Jeremiah 16:1 - Meaning and Application

The prophet is here made a sign to the people. They would not listen to what he said, so let them see whether they will heed what he does. In everything, he must live like someone who expects his country to be ruined very soon. He had already foretold this, but few paid attention, so now he must show that he is fully convinced of it himself.

Others go on with life as usual, but Jeremiah, in view of these sad days, is forbidden to marry, mourn the dead, or rejoice. Those who want to persuade others by God’s word must show, even in hard acts of self-denial, that they believe it themselves. If we want to wake others from their false security and teach them to loosen their grip on this world, we must ourselves be less attached to present things and show that we expect them to pass away.

Jeremiah must not marry or think of starting a family in Judah, Jerusalem, or Anathoth, his hometown (Jeremiah 16:2). The Jews, more than most people, prized early marriage and many children. But Jeremiah must live as a single man, not to honor virginity, but to show how little value it has in a time of judgment. This shows that marriage is wise and suitable only in peaceful times, not in times of great distress (1 Corinthians 7:26). In such days, even having children is part of the trouble. There may even be a time when it will be said, “Blessed are the women who have no children” (Luke 23:29).

When such times are near, it is wise, especially for prophets, to avoid being tied to the affairs of this life. The more dearly we hold those around us, the more care, fear, and grief they can bring us in a time like this. The reason given is that fathers, mothers, sons, and daughters will die painful deaths (Jeremiah 16:3, Jeremiah 16:4). For those who have wives and children, three burdens follow. They may be unable to flee because of them. They will live in constant fear for them. And each child’s death will feel like another wound to the parent.

It is better to have no children than to bring them into the world only to be born and raised for the murderer (Hosea 9:13, Hosea 9:14). Death is bitter, but some deaths are far more bitter than others, both for those who die and for the family left behind. That is why Scripture speaks of “so great a death” (2 Corinthians 1:10). Two things often help soften the pain of death in this world, mourning for the dead and burial. But here even those comforts are taken away.

They will not be mourned. Their bodies will be carried off as if the world were tired of them. They will not be buried, but left exposed, as though they were meant to stand as signs of judgment. They will become like dung on the ground, not only despised but hated, as if they were fit only to fertilize the earth. Some will die by the sword, and some by famine, and their bodies will become food for the birds and wild animals. Who would not say, “Better to have no children than to live to see them come to this”?

This gives us another reason to say, “All is vanity and a chasing after wind,” when the things we expect to be our greatest comforts become our heaviest burdens.

Jeremiah must also not go into the house of mourning when a neighbor or relative dies (Jeremiah 16:5). It was the custom then to comfort the bereaved, to lament with them, to cut the body, and even to shave the head, though the law forbade such practices (Deuteronomy 14:1). Sometimes, in deep grief, they even tore themselves. These acts were meant to honor the dead and to show kindness to the living, making their burden lighter by sharing it.

They would also comfort mourners with words and with a cup of consolation, giving them something to drink and urging them to take strength from it. It was a kind and useful custom. Jeremiah had likely been faithful in such acts before, and they suited him both as a godly man and as a prophet. One might think this would have made him more beloved among his people. But now God tells him not to mourn in the usual way.

First, his grief for the coming destruction of his nation must overwhelm his grief for any one death. His tears must go into a different stream, and there is enough sorrow for all of them. Second, he had little reason to mourn those who died just before the judgment fell, since they were spared from the worse trouble that was near. Third, this would be a sign of what was coming, when public disaster would become so severe that even normal acts of kindness would be set aside. People would be dying so often, and daily sorrow would be so heavy, that there would be no time or heart left for the usual customs around death.

Their grief would be too heavy for relief, and each person would be so full of trouble for himself that he could not think of others. There would be mourners everywhere and no comforters. Each one would be forced to bear his own burden. God says, “I have taken away my peace from this people,” meaning he has ended their prosperity and removed health, wealth, quietness, friends, and every comfort they had for themselves and for one another. Whatever peace we enjoy is God’s peace, his gift. If he gives quietness, who can make trouble? But if we do not use his peace well, he can take it away, and then where are we? (Job 34:29).

“I will take away my peace, even my loving-kindness and mercies.” These will be shut up and held back. They are like the fresh springs from which all good blessings flow. If God closes those springs, then all good things are gone. Those who cut themselves off from God’s favor also cut themselves off from true peace.

When God takes away his loving-kindness and mercies, everything is lost. That is why it says in Jeremiah 16:6, “Both the great and the small shall die in this land.” This was the land of Canaan, once called the land of the living. God’s favor is our life. Take that away, and we die, we perish, all of us.

Jeremiah must also stay away from the house of joy, just as he must stay away from the house of mourning (Jeremiah 16:8). It had been his custom, and there was nothing wrong with it, to go to the homes of friends when they held feasts, to eat and drink with them in a sober and cheerful way. But now he must not do that.

He must abstain for two reasons. First, it would be out of step with the times and with God’s dealings with that land and people. God was calling them to weeping, mourning, and fasting. He was coming against them in judgment, and it was time for them to humble themselves. The prophet, who warned them, should also set an example by receiving the warning himself and obeying it. Ministers should model self-denial and a changed life. They should show that they feel the fear of the Lord, since they want others to feel it too. And all the people of Zion should share in her troubles, not act cheerful when she is in pain (Amos 6:6).

Second, Jeremiah’s refusal would show the people what sad days were coming. His friends would be surprised that he no longer met them, as he used to, in the house of feasting. But he was to make clear that their feasting would soon end (Jeremiah 16:9). God says, “I will stop the voice of joy.” They would have nothing left to feast on or rejoice in. Calamities would surround them and spoil every pleasure.

God can humble even the most cheerful people. He says this would happen in Jerusalem, the city once known for its joy and for thinking its happiness was safe. It would happen in their own sight, to trouble them while they were still proud and merry. It would happen in their own lifetime, so they would see it for themselves. They had made the voice of praise stop through their sins and idol worship, so God justly made the voice of joy and gladness stop among them too. They had refused to hear and obey the voice of God’s prophets, and so the voice of the bridegroom and the bride, the songs that once marked weddings, would be heard there no more (Jeremiah 7:34).