Jeremiah 16:16-17
“Behold, I will send for many fishers, saith the LORD, and they shall fish them; and after will I send for many hunters, and they shall hunt them from every mountain, and from every hill, and out of the holes of the rocks.”
I will send for many fishers . . .
The words refer to the threat, not to the promise.
The fishers,
as in Amos 4:2; Habakkuk 1:15,
are the invading nations, surrounding Judah and Jerusalem
as with a drag-net, and allowing none to escape.
לְדַוָּגִ֥ים
דַּיָּג, dayyāg
a fisherman
Biblical Pronunciation: da-YAWɡ
Transliteration: dayyāg
hunters
צַיָּדִ֔ים
צַיָּד,
ṣayyād
A huntsman
Biblical Pronunciation: tsa-YAWD
Transliteration: ṣayyād
Hunters – sayyadim
צַיָּדִ֔ים
is another aspect of the same thought so far as can be traced, it points to the distinction between them, “to the work of the irregular skirmisher as the former image did to that of the main body of the army: men might take refuge, as hunted beasts might do, in the caves of the rocks, but they should be driven forth even from these.”
It is common with the sacred writers to represent
enemies and oppressors
under the metaphors of
fishers and hunters,
because they use all the methods of
open force and
secret stratagem
to make men their prey.
The scattering of the people is to be like that of
hunted animals,
of which but few escape.
The ancient method of hunting being to enclose a large space with beaters and nets, and so drive everything within it to some place where it was destroyed.
The destruction of the whole male population was one of the horrible customs of ancient warfare, and
in Herodotus
the process is called
sweeping the country with a
drag-net.
(and allowing none to escape)
The same authority tells us that this method could only be effectually carried out on an island.
Literally, understood, the fishers are the main armies who, in the towns and fortresses, capture the people in crowds as in a net, while the hunters are the light-armed troops, who pursue the fugitives over the whole country, and drive them out of their hiding places as hunters track out their game.
The application of the words either,
to the gathering of the people after their dispersion
or
to the later work of the preachers of the Gospel
has its source in Jesus/Yeshua’s words recorded in
Matthew 4:19.
I will make you fishers of men.
It is possible that those words may have been suggested by those of Jeremiah, the same image being used, as in the parable of Matthew 13:47,
to describe the blessing
which had previously presented its darker aspect
of punishment.
Looking a little closer at verse 19.
I will make you fishers of men.
This statement of Jeremiah seems to be very prophetic as regards this new testament scripture.
The fishers/fishermen
catch the fish
in nets
or
with a baited hook.
but neither
the net
nor the hook
kill the fish.
They are caught alive.
This is certainly a picture of the Fathers
grace and mercy
…though we the fish
are dead spiritually in our sins…
we are caught alive
by a fisherman of the Lord.
Somebody told us about the saving power of God through Yeshua,
and that as Jesus/Yeshua said
you must be born again.
We were fished
by those who were made into
fishers of men themselves.
Then in turn, as like begets like,
we are the fishers, who in turn make fishers.
These fishers catch mens souls but unlike Nimrod
they point the WAY
to salvation
through the blood sacrifice of Yeshua/Jesus,
the Master fisher of men.
This is how we follow Him.
Preaching and teaching that the spiritual kingdom of God is here.
WHY?
Because He brought it with Him.
He said
It is at hand,
meaning: it is here – now.
It is within us because He is within us
and so, we also carry the kingdom with us.
Next Jeremiah prophesies that:
later I shall send for many hunters.
Hunters are different from fishermen
in that whatever prey they pursue they kill.
Hunters lay in wait, they stalk,
they lay traps and set snares;
to disable, maim and kill the focus of their hunt.
Using camouflage to deceive and trick.
Sounds like the adversary, the tactics of the devil.
They have no intention to take them alive but God sends these.
Why?
Because His eyes are upon all our ways and they are not hidden from Him and He will pay back their iniquity and their sin Double because they defiled the land and made gods for themselves.
Chp 17:5 the warning which cannot be separated from the previous verses;
(The chapter distinction should not be a stopping place, it is not so in the original scrolls as there is no punctuation as we know it.)
Verse 5 this is part of why He sends the hunters, those who made flesh their arm and their trust is in man.
Messiah Jesus/Yeshua is the arm of the Lord,
we are to trust in God through Jesus/Yeshua His Messiah
17:7 The one who trusts in the Lord this one is blessed.
The first hunter was Nimrod.
נִמְרוֹד
Phonetic Spelling: nim-rode’
Strong’s Hebrew: 5248. נִמְרוֹד (Nimrod)
He was a descendant of Cain who was inclined to depend on himself and his own efforts; and became the first to kill in a downward spiral of jealousy, leading to hate and eventually murder.
Nimrod is described in
Genesis 10:8–12 as
the first on earth to be a mighty man.
He was a mighty hunter before the Lord.
Nimrod established a great kingdom that included
Babel, Erech, Accad, and Calneh, in the land of Shinar.
A mighty hunter before the Lord:
It means
against the Lord/ in opposition to..
and he hunted mens souls.
