Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 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.
19. my strength, and my strong hold ] The two Hebrew substantives are derivatives of the same root.
vanity no profit ] See on Jer 2:5; Jer 2:8.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
19 21. See introd. summary to section. For the thought in Jer 16:19 cp. Jer 12:15 f. and for the interest felt by Jeremiah in the religious life of the heathen, Jer 2:11 a. Hence Co. with Gi. accepts the v. as genuine.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Jer 16:19-21
O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.
What God is to His people
One of the Puritans was accustomed to describe prayer as the flight of the lonely man to the only God. There is such prayer here. This man is very lonely. He is like a speckled bird, set on by all the birds of the flock. He looks right and left, but there is no man to care for his soul; then he addresses himself to God in these touching words:
I. My strength. The Psalmist spoke of God as the strength of his life. The Apostle of love said that little children could overcome the world, because He that was in them was greater and stronger than he that was in the world. God is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid?
II. My stronghold. A stronghold is what holds strongly. A keep is that which keeps. We keep Gods deposit, which is His Gospel: God keeps our deposit, which is ourselves. And none, man nor devil, can snatch us away.
III. My refuge in the day of affliction. The night darkening the sky drives the chicks to the hens wings; so affliction drives us to God. In the shadow of Thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast. Do you wish to know Him thus? See that you do not burden yourself by your endeavours. Be still and know. Enter into the still and peaceful land of inward spiritual fellowship. Commune with your own heart. Be a child before Him, innocent, unaffected, unrestrained. (F. B. Meyer, B. A.)
Safe from trouble
Travellers tell us that they who are at the top of the Alps can see great showers of rain fall under them, but not one drop of it falls upon them. They who have God for their portion are in a high tower, and thereby safe from all troubles and showers. (G. Swinnock.)
The Gentiles shall come unto Thee from the ends of the earth.—
Heathenism and its prospects
I. The confession which the Gentile nations are here prophetically described to make. Surely our fathers have inherited lies, etc. Need I say, that the produce of lies must be vanity and things wherein there is no profit? It may be granted, that if we only esteem things by the partial and short-sighted standard of this present world, falsehood may sometimes bring its gain; there are pleasures of falsehood and gains of falsehood. But then the pleasures of sin are but for a moment; the day is shortly coming, when falsehood shall be found as a rope of sand, as a quicksand on which any structure may have been based; and therefore if it be true that the heritage of the heathen is a heritage of lies, it follow that it is a heritage of vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.
II. The purposes of God respecting these idolaters. You have here the repetition of Gods purpose. He is not satisfied with stating once, I will cause them to know, but He adds a second time, I will cause them to know My hand and My might; and they shall know that I am the Lord. There is a distinctness and a certainty upon this matter which is most refreshing to a humane and considerate mind. The intimation of this design is here presented to us as the distinct purpose of God. Therefore–since man admits that he has inherited lies, since he sees that he is destitute of any resources in himself, and since the allotment which father has given to son during many an elapsing century, since all the property that could descend from sire to son as ages rolled away was only falsehood, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit–since all that this accumulated mass of human skill and industry bestowed, was based on falsehood–now that the confession is made,–I will cause this people to know My hand and My might. And how was the hand of God to be known? Was it to be the hand of power, crushing to perdition the sinner whose heart was disaffected and his intellect degraded? No; He was to stretch out His hand to heal and to save. There is no power so great, and no power so beautiful in nature, as this hand of God, when it is stretched out to heal. There are needful accompaniments of this wonderful accomplishment of Divine mercy and love to man. There are the ministers of His Gospel. By the instrumentality of these human communications, does the Spirit of God act; and when therefore God says, And they shall know that I am Jehovah, it is meant that to these nations shall be sent the records of the Scriptures; that to them shall go the heralds of peace; that among them shall the voice of mercy be heard; that amidst their thronged population shall the accents of salvation come forth, from lips which He has touched with a coal from the altar, and made to be the bearers of kind sayings to their poor suffering and degraded sinners. This is Gods declaration.
III. The generous consolation which the mind of the prophet derives from this knowledge of Gods gracious design in favour of these Gentiles. O Lord, my strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction. When beat down by sorrow, when prostrate in calamity, when standing amidst the decay of national comforts, and amidst the manifestation of Gods righteous judgments, he turned for rest to God; God was his strength, God was his fortress God opened to him an asylum whither the wicked could not follow him, whither Satan could not follow him. (G. T. Noel, M. A.)
Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?—
God-making
Is not that impossible? From a certain point of view it is utterly impossible, and yet from another point of view it is the very thing men are doing every day in the week. Questions cannot always be answered literally. There may be a moral explanation under the literary definition. Who does not make himself gods as he needs them?–not visible god, otherwise they might bring down upon themselves the contempt of observers, and the contempt of their very makers; but ambitions, purposes, policies, programmes, methods of procedure,–all these may be looked upon as refuges and defences and hidden sanctuaries into which the soul would go for defence and protection when the tempest rages loudly, and fiercely. A subtle thing is this god-making. Every man is at times a polytheist–that is, a possessor or a worshipper of many gods. The Lord could never bring the mind of His people directly and lovingly to the reception of the One Deity. It would seem to be the last thought of man that there can be, by metaphysical necessity, only one God. There cannot be a divided Deity. Yet it is this very miracle that the imagination of man has performed. He has set all round the household innumerable idols which he takes down according to the necessity of the hour. He knows he is intellectually foolish, morally the victim of self-delusion, practically an utterly unwise and impracticable man; yet somehow, by force not to be put into equivalent words, he will do this again and again, yea he takes to himself power to fill up vacancies, so that if any clay god or imagined idol has failed him he puts another in the place of the one that did not fulfil his prayer. (J. Parker, D. D.)
.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 19. The Gentiles shall come] Even the days shall come when the Gentiles themselves, ashamed of their confidence, shall renounce their idols, and acknowledge that their fathers had believed lies, and worshipped vanities. This may be a prediction of the calling of the Gentiles by the Gospel of Christ; if so, it is a light amidst much darkness. In such dismal accounts there is need of some gracious promise relative to an amended state of the world.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
The prophet hearing Gods resolution, before he showed this people any mercy, to be avenged on them for their sins, leaves off speaking to him upon that argument; but applieth himself to God for mercy for himself, and, to confirm his faith in him, gives him names suited to his hopes in him, and which might declare his faith in him for the obtaining favour from him in an evil day; and comforteth himself with the thoughts of those good days that were coming, when not only the Jews should be again restored to their country, but the
Gentiles also from all parts of the world (whom also many of the Jews should accompany) should apply themselves to God, confessing that both they and their fathers, in their worshipping dumb idols, had but inherited lies and vanity, and things that were unprofitable.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
19, 20. The result of God’sjudgments on the Jews will be that both the Jews when restored, andthe Gentiles who have witnessed those judgments, shall renounceidolatry for the worship of Jehovah. Fulfilled partly at the returnfrom Babylon, after which the Jews entirely renounced idols, and manyproselytes were gathered in from the Gentiles, but not to be realizedin its fulness till the final restoration of Israel (Isa2:1-17).
Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
O Lord, my strength and my fortress,…. These are the words of the prophet, rising out of the temptation which beset him; casting off his impatience, diffidence, and unbelief; calling upon God, and exercising faith in him; having received the promise of the restoration of his people to their land, and a view of the future conversion of the Gentiles; which were a means of recovering his spiritual strength, of invigorating grace in him, and of encouraging him to exercise it in a lively manner; to go on in his duty constantly, and to bear affliction cheerfully and patiently; “strength” to do which he had from the Lord; and to whom he ascribes it; and whom he calls his “fortress”, or strong hold; and such the Lord is to his people, a strong hold to prisoners of hope, and a strong tower or place of defence to all his saints:
and my refuge in the day of affliction; in which he now was, or saw was coming upon him, when he should be carried captive into Babylon; but God was his refuge, shelter, and protection, and to him he betook himself, where he was safe; and which was infinitely better to him than the mountains, hills, and holes of rocks, others would fly unto,
Jer 16:16.
The Gentiles shall come unto thee from the ends of the earth; not the Jews, who were like to the Gentiles for their idolatries, and other wicked practices, and therefore so called, who should return from the several distant countries where they had been scattered, to their own land, and to the worship of God in it; but such who were really Gentiles, that should be converted, either at the time of the Babylonish captivity, and should come along with the Jews when they returned, and worship the Lord with them; or rather in Gospel times. And so Kimchi says this belongs to the times of the Messiah; when the Gospel was to be, and was preached among them, even to the ends of the earth; and many savingly came to Christ for righteousness and strength, for peace, pardon, salvation, and eternal life; and turned to him as to a strong hold, and fled to him for refuge, and laid hold on him, the hope set before them.
