Browse Bible Study Resources

Daily Devotions

Jeremiah

Jeremiah 
Day 
Day 202

"You shall not take a wife"

Text: Jeremiah 16:2

THE PERSONAL LIFE OF JEREMIAH

The life of a prophet of God was most demanding. Why then would Jeremiah continue to be a prophet?

“The word of the LORD also came to me, saying,
‘You shall not take a wife,
nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place.’
For thus says the LORD concerning
the sons and daughters who are born in this place,
and concerning their mothers who bore them
and their fathers who begot them in this land:
‘They shall die gruesome deaths;
they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried,
but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth.
They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine,
and their corpses shall be meat
for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.'”
Jeremiah 16:1-4

1. “The word of the LORD also came to me, saying”

a) God’s work may be demanding, but the LORD was never mean!
b) One of the most wonderful things about being a prophet of God may be noted.
i) God speaks to His prophets.
ii) He reveals important truths.
iii) He is personally involved and concerned about their personal lives.

2. “You shall not take a wife, nor shall you have sons or daughters in this place”

a) This was sound advice to Jeremiah.
b) To have a wife and to have children would not be the best thing for him.

3. “For thus says the LORD concerning the sons and daughters who are born in this place, and concerning their mothers who bore them and their fathers who begot them in this land”

a) There were reasons why God gave this word of advice to Jeremiah.
b) God would reveal what would happen in the present context:
i) To the children.
ii) To the parents.

4. “They shall die gruesome deaths; they shall not be lamented nor shall they be buried, but they shall be like refuse on the face of the earth. They shall be consumed by the sword and by famine, and their corpses shall be meat for the birds of heaven and for the beasts of the earth.”

a) Gruesome deaths would occur in the war about to take place.
b) The dead:
i) They would not be lamented.
ii) They would not even be given proper burials.
iii) They would be regarded as “refuse”.
c) Two means of death highlighted:
i) The sword
ii) Famine
d) What would happen to the corpses?
i) They would be eaten by scavenger birds.
ii) They would be consumed by beasts of the earth.