161 God's Message to me: 2 "Jeremiah, don't get married. Don't raise a family here. 3 I have signed the death warrant on all the children born in this country, the mothers who bear them and the fathers who beget them - 4 an epidemic of death. Death unlamented, the dead unburied, dead bodies decomposing and stinking like dung, all the killed and starved corpses served up as meals for carrion crows and mongrel dogs!" 5 God continued: "Don't enter a house where there's mourning. Don't go to the funeral. Don't sympathize. I've quit caring about what happens to this people." God's Decree. "No more loyal love on my part, no more compassion. 6 The famous and obscure will die alike here, unlamented and unburied. No funerals will be conducted, no one will give them a second thought, 7 no one will care, no one will say, 'I'm sorry,' no one will so much as offer a cup of tea, not even for the mother or father. 8 "And if there happens to be a feast celebrated, don't go there either to enjoy the festivities." 9 God-of-the-Angel-Armies, the God of Israel, says, "Watch this! I'm about to banish smiles and laughter from this place. No more brides and bridegrooms celebrating. And I'm doing it in your lifetime, before your very eyes.
Matthew Henry's Commentary on Jeremiah 16:1-9
Commentary on Jeremiah 16:1-9
(Read Jeremiah 16:1-9)
The prophet must conduct himself as one who expected to see his country ruined very shortly. In the prospect of sad times, he is to abstain from marriage, mourning for the dead, and pleasure. Those who would convince others of the truths of God, must make it appear by their self-denial, that they believe it themselves. Peace, inward and outward, family and public, is wholly the work of God, and from his loving-kindness and mercy. When He takes his peace from any people, distress must follow. There may be times when it is proper to avoid things otherwise our duty; and we should always sit loose to the pleasures and concerns of this life.