John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 28:14

"For thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: I have put a yoke of iron upon the neck of all these nations, that they may served Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon; and they shall serve him: and I have given him the beasts of the field also." — Jeremiah 28:14 (ASV)

It would have been a futile spectacle if Jeremiah had only brought his iron band around his neck; but when he added an explanation of the symbol, he no doubt persuaded many to believe his prophecy and made those inexcusable who had hardened themselves in their wickedness. But it is noteworthy that God replaced the wooden bands with iron bands; and He did this because the entire populace, through their foolish and wicked consent, had approved the madness of that impostor, who had dared to desecrate that symbol by which God had testified that He did not speak in vain, but seriously through the mouth of His servant.

A profitable doctrine may be derived from this: that the ungodly gain nothing by barking against God, except that they increasingly kindle His wrath and thus double their own evils, like a dog that, being ensnared, obstinately strives to free itself from the snare and shake it off, and thus strangles itself.

Similarly, the more the ungodly resist God, the heavier judgment they bring upon themselves. And, therefore, whenever God declares to us that He is offended by our sins, we ought to take care, lest while we seek to break the wooden bands, He is preparing and forming iron bands for us.

Our condition will always become worse unless we humbly seek to avert God’s wrath as soon as it appears, and also patiently submit to His scourges when He chastises us for our offenses. We ought then to keep this in mind regarding the wooden and iron bands.

He adds, Upon the neck of all these nations. The Jews, as has been stated, hoped that Nebuchadnezzar could be instantly driven back beyond the Euphrates and would be forced to surrender other countries he had occupied; and all the neighboring nations had conspired and sent ambassadors to and fro; and when the Amorites, Moabites, and other nations encouraged the Jews, they in turn also incited others, so that they might all attack the Babylonians.

Since, then, such a secret conspiracy gave courage to the Jews, this was why the Prophet spoke of other nations. He says, And they shall serve him. He had, indeed, already subdued all these countries; but the Prophet means that the king of Babylon’s domination would continue, though Hananiah had said that it would last only for two years.

Continuance, then, is contrasted with a short time, as if the Prophet had said, “Indeed, let the nations chafe and fret, but they shall remain under the yoke of King Nebuchadnezzar, and in vain shall they attempt to extricate themselves, for God has delivered them into bondage.”

This servitude may also be explained in another way: the condition of these nations was bearable as long as Nebuchadnezzar ordered tribute to be paid. When he sent his prefects, the only objective was to retain possession. But when he found that they could not be subdued except by a harsher servitude, he began to exercise great tyranny, though he had previously been a tolerable master.

The same may also be said of the Jews. For we know that they had been tributaries to the king of Babylon; and since he had spared them, his humane treatment might have been considered a type of liberty. But when he found that hard wood could not be split except with a hard wedge, he began to oppress them more violently.

Then the servitude now mentioned began. The Jews, therefore, then truly began to serve the king of Babylon when he saw that they would not endure the bearable yoke he had laid on them, but in their obstinacy and pride always struggled against it.

The Prophet adds, The beast of the field have I also given him. By these words he indirectly rebukes the Jews, as we have reminded you before, for their perverseness, because they did not perceive that it was the righteous judgment of God that Nebuchadnezzar, as a conqueror, imposed laws on them. For they would have been defended by heavenly aid, as is said by Moses, if they had not deprived themselves of it (Deuteronomy 29:25).

Since, then, they had long rejected God’s protection, for this reason Nebuchadnezzar invaded their country and conquered them. As they now continued to bite and champ at their bridle, the Prophet exposes their madness.

For they did not humble themselves under the mighty hand of God, while wild beasts, devoid of reason and understanding, perceived that it happened through God’s secret and wonderful providence that Nebuchadnezzar took possession of these lands.

This, then, is why the Prophet expressly mentioned wild beasts, as if he said that the Jews were so refractory that there was less reason, humility, and concern in them than in lions, bears, and similar animals. For through God’s secret impulse, the wild beasts submitted to King Nebuchadnezzar’s authority, while the Jews became increasingly insolent.

It was the height of madness not to acknowledge God’s judgment, when even wild and savage animals did so.