John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 25

His prophecy undoubtedly preceded the vision we have just explained. This vision had been presented to Jeremiah when Jehoiakim died and Zedekiah began to reign in place of Jeconiah; Zedekiah, the last king, was substituted for his nephew Jeconiah. However, what is related now is the prophecy Jeremiah was instructed to proclaim in the fourth year of Jehoiakim, who, as we will see later, reigned for eleven years.

From this, we conclude that his book is composed of various addresses, but the order of time has not always been preserved. The essence of it all is that when God found that the people could not be reformed or restored to a sound mind by any warnings, He pronounced final ruin upon both the Jews and all the neighboring nations. Why He included the Gentiles, we will see later.

He then says that this prophecy was entrusted to him in the fourth year of Jehoiakim; and he adds that the same year was the first of King Nebuchadnezzar. This seems inconsistent with other passages where the third year of Jehoiakim is mentioned instead of the fourth year. Therefore, a long period is designated as the first year of Nebuchadnezzar.

But a solution to this is not difficult if we consider that Nebuchadnezzar suddenly returned to Chaldea to settle his affairs at home when the report of his father’s death was brought to him. He feared that in his absence a tumult might arise, as often happened. He was therefore anxious to secure his own affairs. After settling things at home, he brought Jehoiakim into subjection, and in the fourth year of Jehoiakim's reign, he compelled him to open his treasures and also led away captive those whom he wished.

And it was at this time that Daniel and his companions were led away into exile, and the precious vessels of the Temple were removed. Regarding the first year of Nebuchadnezzar’s reign, he reigned first with his father. Then, when he reigned alone, the beginning of this new sole reign is rightly referred to as his first year. Although he had been made king earlier, he did not exercise supreme power until his father’s death; it was not until that event that he was truly king. This is the reason why mention is made of his first year.

But we should especially notice what the Prophet says: that the word came to him, not for his own sake, but so that he might be the public herald of God.

He shows more clearly in this verse what he had just said—that he was taught from above, not so that he might suppress what he had heard, but rather so that he might proclaim it as from the mouth of God; and therefore he gives himself the honorable title of a Prophet, as if he had said, that he came equipped with the undeniable commands of God and was, at the same time, honored with the office of a Prophet; and he came in this manner so that no one might dare to despise his doctrine. Now follows his sermon—

Jeremiah now remonstrates with the Jews, because they had not only treacherously departed from the true worship of God and despised the whole teaching of His Law, but because they had shaken off the yoke, and intentionally and even obstinately rejected all warnings, being not moved by reproofs nor even by threats. He does not then simply charge them with impiety and ingratitude, but adds the sin of perverseness, that they were like untamable wild beasts and could by no means be corrected.

He says, that from the thirteenth year of Josiah king of Judah, to that year, which was the twenty-third year, he had not ceased faithfully to perform the office committed to him, but had effected nothing. From this it appears how incorrigible their wickedness was. We have seen, at the beginning of the book, that he was called by God to be a Prophet in the thirteenth year of King Josiah; and he had now been engaged in his calling, as he declares, for twenty-three years.

He had spent his time in vain; he had consumed much labor without any fruit. It is then no wonder that he now accuses them of perverseness, and that in the name of God; for he pleads not his own cause, but shows what the Jews deserved, considering how much God had labored in reclaiming them, and that they had rejected all His warnings and refused all His remedies. Then from the thirteenth year of Josiah, he says, to this day; and afterwards in a parenthesis he adds, that he had already discharged his office for twenty-three years.

We learn that the Prophet spoke thus seventeen years before the destruction of the City and Temple; for he had accomplished forty years before the people were driven into exile, and before those who thought themselves safe miserably perished. He continued to the death of Josiah; and afterwards about twenty-two years passed, for Jehoiakim reigned eleven years. Without reckoning the short time of Jeconiah, Mathaniah, called also Zedekiah, was in the eleventh year removed, and disgracefully and reproachfully put to death. Thus it appears that the Prophet constantly labored for forty years.

Hence, also, we learn how diabolical was the madness of that people in rejecting so many warnings. And if we connect another thing, to which I lately referred—that they had been taught by many examples—it will appear still more evident that the disease of impiety regarding that people was altogether incurable.

