John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 26

This chapter contains a remarkable history, to which a very useful doctrine is connected. Jeremiah speaks of repentance, which is one of the main points of true religion, and he shows at the same time that the people were rejected by God because they perversely despised all warnings and could by no means be brought to a right mind. We will find these two things in this chapter.

He says that this word came to him at the beginning of the reign of Jehoiakim, about whom we have spoken in other places, where Jeremiah related other messages delivered in his reign. From this we conclude that this book was not compiled in a chronological order, but that the chapters were collected, and the volume was formed from them.

However, the time is not repeated here in vain, for we know that those who are miserable derive some hope from new events. When people have been long afflicted and have almost rotted in their sins, they still think, when a change occurs, that they will be happy, and they entertain false hopes. Such was probably the confidence of the people when Jehoiakim began to reign, for they might have thought that he would restore things to a better state. There is also another circumstance to be noted: though their condition was almost beyond hope, they still hardened themselves against God, so that they stubbornly resisted the prophets. From this it appears that the reprobate became more and more incensed by God's judgments and had never been truly and genuinely humbled. This was the reason why Jeremiah, according to God’s command, spoke so sharply.

I will pass over other things and come to the words, that the word of Jehovah came to him. He thus claimed nothing for himself; but he testifies how necessary it was, especially among such a rebellious people, that he should bring nothing of his own, but announce a truth that came from heaven.

A general subject could be discussed here: that God alone is to be heard in the Church, and also that no one should assume the title of prophet or teacher for themselves, except one whom the Lord has formed and appointed, and to whom He has entrusted His message. But these things have been discussed elsewhere, often, and at great length; and I do not willingly dwell long on general subjects.

It is then enough to remember the purpose for which Jeremiah says that the word of Jehovah came to him, namely, that he might secure authority for himself. He does not boast of his own wisdom nor of anything human or earthly, but says only that he spoke what the Lord had commanded him.

He adds, Thus says Jehovah, Stand in the court of the house (literally, but house means the Temple) of Jehovah. The people were not allowed to enter the Temple; therefore, the Prophet was instructed to stay in the court where he could be heard by all. He was, as we have seen, of the priestly order; but it would have been of little use to address only the Levites.

It was therefore necessary for him to go out and to announce to all the people the commands of God which are recited here. He was to do this not only to the citizens of Jerusalem but also to all the Jews; and this is expressly required, speak to all the cities of Judah. Then it is added, who come to worship in the Temple of Jehovah.

God seems to have intentionally anticipated the presumption of those who thought they were wronged when they were so severely rebuked. They might have argued:

“What! We have left our wives and children and have come here to worship God. We have set aside all attention to our private advantage and have come here, though it was inconvenient. We could have lived quietly at home and enjoyed our blessings. We have incurred great expenses, undertaken a tedious journey, brought sacrifices, and denied ourselves our daily food so that God might be worshipped. And yet you rail severely against us, and we hear nothing from your mouth but terrors; is this right? Does God give such a reward to His servants?”

Thus, then, they might have argued with the Prophet. But he anticipates these objections and acknowledges what they might have pleaded: that they came to the Temple to offer sacrifices. However, he implies that something else was required by God, and that they did not fulfill their duties by merely coming to the Temple, unless they faithfully obeyed God and His Law. We now see why the Prophet said that he was sent to those who came up to Jerusalem to worship God. The act itself could not indeed have been blamed; no, it was highly praiseworthy that they thus frequented the worship of God. But since the Jews did not consider the purpose for which God had commanded sacrifices to be offered to Him, nor the purpose for which He had instituted all these external rites, it was necessary to correct this error in which they were entangled.

Speak, He says, all the words which I have commanded you to speak to them. The Prophet again confirms that he was not the author of what he taught, but only a minister who faithfully announced what God had entrusted to him. And so the people could not have objected to him by saying that he brought forward his own ideas, for he refuted such slander. The false prophets might have also claimed similar things, but Jeremiah had sure evidence of his calling, so that the Jews, by rejecting him, condemned themselves, for their own consciences fully convicted them. But from this passage, and from many similar passages, we may draw this conclusion: that no one, however much they may excel in mental abilities, knowledge, wisdom, or position, ought to be listened to unless they prove that they are God’s minister.

