John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 21

Jeremiah relates how he received the king’s messengers. These messengers sought from him an answer: whether he could bring any comfort in a state of things so perplexed and almost hopeless. He then says that two had been sent to him: one was Pashur (not the priest mentioned in the last chapter, for he was the son of Immer, but this was the son of Melchiah), and the other was Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah. But he shows that the king and his counselors were disappointed in their hope, for they expected a favorable answer, as though God would be propitious to Jerusalem. However, the Prophet answered as he was commanded by God: that it was all over with the city, the kingdom, and the whole nation.

We shall also see from other passages that Zedekiah was not one of the worst. Though he did not really fear God and was led away by false counsel, he still had some regard for religion, so that he did not avowedly despise God as Epicureans do. Many such people are found even today in the world, who think it enough to cherish a half-buried fear of God and to retain some little regard for religion; but it is very fleeting and disappears on even the slightest occasion. So it was with Zedekiah; he was, as it were, neutral, for he neither seriously worshiped God nor despised Him.

This is why he sent messengers to Jeremiah. He knew that as long as God was displeased with them, no safety could be hoped for. However, he did not understand the way of appeasing God, nor did he have any real desire to be reconciled to Him. This is often the case with hypocrites who, though they wish God to be kind to them, yet when God’s mercy is offered, either openly reject it or are unwilling to embrace it because they cannot bear to surrender themselves to God. Such was Zedekiah's state of mind, and this is why he asked the Prophet to consult God.

But we must also observe that this was an honorable message. This more fully shows that Zedekiah was not one of those furious tyrants who, like the giants, seek to fight with God. For by sending two messengers to the Prophet and employing him as an advocate to seek some favor from God, he proved that religion was not wholly suppressed and extinguished in him.

This also shows how bold and courageous the Prophet was, for he was not softened by the honor paid to him but gave an answer calculated to exasperate the king and drive him into a great rage. But we should especially notice that they did not flatter the Prophet to induce him to give a false answer, but wished God to be consulted.

It appears from this that they were convinced of Jeremiah’s integrity—that he would say nothing rashly or of his own accord, but would be a faithful interpreter and herald of heavenly oracles. And yet we see, and shall later see in several passages, that the king was very incensed against God’s Prophet. But hypocrites, though they are forced to reverence God, are nevertheless carried here and there and maintain no consistency, especially when they perceive that God is against them, for they are not turned by threats. Therefore, they cannot help but cause tumult and strive like refractory horses to shake off their rider. We find such an instance in Zedekiah. He acknowledged Jeremiah as God’s faithful servant, for he did not say, 'Tell a lie for us, or in our favor,' but rather, 'Inquire of God for us.'

He then adds, If Jehovah will deal with us according to all His wondrous works. We again see that Zedekiah had some sense of religion, but it was very evanescent. For he was not influenced by any real impression, being like hypocrites who wish, as has been said, to have peace with God, provided it is on their own terms.

But as they are unwilling wholly to surrender themselves to God, they take a circuitous course and seek to allure God to themselves; at least, they do not come to Him except through various windings and not in a direct way. Hence Zedekiah refers here to God’s miraculous works which had been wrought on behalf of the Israelites in all ages, as though he had said, "God has until now dealt in a wonderful manner with His chosen people. Whenever He brought help to our fathers, He manifested wonderful proofs of His power. Will He not deal with us today in the same manner?"

He assumes the principle that God’s covenant remained inviolable, and this was quite true, but the application was false. For Zedekiah and the whole people should have kept faith with God.

For if they wished God to be propitious to them, why did they not in return worship and serve Him as their God? But as they were covenant-breakers, how foolishly and vainly did they allege God’s covenant, which they themselves had rendered void? Yet it is usual for hypocrites to apply to themselves every favor which God shows to His own children, for they falsely assume the name as a covering and say that they are members of the Church because God had adopted them.

This was the reason Zedekiah asked whether God would act according to His wonderful works, as though he had said, "Surely God is ever like Himself, and we are His people. Since He has so often delivered His Church, and in such various ways, His power has always been wonderfully displayed. Why, then, will He not deal with us in the same manner?"

