John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 27:6-7

"And now have I given all these lands into the hand of Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon, my servant; and the beasts of the field also have I given him to serve him. And all the nations shall serve him, and his son, and his son`s son, until the time of his own land come: and then many nations and great kings shall make him their bondman." — Jeremiah 27:6-7 (ASV)

God, after having claimed for Himself the government of the whole earth and shown that it is in His power to transfer kingdoms to whomever He pleases, now declares His decree: He would subject to the king of Babylon all the neighboring lands, including Tyre and Sidon, the country of Moab, the country of Ammon, the country of Edom, and even Judea itself.

If Jeremiah had begun by saying that God had given King Nebuchadnezzar these lands, the prediction would not have been so easily received, for pride would have been like an obstacle closing off their minds and hearts.

But the preface, as has been stated, served to show that they were not to think they could stand against the will of God. After having then brought down the great pride which seemed fixed in their hearts, He now declares that King Nebuchadnezzar would be the lord over Judah as well as over all the countries around, for God had set him over these lands.

He also extends this subjection, of which He speaks, over the very beasts, and not without reason. For He thus indirectly condemns the hardness of men if they resisted, as if He had said, “What will it avail you to attempt with rebellious hearts to shake off the yoke? For the very beasts—tigers, wolves, lions, and every fierce and savage animal in the land—even all these beasts will know that King Nebuchadnezzar is their master, by a hidden instinct.”

“Since, then, these beasts will obey King Nebuchadnezzar, because he has been raised by God to that dignity, how great must be the stupidity of men in not acknowledging what the very beasts understand?” We therefore see the purpose of mentioning the beasts; the Prophet upbraided men for their madness if they ferociously resisted King Nebuchadnezzar, for in that case, the beasts of the field were endowed with more intelligence than they.

For why is it that beasts have fear, except that God has imprinted certain marks of dignity on kings, according to what is said by Daniel (Daniel 2:38)? Since, then, the majesty of God appears in kings, the very beasts, though void of reason and judgment, yet willingly obey through a hidden impulse of nature. Therefore, the pride of men is inexcusable if they do not at least imitate the example of the very beasts.

Nebuchadnezzar is afterwards called the servant of God, not because he was worthy of such an honor, as it had never been his purpose to labor for God. He was called a servant because God designed to employ him in His service, just as those are called sons of God in the Psalm, to whom the word of God was addressed—that is, those to whom He gave authority to rule (Psalms 82:6; John 10:35).

So also Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant because he was divinely endowed with sovereign power. He did not know this, nor was this said for his sake, nor was he honored with such a name as if God regarded him as one of His own people. Instead, this had a reference to the Jews and to all the other nations, so that they might be fully persuaded that they were obeying God in humbling themselves and in undertaking the yoke of the king of Babylon, for this pleased God.

As Paul says, There is no power but from God (Romans 13:1). That sentence is derived from this principle: all power is from God, for He gives the power to rule and to govern to whomever He pleases.

Whoever, then, are endowed with the power of the sword and public authority are God’s servants, though they may exercise tyranny and are robbers. They are servants, not with respect to themselves, but because God would have them be acknowledged as His ministers until their time comes, according to what follows.

Serve him shall all nations, and his son, and the son of his son. Most people think that Nebuchadnezzar had only two successors of his own descendants, Evil-merodach and Belshazzar; others name five, two of them between Evil-merodach and Belshazzar. Those who think that there were no more than three quote this testimony of the Prophet, for he names only the king’s son and his grandson; but this would not be a sufficient reason. I am, however, disposed to follow what has been more commonly received: that Belshazzar, the last king of Babylon, who was slain by Cyrus, was the third from Nebuchadnezzar.

But this is not the main thing, for the Prophet speaks of the time of the Chaldean monarchy as well as of the king: until the time of his land shall come. The time of the land was that determined by heaven. For just as for every one of us there is a fixed limit beyond which no one can pass, so we ought to judge kingdoms.

Just as, then, the life of every individual has its fixed limits, so God has determined with regard to the empires of the whole earth; thus, the life and death of every kingdom and nation are in the hand and at the will of God. For this reason it is now said that the time of Chaldea would come, and then it is added, and of the king himself. This should not be confined to Nebuchadnezzar himself. But since his grandson represented him, the time, though not strictly, may yet be aptly said to have been that when God had put an end to him and his power, when Babylon was taken by the Medes and Persians.

This was, however, at the same time for the comfort of the godly. For it was not God’s design to leave the faithful without some alleviation in their trouble, lest grief should overpower them. When they found themselves oppressed by the Chaldeans and, in a sense, overwhelmed, doubtless despair might have crept in, and therefore murmurings and blasphemies might have followed.

It was, therefore, God’s purpose to mitigate their bitterness in some measure when He added that the time of Nebuchadnezzar himself would come—that is, the time in which he was to perish. When, therefore, the faithful saw him taking possession of all lands and dreaded by all nations, they were not to despond. Instead, they were to extend their thoughts to that time of which Jeremiah had predicted, so that they might receive some alleviation for their grief and be enabled to bear with more resignation the cross laid on them.

This expression, then, includes a promise, for the hope of deliverance was set before them when they understood that reverses would soon happen to King Nebuchadnezzar.

He afterwards adds, serve him shall great, or many nations (for the word רבים, rebim, means both) and great kings. This was distinctly expressed so that no conspiracy might deceive the Jews and other nations, for they thought that when united together they could offer an effectual resistance. “Accumulate your forces and your efforts,” says God, “yet all these shall be dissipated; for My decree is that great kings and many nations shall serve the Chaldeans.”