He afterwards adds, You shall not diminish a word. Some read, “You shall not restrain,” which is harsh. The verb, גרע, garo, properly means to be lessened and to be consumed. And Moses uses the same word in Deuteronomy 12:32, when he says:

You shall not add, nor diminish,

in reference to the Law, in which the people were to acquiesce, without corrupting it with any human inventions. To diminish, then, was to take away something from the word.

But we should consider the reason why this was said to Jeremiah: it never entered the mind of the holy man to corrupt God’s word. Instead, God here encourages him to be confident, so that he might boldly carry out His commands.

To diminish something from the word, then, was to soften what appeared harsh, or to suppress what might have offended, or to express indirectly or coldly what could not produce an effect without being expressed forcefully. There is then no doubt that God anticipates here this problem, with which even faithful teachers largely struggle.

For when they find people's ears to be sensitive and delicate, they dare not vehemently rebuke, threaten, and condemn their sins. This is the reason why God added this, Diminish not a word; as though He had said, “Declare with closed eyes and with boldness whatever you have heard from My mouth, and disregard whatever may tend to lessen your courage.”

We may now easily learn the application of this doctrine: the Prophet was not sent to profane people, who openly declared their impiety or lived in gross sins. But he was sent to the very worshippers of God, who highly regarded His external worship, and for this reason had left wives and children, came to the Temple, and spared neither labor nor expense. Since, then, he was sent to them, we must be careful not to become complacent in our sins and think that we have done our duty to God when we have apparently shown some signs of piety. For unless we really and sincerely obey God, all other things are considered of no value by Him.

In this verse, God briefly shows for what purpose He sent His Prophet. For it would not have been sufficient for the Prophet to announce what he taught, unless it was also known to have been the will of God. Here then, God asserts that He would not be favorable to the people unless they complied with what He required, that is, to repent.

Thus, He testifies that what was taught would be useful to them because it related to their safety; and a truth cannot be made more deserving of our love than when we know that it tends to promote our well-being. Therefore God, when He saw the people rushing headlong through blind despair into all kinds of impiety, intended to test whether or not some of them were healable, as if He had said, “What are you doing, you miserable beings? It is not yet entirely over for you; only obey Me, and the remedy for all your evils is at hand.”

We now see what God’s design was: He wished to give those Jews the hope of mercy who were altogether irreclaimable, so that they might not reject what He taught when they heard it would be for their good.

But we may gather from this a general doctrine: that when God is especially displeased with us, it is still an evidence of His paternal kindness when He favors us with prophetic teaching, for that teaching will not be without fruit, unless it is through our own fault. But at the same time, we are made more and more inexcusable if we reject that medicine which would certainly give us life. Let us then understand that the Prophet says here that he was sent so that he might test whether the Jews would repent, for God was ready to receive them into favor.

By saying אולי, auli, 'if perhaps,' He made use of a common way of speaking. God indeed has perfect knowledge of all events, nor did He have any doubt about what would happen when the prophets had fulfilled their duties. But what is pointed out here, and also condemned, is the people's obstinacy, as if He had said that it was indeed difficult to heal those who had grown putrid in their evils, yet He would try to do so.

And thus God manifests His unspeakable goodness, that He does not entirely cast away people who are almost beyond remedy, and whose diseases seem to be unhealable. He also strengthens His prophet, for the prophet might from long experience have been led to think that all his labor would be in vain. Therefore, God adds this, so that the prophet might not cease to continue in the course of his calling, for what seemed incredible might still happen beyond his expectation. We now see why it was said, If so be that they will hear.

It is then added, and turn, and so on. From the context we learn that repentance, as well as faith, proceeds from the truth that is taught. For how is it that those alienated from God return, confess their sins, and change their character, minds, and purposes? It is the fruit of truth; not that truth is effectual in all cases, but it speaks here of the elect. Or even if they were all healable, God shows that the use and fruit of His truth is to turn people, as it is also said by the Prophet (Malachi 4:6), and repeated in the first chapter of Luke: He will turn many of the children of Israel (Luke 1:6).

