John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 3:17-18

"At that time they shall call Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah; and all the nations shall be gathered unto it, to the name of Jehovah, to Jerusalem: neither shall they walk any more after the stubbornness of their evil heart. In those days the house of Judah shall walk with the house of Israel, and they shall come together out of the land of the north to the land that I gave for an inheritance unto your fathers." — Jeremiah 3:17-18 (ASV)

We now understand more clearly what I have already said—that the Prophet promises here that there would be concord between the ten tribes and the kingdom of Judah when both returned from exile; as though he had said, that their condition would be better than it ever had been. For the seed of Abraham had been torn apart, as it were, and the people whom God intended to continue in a holy union had become divided in the most shameful manner.

We indeed know that there had been inveterate hatred between the Jews and the Israelites. Since then there had been such disgraceful division for a long time between the children of Abraham, the Prophet now shows what would be the fruit of exile. For after being chastised by the Lord for a time, they would return to their own country, not to entertain the same rivalry that had existed, but to unite together in calling on God, so that the Jews might be as brothers to the Israelites, and the Israelites might cultivate mutual concord with the tribe of Judah.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as you today mercifully spare us, even when in various ways we provoke your displeasure—O grant that we may not harden ourselves against your chastisements. May your forbearance lead us to repentance, and may your scourges also do us good. May we so truly turn to you that our whole life may testify that our hearts are changed. May we also encourage one another, so that we may unite together in rendering obedience to your word, and each of us strive to glorify your name, through Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We began yesterday to explain what the Prophet means when he says that there would be no more a remembrance of the Ark of the Covenant after the return of the Israelites into their country and their increase in it, because there would be no discord among them as there had been before they were led into exile.

For the ten tribes, we know, worshipped God after their own manner, as they had departed from the pure and simple teaching of the Law. The Prophet then means that they would all be the worshippers of the only true God, and that there would be among them such a unity of faith that the Jew would not call God his God only, and an Israelite would not desire for himself another God.

Hence he adds, It shall not ascend on the heart; that is, such a thought will no longer come into their minds. And they shall not remember it; that is, no monuments of their ancient disunion will no longer exist among them. And they shall not visit it, which means, they will no longer come stealthily into Jerusalem who wish to offer sacrifices to God. In short, he says, No such thing shall be done.

Then he says, At that time called shall be Jerusalem the throne of Jehovah. The Prophet may appear inconsistent with himself by saying that Jerusalem would be the throne of God, and yet that the Jews would make no mention of the Ark of the Covenant. But the two clauses wholly agree, for he means that Jerusalem would be the seat and habitation of the eternal God, without any dispute being raised among them.

The Israelites before their exile boasted that they retained the worship of the true God, and so magnificent was the display, and so great the pomp, that Jerusalem was quite obscure as to any external splendor. But the Prophet says that this distinction would no longer exist, and that the Israelites would no longer contend with the Jews, for all would allow Jerusalem to be the sanctuary of God; as though he had said, “Pure religion shall flourish among them all without exception, as had not been the case before.” And he confirms this passage more clearly with the words that follow:

Assemble into it shall all nations to the name of Jehovah; or, on account of the name of Jehovah (ל, lamed, is here instead of a causal particle) shall all nations assemble at Jerusalem. We see that there is nothing doubtful in these words, for the Prophet distinctly declares that the worship of God, such as the Law required, would attain such esteem that all nations would be ready to embrace whatever the Jews taught. However, by "all nations" we are to understand strictly the ten tribes, as they are called "many nations" in several places. If anyone prefers to extend the meaning, let him enjoy his own opinion.

As I said yesterday, the Jews think that the time of the Messiah is described here, because what Jeremiah promises has never been fulfilled; for there was no assembling of nations when the Jews returned from exile to their own country, as the Jews alone returned at that time.

Hence they conclude that this passage can be explained in no other way than by referring it to the kingdom of Messiah; which, indeed, I confess to be true. But as that return and restoration of the people was a prelude to Christ’s kingdom, the prophets always begin at that time whenever they prophesy about the Church being renewed.

It is indeed true that the restoration of the whole world was to be expected through the coming of Christ; yet God began to restore his Church when he stretched out his hand to the Jews, and when they built the city and the temple, which was necessary to be done before Christ came.

But as to this passage, whether by "nations" we understand the ten tribes, both kingdoms, or all nations indiscriminately, the Prophet's meaning is equally clear. It is this: that the Church would become larger than before when God restored the people, and God would then cause true religion to flourish, unaccompanied by envy and strife.

What follows confirms the opinion that the passage is to be explained of the two kingdoms. Walk, he says, shall they no more after the evil hardness of their own heart. It was not usual to speak thus of heathen nations, who had always been strangers to the teaching of the Law. Since this, then, can only be specifically applied to the Jews and Israelites, that explanation is the most preferable which interprets "all nations" to mean the ten tribes, or the whole people.

Then is added what is of the same meaning: In those days shall come the house of Judah with the house of Israel. It therefore appears that the Prophet speaks of the posterity of Abraham and not of other nations, for he adds this verse as explanatory.

It might, indeed, have been asked, “What does this mean, All nations shall come?” To this he answers, “The house of Israel shall unite with the house of Judah.” That is, there will no longer be hatred between these two nations, for they will acknowledge each other as brothers, know that they have arisen from the same source, and that they ought to be one people. In short, the Prophet explains in this verse what he had said before.

And we ought especially to notice what he adds: Come shall they together from the land of the north into the land which I have given to be possessed by their fathers. The Jews had not yet gone into exile; the Prophet said this to them while they were quiet, as it were, in their own nest at Jerusalem and in the country around. Nor could he convince them of what they afterwards found to be true to their great loss: that an exile was near them, like that which they then saw had happened to their brothers, the Israelites.

Yet the Prophet spoke of them as though they had been exiled and lived like the Israelites in the northern country. Come together, he says, shall they from the land of the north.

They might have objected and said, “We are still enjoying our own inheritance, and no one can drive us from here, for it cannot be that God will be deprived of his own temple, as he has chosen for himself a perpetual habitation among us.” Such words were no doubt clamorously spoken by them.

But the Prophet here repels their vain confidence and says that their only hope of deliverance was in looking forward to the restoration which the Lord would grant them after they had been banished for a time from their country.

Now the Prophet here presents to them the benefit that would arise from exile, so that they might bear with more submission the punishment they were to endure. For they might have despaired a hundred times if they had no hope that this exile would be only for a time, and that they would again be gathered together with their brothers, the Israelites.