinations of their own evil hearts. (NET)

Jeremiah 16:13, So I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have ever known. There you must worship other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.’” (NET) I. So I will throw you out of this land into a land that neither you nor your ancestors have ever known.

A. Judah will be forcefully thrown out of the land of Palestine.

1. This references placing a stone in a sling, hurling it around and around before releasing it. (Coffman)

2. God’s Once Chosen People were violently removed from the land. (Coffman)



B. Related References:

1. Jeremiah 7:15, And I will drive you out of my sight just like I drove out your relatives, the people of Israel.’” (NET)

2. Jeremiah 9:15, So then, listen to what I, the Lord God of Israel who rules over all, say. ‘I will make these people eat the bitter food of suffering and drink the poison water of judgment. (NET)

II. There you must worship other gods day and night, for I will show you no mercy.’”

A. This sentence is filled with irony saying in effect, “You are being exiled to Babylon because of your worship of idols. When you get to Babylon, you can worship their idols day and night as much as you wish.” (See Coffman.)

B. The captive exiles suffering in Babylon, there because of their sins, could expect no help, mercy from God for the relief of their distress. (See The Pulpit Commentary.)

Jeremiah 16:14, Yet I, the Lord, say: “A new time will certainly come. People now affirm their oaths with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel out of Egypt.’ (NET) I. Yet I, the Lord, say: . . .

A. Compare the text of Jeremiah 16:14-15 with Jeremiah 23:7-8.

1. Jeremiah 23:7-8, “So I, the Lord, say: ‘A new time will certainly come. People now affirm their oaths with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people



of Israel out of Egypt.” But at that time they will affirm them with “I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the descendants of the former nation of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.” At that time they will live in their own land.’” (NET)

2. Hebrews 1:1-3, in various ways to our ancestors through the prophets, 2 in these last days he has spoken to us in a son, whom he appointed heir of all things, and through whom he created the world. 3 The Son is the radiance of his glory and the representation of his essence, and he sustains all things by his powerful word, and so when he had accomplished cleansing for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high. (NET)

II. “A new time will certainly come. People now affirm their oaths with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people out of Egypt!’

A. God promised that after the horrors of the Babylonian conquest and captivity, things would begin to improve and faithful survivors would return to Canaan.

B. These encouraging words among so many discouraging ones were certainly an encouragement to the people of Judah and Jerusalem.

1. Willis wrote, “For years, the Lord’s spokesman had promoted confidence in the Lord by referring to his great acts in the Exodus. He now promises them that they have something even greater to which they can look forward – their return to the Promised Land after Exile.”



Jeremiah 16:15, But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’ At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.” (NET) I. But in that time they will affirm them with ‘I swear as surely as the Lord lives who delivered the people of Israel from the land of the north and from all the other lands where he had banished them.’

A. God here firmly and clearly promised the return of the exiles to the Promised Land.

B. Promises of blessings sometimes are positioned immediately after threatenings of disasters, punishments.

1. Isaiah 10:23-24, The sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, is certainly ready to carry out the decreed destruction throughout the land. So here is what the sovereign master, the Lord who commands armies, says: “My people who live in Zion, do not be afraid of Assyria, even though they beat you with a club and lift their cudgel against you as Egypt did. (NET)

II. At that time I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors.”

A. Dummelow via Coffman cites this as an example of Jeremiah’s alternating good news with bad.

1. Jeremiah 3:14, “Come back to me, my wayward sons,” says the Lord, “for I am your true master. If you do, I will take one of you from each town and two of you from each family group, and I will bring you back to Zion. (NET)



2. Jeremiah 4:27, All this will happen because the Lord said, “The whole land will be desolate; however, I will not completely destroy it. (NET)

3. Jeremiah 5:10, 18, The Lord commanded the enemy, “March through the vineyards of Israel and Judah and ruin them. But do not destroy them completely. Strip off their branches for these people do not belong to the Lord. (NET)

4. Jeremiah 30:3, For I, the Lord, affirm that the time will come when I will reverse the plight of my people, Israel and Judah,’ says the Lord. ‘I will bring them back to the land I gave their ancestors and they will take possession of it once again.’” (NET)