What follows is significant: every one from his evil way. For God indicates that it was not enough that the whole people should outwardly confess their sins, but that each person was required to examine himself. For when we seek God in a group, and one follows another, it is often done with no genuine feeling. Repentance, therefore, is only true and genuine when each person comes to examine his own case, for its inner and hidden seat is in the heart. This is the reason why He says, If a man—that is, if everyone—turns from his evil way.

Regarding God’s repentance, of which mention is made, there is no need for a long explanation. No change is characteristic of God. But when God is said to turn away His wrath, it is to be understood in a way that human beings can comprehend. In the same way, we are also to understand the words that He repents (Psalms 85:5; Psalms 110:4).

It is at the same time sufficiently clear what God means here: that He is reconcilable as soon as people truly turn to Him. Thus we see that people cannot be called to repent until God’s mercy is presented to them. From this it also follows that these two things, repentance and faith, are connected together, and that it is an absurd and impious act of sacrilege to separate them. For God cannot be feared unless the sinner perceives that He will be favorable to him.

As long as we are apprehensive of God’s wrath, we dread His judgment, and thus we rage against Him and must necessarily be driven headlong into the deepest abyss. Consequently, under the Papacy, they speak not only foolishly but also coldly about repentance, for they leave souls doubtful and perplexed; indeed, they take away every kind of certainty. Let us then understand the reason why the Holy Spirit teaches us that repentance cannot be rightly and profitably taught unless it is added that God will be favorable to miserable people whenever they turn to Him.

Regarding the words I think, I have already said that God does not form contradictory purposes. But this refers to those people who deserved His dreadful vengeance. It is the same as if He had said, “Their iniquity has already ripened; I am therefore now ready to take vengeance on them. Nevertheless, let them return to Me, and they shall find Me to be a Father. There is, then, no reason for them to despair, though I have already manifested signs of My vengeance.”

This is the meaning. But He repeats the reason for His wrath: On account of the wickedness of their doings. For we know that they were proud and obstinate; it was therefore necessary to silence them, otherwise they would have raised a clamor and said that God was unjustly angry, or that He exceeded all limits. Whatever evils then were near, God briefly shows that these evils came from the people themselves, and that the cause was their own wickedness.

The Prophet now briefly includes what he had been teaching, what he had been commanded to declare to the people. No doubt he spoke to them more at large, but he deemed it enough to show in a few words what had been committed to him. And the sum of it was this: unless the Jews hearkened in such a way as to walk in God’s Law and were submissive to the prophets, final ruin was near the Temple and the city. This is the meaning, but it may be useful to consider every particular.

By these words, Unless ye hearken to me, to walk in my law, God intimates that he mainly requires obedience and esteems nothing as much, according to what he says, that it is better than all sacrifices (1 Samuel 15:22). This subject was largely treated in the seventh chapter, where he said,

Did I command your fathers when they came out of Egypt to offer sacrifices to me? This only I required, even to hear my voice (Jeremiah 7:22–23).

We therefore see that the only way of living piously, justly, holily, and uprightly is to allow ourselves to be ruled by the Lord. This is one thing. Then what follows is worthy of being noticed, To walk in my law. God here testifies that his will is not ambiguous or doubtful, for he has prescribed what is right in his law. Were God then to descend a hundred times from heaven, he would bring nothing but this message: that he has spoken what is necessary to be known, and that his Law is the most perfect wisdom. Had he said only, “Hear me,” men might have still evaded and avowed themselves ready to learn. God therefore does here silence hypocrites and says that he required nothing else but to follow his Law. And for the same purpose he adds what follows, which I have set before you: for this kind of speaking intimates that the doctrine of the Law was by no means obscure or doubtful, as Moses said,

I this day call heaven and earth to witness, that I have set life and death before your eyes (Deuteronomy 30:19).