Finally, he adds, that he may ascend from us, that is, that King Nebuchadnezzar may raise the siege and leave us free.

Now follows the answer of Jeremiah: Say you to Zedekiah, etc. He did not go to the king himself but, by way of contempt, delivered the message to be carried by the messengers. The Prophet no doubt did this intentionally and through the impulse of the Holy Spirit. He did not, indeed, proudly despise his king; but it was necessary for him, by his magnanimity, to cast down the king's pride, so that Zedekiah would know that he had to do with the living God, whom he had treated very insolently.

Say you to Zedekiah, Thus says Jehovah, the God of Israel, etc. He adds the words, the God of Israel, so that Zedekiah would know that the wonderful works, in reliance on which he still thought their condition was safe, did not belong to him and the people. It was as though the Prophet had said, "Though God did not help you and your people, He would not on that account be inconsistent with Himself or depart from His covenant; but He would remain ever the God of Israel, even if He destroyed you and all your people."

He says, Behold I, etc. It was said before, "Nebuchadnezzar has come to make war with us." Now God says, "I am God," as though He had said, "Nebuchadnezzar may be conquered, he may change his plans, he may leave you through weariness; but know that Nebuchadnezzar fights under My authority."

Behold, He says, "I prohibit" (for this is how מסכ should be rendered) "all the warlike instruments which are in your hands, and with which you fight against the king of Babylon and against the Chaldeans;" as though He had said, "However equipped you may be with weapons and forces, and whatever may be necessary to defend the city, I forbid the use of these weapons; that is, I will cause them to be of no avail to you." Some, as I have said, render the word, "I will turn them against you." But the meaning seems more suitable to the etymology of the word when we say that the weapons which the Jews had would be of no avail to them, because God would prevent them from producing any effect.

He afterward adds, "the Chaldeans, who fight outside the wall against you." He described their situation at that time, for the city was besieged by the Chaldeans; there was a wall between them, and the Jews thought that they could repel the attacks of their enemies. But God says, "The Chaldeans are today shut out by the wall; but I will gather them," He says, "into the middle of this city; that is, I will make a breach, so that the wall may not be a hindrance to prevent the Chaldeans from occupying the very bosom of the city."

He proceeds with the subject; and though He is later more diffuse, He yet confirms here what we have just seen, — namely, that God was the leader of the war, and that the Chaldeans were, as it were, His hired soldiers, whom He guided by His own hand, and to whom He would give the signal to fight.

“I, myself,” He says, “will fight against you.” He put this in opposition to the wonderful works which Zedekiah had mentioned. God, indeed, had formerly been present with His Church in a wonderful way, not only once, but a thousand times. But He says now, “Whatever power I have, it will be exercised now against you; expect, therefore, no aid from Me, but know that I am armed and will wholly destroy you.”

He adds, with an extended hand and a strong arm; as though He had said, “Your fathers found wonderful works done for their safety, but you will by experience learn how great My power is to destroy you.” In short, He means that all God’s power would be a cause of terror to the Jews, and that therefore they could not escape, as there is nothing more dreadful than to have God’s hand opposed to us.

To the same purpose is what follows: in wrath, and in fury, and in great indignation. God intimates in these words that He would be implacable, and that therefore Zedekiah was mistaken when he thought that the end of their evils was near at hand.

He might indeed have said briefly, “I will fight with an extended hand and with wrath”; but He mentioned wrath three times in various words. Hence, what I have said appears evident: that Zedekiah was deprived of every hope, lest he deceive himself, as though he could somehow propitiate God, Who had already given up the city to final destruction.

But we will see that the Prophet had not ceased from discharging His office, and that He had allowed some room for repentance. But He made this answer expressly, for the king could not have been awakened otherwise.

We will see how He explained Himself; but this beginning was, as it were, a thunderclap to lay prostrate the pride of the king and of the people. They had first become torpid in their evils, and then such was their contumacy that they sought to subject God to themselves.

