John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 14

Although the Prophet does not distinctly express that what had not yet happened was divinely revealed to him, it may still be easily gathered that it was a prophecy concerning what was future. Nothing is recorded in sacred history about this sterility; however, there is no doubt that God had afflicted the Jews in an unusual manner, as previously in the days of Ahab.

Since, then, a drought was near which would cause great scarcity, his purpose was to forewarn the Jews of it beforehand, so that they would know that the dryness did not happen by chance but was evidence of God’s vengeance. And we know that whenever any adversity occurs, its causes are sought in the world, so that hardly anyone regards the hand of Him who strikes.

But when there is a year of sterility, we consult astrology and think that it is due to the influence of the stars; thus, God’s judgment is overlooked. Since, then, people devise so many explanations by which they set aside the consideration of Divine judgment, it was necessary for the Prophet to speak of the sterility mentioned here before it happened, and point it out, as it were, with his finger, even though it was not yet apparent.

He therefore says that the word of God came to him concerning the words of restraints. Although דבר, deber, signifies a thing, a business, or a concern, what seems to be intended here is the contrast between דבר, deber, the word of God, and דברים, deberim, the words of men. For he says, על דברי הבצרות, ol deberi ebetserut, because the Jews, as is usual, would have many different discussions among themselves about the sterility: when anything uncommon or unexpected happens, everyone has their own opinion.

But the Prophet sets the word of Jehovah in opposition to the words of men, as if he had said, “They will inquire here and there about the causes of the scarcity; yet there will be only one cause, and that is, God is punishing them for their wickedness.”

He calls sterility prohibitions or restraints. For although God could in an instant destroy and mar whatever has come to maturity, yet, to show that all the elements are ready to obey Him, He restrains the heavens whenever He pleases; and thus He says, “In that day the heavens will hear the earth, and the earth will hear the corn, and the corn will hear men” (Hosea 2:21–22).

For since this order of things is set before us, it must be that whenever we are hungry, our eyes turn to the corn and bread. But corn does not come unless the earth is fruitful; and the earth cannot of itself produce anything unless it derives moisture and strength from the heavens. So also, on the other hand, He says, “I will make for you the heaven brass and the earth iron” (Leviticus 26:19).

Thus we see the reason for this word, prohibitions, by which the Prophet designates the dryness of the heavens and the sterility of the earth. For the earth, in a manner, opens its depths to us when it produces food for our nourishment, and the heavens also pour forth rain, by which the earth is watered. In the same way, God prohibits or restrains the heavens and the earth, and closes up His bounty, so as to prevent it from coming to us.

The Prophet suggests in these words that the scarcity would be so great as to appear to be a manifest and remarkable evidence of God’s vengeance. For when God punishes us in a common way, we generally refer the event to some fortuitous circumstances, and the devil also always keeps our minds focused on secondary causes. Therefore, the Prophet declares here that such an unusual event—the earth becoming so sterile—could not be ascribed to natural causes, but that it was the extraordinary judgment of God.

This is the reason why he employs so many figurative expressions. He could indeed have said, in one sentence, that there would be a most grievous famine in the land; but hardly one in a hundred would have been moved by words so simply expressed. Therefore, the Prophet, in order to arouse their stupor, uses the most forceful terms.

Thus he says, Mourned has Judah. Though he speaks of what was future, yet, according to his own usual manner and that of others, he uses the past tense to show the certainty of what he said. He then declares that there would be mourning in Judah. He afterwards says, His gates have been weakened, or scattered.

In mentioning gates, he takes a part for the whole, for he means the cities. But as judgments were usually administered at the gates, and as men often assembled there, he says that the gates would be reduced to solitude, so that hardly anyone would appear there.

Thirdly, he adds, They have become darkened to the ground, or, in plainer words, they became overwhelmed with grief. But the proper meaning of the word is to become darkened. And he says, to the ground, as though he meant that they would be so cast down as to be in the dust, and would not dare to raise up their heads, nor would be able to do so, being worn down by want and famine.

We therefore see what he means: the scarcity would be so great that men would lie on the ground and, in a way, seek darkness for themselves. This is similar to our own experience when we, as it were, flee from the light and lie on the ground, for we then show that we cannot enjoy the light, as it is disagreeable to us.

And thus we see more clearly what I have stated: that the Prophet uses very strong terms to make an impression on the Jews, so that they might know that the earth was so sterile, not through any natural or common cause, but through the judgment of God.