And in another place he said,

Say not, Who shall ascend above the clouds? or, Who shall descend into the abyss? or, Who shall pass beyond the sea? The word is in thy heart and in thy mouth (Deuteronomy 30:12–14; Romans 10:6–8).

As though he had said, “God has deprived you of every excuse, for there is no reason for doubting, since he has spoken so familiarly to you and has explained everything necessary to be known.”

And this confutes the impious blasphemy of the Papists, who impudently assert that not only the Law is obscure, but also the Gospel. And Paul also loudly declares that the Gospel is not obscure except to those who perish and who have a veil over their hearts, being visited with judicial blindness. But as to the Law, in which there is no such clarity as in the Gospel, we see what Jeremiah affirms here: that it was set before the eyes of all, that they might learn from it what pleased God, and what was just and right.

But what follows in the next verse ought to be especially observed, for these two things are necessarily connected — that God required nothing but obedience to his Law, and that his will was that his prophets should be heard — To hearken, he says, to the words of my servants, the prophets, whom I send to you (it is in the second person). Here there seems to be some inconsistency; for if God’s Law was sufficient, why were the prophets to be heard?

But these two things agree well together: the Law alone was to be attended to, and also the prophets, for they were its interpreters. For God did not send his prophets to correct the Law, to change anything in it, to add or to take away, as it was an unalterable decree not to add to it nor to diminish from it.

What then was the benefit of sending the prophets? It was to make the Law more manifest and to apply it to the circumstances of the people. Since, then, the prophets devised no new doctrine but were faithful interpreters of the Law, God, not without reason, joined these two things together — that his Law was to be heard and also his prophets. For the majesty of the Law did not detract in any way from the authority of the prophets; and as the prophets confirmed the Law, they could not have taken anything away from the Law.

Indeed, this passage teaches us that all those who repudiate the daily duty of learning are profane men and, as far as they can, extinguish the grace of the Spirit. Many such fanatics among the Anabaptists have been in our time, who despised learning of every kind. They boasted that the doctrine of the Law was the Alphabet, and they also indulged in this dream: that wrong is done to the Holy Spirit when men attend to learning.

And some dare, in a cruder manner, to vomit forth their blasphemies; they say that Scripture is enough for us, even these two things: Fear God and love your neighbor. But as I have already said, we must consider how God has spoken by his Law. Did he close up the way, so as not to explain his will more clearly by the prophets, nor to apply to present use what would have otherwise been less effectual? Or did he purpose to draw continually by various channels the doctrine which flows from that fountain?

But now, since God had given his own Law and had added to the Law his prophets, everyone who rejected the prophets must surely ascribe no authority to the Law. Likewise now, those who do not think it their duty today to seek knowledge in the school of Christ and to avail themselves of the hearing of his word, no doubt despise God in their hearts and set no value on the Law, or on the prophets, or on the Gospel. Remarkable then is this passage; it shows that the Lord would have his Law be our leader and teacher, and yet he adds his own prophets.

He says further, Whom I have sent to you, rising early and sending. Here he upbraids the Jews with their slowness and insensibility, for he roused them early, and that not once but often, and yet he spent his labor in vain. Rising early, when applied to God, means that he called these men in due time, as though he had said that it was not his fault that the Jews had departed from the right way of safety, for he had been sedulously careful of their well-being and had in due time warned them.

We therefore see how the Prophet condemned their tardiness and indifference, and then their hardness, by saying, and sending; for this intimates a repetition or assiduity. He had said before, “Whom I sent to you, rising early;” now, when he says and sending, he means that he had not sent one prophet, or many at one time, but one after another continually, and that yet it had been without any benefit. The end of the verse I read in a parenthesis (but ye have not hearkened). Indeed, what follows stands connected with the previous verses.

Then will I make, etc.: the conjunction is to be rendered here as an adverb of time. What had been just said, “but ye have not hearkened,” was by way of anticipation, for the Jews, swelling with great arrogance, might have immediately said, “Oh! What new thing do you bring?

