Jeremiah 16

Bible Passage:  Jeremiah 16

“The word of the Lord also came to me, saying, “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.” 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: “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.”” – Jeremiah 16:1-4

These words from the Lord spoke about the calamity that is to come for God’s people, the Jews. The state of the situation seems to be so bad that remaining single and not married might be one of the best advice to keep because the land of Judea is going to be conquered and destroyed by a foreign power. Not only that, verse 4 tells us that the land will be struck with famine and disease and people will die of unnatural death.

Here, God had spoken. And when He does, it is final.

From verse 9 onwards, the Lord turned His eyes away from His people. The reason – the Jews have worshiped other Gods! Such is the seriousness of idolatry.

““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,’ 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.” – Jeremiah 16:14-15

Although the punishments and judgement sent by God in the Old Testament was harsh, verse 15 tells us that God will bring His people back into their lands that belonged to their fathers. This is the promise that the Lord has made in Jeremiah 29.

“For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back from your captivity…” – Jeremiah 29:11-14

Our Lord is a just God, yet He is faithful in that He keeps His promise. Likewise, this goes to show that if we genuinely seek Him for forgiveness, He will be willing to forgive us.