John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 21:5

"And I myself will fight against you with an outstretched hand and with a strong arm, even in anger, and in wrath, and in great indignation." — Jeremiah 21:5 (ASV)

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.