John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 28:5-6

"Then the prophet Jeremiah said unto the prophet Hananiah in the presence of the priests, and in the presence of all the people that stood in the house of Jehovah, even the prophet Jeremiah said, Amen: Jehovah do so; Jehovah perform thy words which thou hast prophesied, to bring again the vessels of Jehovah`s house, and all them of the captivity, from Babylon unto this place." — Jeremiah 28:5-6 (ASV)

I have briefly reminded you of the Prophet's design, for it was feared that the people would not hear him, or at least that they would not receive him well, as he had threatened them and handled them roughly and severely.

We know that men always seek to be flattered; therefore, flattery is always delightfully received. Such is human pride that they cannot bear to be held accountable for what they have done; and they also become indignant when they see their crimes and vices brought to light. Besides, they are so sensitive and tender that they avoid all unfavorable reports as much as they can; and if any fear assails them, they immediately resist.

Now Jeremiah had been given a twofold message: to expose the vices of the people and to show that the Jews were unworthy to inherit the land, as they were covenant-breakers and despisers of God and of His Law. Then, as they had so often been refractory and perverse, he had another message: that they would not be allowed to escape unpunished, as they had in so many ways, and for so long, continued to provoke God’s wrath. All this was very displeasing to the people.

It was therefore Jeremiah’s object to dispel the false suspicion under which he labored, and he testified that he desired nothing more than the well-being of the people. "Amen," he said, "may it happen this way. I wish I were a false prophet; I would willingly retract, with shame, all that I have predicted until now, so great is my care and concern for the public's safety, for I would prefer the welfare of all the people to my own reputation." But he later added, as we shall see, that the promise of Hananiah was entirely vain, and that nothing would save the people from the calamity that was very near.

Prayer: Grant, Almighty God, that as You continue to invite us to Yourself and often to remind us of our sins, so that we may embrace the hope of mercy that is offered to us; O grant that we may not be ungrateful for this great and invaluable blessing, but may come to You in real humility and true repentance. And, trusting in Your infinite goodness, may we not doubt that You will be gracious to us, so that we may be kindled with the desire for true religion and in all things obey Your word, that Your name may be glorified in us, until at last we come into that celestial glory which Your Son has obtained for us by His blood. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We began in the last Lecture to explain the answer of Jeremiah, when he said to Hananiah, "May God confirm your words, and may the vessels of the Temple be restored to this place and return together with the captive people." We briefly stated what is now necessary to repeat again: that there were two feelings in the Prophets apparently contradictory, and yet they were compatible with each other.

Whatever God had commanded them they boldly declared, and thus they forgot their own nation when they announced anything adverse. Hence, when the Prophets threatened the people and said that war or famine was near, they undoubtedly were so endowed with a heroic greatness of mind that, setting aside their regard for the people, they proceeded in the performance of their office; they thus strenuously executed whatever God had commanded them.

But they did not completely cast off every human feeling, but condoled with the miseries of the people; and though they denounced destruction upon them, yet they could not help but feel sorrow from their own prophecies. There was, therefore, no inconsistency in Jeremiah wishing for the restoration of the vessels of the Temple and the return of the exiles, while he still always remained of the same mind, as we shall see later.

If anyone objects and says that this could not have been the case, for then Jeremiah must have been a vain and false prophet, the answer to this is that the prophets did not resort to refined reasoning when they were carried away by vehement zeal. For we see that Moses wished to be blotted out of the book of life, and that Paul expressed a similar wish, even that he might be an anathema from Christ for his brothers (Exodus 32:32; Romans 9:3).

Had anyone distinctly asked Moses, "Do you wish to perish and to be cut off from the hope of salvation?" his answer, no doubt, would have been that nothing was further from his mind than to cast away the immutable favor of God. But when his mind was completely fixed on God’s glory (which would have been exposed to all kinds of reproaches had the people been destroyed in the desert), and when he felt another thing, a solicitude for the salvation of his own nation, he was at that time forgetful of himself. Being carried away, as it were, beyond himself, he said, "Rather blot me out of the book of life," and the case of Paul was similar.

And we should take the same view of Jeremiah when he, in effect, said, "I wish I were a false prophet, and that you have predicted to the people what the outcome may prove to be true." But Jeremiah did not intend to take away even the least thing from God’s word. He only expressed a wish and surrendered to God the responsibility for the other matter: the credit and authority of his prophecy.

He did not, then, guarantee this, as though he had to make it good if the event did not happen to correspond with his prophecy; but he left the responsibility for this with God. And thus, without any difficulty, he prayed for the liberation and return of the people. But