5. Jeremiah 32:27, “I am the Lord, the God of all humankind. There is, indeed, nothing too difficult for me. (NET)

6. Joel 3:18-21, At that time the nation of Judah and the nation of Israel will be reunited. Together they will come back from a land in the north to the land that I gave to your ancestors as a permanent possession.” “I thought to myself, ‘Oh what a joy it would be for me to treat you like a son! What a joy it would be for me to give you a pleasant land, the most beautiful piece of property there is in all the world!’ I thought you would call me, ‘Father’ and would never cease being loyal to me. But, you have been unfaithful to me, nation of Israel, like an unfaithful wife who has left her husband,” says the Lord. “A noise is heard on the hilltops. It is the sound of the people of Israel crying and pleading to their gods. Indeed they have followed sinful ways; they have forgotten to be true to the Lord their God. (NET)



7. Amos 9:11-15, “In that day I will rebuild the collapsing hut of David. I will seal its gaps, repair its ruins, and restore it to what it was like in days gone by. As a result they will conquer those left in Edom and all the nations subject to my rule.” The Lord, who is about to do this, is speaking! “Be sure of this, the time is coming,” says the Lord, “when the plowman will catch up to the reaper and the one who stomps the grapes will overtake the planter. Juice will run down the slopes, it will flow down all the hillsides. I will bring back my people, Israel; they will rebuild the cities lying in rubble and settle down. They will plant vineyards and drink the wine they produce; they will grow orchards and eat the fruit they produce. I will plant them on their land and they will never again be uprooted from the land I have given them,” (NET)

B. As God delivered the Israelites from Egyptian slavery, so he would deliver the exiles from Babylonian captivity. (See Clarke.)

Jeremiah 16:16, But for now I, the Lord, say: “I will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks. (NET) I. But for now I, the Lord, say: . . .

A. There is no doubt about what Jehovah said and what he did not say.

1. There is no question about what God said and what someone else said.

II. “I will send many enemies who will catch these people like fishermen.



A. The many Babylonian enemies would catch the people of Judah and Jerusalem as if they were fish.

1. This is a figure of the thorough and complete destruction Babylon would bring upon Judah. (See Coffman.)

a. No one will escape!

B. “Fishermen” would destroy Judah and Jerusalem by wiles while others, “hunters”, would use violence to conquer Judah.

1. Clarke stated this seems to be the meaning of these symbolic “fishers” and “hunters”.

C. “There may be an allusion to the cruel ancient practice of “sweeping the country with a drag-net.” (The Pulpit Commentary)

1. Habakkuk 1:15, The Babylonian tyrant pulls them all up with a fishhook; he hauls them in with his throw net. When he catches them in his dragnet, he is very happy. (NET)

III. After that I will send others who will hunt them out like hunters from all the mountains, all the hills, and the crevices in the rocks.

A. Judah would be hunted like wild animals everywhere throughout the land.

1. There was no place they could hide.

2. There is no escaping God’s punishments for unforgiven sin.



Jerusalem 16:17, For I see everything they do. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it. (NET) I. For I see everything they do.

A. Nothing can be hidden from God who sees and knows everything.

B. What difference does the fact that God sees everything you do make in your conduct, your daily behavior?

II. Their wicked ways are not hidden from me. Their sin is not hidden away where I cannot see it.

A. “Because the Lord is mindful of all the iniquity of the people and their evil ways, he will bring judgment upon them.” (Craigie, Kelley and Drinkard)

Jeremiah 16:18, Before I restore them I will punish them in full for their sins and the wrongs they have done. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own with their detestable idols.” (NET) I. Before I restore them I will punish them in full for their sins and the wrongs they have done.

A. These fishermen and hunters, Willis noted, used “every trick in the book” to find and capture their prey.

1. Once they were captured, God would pay them double for their wickedness.



2. The punishment would be lessened for those returning from exile.

a. Isaiah 40:2, “Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.” (NET)

B. Before blessing them with their return to Palestine, God determined to punish the people of Judah and Jerusalem fully for the sins they had committed.

1. When they returned to their homeland, God certainly did not want them to continue in their evil ways.

2. Jeremiah 17:18, May those who persecute me be disgraced. Do not let me be disgraced. May they be dismayed. Do not let me be dismayed. Bring days of disaster on them. Bring on them the destruction they deserve.” (NET)

3. Isaiah 40:2, “Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and tell her that her time of warfare is over, that her punishment is completed. For the Lord has made her pay double for all her sins.” (NET)

4. Revelation 18:6, Repay her the same way she repaid others; pay her back double corresponding to her deeds. In the cup she mixed, mix double the amount for her. (NET)

II. For they have polluted my land with the lifeless statues (carcasses) of their disgusting idols. They have filled the land I have claimed as my own* with their detestable idols.”



