John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 30:21

"And their prince shall be of themselves, and their ruler shall proceed from the midst of them; and I will cause him to draw near, and he shall approach unto me: for who is he that hath had boldness to approach unto me? saith Jehovah." — Jeremiah 30:21 (ASV)

The Prophet, no doubt, explains here in greater detail what he had said about the restoration of the Church. For we know that the Jews had been taught to place their whole confidence for their salvation in David, that is, in the king whom God had set over them.

Thus, the happiness and safety of the Church was always founded on the king; if he were taken away, it would be all over with the Church, as the Anointed is said to be the Lord, in whose spirit is our spirit (Lamentations 4:20). Therefore, God, even from the beginning, directed the attention of his people to their king, so that they might depend on him—not because David was able by his own power to save the people, but because he served as a type of Christ.

We do not now have an earthly king who is Christ’s image; instead, it is Christ alone who vivifies the Church. But it was at that time figuratively set forth that the king was, as it were, the soul of the community. We have seen before that when the Prophet encouraged the Jews with hope, he presented David to them, and afterwards the Son of David.

For the same reason, he says here, His valiant one, or, illustrious one, shall be from himself. For we must remember the condition of that miserable and calamitous time when God took away every source of joy by depriving the people of all the dignity with which they had been honored.

It was then as if Jeremiah had promised the Jews a resurrection, for in their exile they were like dead men, since their hope of public safety had vanished when their king was destroyed. Here, then, he encourages them to have good hope, because the Lord was able to raise them from death to life.

And undoubtedly, it was a wonderful resurrection when the Jews returned to their own country, a way having been opened for them, for they had been driven away, as it were, into another world. And who could have ever thought that so many obstacles could have been removed when the Chaldeans extended their dominion even over Judea?

The miserable exiles certainly had no refuge. It was not then in vain that Jeremiah testifies here that the strong or valiant—that is, the king—would be from the people, and that a Ruler would come forth from the midst of them. To come or go forth does not mean here to depart, as though the king would go elsewhere; but to go forth here signifies to proceed: Go forth then, or proceed, shall a Ruler from the midst of the people. It is well known how this took place.

But Isaiah had foretold what his successor here confirms, saying:

“Come forth shall a shoot from the root (or stem) of Jesse,
and a rod shall spring up from the root of his tree” (Isaiah 11:1).

Isaiah calls it there the house of Jesse, which was a private house; he would have dignified the divine favor with a more glorious name if he had mentioned David. But as there was then no kingdom, he refers to Jesse. For just as David came forth as an unknown rustic from the sheepfolds, so also the Lord would raise up a shoot from the stem of a tree that had been cut down.

Hence, we see in what sense Jeremiah uses the expression, “Come forth.” For Christ rose up beyond the expectation of men, and rose up as a shoot when a tree is cut down—that is, when there was no resemblance of majesty among the people.

He afterwards adds, I will cause him to draw near, and he will come to me. This may be either confined to the head or extended to the whole body, and the second idea is what I mostly approve, for the people were for a long time removed from the presence of God, even as long as they were exiled from their country. Hence God adds, “I will cause them again to draw nigh, and they shall come to me.” If, however, anyone prefers to explain this of the head, or of the king himself, I offer no objection.

Now, we are taught from this passage that whenever God speaks of the restoration of the Church, he always declares that he will be entreated by us. In short, whenever he invites us to the hope of favor and salvation, we ought always to look to Christ.

For unless we direct all our thoughts to him, all the promises will vanish away, as they cannot be valid except through him, because in Christ only, as Paul says, they are yea and amen (2 Corinthians 1:19–20). But as this truth often occurs in the Prophets, it is enough here to touch on it in passing, as I have handled it more fully elsewhere.

As to the latter part of the verse, there is some ambiguity: for who is he, this, etc. There are two demonstrative pronouns, הוא זה hua, ze. Afterwards comes ערב oreb, fitting his heart. The verb ערב oreb, means to be a surety, and also to fit, to adapt, to accommodate, or to form, and sometimes to render sweet or pleasant. On this account, some have thus translated, “Who will allure his heart?” He then adds, that he may come to me, saith Jehovah?

I have said that this passage is obscure, and it has therefore been interpreted in various ways by interpreters. Some apply the words to Christ, that he alone has of his own accord come to the Father. Others consider a negative to be understood, as though it was said that no one prepares his heart to come to God.

But there are some who regard the passage as an exhortation: “Who is he who will apply his heart that he may come to me?” Now, if we read it as expressing astonishment or wonder, that, in my view, would be its real meaning. I am not aware that anyone has mentioned this, but the Prophet, I have no doubt, intended his words to be so understood.

He said before, “I will cause him to draw near, that he may come to me.” I have already explained this as referring to the people, who had been long rejected. God then promises here a gathering, as though he had said, “For a time I scattered the people here and there like chaff; I will now gather them again together, and they shall be under my care and protection as formerly.”

