Jeremiah 16:12

The Bible says in Jeremiah 16:12-13, “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: 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.” A phrase is used about the Israelites that we have seen in another important passage in the Bible. It is the phrase “the imagination of his evil heart.” Something is wrong with human beings such that without intervention from the Savior and without help from the Word of God, the humans will descend further and further into darkness. We call it depravity. In his or her natural state the human being is depraved of the spiritual qualities that are needed to live for God and to become what we ought to become. That is why Jesus said in John 3:3-7, “Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born? Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.”

During the time of Noah, the Bible says in Genesis 6:5-7, “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And it repented the LORD that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him at his heart. And the LORD said, I will destroy man whom I have created from the face of the earth; both man, and beast, and the creeping thing, and the fowls of the air; for it repenteth me that I have made them.” Why did God destroy the earth with a flood in the time of Noah? God destroyed the earth because of the thoughts that were taking place inside human beings. Why did God use the Babylonians to destroy Israel during the time of Jeremiah? God destroyed Israel because of the evil thoughts that were taking place inside the brains of the Israelites. God sees and knows all things. He knows the thoughts that we think, and those thoughts are very important to Him. One of the values of the Bible is that we can read it, and have the thoughts of God go into our mind. Read the Word of God, think about the Word of God, listen to the Word of God, and study the Word of God for many reasons. One reason is to replace your own evil thoughts with good thoughts that come from heaven.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 16:14-16, “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; 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. 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.” There is an old saying, “History repeats itself.” That certainly is true in reference to the mercy of God. One reason that we can be so certain of God’s mercy and grace to each of us today through Christ is because of how merciful He has been in the past. When God delivered the children of Israel out of Egypt, and took them to the Promised Land, that was not the last time that He was going to need to deliver them from a foreign country. Just as Jeremiah prophesied, the day would come when Israel would be in captivity in Babylon, but God would not leave them there. Just as God’s love and mercy motivated Him to rescue Israel from Pharaoh and from Egypt, God’s love and mercy would also motivate Him to rescue Israel from Babylon. By the way, God will recue them at least one more time. At the return of Christ they will be rescued once for all. God is faithful to His promises and He is faithful to His people no matter how far away from Him they may wander. Aren’t you glad that Jesus is faithful to His love and mercy even when we are not faithful? Notice that the Lord said in Jeremiah 16:15, “I will bring them again into their land that I gave unto their fathers.” The land of Palestine belongs to Israel because God has given it to them. God gave to to their fathers with a promise, and the Almighty God always keeps His promises. God is not an Indian-giver. He does not take back His gifts. That is why it says in Romans 11:29, “For the gifts and calling of God are without repentance.” Of course, this concept is consistent with the truth of eternal security. God may chastise His children, but He does not utterly cut them off.

The Bible says in Jeremiah 16:17-18, “For mine eyes are upon all their ways: they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity hid from mine eyes. And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land, they have filled mine inheritance with the carcasses of their detestable and abominable things.” Notice carefully that God says, “And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double; because they have defiled my land.” Whose land is Palestine? It is God’s land. From that standpoint we can say that it does not belong to the Israelites or to the Moslems. The land belongs to God. That is also true of every parcel of land on this earth. This land is God’s land. This earth is God’s earth. It belongs to Him because He created it and because He sustains it. If you own an acre of land or many acres, you had better remember this truth: you do not really own it. God owns it, and one day He will require from you an answer as to what you have done with His property. It says in Revelation 4:11, “Thou are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power: for thou hast created all things, and for thy pleasure they are and were created.”

Notice also in Jeremiah 16:18 that God is talking about punishments that He is going to give because of sins. It is interesting to note that these punishments do not come against the unsaved and unbelieving people of the world. The punishments come against God’s people. If you are a believer in Jesus, God has a high standard that He has set for you. Because Jesus died in your place, God expects you to love Jesus and serve Him faithfully. Of course, the unbelievers of the world live in sin and arrogance and rebellion against the Lord Jesus Christ. God is not going about to punish them: not yet. Jesus wants to save them from their sins. But the believers are already saved. God wants the believers to live holy lives so that we will be witnesses to the lost souls of the world. Believers who are not living holy lives are in danger of judgments and punishments. That is why believers are warned in Hebrews 10:31, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.” It also says in First Peter 4:17, “For the time is come that judgment must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin at us, what shall the end be of them that obey not the gospel of God?”

The Bible says in Jeremiah 16:19-21, “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. Shall a man make gods unto himself, and they are no gods? 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.” In Jeremiah 16:19 the prophet used three terms to refer to God. Jeremiah called God “my strength,” “my fortress,” and “my refuge.” Jeremiah did not rely upon himself or another human being. He relied upon the Lord. Jeremiah called the Lord “my strength.” The Apostle Paul used very similar language about Jesus when Paul wrote in Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” The word “cannot” should not be in any Christian’s vocabulary because we have the Almighty God, whose name is Jesus Christ, to rely upon for our strength. When any situation comes upon you, do not think about how much strength you have to face the situation. Instead rely upon the strength of Christ to face it for you. It is not a question of what you will do. It is a question of what the Lord will do. Because of the Babylonian army that would be coming against them, the Israelites were very mindful of the need of a good fortress where they could take refuge. If trouble came, they would run to the fortress to be safe. Do you know how to run to Jesus to rely upon Him in order to be safe? It is called faith.

It is interesting that the second half of Jeremiah 16:19 switches to the subject of the Gentiles and what they are going to do. The Israelites represented the believers. They had failed greatly, but they still had the example of Jeremiah, and the invitation to trust in the strength of the Lord instead of themselves. The Gentiles were the unbelievers. What was God’s plan for them? What would happen to the Gentiles? They are God’s creatures also. God’s plan for the Gentiles was the same in Jeremiah’s day as it is today. God wants to save as many as He can: as many as will come to Jesus. How do the Gentiles get saved? They must wake up to the truth. They must realize that they have been given lies, and they must turn to the truth. Jesus said, “Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” The Gentiles who get saved say, “Surely our fathers have inherited lies, vanity, and things wherein there is no profit.” If you are a Gentile from some far-flung country who is not saved, you have been lied to. In order to turn to Jesus, you will have to turn away from what you were taught by your “fathers.” In other words, getting saved by Christ will have to become the most important thing in all the world to you. Jesus said in Mark 10:29-31, “And Jesus answered and said, Verily I say unto you, There is no man that hath left house, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands, for my sake, and the gospel's, But he shall receive an hundredfold now in this time, houses, and brethren, and sisters, and mothers, and children, and lands, with persecutions; and in the world to come eternal life. But many that are first shall be last; and the last first.”

Notice the phrase where God said in Jeremiah 16:21, “I will this once cause them to know.” This verse makes it very clear where the knowledge of the truth comes from: it comes from God Himself. If someone knows truth, it is only because God actively revealed that truth to them. God is the truth-teller. He is the source of all truth: the only truth. Jesus said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me.” Jesus also said in John 8:32, “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” Concerning the truth that comes from Jesus, it is interesting to notice that He actively brings truth to every human being. It says in John 1:9, “That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.” What this means is that Jesus personally visits every human being to reveal truth to them. Jesus has already visited you, or He will yet visit you. The question is this: how will you respond when He does visit you? Jesus says in Revelation 3:20, “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.”

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