JEREMIAH LESSON 17


     We will begin this lesson in Jeremiah 16:1 "The word of the LORD
came also unto me, saying,"

     This is another separate time that God has spoken to Jeremiah.
This is a totally different message, as we will soon see.

     Jeremiah 16:2 "Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt
thou have sons or daughters in this place."

     God does not want Jeremiah to be yoked with these idol
worshippers. It was a natural thing for all to seek a wife, and many
of the prophets, like Isaiah, were married. This was not forbidding
Jeremiah to marry, just requesting him not to marry these women, who
were involved in worshipping false gods. God did not want Jeremiah to
have unbelieving children.

     Jeremiah 16:3 "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;"

     God's judgement had been spoken on these evil people. Not only
would the men die, but the women and children, as well.

     Jeremiah 16:4 "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."

     God is reminding Jeremiah of the punishment He has already spoken
upon this nation. He is saying, Jeremiah you would not want your wife,
or children, to be part of this severe punishment. It is better if you
do not marry. God will, not only, cause them to die, but He will not
allow anyone to bury them, or mourn for them. They have been so evil,
God will allow their bodies to be eaten by vultures and wild beast.

     Jeremiah 16:5 "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."

     This is a warning from God to Jeremiah. He must not even mourn
over those whom God destroys.

     Jeremiah 16:6 "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:"

     It was the custom of the land to bury their dead. They, also, set
aside a time of mourning for them. Sometimes, to show the severity of
their grief, they would cut themselves in sorrow. God says here, It
does not even matter how important they seemed to be, no one is to
mourn them. In this, the ruler will be no better than the common
people.

     Jeremiah 16:7 "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."

     The Jews had a practice of a funeral feast, when someone died.
This was very similar to the wake some practice today. The cup of
consolation was a cup of wine, probably, which helped them bear the
pain of the loss of a child.

     Jeremiah 16:8 "Thou shalt not also go into the house of feasting,
to sit with them to eat and to drink."

     This is another way of expressing the same thing as above. This
is a judgement of God, and should not be handled as if these people
were saved.

     Jeremiah 16:9 "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."

     This is speaking of a time when all the normal joys of living
will cease. God leaves no doubt that Jeremiah will see this time. It
was for the immediate future. There will be no one left to marry.

     Jeremiah 16:10  "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?"

     Not only, is Jeremiah to know all of this, but he is to tell the
others of the great judgement that is to befall them. The people will
not believe Jeremiah. They will not even realize they have displeased
God to this extent. They will ask Jeremiah, why is this happening to
them? They have gotten so calloused by the sins they are committing,
they do no longer recognize sin.

     Jeremiah 16:11 "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;"

     The worship of false gods had been going on since the time of
their fathers. God had given them time to repent, and they have not.
God answers their question. He is not angry with them without a cause.
The judgement God has spoken on them is just.

     Jeremiah 16:12 "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:"

     It appears the worship of false gods had become worse with this
new generation. They were not following the laws of God anymore.
Whatever they wanted to do, is what they did. They were pleasing their
own flesh, instead of keeping God's commandments. Their deeds are
evil, because they come from an evil heart.

     Jeremiah 16:13 "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."

     Since they desired to worship false gods, God will put them
captive in a land, where they do not have an option. They will be
subject to their captors, day and night. They will be able to do full
time, what they chose to do here.

     Jeremiah 16:14  "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;"

     They will not speak of the living God, who brought the children
of Israel out of Egypt. It appears they will cease to look to God for
their very present help, as He had been for them in the past. They
left God, and turned to these false gods.

     Jeremiah 16:15 "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."

     Even though they walked away from God, He continues to live. It
is the same God that brought their forefathers out of Egypt. God will
restore them, again, to their land. He will not dwell in Babylon with
them. They must come to Him.

     Jeremiah 16:16  "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."

     After God's wrath has cooled, God will send fishers for them and
hunters to hunt them. Daniel was a prophet of the captivity. He never
stopped proclaiming God to the captives. Surely there will be some who
will believe. God tries to draw them back with men of God who proclaim
Him to the people.

     Jeremiah 16:17 "For mine eyes [are] upon all their ways: they are
not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes."

     Wherever they are, and whatever they are doing, they are not out
of God's sight. God sees when even a sparrow falls. These are His
family, even though they have sinned. God will not totally forget
them. He sees every sin they have committed, but He, also, sees every
good thing they have done.

     Jeremiah 16:18 "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."

     God judges according to their actions. He will bring punishment
to match the sin. The detestable and abominable things are the false
gods they had brought into God's land.

     Jeremiah 16:19 "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."

     God is revealed to the Gentiles here. The harsh judgement that
God has brought upon His own people, shows the world that God is just
in all of His judgements. This, also, shows them the power of God.
Suddenly the Gentiles see the error of worshipping inanimate objects
that have no power at all. This is showing that God wants the
Gentiles, as well as the Jews to be His people.

     Jeremiah 16:20 "Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they
[are] no gods?"

     We have discussed this before. Anything, or anyone, that is part
of creation should not be worshipped. The only One to worship is the
Creator of it all. Something you could make with your hands, is not
God.

     Jeremiah 16:21 "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."

     God will reveal Himself once more to all the world, both Jew and
Gentile. The LORD, He is God. This knowledge comes from God. He opens
their understanding to who He Is.















                         Jeremiah 17 Questions


1.  What did God tell Jeremiah not to do?
2.  Why did God not want him to do this?
3.  Did any of the prophets marry?
4.  Was God's judgement just against the men? Explain.
5.  What were some of the conditions of their death?
6.  What will God allow to happen to their dead bodies?
7.  What did God forbid Jeremiah to do in verse 5?
8.  Both the _______ and the ________ shall die in this land.
9.  What was generally the custom to do when someone died?
10. The Jews had a practice of a funeral _______, when someone died.
11. What, in our society, is that similar to?
12. When will the judgement come?
13. Why do they ask, why this happens to them?
14. What answer does God give them?
15. How long had the worship of false gods been going on?
16. The judgement God had spoken on them was _______.
17. They were pleasing their own ________ instead of keeping God's
    commandments.
18. Why had God sent them to this foreign land where false gods were
    worshipped day and night?
19. Who brought the children of Israel out of Egypt?
20. God sent ________ and ________ to seek them out.
21. Who was a prophet of the captivity?
22. When are they out of God's sight?
23. God judges according to their _________.
24. Quote Jeremiah chapter 16 verse 19.
25. Who is the only One permissible to worship?
26. Verse 21 says, they will know His name is the ________.