Thomas Aquinas Commentary Jeremiah 16:10-21

"And it shall come to pass, when thou shalt show this people all these words, and they shall say unto thee, Wherefore hath Jehovah pronounced all this great evil against us? or what is our iniquity? or what is our sin that we have committed against Jehovah our God? Then shalt thou say unto them, Because your fathers have forsaken me, saith Jehovah, and have walked after other gods, and have served them, and have worshipped them, and have forsaken me, and have not kept my law; and ye have done evil more than your fathers; for, behold, ye walk every one after the stubbornness of his evil heart, so that ye hearken not unto me: therefore will I cast you forth out of this land into the land that ye have not known, neither ye nor your fathers; and there shall ye serve other gods day and night; for I will show you no favor. Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that it shall no more be said, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, As Jehovah liveth, that brought up the children of Israel from the land of the north, and from all the countries 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 Jehovah, and they shall fish them up; and afterward I will send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the clefts of the rocks. For mine eyes are upon all their ways; they are not hid from my face, neither is their iniquity concealed from mine eyes. And first I will recompense their iniquity and their sin double, because they have polluted my land with the carcasses of their detestable things, and have filled mine inheritance with their abominations. 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? 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." — Jeremiah 16:10-21 (ASV)

Here, he gives the cause of the previously mentioned punishment.

First, he poses the question: why has the LORD spoken all this great evil concerning us? As it is written, Such is the way of the adulterous woman, who eats, and wipes her mouth and says: I have done no wrong (Proverbs 30:20).

Second, the Lord’s response is given: you shall say to them.

He first places the fault in the transgression of their fathers: because they have abandoned. As it says above: they have abandoned me, the source of living water, and they have dug for them cisterns, even broken cisterns, which are not able to hold water (Jeremiah 2:13). This is also seen in the imitation of the children, so that they could not excuse themselves by what is said: the fathers have eaten the bitter grape, and the teeth of the children were set on edge (Ezekiel 18:2). But you have done worse. Fulfill the measure of your fathers (Matthew 23:32).

Next, he threatens punishment. First, he gives the threat of punishment regarding captivity: I also shall drive you out; and regarding slavery: you will serve strange gods, by serving their worshipers. Judah has gone away because of affliction and abundance of harsh labor; he has dwelt among the nations, and has not found rest (Lamentations 1:3). In those nations also, you shall not rest, neither will there be any rest for the sole of your foot (Deuteronomy 28:65).

Second, he promises consolation, giving an oath as the sign: therefore, behold, the days are coming. It is as if he were saying, “You will think of this as a greater kindness than when you were freed from Egypt; and forgetting the former, so to speak, you will always remember the latter.” You shall not remember what came before, and shall not consider former things (Isaiah 43:18). The same is said below (Jeremiah 23:8). And explaining the kindness: and I will lead them back. I shall surely take you from the nations, and I will gather you from all lands; and I will lead you back to your own land (Ezekiel 36:24).

Third, he speaks of the nature of the captivity: behold, I. First, he describes the captivity of the Babylonians as fishers, namely, the Chaldeans, who caught them as if they were living in a sea of prosperity and pleasure. You shall make men like the fish of the sea, and like the creeping things which have no leader (Habakkuk 1:3). He describes the captivity of the Romans as hunters: and after these things, I will send hunters, namely, the Romans, who hunted them like beasts because of their cruel murders. My enemies have taken me in the chase, like a bird without cause (Lamentations 3:52).

Second, he gives the reason for the captivity and speaks of his awareness of their guilt: because my eyes are upon all their ways. All the ways of men lie open to his eyes; the LORD is a weigher of spirits (Proverbs 16:2). He also gives the threat of punishment: and I will first pay them back, that is, before the previously mentioned consolation, double. This is certainly with regard to their worship of idols, because of what follows: because they have polluted; and with regard to their perversion of morals: and have filled my inheritance with their abominations. The earth is stained with blood, and polluted with their works (Psalms 105:38).

Fourth, he speaks of the usefulness of the captivity, namely, the conversion of the nations—either those who came back to Jerusalem with the Jews under Zerubbabel, or those who were converted to the faith of Christ. This is because a blindness in part has happened to Israel, until the fullness of the nations should enter, and so all Israel should be saved (Romans 11:25).

He makes three points about this.

First, the exultation of the prophet is presented, signified in the confession of divine praise: O LORD, my fortitude, to conquer others, my strength, to persevere, my refuge, if I should fail. I will love you, O LORD my strength, the LORD is my support and my refuge (Psalms 17:18).

Second, the conversion of the nations is presented: to you shall the nations come. Sing to the LORD a new song, his praise from the ends of the earth (Isaiah 42:10). He also presents the shame of sin: truly a lie, that is, idolatry, which deceitfully claims divinity and falsely offers help. As it says above: surely the hills were deceitful, the multitude of the mountains (Jeremiah 3:23). And the refutation of their original error: shall man make gods for himself? And they are not gods. For how shall man make God like himself? .

Third, he speaks of the resulting good of their conversion: therefore, that is, so that the nations may be converted, to them, to the Jews, this once. It is as if he were saying, “I will not delay any longer” my hand of correction. Alternatively, to them, the nations, my hand, Christ. The LORD who carries out judgment will be known, the sinner is taken in the works of his own hands (Psalms 9:17). Also: send forth your hand from on high and rescue me, free me from the mighty waters, from the hand of strange children (Psalms 143:7).Heb. בְּנֵי נֵכָר: lit., the sons of strangeness, i.e., foreigners.

Collations

It should be noted that the word hand (Jeremiah 16:21) is used in various ways:

• Of divine providence: in his hand are both we, and our words, and all wisdom, and the skill of the knowledge of works .
• Of divine generosity: when you open your hand, all things are filled with goodness (Psalms 103:28).
• Of divine protection: he protected me under the shelter of his hand (Isaiah 49:2).
• Of divine liberation: he strikes, and his hands will heal (Job 5:18).
• Of divine action: glorify your hand and right arm .
• Of divine condemnation: it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God (Hebrews 10:31).