Having said this, he now touches on the ingratitude of the people with this question: “Who is there who comes to me? Who will frame his heart that he may be reconciled to me?” It is, then, an expression of wonder, intended to make the Jews aware that their hardness and insensibility are condemned. For when God kindly invited them, they rejected his favor; when he sought to embrace them, they fled far from him.

But an objection may be raised here: “Why then did God promise that he would cause the Jews to come to him?” To this I answer that God performs or fulfills this promise in various ways. He might have called the Jews to himself by an outward invitation, as he did when the liberty of returning was given them. Then, indeed, a few of the Jews accepted his favor, but all the Israelites, already accustomed to the pleasures and enjoyments of those countries, regarded as nothing what God had promised.

Thus, very few returned to their own country, and restoration was despised by them, though they had once been very anxious about it. God, however, even then made the people draw near, for he stretched forth his hand as though he would gather them and cherish them under his wings. But as the greater part despised his invaluable favor, God here justly complains of such great impiety and exclaims as through wonder or astonishment, Who is he who will form his heart, that he may come to me?

Had it been simply said, “Who is he who comes to me?” the meaning, due to brevity, would have been obscure. But God here clearly distinguishes between the two kinds of access: the first was when liberty was given to the people by the decree of Cyrus, and permission was given to build the city and the temple.

God, therefore, caused them then to draw near that they might come to him; this was the first access. But he now adds that the Jews did not form or prepare their heart. He indeed speaks of future time, but yet he charges them with ingratitude, which afterwards was fully manifested.

Hence he says, “Who is this, that he may come to me?” That is, “I will contrive means that they may unite again in one body, call on me and enjoy their inheritance. This I will do that they may come to me; but many will still live in their own dregs and prefer Chaldea and other countries to the temple and religion. Many, then, will be those who will not form their heart to come to me.”

We now understand the meaning of the Prophet. But we must at the same time bear in mind that by saying above, “I will cause him to draw near that he may come to me,” God does not speak of the hidden working of his Spirit; for it is in his power, as we shall soon remark, to draw the hearts of men to himself whenever he pleases.

But when he said, I will cause him to draw nigh, etc., he spoke only of an outward restoration. Now he adds a complaint that the Jews would wickedly repudiate this favor, for no one would prepare his heart.

Yet we see that the whole fault is cast on the Jews for their being deprived of their own country. For their not being restored was owing to nothing on God’s part, but to themselves, because they were devoted to their own pleasure and regarded their return and being counted God’s people as nothing.

Therefore, it was the Prophet’s object to ascribe to the Jews the whole fault that God’s favor would not come to them, or that it would not be effectual for the greater part of them, precisely because they would not prepare or form their heart to come to God, so that they might be partakers of that invaluable privilege offered to them.

Now, the Papists seize upon this passage to prove that there is free will in man to come to God, but to do so is indeed very absurd. For whenever God condemns the hardness of the people, he undoubtedly does not argue the question of what power there is in men—whether they can turn to do what is good, whether they can guide their own hearts. To hold this would be extremely foolish. When it is said in Psalm 45:8:

“To-day, if ye will hear his voice, harden not your hearts, as your fathers in the wilderness,”

Shall we say that because they hardened their hearts, they were capable of turning, so that they could by the power of free will choose either good or evil? To say this would be puerile and utterly foolish. Hence, we see that the Papists are unworthy of being reasoned with when they seek to prove free will by such arguments.

They would, indeed, adduce something plausible if their exposition were adopted, for they render the words thus: “Who is this,” etc., as though God praised the promptitude of the faithful, who willingly offer themselves and prepare their hearts. But the whole context is opposed to this view. Hence, it appears that it was very far from the Prophet’s design to represent God as commending the obedience of the godly; but, on the contrary, he exclaims with wonder, as Isaiah does when he says:

“Who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?” (Isaiah 53:1).

Isaiah surely does not set forth the obedience of the faithful in promptly and gladly receiving the Gospel; but, on the contrary (as though something monstrous terrified him), he shows that the world would not believe the Gospel, even when it offered them salvation and eternal life. So also in this place, Who is he? etc.

For what could have been more desirable than that God should at length, by outstretched arms, gather the Jews to himself? “I wish you to draw near; you have been for a time, as it were, banished from me; I had driven you to distant lands, but I am now ready to gather you.”

Since, then, God so sweetly and kindly allured them to himself, it was undoubtedly a most abominable and monstrous ingratitude for them to reject the offer and to turn their backs, as it were, on God, who so kindly invited them. As, then, the Prophet is here only condemning such insensibility and perverse wickedness in the Jews, there is no reason why we should be searching for a proof in favor of free will.

We may add that David uses the same verb in Psalm 119:73, 125, when he says:

“Cause thy servant to approach thee, that he may learn thy commandments.”

Some render the words, “Be a surety for thy servant,” etc.; for the verb ערב oreb, which is here, is found there also. Therefore, the passage might be aptly turned against the Papists, who hold that it is in the power of man to form his own heart. But David testifies that this is peculiarly the office and work of God, for by asking this from him he undoubtedly confesses that it was not in his own power.