Unless ye hearken to my voice, saith Jehovah, to walk in my Law, which I have set before you, as though all this were not well known even to children among us; and yet you pretend to be the herald of some extraordinary prophecy. Certainly such boasting will be deemed puerile by all wise men.” So they might have spoken, but the Prophet here briefly checks the insolence of such a foolish censure: but ye have not hearkened; as though he had said that he had not been sent in vain to speak of a thing, as it were, new and unusual, because the Jews had corrupted the whole Law, had become disobedient, unteachable, and unbelieving, and had despised both the Law of God and his Prophets.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as you have been pleased not only to make known your will once by the Law, but also to add more light by your holy prophets, and further to give us perfect light by your Gospel, and as you invite us daily to learn by means of those whom you have sent — O grant, that we may not be deaf nor tardy to hear, but promptly submit ourselves to you, and so allow ourselves to be ruled by your word, that through our whole life we may testify that you are indeed our God, we being your people, until we shall at length be gathered into that celestial kingdom, which your only-begotten Son our Lord has purchased for us. — Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We could not yesterday finish the words of the Prophet, as time did not allow us to do so. We said that the Prophet had denounced God’s vengeance on the people in such a manner that he softened that severity with some comfort, lest despair should render more obstinate those whom he wished to turn to obedience. We also said that the ministers of the word cannot otherwise speak rightly or profitably of repentance unless they connect with it the promise of God’s mercy. But as the Prophet had to do with refractory men and despisers of God, he had to declare what he eventually adds: namely, that the destruction of the Temple and city was near at hand, unless they repented.

And he says that that house would become like Shiloh, in order that by this example he might touch their hearts. For the ark of God had been long at Shiloh, and that place might have been deemed venerable for being ancient. Jerusalem was indeed renowned, but Shiloh was before it in time. This place was now forsaken; indeed, it presented a sad and a degraded spectacle. He thus set before their eyes an example of God’s vengeance, such as awaited them. We have seen the same reference in Jeremiah 7:12, where the Prophet says,

Go to Shiloh, where the ark of the covenant was, etc.; but he now speaks more briefly, for he no doubt often repeated the same things.

Then he adds, I will make this city a curse, or execration, to all the nations of the earth. It was still more intolerable to the Jews to hear what Jeremiah says here — that so great a city, the sanctuary and the royal throne of God, would become a curse to heathen nations. And yet, as God had commanded him to say this, he boldly performed his duty. Now follows the reward he met with —

Here the Prophet recounts what happened to him after he had declared God’s message and faithfully warned the people by adding threats, as God had commanded him. He says first that he was heard; however, this should not be taken as a commendation, as if the priests and prophets patiently heard what he taught, for they had no teachable spirit in them, nor did they come prepared to learn. Instead, they had long indulged in their perversity, so that Jeremiah had become an avowed enemy to them, and they also audaciously opposed all his threats.

Although they were not ashamed to reject what the Prophet said, they still observed a certain formality, as is usual with hypocrites. For they are, as the saying goes, more exact than necessary in formal matters, while neglecting what is truly important. Thus, we may observe that the priests and prophets deserved no praise for restraining themselves, as if they were deferring their judgment until the case was known. However, because all the people were present, they showed themselves moderate for a time. Yet it was a prevailing moderation, for their hearts were full of impiety and contempt of God, as indeed became manifest.

But it must be observed that he says the priests and prophets listened. Regarding the priests, it is no wonder that he refers to them as such, even though they were wicked in every way, for it was an inherited honor. But it is strange that he mentions the prophets. At the same time, we must understand that Jeremiah also uses this title for those who boasted that they were sent from above.

In the twenty-third chapter he reproves them at length, and in many other places he condemns their impudence in falsely assuming God's authority. He therefore allowed them an honorable title but esteemed it as nothing. This is similar to what we can do today: we can, without harm, call by way of ridicule those prelates, bishops, or pastors who, under the Papacy, seek to be considered as such, provided that we simultaneously strip them of their masks.

But these men cling to the title and thereby seek to suppress God's truth, as if being called a bishop carried more weight than if an angel were to come down from heaven.