But this passage deserves special attention, for we learn here that we ought to return to God immediately when He invites us; for faith is known by its promptness. As soon, then, as God speaks, it is necessary for us to be attentive, so that we may follow Him immediately. But if God does not cease for a whole year to warn and exhort us, while at the same time His doctrine is despised, we become guilty of intolerable sin.

Let us then remember that days are mentioned here, in a way, as well as years, so that the Jews might consider how many days are in each year. Let us also know that years are mentioned by Jeremiah so that they might understand they had no excuse, since God had for so long a time not ceased to promote their welfare, while they, in the meantime, persisted in their impiety and continued obstinate to the end. This is why the Prophet relates again when he began to discharge his prophetic office, even from the thirteenth year of Josiah.

He then adds that it was their own fault that they had not repented; spoken, he says, has Jehovah to me, and I to you. By saying that the word of God was deposited with him, he no doubt intended to assert his authority against the unbelievers, who clamored that he presumptuously pretended God’s name, and that he had not been sent by God. For we have elsewhere seen that the Church was then miserably torn, having internal conflicts, and many were boasting that they were prophets; and we shall hereafter find the same thing in other places. Thus, then, Jeremiah was not received by the whole people, and his authority was disputed. Since then he had to contend with many ungodly men, he here testifies that he came not of himself, but that the prophetic office had been committed to him.

After having asserted the authority of his call, he adds that he had faithfully promoted the welfare of the whole people. He declares how faithful and diligent he had been when he says that he had spoken and rose up early; for to rise up early means that he had been assiduous in his work.

The Prophet then shows that he had not been tardy or idle, and that he had not spoken carelessly as many do, who seem to do what God commands but display no fervent zeal and no diligence. Therefore, after declaring he had been sent from above, the Prophet adds that he had exercised fidelity and diligence, and had strenuously served God and His Church. I have spoken to you, he says, as the Lord had spoken to me—how? Rising up early.

He then adds, I have spoken, and you did not hear. He complains here that his work had been useless, and at the same time shows that the whole fault was in the people. He confirms the same thing in other words: Jehovah has sent to you all His servants the prophets, rising up early, etc.

He amplifies their sin—that they had not only rejected one Prophet but many; for God had not employed Jeremiah alone to teach them but had joined others with him, so that they were less excusable. From this we see that their sin is amplified in this verse; for the Jews had not only despised God in the person of one man but had also rejected all His servants.

He might, indeed, have simply said that God had sent His servants, but he adds the word prophets so that their ingratitude might appear more evident. It was, indeed, very wicked to neglect God’s servants; but as prophecy was an invaluable treasure, and a unique pledge and symbol of God’s favor, it was a double crime when they thus despised the prophets, whose very name ought to have been held sacred by them.

He afterwards applies to God what he had said of himself, rising up early. It is certain that God does not rise up, as He does not sleep in the night; but the language is much more expressive and forcible when God Himself is said to rise up early. And it was not without reason that the Prophet spoke so emphatically; for though the Jews were sufficiently convicted of ingratitude for having disregarded God’s servants, it was yet a monstrous impiety to show no regard for God.

But when the unbelieving are proved guilty, they always fix their eyes on men: “Ha! It is with a mortal that I am dealing; far be it from me to ever rise up against God! But why is this so much blamed, since I do not immediately perish? Since I am not suddenly cast down at the nod of man? What! Am I not free to inquire, and to discuss, and to examine every part of what is said? Why do the prophets so imperiously treat us, that it is not lawful to doubt any of their words?”

Thus, then, the ungodly spoke. But God, on the other hand, answered them and said that He was despised, as Christ also said, He who hears you hears me,
and he who despises you despises me (Luke 10:16).

So also the Prophet presents God Himself as rising up early, exhorting the people and manifesting every care for their well-being. This, then, is the purpose of the metaphor, when he says that God had sent to them and rose up early; He rose up early while sending His servants.

