John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 12:15

"And it shall come to pass, after that I have plucked them up, I will return and have compassion on them; and I will bring them again, every man to his heritage, and every man to his land." — Jeremiah 12:15 (ASV)

God does not only promise mercy here to the Jews, but also to Gentile nations, whom He would judge, to punish them for the sake of His people. That this passage also extends to foreigners is evident from the context, for the Prophet immediately adds, And it shall be, that when they shall learn the ways of my people, to swear in my name, Live does Jehovah, as they have taught my people to swear by Baal, then shall they be built in the midst of my people. We hence see that God would not only show mercy to the remnant of His elect people, but also to their enemies.

If it is objected that in this way God’s favor, manifested toward the children of Abraham, was obscured, the answer is that this greatly helped to confirm the hope of the faithful. For they were not only to look for their own salvation but also for that of their enemies, whom God would gather together with them. Thus God rendered His favor to the Israelites doubly. The Prophet also, in this place, strikingly confirms the confidence of the faithful, for he says that God would be merciful even to their enemies for their sake, as they would be saved in common with them. We now then understand the Prophet’s purpose when he declares that God, after having drawn out the Gentiles from their own countries, would again be merciful to them, so as to restore every one of them to their own inheritance and to their own place.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as at this day such a dreadful scattering terrifies us on every side, we may learn to raise our eyes above the world and to hope for that which is now hidden from us; even that in executing Your judgments on the Church as well as on foreigners, You will be so merciful to the whole world, so that we may be gathered into the unity of faith. May we labor to devote ourselves wholly to Your service and cultivate brotherly concord among ourselves, until we at last enjoy that eternal inheritance, which has been obtained for us by the blood of Your only-begotten Son. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We said in our last lecture that God here promises pardon and salvation to foreign nations, provided they repented, and that He did this so that He might more fully confirm His promises to His elect people. We indeed know that all nations were then excluded from the covenant of God. Since, then, He would extend His mercy even to them, the Jews might with some confidence entertain hope, as they were already, as it were, near to God, He having adopted them as His peculiar people and heritage.

And this can be easily gathered from the context, for God declares that He would draw forth His own elect from these nations. Then He adds that He would proceed still further: that He would even receive into favor those who had been previously His enemies. Hence He says, After I shall draw them out, I will return, and shew mercy to them. He speaks this of foreigners; and He says, And I will restore them, every one to his heritage and to his own land.