A. NET Footnote: Hebrew my inheritance.

B. The lifeless statues (carcasses) of their disgusting idols refers either to the idols themselves or the sacrifices which were made to them, Clarke advised.

Jeremiah 16:19, Then I said, “Lord, you give me strength and protect me. You are the one I can run to for safety when I am in trouble. Nations from all over the earth will come to you and say, ‘Our ancestors had nothing but false gods— worthless idols that could not help them at all. (NET) I. Then I said, . . . NOTE: Beginning with this verse and continuing through 17:18, the text is written in poetic rather than prose form.

A. The speaker changes and is now Jeremiah, the prophet. II. “Lord, you give me strength and protect me. You are the one I can run to for safety when I am in trouble.*

A. NET Footnote: Hebrew O Lord, my strength and my fortress/my refuge in the day of trouble.

B. The concluding verses of this chapter are positive in nature and assure Jeremiah that the Jews and other nations of the world would come to know God’s “power” and “might.” (See Smith.)

C. Coffman wrote, “Here is a clear prophecy of the Gentiles coming unto the true God, and of their rejection of idolatry, clearly identifying this passage as a reference to the Messianic Age and the spread of Christianity throughout the world.



III. Nations (Gentiles) from all over the earth will come to you and say, Our ancestors had nothing but false gods – worthless idols that could not help them at all.

A. Lives, vanities, things wherein is no profit (unprofitable things) and worthlessness all refer to idols and their worship. (See Coffman.)

B. The Nations, Gentiles would forsake their idols and turn to God in Christ. (See Clarke.)

C. Related references:

1. Psalm 18:2, The Lord is my high ridge, my stronghold, my deliverer. My God is my rocky summit where I take shelter, my shield, the horn that saves me, and my refuge. (NET)

2. Psalm 28:8, The Lord strengthens his people; he protects and delivers his chosen king. (NET)

3. Psalm 59:17, You are my source of strength! I will sing praises to you! For God is my refuge, the God who loves me. (NET)

Jeremiah 16:20, Can people make their own gods? No, what they make are not gods at all.” (NET) I. Can people make their own gods? No, what they make are not gods at all.”

A. This is a most preposterous question!

1. It makes clear the ridiculousness of what these sinful people were doing.



Jeremiah 16:21, The Lord said, “So I will now let this wicked people know— I will let them know my mighty power in judgment. Then they will know that my name is the Lord.” (NET) I. The Lord said, . . .

A. The Lord now replies to Jeremiah. II. “So I will now let this wicked people know – I will let them know my mighty power in judgment.

A. Jeremiah 10:18, For the Lord says, “I will now throw out those who live in this land. I will bring so much trouble on them that they will actually feel it.” (NET)

III. Then they will know that my name is the Lord.”

A. By his acts of judgment, the people would come to know that Jehovah alone is the true God who can both punish and bless. (See The Pulpit Commentary.)

Conclusion: I. Conditions and events related to impending doom in Judah and Jerusalem were so bad, . . .

A. Jeremiah was forbidden to marry and have a family.

B. People would die gruesome deaths, but would not even be lamented nor buried, but would be treated like trash and their bodies eaten by the birds of heaven and the beasts of the earth.

1. Enemies would hunt them down and capture them in a dragnet.



C. Jeremiah was not to enter the house of mourning, grieve with them nor comfort them.

D. Jeremiah was not to go into the house of feasting, ear nor drink. Mirth and gladness would cease. The voice of the bride and bridegroom would be silenced.

E. Jerusalem would be destroyed, the people killed and exiled.

F. Sinful Judah and Jerusalem claimed to have no idea why God pronounced all this great disaster against them.

1. They even had the audacity to ask what they had done wrong.

II. God answered them by saying:

A. Your sins are worse than those of your wicked ancestors and included: . . .

1. idolatry

2. forsaking the Lord

3. doing what their own evil hearts directed rather than what God commanded.