And shall say, surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanities, and [things] wherein [there is] no profit; meaning their idols, which did not give what their priests, and the abettors of them, promised; and so deceived their votaries, and disappointed them of their expectations, which became vain, and so were of no profit and advantage to them; a poor inheritance this, which they had possessed and enjoyed for many generations, which their children, now being convinced of, relinquish; for a false religion is not to be retained on this score, because the religion of ancestors, and of long possession with them.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
What the Prophet has said hitherto might appear contrary to the promises of God, and wholly subversive of the covenant which he had made with Abraham. God had chosen to himself one people from the whole world, now when this people were trodden under foot what could the most perfect of the faithful suppose but that that covenant was rendered void, since God had resolved to destroy the Jews and to obliterate their name? This was then a most grievous trial, and sufficient, to shake the strongest minds. The Prophet therefore now returns to the subject, and obviates this temptation; and seeing men in despair he turns to God, and speaks of the calling of the Gentiles, which was sufficient wholly to remove that stumbling — block, which I have mentioned respecting the apostasy and ruin of the chosen people. We now perceive the Prophet’s meaning.
When any one reads the whole chapter, he may think that Jeremiah abruptly turns to address God; but what I have stated ought to be borne in mind, for his purpose was to fortify himself and the faithful against the thought I have mentioned, which would have otherwise shaken the faith of them all. And he shews what is best to be done in a troubled and dark state of things, for Satan hunts for nothing more than to involve us in various and intricate disputes, and he is an acute disputant, yea, and a sophist; we are also very ready to receive what he may suggest, and thus it happens that the thoughts which we either attain ourselves or too readily receive when offered by the artifice of Satan, often overwhelm us. There is then no better remedy than to break off such disputes and to turn our eyes and all our thoughts to God. This the Prophet did when he said, O Jehovah, to thee shall the Gentiles come
We now see that Jeremiah sets the conversion of the Gentiles in opposition to the destruction which he had before denounced; for the truth of God and his mercy were so connected with the salvation of the chosen people, that their destruction seemed to obliterate them. Therefore the Prophet sets forth in opposition to this the conversion of the Gentiles, as though he had said, “Though the race of Abraham perishes, yet God’s covenant fails not, nor is there any diminution of his grace, for he will convert all the Gentiles to himself.” If any one objects and says, that though the Gentiles be converted, yet the covenant of God could not have been valid and perpetual, except the posterity of Abraham were heirs of that grace which God had promised to him. To this there is a ready answer, for when God turned the Gentiles to himself he was mindful of his promise, so as to gather a Church to himself both from the Jews and the Gentiles, as we also know that Christ came to proclaim peace to those afar off and to them who were nigh, according to what Paul teaches. (Eph 2:17) Jeremiah then includes in the calling of the Gentiles what is said elsewhere,
“
A remnant according to the election of grace.” (Rom 9:5)
It is an argument from the greater to the less; “God will not retain a few men only, but will gather to himself those who now seem dispersed through the whole world; much more then shall all those of the race of Abraham, who are chosen by God, be saved; and though the great body of the people perish, yet the Lord, who knows his own people, will not suffer them to perish even in the worst state of things.”
But as the struggle was difficult, he calls God his strength, and fortress, and refuge. He says עזי ומעזי ozi vemozi, ma force et forteresse, for the two words come from the same root, and we cannot in Latin thus fitly translate them. He then calls God his strength and his fortress, but both words are derived from a verb which means to be strong. He then adds, my refuge in the day of affliction We here see that God according to circumstances is adorned with names, such as are fit to give us confidence, and as it were to arm us for the purpose of sustaining all the assaults of temptations, for there was not sufficient force and power in that plain declaration, “O Jehovah, the Gentiles shall come to thee,” but as the Prophet was reduced to the greatest straits, and, as I have said, his faith nmst have been greatly tried, he calls God his strength, his fortress, and his refuge in the day of affliction; as though he had said, “Now is the time when I find how necessary is thy protection, thy strength, thy power; for though my present miseries, and the approaching ruin dishearten me, yet thou wilt be to me a refuge.”
