TRV
Study This Verse
Public-domain commentary
Matthew Henry
From his Commentary on the Whole Bible. Henry comments on passages, not single verses — this entry covers Jeremiah 16:14–21. His three-level outline is real structure in the source text, so it is rendered as structure.
There is a mixture of mercy and judgment in these verses, and it is hard to know to which to apply some of the passages here - they are so interwoven, and some seem to look as far forward as the times of the gospel.
I.God will certainly execute judgment upon them for their idolatries. Let them expect it, for the decree has gone forth.
1.God sees all their sins, though they commit them ever so secretly and palliate them ever so artfully (Jer 16:17): My eyes are upon all their ways. They have not their eye upon God, have no regard to him, stand in no awe of him; but he has his eye upon them; neither they nor their sins are hidden from his face, from his eyes. Note, None of the sins of sinners either can be concealed from God or shall be overlooked by him, Pro 5:21; Job 34:21; Psa 90:8.
2.God is highly displeased, particularly at their idolatries, Jer 16:18. As his omniscience convicts them, so his justice condemns them: I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, not double to what it deserves, but double to what they expect and to what I have done formerly. Or I will recompense it abundantly; they shall now pay for their long reprieve and the divine patience they have abused. The sin for which God has a controversy with them is their having defiled God's land with their idolatries, and not only alienated that which he was entitled to as his inheritance, but polluted that which he dwelt in with delight as his inheritance, and made it offensive to him with the carcases of their detestable things, the gods themselves which they worshipped, the images of which, though they were of gold and silver, were as loathsome to God as the putrid carcases of men or beasts are to us. Idols are carcases of detestable things. God hates them, and so should we. Or he might refer to the sacrifices which they offered to these idols, with which the land was filled; for they had high places in all the coasts and corners of it. This was the sin which, above any other, incensed God against them.
3.He will find out and raise up instruments of his wrath, that shall cast them out of their land, according to the sentence passed upon them (Jer 16:16): I will send for many fishers and many hunters - the Chaldean army, that shall have many ways of ensnaring and destroying them, by fraud as fishers, by force as hunters. They shall find them out wherever they are, and shall chase and closely pursue them, to their ruin. They shall discover them wherever they are hid, in hills or mountains, or holes of the rocks, and shall drive them out. God has various ways of prosecuting a people with his judgments that avoid the convictions of his word. He has men at command fit for his purpose; he has them within call, and can send for them when he pleases.
4.Their bondage in Babylon shall be sorer and much more grievous than that in Egypt, their task-masters more cruel, and their lives made more bitter. This is implied in the promise (Jer 16:14, Jer 16:15), that their deliverance out of Babylon shall be more illustrious in itself, and more welcome to them, than that out of Egypt. Their slavery in Egypt came upon them gradually and almost insensibly; that in Babylon came upon them at once and with all the aggravating circumstances of terror. In Egypt they had a Goshen of their own, but none such in Babylon. In Egypt they were used as servants that were useful, in Babylon as captives that had been hateful.
5.They shall be warned, and God shall be glorified, by these judgments brought upon them. These judgments have a voice, and speak aloud, (1.) Instruction to them. When God chastens them he teaches them. By this rod God expostulates with them (Jer 16:20): "Shall a man make gods to himself? Will any man be so perfectly void of all reason and consideration as to think that a god of his own making can stand him in any stead? Will you ever again be such fools as you have been, to make to yourselves gods which are no gods, when you have a God whom you may call your own, who made you, and is himself the true and living God?" (2.) Honour to God; for he will be known by the judgments which he executes. He will first recompense their iniquity (Jer 16:18), and then he will this once (Jer 16:21) - this once for all, not by many interruptions of their peace, but this one desolation and destruction of it. "For this once, and no more, I will cause them to know my hand, the length and weight of my punishing hand, how far it can reach and how deeply it can wound. And they shall know that my name is Jehovah, a God with whom there is no contending, who gives being to threatenings and puts life into them as well as promises."
II.Yet he has mercy in store for them, intimations of which come in here for the encouragement of the prophet himself and of those few among them that tremble at God's word. It was said, with an air of severity (Jer 16:13), that God would banish them into a strange land; but, that thereby they might not be driven to despair, there follow immediately words of comfort.