And yet, if an angel were to descend from heaven, we ought to count him as a devil if he presented such filthy and detestable blasphemies, such as we see polluting the world today through these unprincipled men.

This passage, then, and similar ones, ought to be kept in mind, for they show that titles are not sufficient unless those who bear them truly show themselves to be what their calling signifies.

Thus, Jeremiah was called a Prophet, and those impostors were also called prophets whose sole purpose was to corrupt and pervert the doctrine of the Law; but they were so called in the estimation of the people.

Meanwhile, it is necessary to distinguish wisely between prophets or teachers, as the Apostle also reminds us: we ought to inquire whether their spirit is from God or not (1 John 4:1).

Finally, he says that he was condemned by the priests, the prophets, and all the people; at the same time, he also stated that he had spoken all that the Lord had commanded him. In this way, he briefly exposed the injustice of those who condemned him, for they had no regard for what was right, as we will soon see. But since they had brought with them a preconceived hatred, they spewed out what they could no longer contain.

Here the cause of Jeremiah’s condemnation is also added: that he had dared to threaten the holy city and the Temple with such severity. They did not inquire whether God had commanded this, or whether Jeremiah had any just cause for doing so. Instead, they took it for granted that a wrong was done to God whenever anything was alleged against the dignity of the Temple. They also believed the city was sacred, and therefore nothing could be said against it without detracting from God's many specific promises, since He had testified that it would always be safe, because He dwelt in its midst. We therefore see by what right, and under what pretext, the priests and the prophets condemned Jeremiah.

And by saying, in the name of Jehovah, they undoubtedly accused him of being a cheat, or a false pretender, because he had said that this had been commanded by God, for they considered such a thing impossible and absurd. God had promised that Jerusalem would be His perpetual dwelling place; Jeremiah’s words were, I will make this city like Shiloh. God seemed, in appearance, to be inconsistent with Himself: This is my rest for ever, and yet, this shall be a desert. We therefore see that the priests and the prophets were not without some plausible pretext for condemning Jeremiah.

There is therefore some weight in what they said: “Do you not make God contradict Himself? For what you denounce in His name openly and directly conflicts with His promises. But God is always consistent with Himself. You are therefore a cheat and a liar, and thus one of the false prophets, whom God does not permit in His Church.” And yet what they boasted was entirely baseless, for God had not promised that the Temple would be perpetual in order to give the people license to indulge in all kinds of wickedness.

It was not, then, God’s purpose to bind Himself to ungodly men, so that they might expose His name to open reproach. It is therefore evident that the prophets and priests were only feigning, when they took for granted what ought to have been understood conditionally—that is, if they worshipped Him in sincerity as He had commanded.

For it was not right to separate two things that God had connected. He required piety and obedience from the people, and He also promised that He would be the guardian of the city, and that the Temple would be safe under His protection. But the Jews, having neither faith nor repentance, boasted about what had been said of the Temple; indeed, they bragged, as we have seen elsewhere, and spoke falsely. And therefore the Prophet derided them by repeating three times:

The Temple of Jehovah, the Temple of Jehovah, the Temple of Jehovah, (Jeremiah 7:4)

as if he had said—“This is your silly talk; you always cry boastingly, ‘The Temple of God;’ but all this will be of no use to you.”

It then follows that the people were assembled. Here Jeremiah passes to another part of the narrative, for he reminded the princes and the king’s counselors that they were not without reason stirred to go up to the Temple.

If the dispute had been among a few people, Jeremiah would either have been killed, or in some way seized. Or it might have been that the princes would have circumvented the king and his counselors, and thus the holy man would have been secretly crushed. But here Jeremiah introduced these words: that the whole people were assembled against him. Therefore, the report reached the king’s court, and so the princes and counselors were commanded to come.

In short, Jeremiah shows the reason why the princes came to the Temple: it was because the city was everywhere in commotion when the report spread that something new and intolerable had been announced. The king therefore could not ignore this commotion, for it is a dangerous thing to allow a popular tumult to prevail. And therefore Jeremiah thus adds:—