Since, then, their stupidity and their obstinacy were so great, the Prophet could not, with any hope of success, have exhorted them to repent and offered them the mercy of God. It was therefore necessary for them to be so smitten as to perceive that they were wholly lost, and that God was so angry with them that they could not be saved by any human means. But we must defer the rest until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we do not cease to provoke Your wrath, and are also so slow to repent, — O grant, that we may at least profit so from Your threatenings and the manifestations of Your judgment, that we may surrender ourselves wholly to You, and hope also for Your favor which has been hidden from us for a time, until with resigned minds we will be able confidently to call on You, and so prove our constancy, that Your name may be glorified in us, so that we may also be glorified in You through Jesus Christ our Lord. — Amen.

Jeremiah continues with the same message: that God had resolved to destroy Jerusalem and the people, at least for a time. But he points out here what He intended to do: He would consume them by pestilence and famine as long as they remained in the city. It is as if he were saying, “Though these Chaldeans might not immediately take the city through a siege, yet its destruction will be worse, for famine will rage within and consume them.” We now understand the Prophet's intention.

But we must keep in mind what I reminded you of yesterday—that God attributes to Himself what might have been ascribed to the Chaldeans, for He makes Himself the author of all these calamities. He says, I will smite the inhabitants of this city, both man and beast: they shall die of a great pestilence. This was the first kind of punishment. Before the enemy rushed into the city, the pestilence had consumed many of the people.

Now a circumstance is mentioned that shows how dreadful their state would be, for not only people would perish, but even animals. It was no wonder that God’s vengeance extended to horses, oxen, and donkeys, for we know that all these were created for human use.

Therefore, when God manifested His wrath toward these animals, His purpose was to fill people with greater terror. They then saw oxen and donkeys, though innocent, involved in the same punishment as themselves. For how can we imagine that horses and donkeys deserved to perish by diseases or through lack of daily food?

But God presents such a spectacle as this so that He may more effectively affect people, for they then see that the whole world is exposed to a curse through their sins. They are indeed forced to recognize how great their sinfulness is. Because of this, the earth becomes dry and barren, and the elements above and below do not perform their functions, so that the barrenness of the ground deprives animals of their food, and the infection of the air kills them. But we have spoken on this subject elsewhere.

He then adds, And afterwards—that is, when the pestilence had largely consumed them—He says, I will give, or deliver, Zedekiah the king of Judah, and his servants, into the hand of Nebuchadnezzer. He indicates that even if they courageously endured their hardships, it would be of no use to them.

It often happens that a siege is lifted when the stubbornness of the besieged is so great that they overcome famine and thirst and struggle against extreme hardship. For those who besiege them are led to think that they are contending with ferocious wild animals, and so they leave them. But God declares here that the outcome would be different for the Jews, for after being nearly consumed, they would still be delivered into the power of their enemies.

Thus He shows that their endurance would be useless. It is indeed a most deplorable thing that when we have endured many grievous and distressing evils, the enemy should at last gain dominance and possess the power of life and death over us.

But God shows here that such a calamity awaited the Jews. He says, I will deliver Zedekiah the king of Judah, etc. He doubtless intended to show how foolish their confidence was when they thought they were safe under the protection of their king. “The king himself,” He says, “will not free himself from danger. What good then will it do you to have a king?” The king is expressly mentioned so that the Jews might not deceive themselves with the foolish idea that they had a sufficient safeguard in their king.

He then adds, And his servants—that is, his counselors or courtiers. For those who were the chief men and ministers of the king were called “servants” or “his ministers.” There was a great deal of pride in these courtiers, and they were very hostile to the Prophets. For, being blinded by their own foolish wisdom, they despised what the Prophets taught and all their warnings. For this reason, the Prophet says that they would be delivered into the hand of the king of Babylon.

It is further said, And the people. The last connecting word should be understood in an explanatory sense as even—veat enesharim, meaning “even the residue.” For He refers only to the people but indicates what the people would be: a small number, a remnant. Then the words are to be rendered this way: “even those who shall remain in the city.”