He afterwards adds, The cry of Jerusalem has ascended. Here he portrays their despair. For in doubtful matters we are accustomed to deliberate and to devise remedies; but when we are destitute of any counsel or advice, and when no hope appears, we then break out into crying.

We therefore see that it was an evidence of despair when the cry of Jerusalem ascended; for they would not be able to complain and to unburden their cares and griefs by sharing them with one another, but all of them would cry and howl.

It is then added, Their chiefs will send the common people to the waters. The Prophet’s object was again to point out something extraordinary: that the great, possessing authority, would constrain and compel the common people to draw water. They have sent them, he says, that is, by authority; those who could command others sent them to the waters.

They came, he says, to the cisterns. By the word גבים gabim, he means deep ditches or pits, though some render it cisterns. Regarding the subject at hand, this distinction does not matter, for the Prophet no doubt meant that they would come to the deepest wells or pits, as is usually done in a great drought.

Many springs often become dry, and pits also, situated in high places; but in valleys some water remains, and there it may be found. There are also some wells always full of water, where its abundance never fails. It was therefore the Prophet’s design to refer to such wells.

They came, he says, to the wells, where they thought they could find a sufficient supply; but he adds, They found no waters; they returned with their empty vessels.

We now perceive what I have said: that the Prophet here reproves the Jews for their stupidity in not understanding that God was angry with them when the order of nature, which ought always to continue the same, thus failed.

Droughts indeed often happen when there is no water in most places. But when no well supplies any water, when not a drop of water is to be found in the most favorable places, then indeed it ought to be concluded that God’s curse is on the people, who find nothing to drink.

For in nothing does God deal more bountifully with the world than in the supply of water.

We are not speaking now of wine. We see fountains everywhere pouring forth waters, and rivers also flow through countries. Moreover, pits are dug through the labors of men, and there are also cisterns in which rainwater is preserved in places that are commonly dry.

But when no water remains in cisterns, and when the fountains themselves refuse any supply, we may therefore surely know that it is the special judgment of God. This is what Jeremiah intended here to show.

And therefore he says that they were confounded and ashamed, and that they covered their head.

The Prophet had said that even if all the common people were to go to the waters, yet none would be found. He now adds the same warning concerning the farmers. Ashamed, he says, shall be the husbandmen, for the ground shall be turned into dust, and God will pound it small. When the heavens supply moisture, the earth thus retains its solid character; but in great heat, we see the earth dissolving into dust, as if it were pounded in a mortar.

So he says, On account of the chapt ground, because there is no rain, ashamed shall be the husbandmen, and they shall cover their heads; for sorrow will not only seize them, but also fill them with such shame as to make them shun the light and the sight of men. These things were intended for the same purpose: to make the Jews know that they were not by chance deprived of water, but because God had cursed their land, so that it yielded them no water, even for the common needs of nature.

Jeremiah now turns to animals. He previously said that men would be afflicted by thirst, and then that the ground would become so dry that farmers would be ashamed. He now says that the wild asses and the hinds would also share in this scarcity. The hind, he says, has brought forth in the field, which was not usual; but he says that the drought would be so severe that the hinds would come out to the plains.

Hinds, as we know, wander in solitary places and seek their food there, and so they do not expose themselves, for they have a natural timidity that keeps them from encountering danger. But he says that hinds, heavy with young, will be forced by famine to come to the fields and give birth there, and then flee, even though they prefer their young to their own lives. The Prophet here shows that there would be something extraordinary in God’s vengeance, which was near the Jews, so that they might know that God had armed the heavens, the earth, and all the elements against them, because they had so deserved it. But he says, Bring forth shall the hind, and then he adds, and will forsake its young. But why will it give birth in the field? Simply because it will not find grass in the mountains, in the woods, or in the usual places.

The same thing is said of the wild asses: And the wild asses, he says, stood on the rocks. Yet this animal, as we know, can endure hardship for a long time. But the Prophet, as I have said, intended to show that this scarcity would contain some remarkable evidence of God’s vengeance. Stood then did the wild asses on the rocks, and from there drew in wind like serpents. For the heat of serpents is great; because of internal burning, they are forced to draw in wind to lessen the heat within. The Prophet says that wild asses were like serpents, for they were burning from long famine, so that they were seeking sustenance even in the wind itself, or by breathing. He then adds, Failed have their eyes, for there was no grass.

