Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Jeremiah 16:19,20
The Sin Of Judah Is Especially Heinous In The Light Of The Fact That One Day The Nations Will Recognise The Folly Of Their Idolatry. This Make Judah's Turning To Idols Totally Reprehensible (Jeremiah 16:19).
The encouraging idea that one day the nations would turn from their idols and seek YHWH is prominent in a number of the prophets (compare Jeremiah 4:2; Genesis 12:1; Psalms 2; Isaiah 2:1; Isaiah 11:9; Isaiah 42:4; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 56:6; Isaiah 60:3; Isaiah 66:19; Amos 9:11; Micah 4:2; Zechariah 8:20; Zechariah 14:16), and is taken up by Jeremiah here in order to underline the heinousness of Judah's own behaviour. In the light of this fact their behaviour is seen to be totally reprehensible.
“O YHWH, my strength, and my stronghold,
And my refuge in the day of affliction,
To you will the nations come,
From the ends of the earth, and will say,
Our fathers have inherited nothing but lies,
Vanity and things in which there is no profit.”
Jeremiah's confidence in YHWH has been restored so that he can now speak of Him as his strength and stronghold, and as his refuge in the day of affliction. The ideas are taken from Psalms 28:8; Psalms 59:17; Psalms 18:3. And in the light of this he exults in his certainty that, as the prophets had promised (see above), one day the nations would come to seek YHWH, admitting the folly of their previous idolatry. They would come from the ends of the earth and would declare that what they had previously believed in had been lies, merely a puff of wind (hebel - empty air), and profitless.
“Will a man make to 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 will know that my name is YHWH.”
The fact that the nations would one day recognise the folly of their idolatry made it all the more reprehensible that Judah had chosen to make himself gods of what were no-gods. Would anyone do such a foolish thing? The answer is ‘yes, for Judah have already done it. That was especially why they had to be taught a sharp lesson. By it He would cause them to know His power and His might. The fact that He would ‘cause them to know' is emphasised twice, and the fact that they would ‘know' is emphasised three times. And by it YHWH would bring home to them once and for all the power of His hand and of His might, and cause them to know that His Name was truly YHWH, ‘the One Who is whatever He wants to be'. It was a lesson that in future they would never forget, and prepared the way for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ Who made known His Name as never before, first to the Jews and then to the Gentiles.
Some, however, interpret this verse as referring to the conversion of the Gentiles, and it can equally apply to that for it is a general statement. But the emphasis and the context suggest that the first interpretation is paramount.