But he says, that the Gentiles would come from the ends of the earth (167) A contrast is to be observed here also; for the Jews at first worshipped God, as it were in an obscure corner; but he says, “When that land shall cast out its inhabitants, all nations shall come, not only from neighboring countries, but also from the extremities of the earth.” He adds, that the Gentiles would say, surely falsehood leave our fathers possessed; it was vanity, there was nothing profitable in them To possess, here means the same as to inherit; for we know that one’s own inheritance is valuable to him; and men are as it were fixed in their farms and fields. As then the Gentiles, before they were enlightened, thought their chief happiness to be in their superstitions, the Prophet says here, by way of concession, that they possessed falsehood, as though it was said, “Our fathers thought themselves blessed and happy when they worshipped idols and their own inventions.” It was therefore their heritage, that is, they thought nothing better or more to be desired than to embrace their idols and their errors; but it was falsehood, he says, that is, when they thought that they had a glorious inheritance it was only a foolish imagination; it was, in short, vanity, and there was nothing useful or profitable in them. This confession proves the conversion of the Gentiles by external evidences. When we offend God, not only secretly, but also by bad examples, repentance requires confession. Hence the Prophet shews a change in the Gentiles, for they would of themselves acknowledge that their fathers had been deceived by superstitions; for while they thought that they were acting rightly, they were only under the influence of inusions and fascinations.
But it is not to be doubted but that the Prophet here indirectly condemns the Jews, because they had not departed from the sins of their fathers, though they had been often admonished. The Gentiles then shall come, and the ignorance of their fathers shall not prevent them from confessing that they and their fathers were guilty before God. Since then the hinderance which from deliberate wickedness held fast the Jews, would not prevail with the Gentiles, it appeared evident how great was the contumacy of the people, who could not be persuaded to forsake the bad examples of their fathers. We now understand what the Prophet means, and for what purpose he introduced this prayer. It follows —
(167) Though the word rendered here “Gentiles” may be often so translated, yet it does not necessarily mean the heathens. It signifies a people associated together; and it may mean here the Jewish people in their dispersion, formed into companies or tribes, as Grotius thinks; and a due consideration of the context will lead us to this opinion. They are spoken of in Jer 16:15 as “brought from all the lands” whither God had driven them; and as the idolatry of their fathers is continually mentioned in connection with their own, the confession in this verse seems appropriate to them; and the last verse, Jer 16:21, clearly refers to the people of Israel. There is nothing in the whole passage (except it be this clause) that has any reference to the conversion of the heathens. I am aware that commentators take the same view of this clause with Calvin, yet I fully believe that the “nations” here were the Jews, scattered here and there, as distinct portions of the community, in various parts of the heathen world. The prophet, after having received an assurance of a restoration, makes a thankful acknowledgment to God, and tells us what would be the confession of the returned exiles, which includes the next verse. Then God assures him in the last verse, that such would be the effect of exile as to make them ever afterwards to acknowledge his power and his majesty, which has been remarkably fulfilled; for the Jews have never been guilty — of idolatry since their return from Babylon. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
D. Affirmation by the Prophet Jer. 16:19-21
TRANSLATION
(19) O LORD my strength and my fortress and my refuge in the day of trouble: Unto You the nations shall come from the ends of the earth and they shall say: Our fathers have inherited nothing but a lie, vain things which are good for nothing. (20) Shall a man make for himself gods? They are no-gods! (21) Therefore this time I will teach them! I will teach them My might and MY power, and they shall understand that MY name is the LORD.
COMMENTS
In his first prayer since the bitter complaint of Jer. 15:15-18 Jeremiah indicates how completely he has changed. His whining, complaining accusation against God has given way to triumphant faith. He realizes now that God is his strength, his fortress and his refuge. This soldier is ready to get back on the firing line. He is ready to face insurmountable odds and attempt impossible feats because he knows that God is with him. He is ready to perform whatever duty God might lay before him. As God has reminded him that restoration will follow deportation Jeremiah is able to place the whole matter of national judgment in proper perspective. He comes to realize that the destruction of old Israel is but a prelude to the founding of new Israel. Suddenly he remembers the wonderful promise which God had made concerning the conversion of the Gentiles (Jer. 12:15-16). His mind leaps forward to that glorious day when chastened and redeemed Israel will be joined by peoples from distant lands who renounce forever their ancient attachment to idolatry. Those converted Gentiles realize that they have inherited nothing from their fathers religiously speaking but false and vain gods which are utterly worthless (Jer. 16:19). These Gentiles are amazed that anyone could ever have thought that the work of their own hands was deity (Jer. 16:20).
God responds to the prophets prayer of faith by revealing a little more of His grand purpose to him. Just as the forefathers of Israel had learned the significance of the name Yahweh (American Standard, Jehovah) when they were delivered from Egypt, so in the deliverance from Babylon they would come again to learn the significance of that name. Gods power and might in watching over, blessing and preserving His people in a foreign land would prove that He was universal sovereign and also a God of love.
