John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 27:8

"And it shall come to pass, that the nation and the kingdom which will not serve the same Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, and that will not put their neck under the yoke of the king of Babylon, that nation will I punish, saith Jehovah, with the sword, and with the famine, and with the pestilence, until I have consumed them by his hand." — Jeremiah 27:8 (ASV)

After having proclaimed His decree through Jeremiah, God now adds a threat, so that the Jews, as well as others, might willingly and with resigned and humble minds undertake the yoke laid on them. The Prophet, indeed, as we have said, had the Jews especially in view; but he extended, as it were incidentally, his prediction to foreigners. We therefore see why this denunciation of punishment was added. Indeed, it should have been enough to say that Nebuchadnezzar was God’s servant to subdue Judea; but since it was a hard thing for the Jews to accept that enemy, and they could not be persuaded to submit to him, it became necessary to add this threat: “See what you do, for you cannot be stronger than God.” This threat is indeed included in the previous verse; but we know how slow people are to learn, especially when any false impression has preoccupied their minds. Therefore, since the Jews refused the authority of Nebuchadnezzar, even though the Prophet had testified to them that he was God’s servant, they would still have not hesitated to evade and to be rebellious, if their hardness and obstinacy had not been broken by this threat.

And it shall be, that the nation and kingdom, which will not serve him, even Nebuchadnezzar, and not put their neck under his yoke, it shall be, that I shall visit that nation, etc. God speaks indiscriminately of all nations; but the Jews ought to have reasoned from the lesser to the greater. For if God would so severely punish the pride of the Gentiles, if they withdrew themselves from under the yoke of Nebuchadnezzar, how much heavier and more dreadful vengeance ought the Jews to have dreaded, who had been warned by the Prophet, and who doubtless knew that this did not happen to them by chance, but that it was God’s righteous judgment, by which their sins were punished?

Were they obstinately to attempt to shake off the yoke from their neck, would this not have been to fight against God? So, we now perceive that the Prophet spoke thus indiscriminately of all nations, so that he might sharply rebuke the Jews; and he showed that their ferocity would be inexcusable if they did not willingly humble themselves.

By mentioning twice, Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, he seems to imply something important. For they might have objected and said, “What do we have to do with a king so distant? And by what right does he now invade our countries? Why is he not content with his own burdens? Why does he not remain in his own city and in his own land?” And the name of Babylon was at the same time hateful, for they had waged war against many nations and had subjected the Assyrians under their yoke. The Assyrians were neighbors to the Jews and were also, in a way, connected with them. Consequently, the name of Babylon was undoubtedly abhorred by the Jews because of the perpetual wars waged by them.

Therefore, God here addresses these objections and shows that however hateful Babylon might be to the Jews, and however remote Nebuchadnezzar might be from Judea, yet his yoke was to be borne, because it had been so appointed by God. This seems to me to be the reason why Jeremiah repeated the words, Nebuchadnezzar the king of Babylon.

There is also a denunciation of punishment, that God would visit with pestilence, famine, and the sword. We know that these words are commonly mentioned in Scripture when it is God’s purpose to display the signs of his wrath. He indeed has various and innumerable ways by which he chastises us; but these are his most remarkable and most known scourges: the pestilence, the sword, and the famine.

He then says that he would visit the nations who would not obey King Nebuchadnezzar with these three scourges; and at the same time he shows what the end would be: until I slay, or consume, them by his hand. He not only threatens them with pestilence, famine, and the sword, but he also shows that the end would be such that the nations who might at first obstinately resist would nevertheless be forced to accept the yoke and to acknowledge Nebuchadnezzar as their king and master. This is the reason why he says, by his hand.

Death might have seemed lighter if only they could have escaped the tyranny of Nebuchadnezzar; but since both would happen to them—namely, to be consumed by famine, the sword, and the pestilence, and yet not be able to escape bondage—it was a miserable prospect indeed. Thus, we now perceive why God speaks of the hand of King Nebuchadnezzar. It was so that the Jews might know that they could achieve nothing by seeking ways to escape, for they would at last, willingly or unwillingly, be brought under the hand and under the yoke of this king.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we do not cease in various ways to arm Your hand against us, we may, being at least touched by Your holy admonitions, humble ourselves under Your mighty hand, and thus anticipate Your judgment, so that You may meet us as a merciful and gracious God, and not only remit to us the punishments which we have deserved, but also show and perpetuate to us Your paternal favor, until, having been led by Your hand, we shall come to that celestial kingdom which You have prepared for us, and which has been obtained for us by the blood of Your only-begotten Son. Amen.