John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 3:11

"And Jehovah said unto me, Backsliding Israel hath showed herself more righteous than treacherous Judah." — Jeremiah 3:11 (ASV)

We now see more clearly for what purpose Jeremiah compared the ten tribes with the kingdom of Judah; it was done to show that the Jews, who wished to be considered far more holy than others, were yet more treacherous and deserved a heavier punishment, because they acted so deceitfully with God.

It may be asked here why he pronounces the Jews worse than the Israelites, while they still continued in a sort of intermediate state. We indeed know that the kingdom of Judah had become so corrupt that scarcely any religion remained there; yet the temple was still standing, and the priesthood still existed at Jerusalem.

But the Prophet condemns the Jews more than the Israelites for other reasons: because they should have become wise through the calamities of others, and they should have been confirmed in true religion when they saw their brethren falling away from the pure worship of God. These things they should have maturely considered.

It was this complacent foolishness that made them worse than all their brethren, and also their pride—the chief cause of their condemnation—for they boasted that they remained perfect while the ten tribes had become degenerate. These were the reasons why he says that Israel, though a treacherous woman, was yet more righteous than her sister Judah.

Indeed, the language is not to be taken strictly when it is said that she justified her soul. For God does not excuse the Israelites here, nor does He free or absolve them from guilt (for He had severely punished them). But this way of speaking is commonly used by the prophets—Sodom was righteous in comparison with Jerusalem, and Tyre and Sidon were just when compared with the Jews (Ezekiel 16:47, 48).

Justified then has she her soul, even the treacherous or the apostate Israel, in comparison with the perfidious Judah; that is, for the reasons I have stated. The obstinacy of the Jews was greater and less excusable. The external worship of God, which they had retained, should have been a restraint to check them. They had also seen how severe a judge God had been towards the ten tribes, but they despised the judgments of God and gained no benefit from them.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since You have deigned to adopt us as Your people and to unite us to Yourself in Your only begotten Son, — O grant that we may continue pure and chaste in our obedience to Your Gospel, and never turn aside to those corruptions which disunite that sacred bond of union, which has been confirmed between us by the blood of Your Son; but that we may so persevere in serving You that our whole life and all our actions may be evidences of that holy calling, by which the hope of eternal salvation is laid up for us, until we at length come into the possession of that kingdom which has been obtained for us at so great a price, and there enjoy the fruit of our faith, sincerity, and perseverance, through Christ our Lord. — Amen.