Fuente: College Press Bible Study Textbook Series
(19) O Lord, my strength, and my fortress.The words speak of a returning confidence in the prophets mind, and find utterance in what is practically (though the Hebrew words are not the same) an echo of Psa. 18:2, or more closely of Psa. 28:1; Psa. 28:8; Psa. 59:17; 2Sa. 22:3.
The Gentiles shall come unto thee.The sin and folly of Israel are painted in contrast with the prophets vision of the future. Then, in that far-off time of which other prophets had spoken (Mic. 4:1; Isa. 2:2), the Gentiles should come to Jerusalem, turning from the vanities they had inherited; and yet Israel, who had inherited a truer faith, was now abasing herself even to their level or below it. Israel had answered in the affirmative the question which seemed to admit only of an answer in the negative: Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods?
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
19. Lord, my strength fortress refuge Mark the expressiveness of these epithets for a lone, weak, unprotected man. Out of the prophet’s own need comes a more vivid realization of God. In this concluding portion of the chapter we have Jeremiah’s prophetical prayer for the heathen, and God’s answer thereto. So vain and so corrupt is idolatry that even the heathen themselves shall repudiate their foul inheritance.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The Sin Of Judah Is Especially Heinous In The Light Of The Fact That One Day The Nations Will Recognise The Folly Of Their Idolatry. This Make Judah’s Turning To Idols Totally Reprehensible ( Jer 16:19-20 ).
The encouraging idea that one day the nations would turn from their idols and seek YHWH is prominent in a number of the prophets (compare Jer 4:2; Gen 12:1-3; Psalms 2; Isa 2:1-3; Isa 11:9; Isa 42:4; Isa 49:6; Isa 56:6-7; Isa 60:3-7; Isa 66:19-20; Amo 9:11-12; Mic 4:2; Zec 8:20-23; Zec 14:16-17), and is taken up by Jeremiah here in order to underline the heinousness of Judah’s own behaviour. In the light of this fact their behaviour is seen to be totally reprehensible.
Jer 16:19
“O YHWH, my strength, and my stronghold,
And my refuge in the day of affliction,
To you will the nations come,
From the ends of the earth, and will say,
Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,
Vanity and things in which there is no profit.”
Jeremiah’s confidence in YHWH has been restored so that he can now speak of Him as his strength and stronghold, and as his refuge in the day of affliction. The ideas are taken from Psa 28:8; Psa 59:17; Psa 18:3. And in the light of this he exults in his certainty that, as the prophets had promised (see above), one day the nations would come to seek YHWH, admitting the folly of their previous idolatry. They would come from the ends of the earth and would declare that what they had previously believed in had been lies, merely a puff of wind (hebel – empty air), and profitless.
Jer 16:20
“Will a man make to himself gods,
Which yet are no gods?
Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know,
This once will I cause them to know,
My hand and my might,
And they will know that my name is YHWH.”
The fact that the nations would one day recognise the folly of their idolatry made it all the more reprehensible that Judah had chosen to make himself gods of what were no-gods. Would anyone do such a foolish thing? The answer is ‘yes, for Judah have already done it. That was especially why they had to be taught a sharp lesson. By it He would cause them to know His power and His might. The fact that He would ‘cause them to know’ is emphasised twice, and the fact that they would ‘know’ is emphasised three times. And by it YHWH would bring home to them once and for all the power of His hand and of His might, and cause them to know that His Name was truly YHWH, ‘the One Who is whatever He wants to be’. It was a lesson that in future they would never forget, and prepared the way for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Who made known His Name as never before, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles.
Some, however, interpret this verse as referring to the conversion of the Gentiles, and it can equally apply to that for it is a general statement. But the emphasis and the context suggest that the first interpretation is paramount.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
Jer 16:19. O Lord, my strength, and my fortress To demonstrate more emphatically the absurdity of idolatry, the prophet here foretels, that the time will come when the Gentiles themselves shall be ashamed of their idols, and address themselves to the true God in all their wants, as their only rock, their refuge, and defence; acknowledging the errors of their fathers, and that their former confidence was only vanity and lies. See Calmet.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
The prayer of the Prophet is a beautiful break in the subject; as if the man of God felt his mind instantly led out, so to look up and plead with the Lord, from what had been said. And the burden of his prayer seems to be taking hold of the Lord’s promise, concerning the call of the Gentiles; which the Apostle Paul, in after ages, had it in commission to tell the Church, should provoke the jealousy of Israel. If so, it is a blessed illustration of this passage. Let the Reader consult the scripture, and then compare both Rom 11:11 to the end.