In coming against the Lord, he built the famed tower of babel
which was the reason YeHoVeH came down and confused their languages to stop the progress of their plans.
ציד
Tsayid hunter venison , hunter , victuals , provision , hunting , catch , food , hunting
Tsayad – hunter.
Other scriptures with hunter:
Ps. 91:3 he will certainly rescue you from the snare of the hunter and from the destructive plague.
Prov. 6:5 Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
Lam. 1:6 ו Vav All her splendor has vanished from Daughter Zion. Her leaders are like stags that find no pasture; they walk away exhausted before the hunter.
There are hunters who hunt for meat for food;
there are those who hunt for sport and
those who hunt for mens souls.
As Solomon said there is nothing new under the sun…
the same is true today; as predatory individuals stalk, hunt, trap and snare others, especially the most vulnerable, for their own ungodly lusts and desires.
There is not much anywhere in the scriptures that supports or applauds hunters.
Along with Nimrod there was another famous hunter, Esau.
And the boys grew: and Esau was a cunning hunter, a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in tents
His story does not end well either!
But are there for our education and as warnings, to beware of the things of the flesh life that can cause us to fall away from our Heavenly Father; and their inevitable consequences.
Fishers are not as aggressive in their active pursuit of prey and many will return their prize to the waters they came from. Releasing them if they are not fishing for food to sustain self and family.
Mentioned in
Ezekiel 47:10
Fishermen will stand by the shore; from En-gedi to En-eglaim they will spread their nets to catch fish of many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.
Hooks catch ones,
nets catch many
at one casting.
The analogy that Jesus/Yeshua uses is for both as in:
leave the 99 and seek the ONE.
Matthew 18:12 & Luke 15:4
Also the 2 instances of the
casting of the net
and
catching the fish.
One was at the start of His ministry
when calling the disciples to become
fishers of men
and the
2nd was after His resurrection.
Both times the nets were filled to over capacity.
The First Disciples
Luke 5:4-7
…3Jesus got into the boat belonging to Simon and asked him to put out a little from shore. And sitting down, He taught the people from the boat. 4 WhenJesus had finished speaking, He said to Simon, “Put out into deep water and let down your nets for a catch.” 5“Master,” Simon replied, “we have worked hard all night without catching anything. But because You say so, I will let down the nets.”…
Jesus Appears by the Sea of Tiberias
after His Resurrection
…5 So He called out to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” “No,” they answered. 6 He told them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it there, and they were unable to haul it in because of the great number of fish. 7Then the disciple whom Jesus loved said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” As soon as Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment (for he had removed it) and jumped into the sea.…
Fishers of men were what He called them to become and as they were obedient to His instructions the results were miraculous.
This shows us that as we too are obedient to His instructions we will see Him work miracles through us.
Mark 16:20. “And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the word with signs following. Amen.”
Humanity is flailing around in the oceans of life,
tossed to and fro by winds of doctrine.
Tossed about like a wave “by every wind of doctrine”. It is “doctrines“, in great part, which have broken up unity. By the sleight of men. Their tricks. Cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive. Craft and cunning, employed by teachers of false doctrine in order to deceive. Ephesians 4:14
The seas of the worlds systems have them caught in tides of both confusion and controlled directions.
We must be ready to fish with both hooks and nets,
to haul in the harvest of souls
before the predators hunting them get to them first.
The call of God to each of His children never changes, it is to make disciples of all nations. Being a fisher of those disciples begins with casting the net in faith and obedience
and baiting the hook
with the bread of life
of which also the crumbs
are sufficient to bring deliverance
and salvation…
the sweet smelling savor to those perishing.
The one whose
hope is in the Lord…
this one is like the tree planted by the waters.
Yeshua/Jesus the Tree of Life and
the life giving water source.
He is the fountain of living waters…
fish live in water;
not on the mountains, hills, or holes in the rocks.
We are fish and the symbol was used back then and still is today.
WE are the fish thriving in the living waters.
Pulled from the sea of humanity and from the fast flowing rivers of the worlds ways… we are not of those who hide ourselves in the mountains and in the holes of the rocks.
We are not the hunters, the predators.
We are the fish
and the
fishers of men.
We need to continually remind ourselves that all Jesus/Yeshua quoted from, was the Torah and Prophets and Writings. The New Testament writings did not exist at that time, nor in the apostles days. Yes, we need to study what we call the Old Testament or none of the New makes sense.
Yeshua/Jesus’ message echoed the call of the prophets
to repent and turn to the lord.
We swim upstream against the flowing tide
of iniquity, sin and ungodliness;
which carries the multitudes
towards an eternity
without our Heavenly Fathers presence.
We are to reach out
snatching them from the fires of judgment.
Jude 1:23
Today is the day of salvation,
together let’s cast that net
lets be the fisher we were called to be
and that fisherman/disciple He promised to make us into.
2 Timothy 4:2 KJV: Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine. Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all long suffering and doctrine.
Acts 1:6 And He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Speak that word in season,
give that tract.
Cast the net
and be part of
gathering His harvest.