But Jerusalem, when this message was delivered, was in a prosperous condition and had a large number of inhabitants. He therefore shows that after God diminished and reduced the people to a small number, there would not yet be an end to their evils. Instead, a worse thing would still happen to them, for their lives would be put in the power of their enemies. He therefore says, even those who shall remain in the city.

And He alludes to the previous verse, for He had said that many would perish through hardship. Nor does He refer only to famine, but also to the sword and to pestilence, for He says, even those who shall remain from the pestilence, and from the sword, and from the famine. The famine, as is usual, produced pestilence. Then, when their enemies attacked the city with their weapons of war, many must have been killed, as they could not drive back their enemies from the walls without a conflict. Then God shows that the Jews would have to contend with hardship, pestilence, and the sword until they were overcome and the city was taken by the Chaldeans.

It is afterwards added, into the hands of their enemies, into the hand of those who seek their life. This repetition is not unnecessary, for God indicates what Isaiah expresses more fully and clearly: that the Chaldeans would not be satisfied with plunder and would disregard silver and gold, because they would burn with rage, and their object would be to shed blood (Isaiah 13:17).

So the meaning here, when He mentions those who would seek their life, is that they would be driven by deadly hatred, so that their anger and cruelty would not be satisfied until they destroyed them. Thus He shows that it would be a bloody victory. The Jews would not merely be led captive—because their conquerors would not consider it worth the effort to drag them away as worthless slaves—but their objective would be to destroy them completely.

Hence He says, He will smite them. There is a change of number here: the reference is to the king, and yet the whole army is included. He will smite them with the mouth of the sword, he will not spare, he will not forgive, (these words are synonymous) and will show no mercy.

God thus transferred His own relentless anger to the Chaldeans, who were His agents, as if He had said, “Your enemies will be implacable; they will not be turned to mercy, for I have so commanded, and I will stir them up to execute My judgment.” Nor can this be considered strange, because God had resolved in His relentless anger to annihilate the people, for we know how great their stubborn wickedness was in their sins.

Since, then, they had so often rejected the mercy of God, they had, in a way, closed the door to pardon. Therefore, God resolved that the Chaldeans should rage against them in this way without any human compassion.

God here declares that He proposed to the people the way of life and the way of death, so that they might surely know that all who remained in the city would soon meet with death, and that those who willingly surrendered to their enemies would have their life spared.

Moses says in another sense that he set before them the way of life and the way of death; he spoke of the Law, which contains promises of God’s favor and threats to transgressors. But the Prophet means something else here: that there was no hope of safety unless the Jews submitted their neck to the yoke and surrendered themselves to their enemies. For if they stubbornly defended themselves, God would be their enemy, because he had led the Chaldeans to assail them and directed their counsels and their forces.

He indeed confirms what he had said before, but at the same time he more particularly describes what was to be, so that the Jews might lay aside their perverseness and acknowledge that they could not escape the correction which they deserved.

The meaning of what is said is that, as the Chaldeans fought under the authority of God, they would be victorious. It was therefore in vain for the Jews to resist, as they could not escape unless they overcame God Himself, which was impossible. He then leaves them only one hope: to humbly acknowledge God’s just judgment by submitting themselves to a temporal punishment and by enduring exile with a resigned mind.

This then is the meaning, and it is not a different discourse, but the Prophet confirms what he had said before. At the same time, he applies God’s threats to the state of the people, so that they might humble themselves and not think it of any use to resist God in their obstinacy, as they would eventually be forced to yield.

Thou shalt say to this people, Thus saith Jehovah, Behold I set before you the way of life and the way of death. Which was the way of death? Whosoever, he says, abides in this city, shall die by the sword, or by famine, or by pestilence. This was incredible to the Jews, and they were no doubt inflamed with rage when they heard that they were to perish in the holy city which God protected, for there he had his sanctuary, and there his rest was.

But the Prophet had already dissipated all these delusions. He could, therefore, boldly threaten them, though they still alleged their vain pretenses; he had shown reasons enough why they could hope for nothing less than exile from God, for they had so many times, and so obstinately, and in such various ways provoked him.