Fuente: Hawker’s Poor Man’s Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 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.
Ver. 19. My refuge. ] Better than those of the fugitive Jews, out of which they were hunted and murdered.
The Gentiles shall come to thee.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 16:19-20
19O LORD, my strength and my stronghold,
And my refuge in the day of distress,
To You the nations will come
From the ends of the earth and say,
Our fathers have inherited nothing but falsehood,
Futility and things of no profit.
20Can man make gods for himself?
Yet they are not gods!
Jer 16:19-20 This is a wonderful universal promise that all humans will come to YHWH (cf. Jer 3:17; Jer 4:2; Jer 12:15-16). These universal, inclusive statements are more common in Isaiah (cf. Isa 2:2-4; Isa 12:4-5; Isa 25:6-9; Isa 42:6-12; Isa 45:22-23; Isa 49:5-6; Isa 51:4-5; Isa 56:6-8), but surely present in Jeremiah. The hope of Gen 3:15; Gen 12:3; Gen 22:18 is fulfilled (see Special Topic: YHWH’s Eternal Redemptive Plan )!
Jer 16:19 The last two lines and Jer 16:20 are clearly a turning from idols to YHWH, from falsehood to truth!
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Strength = strength (for protection). Hebrew. ‘azaz.
Gentiles = nations.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
Jer 16:19-21
Jer 16:19-20
THE FUTURE CONVERSION OF THE GENTILES
O Jehovah, my strength, and my stronghold, and my refuge in the day of affliction, unto thee shall the nations come from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Our fathers have inherited nought but lies, [even] vanity and things wherein there is no profit. Shall a man make unto himself gods, which yet are no gods?
Here is a clear prophecy of the Gentiles coming unto the true God, and of their rejection of idolatry, clearly identifying this passage as a reference to the Messianic Age and the spread of Christianity throughout the world. We may be certain that neither Jeremiah nor the people who heard this message had any full understanding whatever of all that was prophetically revealed in such words. Adam Clarke was correct in labeling these verses, “Light in the midst of darkness.” This, of course, makes it a parallel prophecy to Jer 16:14-15; and as Clarke stated, “In such dismal accounts (as this chapter) there is need of some gracious promise relative to an amended state of the world.” This need is, of course, exactly the reason this pattern of “light in the midst of darkness” is so generally followed throughout the Bible.
Lies… vanities. things wherein is no profit …..
. (Jer 16:19). All of these are synonyms for idols. F27
Jer 16:21
THE CERTAINTY OF IMPENDING DOOM
Therefore, behold, I will cause them to know, this once will I cause them to know my hand and my might; and they shall know that my name is Jehovah.
This final warning stresses the certainty of the destruction prophesied for Israel; and, as Jer 16:9 stated it, that destruction was something they were to see, for it would occur in their times.
Regarding these last three verses, “They have been questioned because of the universalism.” That is, they have been questioned because of the promise regarding the calling of the Gentiles from “all the nations.” However all such challenges are based upon a priori bias of the challenger who has already made up his mind about what Jeremiah should have said and are unsupported by any factual or textual evidence whatever. Throughout the Bible, especially in Isaiah, there are many such promises of the calling of the Gentiles. See Rom. 9–11.
It is refreshing that Green, writing in the Broadman Commentary, gave his opinion of these verses thus: The passage swarms with Jeremiahic phrases, and its poetic structure and style are quite similar to those of Jeremiah. This writer believes the passage to be authentic.
Affirmation by the Prophet Jer 16:19-21
In his first prayer since the bitter complaint of Jer 15:15-18 Jeremiah indicates how completely he has changed. His whining, complaining accusation against God has given way to triumphant faith. He realizes now that God is his strength, his fortress and his refuge. This soldier is ready to get back on the firing line. He is ready to face insurmountable odds and attempt impossible feats because he knows that God is with him. He is ready to perform whatever duty God might lay before him. As God has reminded him that restoration will follow deportation Jeremiah is able to place the whole matter of national judgment in proper perspective. He comes to realize that the destruction of old Israel is but a prelude to the founding of new Israel. Suddenly he remembers the wonderful promise which God had made concerning the conversion of the Gentiles (Jer 12:15-16). His mind leaps forward to that glorious day when chastened and redeemed Israel will be joined by peoples from distant lands who renounce forever their ancient attachment to idolatry. Those converted Gentiles realize that they have inherited nothing from their fathers religiously speaking but false and vain gods which are utterly worthless (Jer 16:19). These Gentiles are amazed that anyone could ever have thought that the work of their own hands was deity (Jer 16:20).