1.The days will come, the joyful days, when the same hand that dispersed them shall gather them again, Jer 16:14, Jer 16:15. They are cast out, but they are not cast off, they are not cast away. They shall be brought up from the land of the north, the land of their captivity, where they are held with a strong hand, and from all the lands whither they are driven, and where they seemed to be lost and buried in the crowd; nay, I will bring them again into their own land, and settle them there. As he foregoing threatenings agreed with what was written in this law, so does this promise. Yet will I not cast them away, Lev 26:44. Thence will the Lord thy God gather thee, Deu 30:4. And the following words (Jer 16:16) may be understood as a promise; God will send for fishers and hunters, the Medes and Persians, that shall find them out in the countries where they are scattered, and send them back to their own land; or Zerubbabel, and others of their own nation, who should fish them out and hunt after them, to persuade them to return; or whatever instruments the Spirit of God made use of to stir up their spirits to go up, which at first they were backward to do. They began to nestle in Babylon; but, as an eagle stirs up her nest and flutters over her young, so God did by them, Zac 2:7.
2.Their deliverance out of Babylon should, upon some accounts, be more illustrious and memorable than their deliverance out of Egypt was. Both were the Lord's doing and marvellous in their eyes; both were proofs that the Lord liveth and were to be kept in everlasting remembrance, to his honour, as the living God; but the fresh mercy shall be so surprising, so welcome, that it shall even abolish the memory of the former. Not but that new mercies should put us in mind of old ones, and give us occasion to renew our thanksgivings for them; yet because we are tempted to think that the former days were better than these, and to ask, Where are all the wonders that our fathers told us of? as if God's arm had waxed short, and to cry up the age of miracles above the later ages, when mercies are wrought in a way of common providence, therefore we are allowed here comparatively to forget the bringing of Israel out of Egypt as a deliverance outdone by that out of Babylon. That was done by might and power, this by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts, Zac 4:6. In this there was more of pardoning mercy (the most glorious branch of divine mercy) than in that; for their captivity in Babylon had more in it of the punishment of sin than their bondage in Egypt; and therefore that which comforts Zion in her deliverance out of Babylon is this, that her iniquity is pardoned, Isa 40:2. Note, God glorifies himself, and we must glorify him, in those mercies that have no miracles in them, as well as in those that have. And, though the favours of God to our fathers must not be forgotten, yet those to ourselves in our own day we must especially give thanks for.
3.Their deliverance out of captivity shall be accompanied with a blessed reformation, and they shall return effectually cured of their inclination to idolatry, which will complete their deliverance and make it a mercy indeed. They had defiled their own land with their detestable things, Jer 16:18. But, when they have smarted for so doing, they shall come and humble themselves before God, Jer 16:19-21.
(1.)They shall be brought to acknowledge that their God only is God indeed, for he is a God in need - "My strength to support and comfort me, my fortress to protect and shelter me, and my refuge to whom I may flee in the day of affliction." Note, Need drives many to God who had set themselves at a distance from him. Those that slighted him in the day of their prosperity will be glad to flee to him in the day of their affliction.
(2.)They shall be quickened to return to him by the conversion of the Gentiles: The Gentiles shall come to thee from the ends of the earth; and therefore shall not we come? Or, "The Jews, who had by their idolatries made themselves as Gentiles (so I rather understand it), shall come to thee by repentance and reformation, shall return to their duty and allegiance, even from the ends of the earth, from all the countries whither they were driven." The prophet comforts himself with the hope of this, and in a transport of joy returns to God the notice he had given him of it: "O Lord! my strength and my fortress, I am now easy, since thou hast given me a prospect of multitudes that shall come to thee from the ends of the earth, both of Jewish converts and of Gentile proselytes." Note, Those that are brought to God themselves cannot but rejoice greatly to see others coming to him, coming back to him.
(3.)They shall acknowledge the folly of their ancestors, which it becomes them to do, when they were smarting for the sins of their ancestors: "Surely our fathers have inherited, not the satisfaction they promised themselves and their children, but lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit. We are now sensible that our fathers were cheated in their idolatrous worship; it did not prove what it promised, and therefore what have we to do any more with it?" Note, It were well if the disappointment which some have met with in the service of sin, and the pernicious consequences of it to them, might prevail to deter others from treading in their steps.
