Jeremiah 16 - Bible Study, Explanation, and Application
Jeremiah 16 Bible Study
INTRO AND TIMELINE:
Jeremiah was a priest who lived in Anathoth (3 miles from Jerusalem). His ministry was directed towards the people of Judah, immediately before and during their exile in Babylon. His work as a prophet dates from 627 BC through the destruction of Jerusalem by the Babylonians in 586 BC.
Jeremiah is the longest book in the English Bible by word count. The book has 52 chapters.
Jeremiah prophesied under the following Kings of Judah:
Manasseh (687-642 BC)
Amos (642-640 BC)
Josiah (640-609 BC)
Jehoahaz (also known as Shallum, 609 BC)
Jehoiakim (also known as Jeconiah or Coniah, 609-598 BC)
Jehoiachin (598-597 BC)
Zedekiah (His reign ended when Babylon conquered Judah, (597-586 BC)
CUTTINGS FOR THE DEAD:
Ancient idolatrous cultures would sometimes cut themselves as a sign of mourning for the dead, and perhaps as a way of appealing to their gods of the underworld.
This practice is mentioned in Jeremiah 16:6, which reads, “Both great and small shall die in this land. They shall not be buried, and no one shall lament for them or cut himself or make himself bald for them.”
If this practice had been adopted by the people of Judah, it was in direct contradiction to God’s law.
God expressly forbid making cuts on the body for the dead in Leviticus 19:28.
OUTLINE:
NO REASON TO MARRY, NO REASON TO FEAST (16:1-13):
Jeremiah was told not to take a wife or to father children in Judah, because the fathers and mothers of the land were going to die by disease, famine, and the sword when God sent the army from the north to punish them for their sins.
Death would be everywhere, so much so that normal funeral and burial ceremonies would be abandoned.
Jeremiah was told not to mourn for them, because their punishment was just.
Along with taking a wife, Jeremiah was also forbidden from celebrating and feasting with the people. There was no reason to celebrate! God was going to take all the joy, singing, and gladness out of Judah and turn it into a desolation.
Jeremiah was to tell the people their punishment was on account of them worshipping foreign gods, following their stubborn evil will, and refusing to listen to their Creator.
God said He would “hurl” them out of the Promised Land to live in a foreign place. There they could serve false gods “day and night” because the true God of Heaven would show them no favor.
FUTURE RESTORATION BY GOD’S MERCY (16:14-21):
In the past, God had been known as the God who saved the people of Israel from Egyptian slavery, but in the future, He would be known as the God who saved His people from the north country (Babylon).
God was furious at Judah for polluting His land with sin, and He would “doubly repay their iniquity and their sin” but afterward He promised to restore them and return them to His land.
God’s judgement on Judah, His restoration of the nation, and the work He would accomplish through them in the future would lead Gentiles to abandon their idols and acknowledge the true God of Heaven.
APPLICATION:
You wouldn’t pollute your house, would you?
You wouldn’t pour a gallon of old motor oil on your carpet.
You wouldn’t leave a pile of old ice cream containers stacked up in the corner of your room to leak and mold.
You wouldn’t let sewage overflow in your bathroom.
You might not pollute your house in the traditional sense, but do you pollute it with sin?
God said the people of Judah polluted His land with sin (16:18) and made a beautiful place into and ugly place.
What do you allow in your house? While some of us wouldn’t never in a million years allow our houses to be polluted by physical things, we don’t mind so much when the pollution is spiritual.