III. Upon the completion of their exile, God would bless them: . . .

A. In the restoration, Gentiles would come from the ends of the earth to serve the Lord.

1. This is regarded as a prophecy of the coming Messiah.



B. All will know God’s power and might, that he alone is Lord!



Questions

On

Jeremiah 16:1-21

(Questions based on NET Version.) 1. According to Hamilton, this section contains instructions from God to Jeremiah regarding: _________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 2. How did Henderson via Coffman outline this chapter? ____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 3. How is the material in chapter 16 arranged? Why is the material arranged in this way? ________________________________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 4. The ______________ from ______________ in verses 1-18 speak to how ______________ ______________’s ______________ and ______________ would be! 5. How many times is the expression, “The Lord said to . . .,” or one like it used in chapter 16? What is the significance of these repetitions? ___ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 6. Jeremiah was told not to ______________ ______________ and not to have ______________. 7. What were the reasons for this command? ______________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 8. The sinful people of Judah and Jerusalem, when the Babylonians invaded the land, would ______________ of ______________ ______________. Why would no one mourn their deaths? 9. Those who died of ______________ ______________ would not be ______________. To the ______________ ______________, this was a ____________ thing, a _____________ and a huge ______________. Their _____________ ______________ would lie like ______________ spread on the ______________.



10. Others would be ______________ in ______________ or ______________ of ______________. Their ______________ will be ____________ for the ____________ and ____________ ___________. 11. Jeremiah was told not to go into any ______________ where they are having a ______________ ______________. He was not to go there to ______________ and ______________ ______________ for them. 12. Jeremiah was not to participate in or be present for ______________ ______________, ______________ ______________, ______________ or ______________ ______________. 13. In the days ahead, there would be no ______________ for the ______________, no show of ______________, no ______________, no ______________ to ______________ one’s ______________, no ______________ or ______________ of the ______________. 14. Why were these commandments issued to Jeremiah? ____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 15. What are and were the effects of God’s removing his peace, favor from a people? _____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 16. ______________ and ______________ will ______________ in this ____________. They will not be ____________ or ____________.



17. Cite the derivation, history and meaning of cutting the body and shaving off of the hair. _______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 18. What is the origin of taking food to those who mourn for the dead to comfort them? _____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 19. What was the “cup of consolation”? Of what was it made? What was its purpose? ____________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 20. Jeremiah was forbidden to go to any ______________ where ____________ are ____________ and ____________ ______________ to ______________ and ______________ with them either. 21. These ____________ ______________ practically ______________ of the ______________ ______________ in which ______________ would ordinarily be involved. 22. Jeremiah was also forbidden to go to a ______________ where ____________ are ____________ and ____________ to ____________ and ______________ with them.



23. The ______________ ______________ ______________ over ___________ and ____________ what will happen in the ___________. 24. God put an ______________ to the ______________ of ____________ and ____________, to the ____________ ____________ of ______________ and ______________ in the land. 25. Why were all these things (verses 1-9) to take place? ____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 26. List all the things Jeremiah was forbidden to do as stated in verses 1-9. ________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 27. In verse 10, what questions were asked? What behooved the people to ask questions such as these? _________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



28. Who was responsible for Judah’s troubles, Jeremiah’s generation or their ancestors? Give reasons for your answer. ____________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 29. Each one of you has followed the ______________ ______________ of their own ______________ ______________ and not ______________ me. That ______________ ______________ was ___________ than their ______________ in regard to the ___________ of their ______________ ______________. 30. God determined to forcefully ______________ Judah out of the ______________ into a ______________ that neither you nor your ______________ have ever known. 31. Throwing Judah out of Palestine references what activity? ________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 32. The ____________ ____________ ____________ in ___________, these because of their ____________, could expect no ______________, ______________ from ______________ for the ______________ of their ______________. 33. Explain how irony was used in verse 13b. _____________________ ______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 34. What new time would certainly come? What was the old time? Compare the old and new times. _______________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 35. ___________ here ____________ and ____________ ___________ the __________of the ___________ to the ___________ ___________. 36. Explain the association of promises of blessings and threatenings of disasters, punishments in Jeremiah’s writings. ____________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 37. As ______________ ______________ the ______________ from ______________ ______________, so he would ______________ the ______________ from ______________ ______________. 38. In the study of Jeremiah, how difficult is it to know what God said? What does this tell us? _______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



39. How would fishermen and hunters contribute to Judah’s and Jerusalem’s destruction? What is a dragnet? _____________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 40. How does the fact that God sees everything you do affect your conduct? How did it affect Jerusalem? __________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 41. God punished Judah and Jerusalem in full for their sins. What purpose did this serve? _______________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 42. How had Judah and Jerusalem polluted God’s land? _____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 43. Verses 1-18 are written in prose while verses 19:21 are written in poetic form. What is the reason for this difference in literary form? ___ ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________



______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 44. What did Jeremiah say to God in verses 19-20? What did God say to Jeremiah in response? ________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ 45. Summarize Jeremiah 16. List its important lessons. _____________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________


jeremiah forbidden to marry; to mourn, or to...

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