(4.)They shall reason themselves out of their idolatry; and that reformation is likely to be sincere and durable which results from a rational conviction of the gross absurdity there is in sin. They shall argue thus with themselves (and it is well argued), Should a man be such a fool, so perfectly void of the reason of a man, as to make gods to himself, the creatures of his own fancy, the work of his own hands, when they are really no gods? Jer 16:20. Can a man be so besotted, so perfectly lost to human understanding, as to expect any divine blessing or favour from that which pretends to no divinity but what it first received from him?
(5.)They shall herein give honour to God, and make it to appear that they know both his hand in his providence and his name in his word, and that they are brought to know his name by what they are made to know of his hand, Jer 16:21. This once, now at length, they shall be made to know that which they would not be brought to know by all the pains the prophets took with them. Note, So stupid are we that nothing less than the mighty hand of divine grace, known experimentally, can make us know rightly the name of God as it is revealed to us.
4.Their deliverance out of captivity shall be a type and figure of this great salvation to be wrought out by the Messiah, who shall gather together in one the children of God that were scattered abroad. And this is that which so far outshines the deliverance out of Egypt as even to eclipse the lustre of it, and make it even to be forgotten. To this some apply that of the many fishers and hunters, the preachers of the gospel, who were fishers of men, to enclose souls with the gospel net, to find them out in every mountain and hill, and secure them for Christ. Then the Gentiles came to God, some from the ends of the earth, and turned to the worship of him from the service of dumb idols.
Historical interpretation
Historical Reception
One surviving comment on this verse from the historical church.
(Vers. 14, 15.) Therefore, behold, days are coming," says the Lord, "and it will no longer be said, 'As the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel up from the land of Egypt,' but 'As the Lord lives, who brought the children of Israel up from the land of the north and from all the lands where He had banished them.' For I will restore them to their land that I gave to their ancestors. Clearly, the future restoration of the people of Israel is predicted, and after their captivity comes mercy; which, according to the literal sense, was partially fulfilled under Zerubbabel and the high priest Joshua and Ezra; but according to the spiritual understanding, it is more truly and perfectly fulfilled in Christ. The time will come, he says, when it will no longer be said that the people were brought out of Egypt by Moses and Aaron, but that they were brought out of the land of the North, with Cyrus, the king of the Persians, releasing the captives. And concerning all lands, he says, this will not be fulfilled in the time of Cyrus, but at the very end, as the Apostle says: After the fullness of the Gentiles has entered, then all Israel will be saved (Rom. XI, 25, 26). We can also say this about the persecutions that happen to our people, from the days of Nero, about whom the Apostle writes: And I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion (I Tim. IV, 17), up until the times of Maximinus: how the Lord has had mercy on his people and brought them back to their land. Doubtless into the Church, which their fathers received, the Apostles and apostolic men.
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Summary
Jeremiah 16:14 serves as a prophetic declaration, abruptly shifting from pronouncements of judgment to a profound promise of future restoration for Israel. It foretells a time when a new, even more remarkable act of divine deliverance will overshadow the foundational memory of the Exodus from Egypt, becoming the preeminent testament to God's living presence and saving power. This future event, the return from exile, will redefine the benchmark of God's faithfulness and might for His people.
Context
Literary Context
This verse appears within a section of Jeremiah (chapters 15-17) that is heavily laden with pronouncements of severe judgment against Judah for their deep-seated idolatry, covenant unfaithfulness, and moral corruption. Chapter 16, in particular, details the impending desolation, the cessation of normal life, and the certainty of exile as divine punishment. The prophet is commanded to remain unmarried and childless as a sign of the coming catastrophe, emphasizing the dire nature of the times. However, in a characteristic Jeremian pattern, amidst the declarations of impending doom, a glimmer of hope and future restoration often emerges. Verses 14-15 represent such an abrupt, yet significant, shift, introducing a promise of regathering that stands in stark contrast to the preceding warnings of dispersion and destruction, underscoring God's ultimate faithfulness to His covenant people, even through judgment.
