John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 2:37

"From thence also shalt thou go forth, with thy hands upon thy head: for Jehovah hath rejected those in whom thou trustest, and thou shalt not prosper with them." — Jeremiah 2:37 (ASV)

He expresses more clearly what he had said about the shameful character of his own nation—that the Jews, who thought their safety would be secured by the Egyptians, were seeking their own complete ruin. This indeed seemed incredible to them. For since the Egyptians were neighbors, and the Jews at that time only feared the Assyrians and Chaldeans, who were far away, they thought they had the best prospect: “What! Our enemies are distant from us twenty or thirty days’ journey, and those who are prepared to help us will be with us soon on the shortest notice.” Thus, the Jews thought, as we have said, that they were quite safe.

But the Prophet here declares that they were greatly mistaken. For on account of this wickedness—that is, because they trusted in their unlawful and accursed treaty and promised themselves peace from their enemies, or thought that they could easily overcome them—on this account, he says, you shall go forth. Nothing could have been less believable to the Jews than what the Prophet said. For since the Egyptians stood as a wall against the Chaldeans and were considered unassailable, who could have thought otherwise than that the Jews would be kept safe and quiet in their own country? But he says, You shall go forth, and your hands on your head.

By this gesture, he signifies extreme despair. For women would either strike themselves or extend their arms when any great calamity happened, as we often see done today. For when a woman, unable to control her emotions, either loses a husband or expects some very great calamity, she beats her breast or raises her hands, as described here.

Jeremiah then mentions this gesture as evidence of extreme despair. It is as though he had said, “The treaty that fills the Jews with so much confidence will be so far from being advantageous to them that, on the contrary, it will bring utter ruin and disgrace upon them.” But the reason that follows should especially be observed: because Jehovah abhors your confidences. The Prophet here shows why he had spoken so severely.

It might have seemed that he spoke hyperbolically when he said that the people were like an abandoned harlot, who wandered here and there in all directions. But the reason given here should have been sufficient to remove all evasions: namely, that they foolishly trusted in those deceptive supports which they knew were condemned by God.

If God had permitted this, they would not have been so severely reprimanded. But since God had forbidden them to flee to the Egyptians, it was, in the first place, an unauthorized confidence. And in the second place, they thus despised God's aid and cast aside, as it were, all His promises. For as their hearts were set on the Egyptians, and as they thought that their safety would be secured by them, their prayer to God became not only cold but almost entirely extinguished.

Thus we see that the Prophet did not go too far when he spoke against the Jews with such displeasure and condemned them in such reproachful terms. For they had transferred the glory due to God to the Egyptians when they regarded them as the source of their safety. And they had thus despised God's promises, so that no attention was given to prayer. Therefore, Jehovah abhors your confidences.

He then adds, You shall not prosper in them. It should be carefully observed that whatever we resolve to do that is not approved by God cannot possibly succeed, for God will overturn all our hopes. Let us then understand that here the punishment of all unbelievers is set before us—those who, not content with God’s protection, wander after vain and false objects of trust, and prefer to have humans favorable to them rather than God Himself.