We now understand the purpose of this prediction: God’s purpose was not only to foretell to the Jews what was soon to happen, but also to point out His vengeance, as it were, with a finger, so that they might not resort, as usual, to secondary causes, but might instead know that they suffered punishment for their sins. For the scarcity would be so extraordinary that it would far exceed what was usual.

The Prophet, no doubt, intended here to exhort the Jews by his own example to seek pardon; nor does he so assume the character of others, as though he was free himself from guilt. For he was not more righteous than Daniel, who, as we find, testified that he confessed before God not only the sins of the people but also his own sins (Daniel 9:4–5).

And Jeremiah, though not one of God’s despisers, nor of the profane who had provoked God’s wrath, was yet one of the people; and here he connects himself with them. He did this in sincerity and not in dissimulation. But he might have prayed silently at home; why then did he make his prayer public? What was his purpose in committing it to writing? It was so that he might rouse the people by his example, as I have already said, so that they might flee as suppliants to God’s mercy and seek forgiveness for their sins.

This, then, was the Prophet’s object. Thus we see that the prophecy concerning the scarcity and the famine was announced so that the people might, through repentance, escape the wrath of God. For we know that when God has even taken His sword, He may possibly be pacified, as He is in His nature merciful. Besides, the design of all such predictions is that men, conscious of their sins, may by faith and repentance escape the destruction that awaits them.

We now understand the Prophet's design in this passage.

He says first, Even though our iniquities testify, etc. The verb ענה, one, properly means to answer, but it also means to testify, as in this place. O Jehovah, he says, there is no reason now to contend with You, or to expostulate, or to ask why You deal so severely with us; let all such excuses be dismissed, for our sins testify against us. That is, “Were there no angels nor men to accuse us, our own conscience is sufficient to condemn us.”

But when do our iniquities testify against us? It is when we know that we are exposed to God’s judgment and are held guilty by Him. As for the reprobate, their iniquities cry to heaven, as it is said of Sodom (Genesis 18:20–21). But the Prophet seems here to express something more—that the Jews could not make evasions but must confess that they were worthy of death.

For he says, For thy name’s sake deal with us. We see that the Prophet first condemns himself and the whole people, as though he had said, “If You, Lord, summon us to plead our own cause, we can expect nothing better than to be condemned by our own mouths, for our iniquities are sufficient to condemn us. What then remains for us?”

The Prophet takes it as granted that there was but one remedy—that God would save His people for His own name’s sake. It is as though he had said, “In ourselves we find nothing but reasons for condemnation; seek then in Yourself a reason for forgiving us. For as long as You regard us, You must necessarily hate us and be thus a rigid Judge; cease then to seek anything in us or to call us to an account, but seek from Yourself a reason for sparing us.” He then adds, For multiplied have our defections, and against thee have we done wickedly. By these words the Prophet shows that he did not formally, like hypocrites, confess sins, but really acknowledged that the Jews would have been found in various ways guilty had God dealt with them according to justice.

As we now perceive the import of the words, let us learn from this passage that there is no other way of being reconciled to God than by Him being propitious to us for His name’s sake. And by this truth is refuted everything that has been invented by the Papists, not less foolishly than rashly, respecting their own satisfactions.

They indeed know that they stand in need of God’s mercy, for no one is so blinded under the Papacy who does not feel the secret misgivings of his own conscience: so the saintlings, who lay claim to angelic perfection, are yet self-convicted and are by necessity urged to seek pardon.

But in the meantime, they obtrude on God their satisfactions and works of supererogation, by which they compensate for their sins and thus deliver themselves from the hand of God.

Now this is a remarkable passage to confute such a diabolical delirium, for the Prophet brings forward the name of God. It is as though he had said, “This is the only way by which we can return to God’s favor and obtain reconciliation with Him, even by Him dealing with us for His name’s sake, so that He may seek the cause of His mercy in Himself, for in us He can find none.”

If Jeremiah said this of himself, and not insincerely, what madness is it for us to arrogate so much to ourselves as to bring anything before God by which He may be induced to show mercy? Let us then know that God forgives our sins, not from a regard to any compensation, but only on account of a sufficient reason within Himself, that He may glorify His own name.

Now follows a clearer explanation and a confirmation of this verse.