Historical & Cultural Context
The prophecy of Jeremiah 16:14-15 is delivered during a turbulent period in Judah's history, leading up to and including the Babylonian exile (late 7th to early 6th century BCE). The people of Judah had largely abandoned the covenant with Yahweh, engaging in widespread idolatry, social injustice, and false worship, despite repeated warnings from prophets like Jeremiah. For centuries, the Exodus from Egypt was the defining historical event for Israel, serving as the bedrock of their national identity, their understanding of God's power, and the basis for their covenant relationship with Him. Oaths were commonly sworn by "the LORD who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt," a powerful affirmation of God's active presence and His greatest saving act. This verse challenges that deeply ingrained cultural and religious memory by prophesying an even more profound future deliverance.
Key Themes
The central theme of Jeremiah 16:14 is the Supremacy of Future Deliverance. It posits that God's future act of salvation, specifically the return from Babylonian exile, will be so monumental that it will eclipse the historical memory of the Exodus from Egypt as the primary evidence of God's living presence and power. This highlights God's Faithfulness Beyond Judgment, demonstrating that even after severe discipline and dispersion, His covenant promises of restoration will prevail. It emphasizes God's Ongoing Redemptive Work, showing that His mighty acts are not confined to the past but continue to unfold throughout history, culminating in new and perhaps even greater demonstrations of His power to save and regather His people from "the land of the north, and from all the lands whither he had driven them" as stated in Jeremiah 16:15. This theme provides a profound message of hope amidst despair, ensuring that God's ultimate plan for His people is one of restoration and renewal.
Exposition and Analysis
Key Word Analysis
This word signifies a period of time, not necessarily limited to a literal 24-hour day. In this context, "the days come" refers to a future epoch, a significant period in God's redemptive timeline when the prophesied events will unfold. It emphasizes the certainty and appointed nature of this coming era.
This is the sacred, covenantal name of God, often rendered as Yahweh, signifying "the self-Existent or Eternal One." Its use here underscores that the prophecy is a divine decree, a solemn promise from the unchanging God who is the source of all life and faithfulness. The oath "The LORD liveth" is an affirmation of His active, living presence.
Derived from a root meaning "to live," this word describes God as actively alive, present, and powerful. The phrase "The LORD liveth" is a common oath or affirmation in Israel, testifying to God's enduring vitality and His capacity to intervene in history. The prophecy suggests that a future intervention will provide an even more compelling demonstration of this living reality than the Exodus itself.
Verse Breakdown
"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith the LORD,"
This opening clause signals a solemn, divinely ordained declaration. "Therefore" connects this new promise to the preceding pronouncements of judgment, implying that even in the midst of punishment, God's ultimate plan includes restoration. "Behold" draws the listener's attention to a significant, imminent truth. The phrase "the days come" points to a definite future time, emphasizing the certainty of the prophecy, while "saith the LORD" authenticates the message as a direct word from Yahweh Himself.
"that it shall no more be said,"
This phrase introduces the radical shift in Israel's defining narrative. It indicates a cessation of the primary, long-standing declaration that has defined their identity and understanding of God's power. The implication is not that the Exodus will be forgotten, but that its preeminence as the singular and ultimate demonstration of God's saving power will be superseded by a new, more recent, and perhaps more profound, act of deliverance.
"The LORD liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt;"
This is the traditional oath and affirmation that has been the cornerstone of Israelite faith and identity for centuries. It celebrates God's foundational act of salvation, freeing His people from slavery in Egypt. The prophecy declares that this particular form of affirmation, while historically true, will no longer be the foremost or most compelling testimony to God's living presence and power. A future act of God will provide an even greater reason to declare "The LORD liveth."
Literary Devices
Jeremiah 16:14 employs several powerful literary devices. The most prominent is Hyperbole, where the prophet uses an exaggerated statement ("no more be said") to emphasize the magnitude and impact of the future deliverance rather than a literal erasure of the Exodus memory. This hyperbole serves to highlight the extraordinary nature of the coming restoration from exile, suggesting it will be so profound that it will necessitate a new, defining testimony to God's power. There is also a strong element of Contrast, pitting the historical Exodus against a future, greater act of salvation. This contrast underscores God's dynamic and ongoing redemptive work, demonstrating that His faithfulness is not limited to past interventions. Finally, the verse is a direct Prophecy, a divine foretelling of future events, delivered with the authoritative phrase "saith the LORD," which lends immense weight and certainty to the declaration.