God responds to the prophets prayer of faith by revealing a little more of His grand purpose to him. Just as the forefathers of Israel had learned the significance of the name Yahweh (American Standard, Jehovah) when they were delivered from Egypt, so in the deliverance from Babylon they would come again to learn the significance of that name. Gods power and might in watching over, blessing and preserving His people in a foreign land would prove that He was universal sovereign and also a God of love.
Day of Disaster – Jer 16:1 to Jer 17:27
Open It
1. For what have you relied on someone else who then turned out to be unreliable?
2. Under what circumstances does participation in routine activities not make sense?
3. What have you discovered about the importance of rest to your life?
4. What do you most like to do for relaxation?
Explore It
5. What routine practices did God forbid for Jeremiah as a sign to the people? (Jer 16:1-9)
6. How did Jeremiahs boycott of marriages and funerals convey his prediction about Israels future? (Jer 16:5-9)
7. How was Jeremiah to answer the question “What wrong have we done”? (Jer 16:10-13)
8. What great event in Israels past did God say would be exceeded by His eventual deliverance? (Jer 16:14-15)
9. What was Israel going to lose because of their sin? (Jer 17:3-4)
10. What is the outcome of trusting in people? (Jer 17:5-6)
11. What is promised to the person who trusts God? (Jer 17:7-8)
12. What was Jeremiahs, and Gods, perspective on the human heart? (Jer 17:9)
13. What did God say would become of the person who used unjust means to gain riches? (Jer 17:11)
14. What were the people saying to Jeremiah? (Jer 17:15)
15. How did Jeremiah ask God to prove him right? (Jer 17:14-18)
16. Where did God tell Jeremiah to deliver his message about obedience? (Jer 17:19)
17. What was Gods original command to His people concerning the Sabbath? (Jer 17:20-22)
18. How did God promise to bless Jeremiahs generation if they would observe the Sabbath laws? (Jer 17:24-26)
19. How did God intend to act toward Israel if they disobeyed as their ancestors had? (Jer 17:27)
Get It
20. In your experience, what do we lose when we disobey God?
21. Who is the most trustworthy person you have known, and why do you consider that person trustworthy?
22. In what way is it good news, bad news, or both that God is always watching us?
23. When have you been guilty of downplaying or disregarding Gods commands?
24. How have you personally witnessed that the human heart is “deceitful above all things”?
25. In what ways do people fool themselves?
26. How has God proven Himself trustworthy in your life?
27. In what sense is respect for the Sabbath also respect for God?
28. What does it mean to honor the Sabbath?
29. How can we use days of rest to restore our well-being?
Apply It
30. How can you observe the Sabbath this week in a way that will help you rest, as God intended?
31. What action can you take this week to evaluate the spiritual condition of your heart?
Questions On Jeremiah Chapter Sixteen
By Brent Kercheville
1 What is Gods command to Jeremiah (Jer 16:1-4)?
Why does God restrict Jeremiah in this way?
What is the message?
2 What is Jeremiah instructed not to do during this calamity (Jer 16:5-13)? Why does God command
Jeremiah not to do this?
3 What does God promise (Jer 16:14-16)? What do we learn about God?
4 Before God does what he promised in Jer 16:14-15, what must he do first (Jer 16:17-18)?
5 What does Jeremiah pray (Jer 16:19-20)?
6 What does God promise to do (Jer 16:21)? How would God do this?
TRANSFORMATION:
How does this relationship change your relationship with God?
What did you learn about him?
What will you do differently in your life?