This, then, he says, is the way of death; it is by remaining in the city. And he mentions several kinds of evils, and shows that God was armed not only with a hostile sword, but would also employ famine and pestilence, so that he would kill some with the sword, consume some with famine, and destroy some with pestilence.

Hence he shows that they would be so assailed on every side that it would be in vain to attempt to escape; for when they shunned the sword, pestilence would meet them; and when they were preserved from the pestilence, the famine would consume them.

He then adds, But he who went out to the Chaldeans, who besieged the city, etc.—that is, who willingly surrendered himself. For it was a sign of obedience when the Jews with a resigned mind received correction, and it was also an evidence of repentance, for they thus confessed that they were worthy of the heaviest punishment.

This is the reason why the Prophet represents it as the way of life to go out willingly and to surrender themselves of their own accord to their enemies.

And by saying, who besiege you (הצרים עליכם, etserim olicam,), he wished to anticipate objections which anyone of the people might have alleged: “How can I dare to expose myself like this? For the Chaldeans are besieging us, and I will surely lose my life if I go out to them as a suppliant.”

By no means, says the Prophet, for though they carry on a deadly war with the city, yet everyone who of his own accord goes out to them shall be safe and shall find them ready to show mercy. God would not have promised this if he did not have the Chaldeans in his own power, so that he could turn their minds as he pleased.

As to the verb נפל (nuphel,), it strictly means to fall; but I consider that it signifies here to dwell, as in Genesis 25:27, where it is said that Ishmael dwelt in the sight of, or over against, his brethren. Those who render it “died” touch neither heaven nor earth.

Some read, “his lot fell among his brethren;” but this is an unnatural rendering. There is, then, no doubt that the verb often means to lie down, and hence to dwell. And yet I allow that the Prophet alludes to subjection, for we must remember what their condition must have been when they went over to the Chaldeans; they must have been subjected to great reproach.

It was then no small humiliation; but yet we may properly render the verb to dwell. He, then, who went out to the Chaldeans and dwelt with them—that is, who allowed himself to be led into exile, or who migrated according to their will from his own country to a foreign land—he, he says, shall live, and his life shall be for a prey.

That is, he shall save his life, as when someone finds prey and takes it as his own by stealth, for prey is to be taken here as an accidental gain. Whosoever, then, he says, shall not deem it too grievous a thing to submit to the Chaldeans, shall at least save his life.

In short, God intimates that the wickedness of the people had advanced so far that it was not right to forgive them. What, then, was to be done by them? To submit with resignation and humility to a temporal punishment, and thus to cease to shut up the door of God’s mercy.

He, however, teaches them at the same time that no salvation could be hoped for by them until they were chastised. And from this we may learn a useful doctrine: that whenever we provoke God’s wrath by our perverseness, we cannot be exempt from all punishment.

We should not be impatient, especially when he punishes us moderately; and provided we obtain eternal mercy, we should submissively bear paternal corrections.

He again confirms what he had said: that it would be the way of death if the Jews remained fixed in the city, for this would be to struggle against God. For God is said to set His face for evil, because He had fully determined to punish that nation. To set the face is the same as to be resolute. Then God says that what He had resolved regarding the destruction of Jerusalem could not be changed. Now, what must ultimately be the outcome when anyone thinks that he can, against the will of God, escape death? Just as those who violently stumble against a stone break their legs, and arms, and head too; so those who furiously stumble against God bring upon themselves final ruin.

We therefore see why the Prophet added this verse: it was so that the Jews might not in their usual manner foster vain hopes, for to hope for any good was to contend with God Himself. Delivered, he says, shall be this city into the hand of the king of Babylon, and he shall burn it with fire. He intimates that Nebuchadnezzar would not only conquer the people and triumph over a captured city, but that the city itself was doomed to destruction. It is, indeed, a most grievous thing when a city is completely demolished: cities are often captured, and the conqueror removes the inhabitants to various places, while it still remains a habitable place; but God declares here that He would act more severely towards the city of Jerusalem, for it was to perish by fire.