20150908 Tuesday, September 8 2015
Jeremiah 16: Why Didn't Jeremiah Marry?

by Wayne Blank
See also 1 Year Holy Bible Reading Plan

"Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place ... they shall be consumed by the sword, and by famine"

Jeremiah was not only "born to be a prophet," he was conceived to be a prophet (see also The LORD's Apostles and Prophets). His forty-year ministry began when he was quite young, in his teenage years.

"1:4 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

1:5 Before I formed thee in the belly I knew thee; and before thou camest forth out of the womb I sanctified thee, and I ordained thee a prophet unto the nations.

1:6 Then said I, Ah, Lord GOD! behold, I cannot speak: for I am a child.

1:7 But the LORD said unto me, Say not, I am a child: for thou shalt go to all that I shall send thee, and whatsoever I command thee thou shalt speak. 1:8 Be not afraid of their faces: for I am with thee to deliver thee, saith the LORD.

1:9 Then the LORD put forth his hand, and touched my mouth. And the LORD said unto me,

Behold, I have put my words in thy mouth. 1:10 See, I have this day set thee over the nations and over the kingdoms, to root out, and to pull down, and to destroy, and to throw down, to build, and to plant." (Jeremiah 1:4-10 KJV)

When Jeremiah reached early adulthood a few years later, the time when most were married, the LORD (see The Identity Of The LORD God and The LORD God Our Saviour) gave him a further command that would save him from the grief (see also The Two Ways That Weeping Will End) and hardship of losing an unrepentant wife and family - as the LORD figuratively did (see What Did The Messiah's Wife Do?).

Although Jeremiah conducted his ministry in full faith and effort, preaching and pleading with the nation of Judah (see Israel In History and Prophecy: Kingdom Of Judah) to repent, it seems that he also knew that his purpose was to provide a fair warning, that was going to be rejected and ignored by nearly everyone - even his own wife and children, if he would to have them. With about 30 years of his ministry still to be done, Jeremiah knew that, in the end, the nation of Judah was going to be destroyed due to their refusal to heed the Word of God, and their hatred toward His prophets (see Why Were The Prophets Of Truth Hated?).

"16:1 The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, 16:2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. 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; 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." (Jeremiah 16:1-4 KJV)

The full context of the command starkly describes how Jeremiah's life would be that of a near-solitary winner among a multitude of self-made losers (see A Faithful Winner Among Unrepentant Losers).

"16:1 The word of the LORD came also unto me, saying, 16:2 Thou shalt not take thee a wife, neither shalt thou have sons or daughters in this place. 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; 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.

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. 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: 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.

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

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? 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; 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: 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.

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; 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.

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. 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. 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.

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. 16:20 Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?

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." (Jeremiah 16:1-21 KJV)

Fact Finder: What did the Kingdom of Judah do that repeated what the Kingdom of Israel had already done?
See Why Didn't Jeremiah Live In The Kingdom Of Israel?