Fuente: Old and New Testaments Restoration Commentary
my strength: Jer 17:17, Psa 18:1, Psa 18:2, Psa 19:14, Psa 27:5, Psa 46:1, Psa 46:7, Psa 46:11, Psa 62:2, Psa 62:7, Psa 91:1, Psa 91:2, Psa 144:1, Psa 144:2, Pro 18:10, Isa 25:4, Isa 32:2, Eze 11:16, Nah 1:7, Hab 3:19
Gentiles: Jer 3:16, Jer 3:17, Psa 22:27-30, Psa 67:2-7, Psa 68:31, Psa 72:8-12, Psa 86:9, Isa 2:2, Isa 2:3, Isa 11:9, Isa 11:10, Isa 49:6, Isa 60:1-3, Isa 62:2, Mic 4:1, Mic 4:2, Zec 2:11, Zec 8:20-23, Mal 1:11, Rev 7:9-11, Rev 11:15
Surely: Jer 3:23, Jer 10:14, Jer 10:15, Hab 2:18, Hab 2:19, 1Pe 1:18
wherein: Jer 2:11, Jer 10:5, Isa 44:10
Reciprocal: Jos 2:11 – for the Lord 1Sa 12:21 – vain things 1Sa 30:6 – David 1Ki 16:26 – their vanities 2Ki 5:15 – now I know 2Ki 14:3 – he did according 2Ch 29:6 – For our fathers Psa 71:7 – thou art Psa 119:29 – Remove Pro 14:18 – inherit Isa 28:15 – we have made Isa 44:9 – and their Isa 44:20 – Is there Isa 45:14 – Surely Isa 60:14 – sons Jer 14:22 – Are Jer 18:15 – burned Eze 18:17 – he shall not Hos 2:23 – Thou art my God Amo 2:4 – and their Jon 2:8 – General Zep 3:9 – that Zec 9:1 – when Mat 8:11 – That Mat 12:18 – and he Joh 7:37 – let Act 1:8 – unto Act 11:1 – the Gentiles Act 13:47 – that thou Act 15:17 – the residue Rom 1:21 – but became Rom 1:25 – into a lie Rom 3:29 – General Rom 10:18 – unto the ends Rom 15:12 – in him 1Co 14:6 – what shall I Eph 2:13 – were Col 3:11 – there 1Th 1:9 – ye 2Ti 2:14 – to no Rev 15:4 – for all
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 16:19. The prophet Is Bpeaking of and for the people by making an acknowledgment and prediction. The acknowledgment is to the effect that the nation had depended upon falsehoods which we understand were offered chiefly by the unfaithful priests and prophets. The prediction is to be twofold in its’ fulfillment. The first was when the Gentiles (heathen nations) came to look with favor upon the ‘ Jews after they had returned to their own land, entirely cured of their idolatry (books of Ezra and Nehemiah). The second is also predicted in Isa 2:2-3, and the fulfillment may be read in Act 2:41; Act 4:4; Act 5:14; Act 12:24.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 16:19-20. O Lord, my strength To support and comfort me; my fortress To protect and shelter me; and my refuge in the day of affliction To whom I may flee for deliverance and consolation; the Gentiles, the nations, shall come to thee from the ends of the earth The prophet, shocked at the apostacy of Israel, and concerned for Gods honour, here comforts himself by looking forward to the time when even the Gentiles themselves should become sensible of the absurdity of their hereditary idolatry, and be converted to the acknowledgment of the one living and true God: and this remarkable and desirable event he predicts, the more emphatically to demonstrate the unreasonableness and folly of forsaking him for idols. And shall say That is, the Gentiles shall say, Surely our fathers, our ancestors, have inherited lies, vanity, &c. And did not receive the satisfaction they promised themselves and their children; we are now sensible of the folly and deception of their idolatrous worship, by which they were cheated to their ruin, and therefore we will entirely and for ever renounce it, and in all our wants address ourselves to the true God as our only refuge and protection. Shall a man make gods unto himself? Thus the prophet represents the Gentiles, when enlightened by the truth, as reasoning with themselves. Shall a man be so ignorant and foolish; so perfectly void of reason and discernment, as to make gods to himself, the creatures of his own fancy, the work of his own hands, which are really no gods? Can a man be so infatuated, so entirely 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? Observe, reader, that reformation is likely to be sincere and durable which results from a rational conviction of the gross absurdity which there is in sin, and the service of Satan.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
16:19 O LORD, my {i} strength, and my fortress, and my refuge in the day of affliction, the Gentiles shall come to thee from the ends of the earth, and shall say, Surely our fathers have inherited {k} lies, vanity, and [things] in which [there is] no profit.
(i) He wonders at the great mercy of God in this deliverance which will not only extend to the Jews but also to the Gentiles.
(k) Our fathers were most vile idolaters therefore it comes only of God’s mercy that he performs his promise and has not utterly cast us off.
Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes
Jeremiah composed a song to the Lord. He addressed Him as his "strength," his "stronghold," and his "refuge" in a time (the day) of distress (cf. Psa 18:2). He foretold that the nations would come to the Lord from the ends of the earth, confessing the futility of their lives and the lives of their forefathers (cf. Jer 4:2; Gen 12:1-3; Psalms 2; Isa 2:1-3; Isa 42:4; Isa 49:6; Zec 8:20-23; Zec 14:16-17).