John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 3:19

"But I said, How I will put thee among the children, and give thee a pleasant land, a goodly heritage of the hosts of the nations! and I said, Ye shall call me My Father, and shall not turn away from following me." — Jeremiah 3:19 (ASV)

It is not my purpose to mention all the expositions of this verse; but it is enough to show what seems to be the meaning of the Prophet. Whenever I touch on opinions which I disapprove, I feel constrained to do this because when they present the appearance of truth, readers may be deceived by them. However, when the truth itself is sufficiently conspicuous, I am not disposed to spend labor refuting the opinions of others.

What the Prophet's words mean, then, is this — God here asks how it was possible for the race of Abraham to be propagated again, since it was nearly dead. The answer is, It shall be, when you will call me Father, and do not turn away from me. The question was asked so that the Jews might feel as though their condition was past remedy. And undoubtedly, since they had so greatly and so obstinately provoked God by their wickedness, they might have seemed to have become wholly lost.

God then assumes here the character of one filled with astonishment, as though he had said, “You are, indeed, in a state of despair; there is no hope of your salvation. But yet, as it is my purpose to restore you again, I wish now to find out a way by which your race may again be propagated.” How, then, is this to be done? He shows that the only thing required was to call him Father, not with the mouth, but truly with the heart.

We now perceive, then, the Prophet's meaning. He humbles the Israelites by attributing astonishment to God in this manner, as though it were something very difficult to accomplish. Yet, at the same time, he gives them hope, because salvation was prepared for them, provided they called on God with a sincere heart, acknowledged him as their Father, and did so perseveringly, without ever turning aside from him. In short, God intimates that the Israelites were like dead men and that their salvation was hopeless without a resurrection. He yet promises them salvation on this condition — that they called on him and did this, not with a double heart, nor by a sudden impulse that soon vanishes. For he says, You shall not turn aside from me; that is, “Be always obedient to me, and I will prove that I will not be called Father by you in vain.”