John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 11:9-10

"And Jehovah said unto me, A conspiracy is found among the men of Judah, and among the inhabitants of Jerusalem. They are turned back to the iniquities of their forefathers, who refused to hear my words; and they are gone after other gods to serve them: the house of Israel and the house of Judah have broken my covenant which I made with their fathers." — Jeremiah 11:9-10 (ASV)

Here the Prophet confronts more directly the men of his time, and says that they were worse than their fathers; for this is the meaning of the word, banding or joining together. For when the Israelites united in ungodly superstitions, it was more excusable at the beginning, for they had not yet struck deep roots in true religion. But when God by His prophets had striven many times, and in various ways, to restore them to the right way, and when His diligence and persistent efforts had proved fruitless, it was an evidence of confirmed and hopeless obstinacy. He then says that this had been discovered; for this is what he means by saying that it had been found out. This verb is often used in Scripture in another sense, but it means here the same, as if he had said that the conspiracy of the people had been discovered or proved, as it is said of thieves when found out, that they are caught in the very act. So God says here that it was no matter of dispute whether the people had intentionally and from sheer wickedness perverted His true and lawful worship; the conspiracy, he says, is sufficiently notorious.

We then understand the Prophet to mean that not a part of the people was implicated in impiety, but that all, from the least to the greatest, were together defiled. This was done not by some foolish impulse of the moment, but intentionally, for they banded together. Furthermore, this was sufficiently evident, so that they could no longer dispute the fact, for their wickedness was sufficiently manifest.

And he says, between Judah and Israel. A sharp rebuke is implied here, for we know that these two kingdoms had not only held a secret grudge but had fiercely contended with one another. The discord between the ten tribes and the tribe of Judah had been so great that it was, so to speak, an insane hatred, causing them to wish to completely destroy one another; for the Jews sent for the Egyptians when the Israelites had summoned the Syrians and the Assyrians to arms for the destruction of Judah.

Since they had treated one another with such hostility for so long, what did this now mean? What a monstrous thing it was that they conspired together to subvert the worship of God, to overturn everything true in religion, and to set up their own idols! We now perceive the Prophet's meaning: he implies that they had been enemies in all other things and united only in this one thing—carrying on war against God, subverting His worship, and making His law void.

We therefore see what the Spirit of God intended in saying that a conspiracy was found out. This was so that the Prophet would not need to use many words, as if the matter were doubtful! God then instructs him to declare this fact assertively, like a scribe who records the sentence of a judge. Thus God shows that He dealt with the Jews as people deal with those who are condemned.

He also adds that they had returned, etc. He shows for what purpose they had conspired: even to return to the vices of their fathers, who had been before them. Some translate the word as “ancestors,” but the Prophet's meaning is not adequately expressed in this way. For what he means is that the Israelites had been refractory from the very beginning, so that God could never subdue their rebellious natures.

However, it must be observed that he is not speaking of the most ancient ones, as הרשנים, erashnim, are the ancient ones who were before them. But as there had been a continuous succession or series of impiety, the Prophet here calls them the former fathers—those who had first begun to shake off God's yoke, continuing even to that day.

And he again mentions what we have noted before: that they were unwilling to hear. Though ignorance does not wholly clear or absolve us, it yet extenuates a crime; but God shows that the Israelites had been disobedient from the beginning. Although He had taught them sufficiently through Moses, we still find that they often rebelled against Moses. If we examine their origin, it seems to have been marked by resolute impiety; they were unwilling to obey God.

He then adds that they walked after alien gods that they might serve them. There is always an implied contrast between God and idols. God had given them enough evidence of His power and glory, and we may justly say that He had sufficiently proved Himself to be the only true God. How then was it that the Israelites had given preference to fictitious gods? Doubtless, no unwitting error could have been claimed.

Thus we see that they had rejected the true God and willfully followed their own devices. He then says that they might serve them. But God had already bound them to Himself, as He had redeemed them; when, therefore, they devoted themselves to alien gods, was not their ingratitude thus most fully proved?

He finally adds, by way of explanation, Therefore the house of Israel and the house of Judah have dissolved my covenant. He confirms what I have just said: that they had not erred because the way was unknown, but because they were refractory and untamable in their disposition, and would not bear to hear God, though He kindly showed them what they were to do. But the word “covenant” expresses more than this: God had not only delivered His precepts to them by Moses but had also adopted them as His own people and, at the same time, pledged His faithfulness to them:

I shall be your God, be ye my people (Jeremiah 11:4).

Since God had so kindly drawn them to Himself, how monstrous was their rebellion when they refused to hear His voice! It is with reference to this that the word ברית, berit, is used; for God had not only given them a rule of life but had also adopted them as His people, so that they might be obedient to Him.

By saying that He made a covenant with their fathers, He refers to that time when He brought the people out of Egypt, for then the race of Abraham was united. They were indeed twelve distinct tribes, but there was one head over the people, one priesthood, and they afterwards formed one kingdom.

God then shows that though the ten tribes later made another king for themselves, and the tribe of Judah was then divided (and there were some special causes of enmity in this separation), they still had always been of the same disposition and proved how like their fathers they were. It is as though He had said, “They were formerly one people; they are now two, yet they have conspired together. Their iniquity is the same; in this they are united, and there is among them a binding together.”