Theological and Thematic Connections
Jeremiah 16:14 is a profound theological statement about the nature of God's redemptive work. It teaches that God is not confined to His past acts, however magnificent, but is continuously active in history, capable of performing new and even greater works of salvation. For Israel, the Exodus was the ultimate demonstration of God's power and faithfulness, establishing their identity as His chosen people. This verse, however, points to a future deliverance—the return from Babylonian exile—that will be so comprehensive and miraculous that it will rival, and in some sense surpass, the Exodus in its theological significance as a testament to God's living presence. It underscores God's unwavering commitment to His covenant promises, even when His people have been unfaithful, demonstrating that His grace extends beyond judgment to ultimate restoration. This principle of God's ever-unfolding salvation finds echoes throughout scripture, reminding us that God's greatest works may still lie ahead.
Reflection and Application
This powerful prophecy from Jeremiah offers a profound message of hope and renewed perspective for believers today. It challenges us to consider that God's capacity for salvation and deliverance is not exhausted by His past interventions, no matter how miraculous they were. Just as the return from exile would become a new benchmark for God's power for Israel, so too can God perform new, perhaps even more astounding, acts of grace and restoration in our own lives and in the world. When we face seemingly insurmountable difficulties, the consequences of our own sin, or periods of spiritual dryness, this verse reminds us that God's future grace and power can be even more astounding than His past interventions. It encourages us to look forward with expectant faith, trusting that God's greatest works, both personally and globally, may still be ahead. It calls us to recognize His ongoing sovereignty and His desire to bring about redemption in ways that continually reveal His living presence.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
What does it mean that the Exodus "shall no more be said" as the primary act of God's deliverance?
This phrase does not mean the Exodus will be forgotten or deemed insignificant. Rather, it is a prophetic hyperbole emphasizing that a future act of God's salvation—specifically, the return of Israel from exile in Babylon and other lands (as clarified in Jeremiah 16:15)—will be so profound and comprehensive that it will become the new, preeminent benchmark for God's power and faithfulness. For centuries, the Exodus was the defining historical event for Israel, the ultimate proof of God's living presence. Jeremiah is declaring that the regathering from a global dispersion will be an even more compelling testimony to God's ability to save and restore.
Why would the return from exile be considered a greater deliverance than the Exodus?
While the Exodus involved a dramatic parting of the Red Sea and miraculous provisions, the return from exile would demonstrate God's power to regather His people from a much wider dispersion, "from all the lands whither he had driven them" (Jeremiah 16:15). It would signify God's faithfulness to His covenant despite Israel's profound unfaithfulness and His willingness to restore them after severe judgment. The sheer scale of the dispersion and the seemingly impossible nature of gathering scattered individuals from many nations would highlight God's sovereign control over all nations and His unwavering commitment to His promises, making it an equally, if not more, astounding act of divine intervention.
Christ-Centered Fulfillment
Jeremiah 16:14, while immediately pointing to the return from Babylonian exile, finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. The "greater salvation" prophesied here is ultimately realized not merely in a physical return to a land, but in the spiritual deliverance from sin and death accomplished through Christ. The Exodus delivered Israel from physical slavery; Christ's atoning sacrifice delivers humanity from the spiritual slavery of sin, a bondage far more pervasive and destructive. The declaration "The LORD liveth" is given its fullest meaning in the resurrection of Jesus, who is the Lord of life and the ultimate demonstration of God's power over death itself. The New Covenant, inaugurated by Christ's blood, promises a spiritual gathering of believers from "every tribe and language and people and nation" (Revelation 5:9), a dispersion far greater than Israel's physical exile. This spiritual Exodus, leading to reconciliation with God and eternal life, truly eclipses all previous acts of deliverance, becoming the definitive proof that God is truly alive and at work. In Christ, we see the ultimate fulfillment of God's promise to do a "new thing," providing a salvation so complete that it becomes the eternal benchmark for His power and grace, making it truly "no more be said" that any other act is the greatest, for He has made all things new.