In Jeremiah, chapter twelve, verses sixteen through seventeen, “And it shall come to pass, if they will diligently learn the ways of my people, to swear by thy name, The Lord liveth; as they taught my people to swear by Baal; then shall they be built in the midst of my people. But if they will not obey, I will utterly pluck up and destroy that nation, saith the Lord.”
Jeremiah has the Messianic age in view here. The nations will be given an inheritance among God’s people if they will learn the ways of God and worship Him in truth; if they rebel, however, they will be destroyed.
The Lord would plead the cause of His people against their evil neighbors. Yet He would afterwards show mercy to those nations, when they should learn true religion. This seems to look forward to the times when the fullness of the Gentiles shall come in. Those who would have their lot with God’s people, and a last end of theirs, must learn their ways, and walk in them.
The theme verse sixteen relates to chapter four, verse two. “And thou shalt swear, The Lord liveth, in truth, in judgment, in righteousness, and the nations shall bless themselves in him, and in him shall glory.” To acknowledge Jehovah in all the most solemn forms of appeal, and to do this, not hypocritically, but in the spirit of reverence and righteousness, was the ideal state to restore Judah. To be led by her example of faith and holiness, instead of leading her to acknowledge Baal by like forms of speech they had done, was the ideal state of the nations round about her. In this hope, the prophet was echoing the words of Isaiah two, verse three, and Micah four, verse two, respectively.