John Calvin Commentary Ezekiel 16:62

"And I will establish my covenant with thee; and thou shalt know that I am Jehovah;" — Ezekiel 16:62 (ASV)

The Prophet here confirms his former teaching: namely, that although the Jews made God’s covenant void as far as they possibly could, it would nevertheless be firm and secure. But we must maintain what I have mentioned, that this message is specifically limited to the elect, because the salvation of the whole people was already hopeless.

Therefore, God shows that the covenant He had made with Abraham could not be abolished by human treachery. And this is what Paul says in the third chapter of the Epistle to the Romans (Romans 3:4): Even if the whole world were liars, yet God must always remain true.

But we see that the covenant about which we are now teaching was new, yet it originated from the old one, because we are reconciled to God through Christ in such a way that we should be grafted into the body of the ancient Church and become sons of Abraham, since, as we saw earlier, he is not called the father of the faithful without reason.

God says, therefore, that His own covenant would be firm with the people—not with those people who had already been deserted because of their treachery, but with the true and genuine children of Abraham, who followed their father in faith and piety, as it is said in Psalm 102 (Psalms 102:18), A people shall be created to the praise of God.

For the Prophet now shows that God’s covenant could not otherwise be re-established unless a new Church were formed and God was to create a new world, for this is the meaning of the words, A people when created shall praise God. The Spirit, therefore, indirectly rebukes the Israelites, as if He had said that the praises of God were abolished among them; but when the new people come forth, then God will be glorified.

He adds, and you shall know that I am Jehovah. This phrase is often repeated, but in a different sense. For when a prophet threatened the people, he always added this phrase; thus, a contrast must be understood between the people’s foolishness and wisdom, for all their prophecies were neglected by the people.

Indeed, God’s servants spoke out and severely blamed the impious and wicked, but without any effect. Therefore, since they so carelessly disregarded reproaches and threats, it was often said to them, You will begin to feel Me to be God when I cease to speak to you and instruct you with scourges.

But now the Prophet, as we see, preaches about the free reconciliation of the people with God. Therefore, they truly felt Him to be God, because He stood firm to His promises, even though, through human fault, His covenant had fallen apart and become invalid. The Prophet here announces that they would perceive God to be unlike themselves—that is, not changing His plans or varying with human fickleness and inconsistency.

As it is also said in Isaiah (Isaiah 55:8–9): My thoughts are not as your thoughts: as far as the heavens are distant from the earth, so are my thoughts distant from yours, and my ways from your ways. God here means that the Jews were wrong in judging His compassion by their own ordinary understanding, for He says that He differed greatly from them, since His compassion was unfathomable and His truth incomprehensible.

Now, therefore, we understand what the Prophet means in this verse. In the first clause he pronounces that the covenant which God would make with His new and elect people would be firm; then he adds that the Jews would know that they were dealing with God, because they could not nullify what God was then promising.

Now we can understand the reason why God’s covenant in Christ was perpetual: because, as we read in Jeremiah (Jeremiah 31:33), He inscribed His law on the hearts of the righteous and remitted their iniquities. This, then, was the cause of its perpetuity. Besides, although the Prophet magnifies God’s grace in the second clause, yet at the same time he calls the Jews back from every perverse imagination that might entirely shake their confidence.

For when they considered themselves plunged into an abyss, they were inclined to conclude that there was no further remedy. But if God wanted to preserve them, why did He not send them help in time? When He allowed them to be led into exile and to be plunged into the lowest depths, there was no hope of restoration.

For this reason, Ezekiel announces that the faithful should not persist in their own thoughts, but rather should raise their minds to heaven and expect what seemed entirely out of place, since they intended to judge according to the nature of God and to measure the effects of His promises by the immensity of His power, rather than by their own perceptions.