John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 25:7

"Yet ye have not hearkened unto me, saith Jehovah; that ye may provoke me to anger with the work of your hands to your own hurt." — Jeremiah 25:7 (ASV)

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.”