John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 23:7-8

"Therefore, behold, the days come, saith Jehovah, that they shall no more say, As Jehovah liveth, who brought up the children of Israel out of the land of Egypt; but, As Jehovah liveth, who brought up and who led the seed of the house of Israel out of the north country, and from all the countries whither I had driven them. And they shall dwell in their own land." — Jeremiah 23:7-8 (ASV)

The Prophet, after speaking of the Redeemer who was to be sent, now extols that great favor of God. He says that it would be so remarkable and glorious that the former redemption would be nothing compared to the greatness and excellence of this.

When the children of Israel were brought out of Egypt, God, we know, demonstrated His power by many miracles, so that this favor towards His people might appear more illustrious. The Prophets rightly exhorted and encouraged the faithful to maintain good hope by recalling what was done then.

But our Prophet enhances the second redemption with this comparison: that in the future, the kindness of God, with which He favored His people when He delivered them from the bondage of Egypt, would not be remembered. Instead, something more remarkable would be done, so that everyone would talk about it, and everyone would proclaim the immense benefit God would confer on them by delivering them from their exile in Babylon.

He then says that the days would come in which it would not be said, Live does Jehovah, who brought His people from Egypt, but who brought His people from the land of the North. Yet he does not mean that the memory of God’s favor towards the Israelites, when He brought them from Egypt, was to be abolished. Instead, he reasons here from the lesser to the greater.

It is as if he had said that God's deliverance of His people from the land of Egypt was an evidence of His favor that could not be sufficiently praised; if taken by itself, it was worthy of being forever remembered. However, when compared with the second deliverance, it would seem almost as nothing. The meaning is that the second redemption would be so much more remarkable than the first that it would overshadow the memory of it, though it would not erase it.

This passage deserves special attention, for from it we learn how much we should value the redemption we have obtained through the only-begotten Son of God. From this, it also follows that we are more indebted to God than the Fathers under the Law were, since He has dealt far more generously with us and has exerted His power more fully and effectively on our behalf.

We further learn that the Prophet, in this prophecy, does not include only a few years, but the entire kingdom of Christ and its complete development. He indeed speaks of the return of the people to their own country, and this should be acknowledged, even though some Christians have been too rigid in this regard. For by overlooking the entire intermediate period between the people's return and Christ's coming, they have interpreted the prophecies too forcefully as referring only to spiritual redemption.

There is no doubt that the Prophet begins with the people's free return from captivity. But, as I have said, Christ’s redemption is not to be separated from this; otherwise, the fulfillment of the promise would not be apparent to us, for only a small portion returned to their own land.

We also know that they were harassed by many and continual troubles, so their condition was always miserable, for nothing is worse than a state of unrest. Furthermore, we know that they were often plundered and were also reduced to a state of bondage. We know how cruelly they were treated at one time by the Egyptians and at another by the kings of Syria.

Therefore, more was promised by Jeremiah than what God actually performed, unless we include the kingdom of Christ in this prophecy. But since God restored His Church through Cyrus in such a way that it served as a kind of prelude to a future and perfect redemption, it is no wonder that the prophets, whenever they spoke of the people’s return and the end of their exile, looked forward to Christ and to His spiritual kingdom.

So now we see the Prophet's intention when he says that the days would come in which their first redemption would not be spoken of by the people as a remarkable or chief evidence of God’s favor and power, because their second redemption would far surpass it.

Regarding the formula or manner of speaking, Live does Jehovah, we know that the ancients used such words when making a solemn oath and whenever they sought to encourage themselves with hope during adversities.

Therefore, whenever they found themselves so oppressed that their only escape from evil was through God’s favor, they usually said that the God who had formerly been the Redeemer of His people still lived, and that there was no lessening of His power, so that He could, if necessary, bring help to His Church and to every member of it ten times, a hundred times, or a thousand times.

He says, from all the lands to which I shall have driven them, and he says this for two reasons, which we will state shortly.

The change of person does not obscure the meaning. He says, Live does Jehovah, who brought out and led His people from the land of the north, and from all the lands to which I had driven them; but there is no ambiguity in the meaning.

Regarding the subject itself, it seems that God first intended to remind the Jews of their sins, as this knowledge was to be the path to repentance, or a preparation for it.

For unless they were convinced that they were disciplined for their sins by God’s hand, they would either have thought their exile was accidental or would have given way to murmuring complaints, as they often did. But God here declares that He was the author of their exile, so that the Jews might know that God justly punished them for their many and grievous sins.

But God, secondly, shows that it was in His power, whenever He pleased, to restore those whom He had afflicted. This was similar to raising from death those whom He had slain, according to what is said elsewhere:

“God is He who kills, and who brings to life.”
(1 Samuel 2:6)

Many indeed can destroy, but they cannot heal the wound they may have inflicted. But with regard to God, He is both a righteous Judge and a merciful Savior.

Therefore, just as death is in His power whenever He punishes people for their wickedness, so also He has life in His hand and at His command whenever He intends to show mercy. So now we perceive what the Prophet intended by saying that the Jews had been driven away by God.

He afterwards adds, They shall dwell in their own land. It was necessary for the Jews to be sustained by this support until the coming of Christ, for they understood that they would possess the inheritance promised to their ancestors as a pledge of eternal life and of the heavenly kingdom.