John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 10:15

"They are vanity, a work of delusion: in the time of their visitation they shall perish." — Jeremiah 10:15 (ASV)

He confirms the same thing. What he called before falsehood, שקר, shikor, he now calls vanity, הבל, ebel. They are vanity, he says. He had previously said that they were falsehood, meaning that men were grossly deceived when they sought the presence of God in dead things; now he says that they were vanity and also the work of illusions; but some render the last word “mockeries,” taking it in a passive sense. Hence, the Chaldee interpreter renders it “a thing worthy of ridicule and laughter.” But I prefer to take it as imposture or deception.

Jacob said to his mother, “I shall be found in the eyes of my father a deceiver;” but some render the word there “a mocker.” But Jacob, on the contrary, meant that he would be found out as one of no credit, or acting in guile, as though he had said, “I shall be an impostor, and my father will find out the fraud.” So also in this place, he calls idols the work of deceptions, by which men infatuated themselves.

He does not, then, teach us here that idols deserved to be ridiculed, but he refers to the madness of those who imagined that they were gods, for he had previously called them vanity and falsehood; and there is no doubt that in these various ways he repeats and confirms the same thing.

He afterwards adds, In the time of their visitation they shall perish. The pronoun “their” can be applied either to idols or to the Chaldeans. If it refers to the Chaldeans, it means that when the time of visitation comes—that is, when God shall punish the enemies of His Church—then their idols shall perish. Alternatively, it may mean that when the time comes for God to visit the idols themselves, they shall perish. Either sense is acceptable; and indeed, as for the subject at hand, there is no difference.

The Israelites might have objected, saying, “How is it then that false gods, whom men have devised for themselves, are worshipped, and are held in great esteem and highly regarded? How does God suffer and overlook this?” The Israelites might have raised an objection of this kind.

Therefore the Prophet answers them, They shall perish; but it shall be at the time of visitation. This is an exhortation to patience, so that the faithful might not despond or be weakened in their hopes, though they saw silver gods carried on men’s shoulders, though they saw wood and stone set in elevated places, and incense burned to them and sacrifices offered to them.

Though they saw idols held in such esteem, they were not yet to despair or fall away from true religion, for the time of visitation was to be awaited, when God would execute His judgment on the false gods as well as on their worshippers. We now understand why he speaks of visitation.