Now as God thunders against all despisers of His doctrine, so from these words we may gather no small consolation; for we certainly conclude that God watches over our safety whenever sound and faithful teachers go forth. It is the same as though He Himself descended from heaven, rose up early, and was intent on securing our salvation. This we learn from the very words of the Prophet, when he says that God rose up early. But as this testimony of God’s favor and paternal care towards us is delightful, so to the same extent dreadful is the vengeance that awaits those who neglect this favor, who sleep when God is watching, who hear not when He is speaking, who continue in their sloth and torpor when God of His own accord meets them, and kindly and gently invites them to Himself.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since You have been pleased to choose us from our infancy to be Your people, and that when we were wretched apostates, You have also been pleased to restore us to the right way, by stretching forth Your hand to lead us—O grant, that we may not be deaf nor idle; but may it please You, by Your Spirit, especially to correct all obstinacy in our hearts, so that we may make ourselves obedient and submissive to You. And as You have not ceased continually to call us, may we in our turn respond to You, and not only by our tongues, but also by our works, pursue the course which You have appointed for us, until we shall reach the goal, and enjoy that blessed state of glory which You have prepared for us in heaven, through Christ our Lord. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We began yesterday to explain God’s complaint against the Jews—that He had found them utterly rebellious. He says, in one word, that they did not hear Him; but he afterwards adds, that they did not incline their ear to hear Him. By this mode of speaking, their perverseness is shown more fully, as they closed their ears as if intentionally; for not to incline the ear is more than not to hear. Jeremiah then means that they had so hardened themselves against all that was taught by the prophets, that they intentionally rejected everything that was set before them by God’s authority.

He afterwards explains what God required them to do: Turn you, I pray, every one from his evil way and from the wickedness of your doings, and dwell in the land which Jehovah has given to you and your fathers from age even to age. What God required was undoubtedly most just; for He demanded nothing from the Jews but to repent.

There was also a promise added; God not only exhorted them to repent, but wished also to be reconciled to them, and having blotted out all memory of their sins, to show them kindness. If they had not been harder than stones, they must have been turned to His service by so kind a treatment.

God might have indeed sharply reproved them; He might have threatened them; He might, in short, have cut off every hope of pardon. But He only required them to repent, and at the same time added a promise of free forgiveness. As then they had despised so great a favor, it follows that they must have been men of reprobate minds and of irreclaimable habits.

When they were commanded to repent of their evil way and of the wickedness of their doings, it was done for the sake of amplification; for the Prophet wished to take away from them every excuse for evasion, lest they should ask what was the wickedness or what was the evil way. He then implies that they were fully proved guilty; and for this purpose he made the repetition. By way is designated a continued course of life; but as they had fully shown themselves perverse in many ways, he refers to their fruits, as though he had said that they in vain contended with God by inquiring what had been their evil way, for their whole life sufficiently testified that they were completely devoted to wickedness.

Now there is a striking alliteration in the verbs שבו and ושבו: the verb שבו, shebu, means sometimes to rebel, it means to return to the right way, and it means to rest or dwell in. He uses the same verb, though the sense is different when he says, “Return you,” and “you shall dwell.”

He also emphatically uses the word איש, aish, “every one:” it means properly “man;” but it is taken in Hebrew for every one or each one, “each one from his evil way.” The Prophet exempted no one, so that they would not think that their fault was diminished, had not the evil been universal. Therefore he says that every one was given to wickedness; as though he had said that impiety not only prevailed among the whole people, as is commonly the case, but that every one had become corrupt, so that there was not one sound or upright among the whole people.

And this is what should be noted; for we are accustomed, in a cold manner, to confess our sins and to pray to God when we are proved guilty, except when each one is touched with the sense of his own guilt and admits himself to be justly exposed to God’s judgment. For while every one mingles with the multitude, it so happens that no one acknowledges the heinousness of his own sins. Therefore, for true and sincere repentance this peculiar examination is necessary, so that every one may repent and not regard his friends.

When he says, Dwell you in the land, though it is in the imperative mood, yet it is a promise by which God declared that He was ready to receive the Jews into favor, provided they returned to Him from the heart. He proposed to them, as a symbol of His paternal favor, the possession of the land; for that land was, so to speak, the pledge of their adoption. And the Jews, while they dwelt there, might have felt assured that God was their Father.

He adds, From age even to age; as though he had said, “I am prepared to do you good not only for one day, or for a short time, but also to show you kindness from age to age. It will then be your fault if you are not happy, and if this happiness will not pass on from you to your children and grandchildren.” But the more delightful the invitation was, the more detestable became the impiety of the people, as will be stated later. He now adds—

The Prophet mentions here one kind of sin; for though the Jews in many, and even in countless ways, kindled God’s wrath, they especially brought a heavy judgment upon themselves through their superstitions. They indeed showed their contempt for God through adultery, theft, and plunder, but not in such a direct way; for when they abandoned themselves to the superstitions of the Gentiles, they thus shook off the yoke of God, as though they openly testified that He was no longer their God.

