Jer 16:1-18 | TNotes | STEP | Summary for Jer 16:1-18: 16:1-18 Jeremiah’s life was to be a sign or a parable (see thematic note for Prophetic Sign Acts at end of chapter), as the Lord instructed him not to marry (Jer 16:1-4 ) and not to go to funerals (16:5-7 ) or celebrations (16:8-9 ). Summary for Jer 16:1-2: 16:1-2 In Hebrew society, bachelors were rare and males were expected to get married in their early twenties. However, the severe crisis of the time apparently required Jeremiah to be a divine messenger without family obligations. He needed to depend entirely on the Lord (cp. 1 Cor 7:26-35 ).

Summary for Jer 16:1-18: 16:1-18 ^a Jeremiah’s life was to be a sign or a parable (see thematic note for Prophetic Sign Acts at end of chapter), as the Lord instructed him not to marry (Jer 16:1-4 ^b) and not to go to funerals (16:5-7 ^c) or celebrations (16:8-9 ^d).
Summary for Jer 16:1-2: 16:1-2 ^e In Hebrew society, bachelors were rare and males were expected to get married in their early twenties. However, the severe crisis of the time apparently required Jeremiah to be a divine messenger without family obligations. He needed to depend entirely on the Lord (cp. 1 Cor 7:26-35 ^f).
Summary for Jer 16:3-4: 16:3-4 ^g Jeremiah’s lack of children was the basis for a lesson about the future. The time would soon come when so many children and parents would die that no one would remain to mourn for them or bury them.
Summary for Jer 16:5-7: 16:5-7 ^h The ban on funerals and mourning was a parable with a message to the people of Judah. Destruction would be so great and widespread that no one would mourn properly or comfort others.
Summary for Jer 16:8-9: 16:8-9 ⁱ The ban on attending feasts and parties isolated Jeremiah from meaningful social contact, but the Lord gave it special importance. The entire nation and its social interaction would soon cease to exist.
16:10 ^j The Lord told Jeremiah to expect questions from the people that would express their self-righteousness and their belief that the Lord should never harm them.
Summary for Jer 16:11-13: 16:11-13 ^k Jeremiah’s reply was the message he received when he was commissioned: The people had abandoned the Lord for idols (ch 2 ^l), so the Lord would abandon them.
Summary for Jer 16:14-18: 16:14-18 ^m Jeremiah’s message was two-pronged: Judgment does not erase eventual hope (16:14-15 ⁿ), but neither does hope cancel out the certainty of judgment (16:16-18 ^o).
Summary for Jer 16:14-15: 16:14-15 ^p The Lord planned to bring his people back from exile to the Promised Land, an event that would be on par with the exodus from Egypt (see Ezra 1–6 ^q). The Exodus was the primary event in Israel’s history that had demonstrated the reality and power of the one true God.
16:16 ^r The fishermen and hunters were the Babylonian soldiers God used to mete out his judgment (cp. Hab 1:14-16 ^s).
16:18 ^t The punishment was double—slaughter and exile—because the people of Judah had violated the two most important commandments. They did not love God (Deut 6:4-5 ^u), and they did not love their neighbors (Lev 19:18 ^v; see also Matt 22:37-40 ^w).