Jeremiah 3:16

16 And it will come about, when your numbers are increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, that they will no longer say, The ark of the agreement of the Lord: it will not come into their minds, they will not have any memory of it, or be conscious of the loss of it, and it will not be made again.

Jeremiah 3:16 Meaning and Commentary

Jeremiah 3:16

And it shall come to pass, when ye be multiplied and
increased in the land
That is, when the number of the disciples and followers of Christ, and true believers in him, shall be multiplied and increased in the land of Judea, and in the Gentile world also, under the ministry of the above said pastors, apostles, and ministers of the Gospel, who should be succeeded everywhere, as they were; see ( Acts 6:1 Acts 6:2 Acts 6:7 ) : in those days, saith the Lord of hosts, they shall say no more, the ark
of the covenant of the Lord;
because the antitype of it would be come, our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word that is made flesh and dwelt among men; and in whom the Shechinah, or divine Majesty, dwells in a more glorious manner than it did over the ark, for in him dwells the fulness of the Godhead bodily; and the ark may be put for the whole ceremonial law, which was abolished at the death of Christ, and to be used and spoken of no more; and whereas it was, for a good while after the abrogation of it, a matter of debate and contention, and was not wholly under the church's feet until about the times of Constantine, when there was a great multiplication and increase of Christians throughout the Roman empire, the prophecy may be thought to belong to those times, at least there was then a greater accomplishment of it; see ( Revelation 12:1 ) : neither shall it come to mind, neither shall they remember it;
as it should not be spoken of, so it should not be thought of any more than if it had never been: neither shall they visit it;
to inquire of the Lord, before it, about what they wanted to be informed of, as they used to do, ( Judges 20:23 Judges 20:27 Judges 20:28 ) : neither shall that be done any more;
or, "made any more" ^F7 the Jews

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FOOTNOTES:

F8 say, the ark was wanting in the second temple, and was never afterwards remade: all the expressions denote the utter abolition of legal rites and ceremonies, never to be revived more. The Targum paraphrases the last clause,

``neither shall they make war with it any more;''

and so Jarchi and Kimchi interpret it as if it was a prophecy of such a time of profound peace, that there would be no need of bringing out the ark as formerly; this use of it would be quite forgotten; but this was not the principal use of the ark, and very rarely was it ever used in this way.
F7 (dwe hvey alw) "neque reparabitur amplius, [vel] et non constuetur amplius", Schmidt.
F8 T. Bab. Yoma, fol. 21. 2.

Jeremiah 3:16 In-Context

14 Come back, O children who are turned away, says the Lord; for I am a husband to you, and I will take you, one from a town and two from a family, and will make you come to Zion;

15 And I will give you keepers, pleasing to my heart, who will give you your food with knowledge and wisdom.

16 And it will come about, when your numbers are increased in the land, in those days, says the Lord, that they will no longer say, The ark of the agreement of the Lord: it will not come into their minds, they will not have any memory of it, or be conscious of the loss of it, and it will not be made again.

17 At that time Jerusalem will be named the seat of the Lord's kingdom; and all the nations will come together to it, to the name of the Lord, to Jerusalem: and no longer will their steps be guided by the purposes of their evil hearts.

18 In those days the family of Judah will go with the family of Israel, and they will come together out of the land of the north into the land which I gave for a heritage to your fathers.