And we know that nothing is so highly valued and approved by God as a sincere devotion to true piety; therefore, the Church is taught in the first table of the Law how He is to be worshipped. This is why the Prophet especially reminds the Jews here that they had, in this respect, been rebellious against God, because He could not bring them back from their corrupt superstitions.

At the same time, He does not absolve them of other sins; but He mentions this one kind so that they might understand that they were not only partly, but entirely rebellious against God; for they wholly departed from Him when they corrupted His worship with wicked superstitions. We must then remember that the Jews were not condemned for minor offenses but accused of the most heinous sins, for they had become covenant-breakers and apostates, and had forsaken God Himself and His law.

He says, Walk ye not after foreign gods to serve them and to worship them. He pointed out, as if with a finger, how gross their impiety had been; for they had given themselves up to idols, so that they might basely serve them; they had wholly devoted themselves to them. It was not, therefore, an excusable error, but a manifest treachery.

He adds, Provoke me not by the work of your hands. No doubt the Prophet, by these words, meant to confirm what has already been stated: that idolatry is an intolerable wickedness before God. At the same time, He shows that they had not sinned through ignorance, for they had been reminded in time of the atrocity of this sin.

Since, then, they had not ceased from their superstitions, they were thus proved guilty of a diabolical madness, for they did not fear to provoke God against them.

And He says, by the work of your hands; and thus He speaks contemptuously, or rather reproachfully, of idols. They called them gods, not because they were ignorant that these were statues skillfully made of wood and stone, or of some other material, but they still thought that divinity was connected with them, for they believed that God was rightly worshipped in this way.

Now, then, the Prophet calls them the work of hands, as though He had said, “If the Jews themselves are nothing, the idols are less than nothing, for they are only the work of hands.”

And this way of speaking often occurs in the Prophets, by which God intended to shake off the stupidity of people who had become quite senseless in their own devices, as though He had said, “Have you not a particle of a right understanding in you? Do you not know that this which you worship is the work of your own hands? And what can your hands do? For what are you yourselves?” We now perceive what the Prophet intended in using these words.

Again, there is a promise given: I will not do you evil. By these words, God declares that they would be exempt from all trouble and distress if they continued to walk according to the rule of true religion.

And thus He intimates that whatever evils they had already endured, and would have to endure in the future, could be imputed to nothing but their own perverseness, for God, of His own free will, had promised to spare them, provided they departed from their wicked ways.

And such a hope ought especially to encourage us to repent, for we see that God is ready to receive us, seeks reconciliation with us, and is always prepared to forgive all our sins, provided we return to Him from the heart; and He seems, as it were, unwilling to inflict punishment.

Here again, the impiety of the people is more fully proved, for they refused to receive this invaluable favor from God.

He proves what he had said before: that the Jews had been completely disobedient, even though God had kindly offered and shown that He would be reconciled to them, provided they turned to Him from the heart. The fact that this message was not received by the Jews was evidence of extreme and irreclaimable obstinacy.

And he enhances their guilt by saying, that ye might provoke me; for he implies that they were led away to evil by their own deliberate choice, as if they wished to provoke God. The Prophet, then, by saying that ye might provoke me, accuses them of deliberate wickedness. Indeed, it often happens that people go astray through ignorance and do not pay attention because no one warns them. But since God had so many times exhorted the Jews to repent, no other conclusion could be reached about them than that they intentionally wished not only to despise God but also to provoke Him to conflict.

And this is what we should carefully note, for whoever has been taught the will of God, unless he obeys, cannot escape the charge of deliberate obstinacy, as he has resolved, as it were, to wage war with God. Although the ungodly do not confess this, yet the fact is evident; and God, who is a righteous judge, has declared that those who despised the prophetic doctrine were regarded in this way.

And he says, for evil to you, so that they might know that God did not plead His own cause because He needed their service, but that He cared for their welfare.

For an implied contrast is to be understood here, as if the Prophet had said, “What loss has God suffered by your perverseness? You have, indeed, tried to deprive Him of His glory, for you have adorned your idols with spoils taken from Him. But it is not in human power to detract anything from the rights of God; He remains ever perfect. Consequently, it only results in your ruin when you are rebellious. Therefore, when God now reproves you, He does not maintain His own right, as if He received any gain or loss from you; but it is evidence of His mercy, because He would not have you perish, though He sees that you are led into destruction by an insane impulse.”