John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 32:16-18

"Now after I had delivered the deed of the purchase unto Baruch the son of Neriah, I prayed unto Jehovah, saying, Ah Lord Jehovah! behold, thou hast made the heavens and the earth by thy great power and by thine outstretched arm; there is nothing too hard for thee, who showest lovingkindness unto thousands, and recompensest the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children after them; the great, the mighty God, Jehovah of hosts is his name;" — Jeremiah 32:16-18 (ASV)

Although the Prophet was discharging his own office, yet he confesses that he was himself perplexed at the vision. From this it appears that God’s counsel was not always made known in everything to the Prophets, but only as far as it was expedient. However, the Prophets were not seized with ecstasies like heathen soothsayers, who pretended they were carried away beyond all their senses.

There was not then this fanaticism in the Prophets, so that they spoke like sounding brass, or like the ass of Balaam; but the Lord revealed to them what they taught. They were then disciples, so that they delivered faithfully to the people, as if from hand to hand, what was committed to them.

But the knowledge with which they were endowed was not inconsistent with ignorance as to some things. For example, when the Prophet said, Houses, and fields, and vineyards shall yet be bought, he knew that God promised the restitution of the land and of the people, nor was the vision itself an obscure enigma. Yet the reason was hidden from him, and therefore the perplexity of which he now speaks arose; for being astonished at so wonderful a thing, he resorted to prayer and confessed that his mind was perplexed.

The Prophet's wonder, then, proceeded from his ignorance; but that ignorance was not incompatible with prophetic knowledge. For as far as it was necessary, and as the office of a teacher required, he no doubt understood the counsel of God. But such was the height or the depth of this mystery that he was constrained to confess that it was a work of God which surpassed all his thoughts.

So we now perceive how these two things are consistent: the prophetic knowledge with which Jeremiah was endowed, and the ignorance which compelled him to make this exclamation. He knew with certainty what had been shown to him in the vision, but the design and how the work could be done by God seemed incomprehensible, and therefore his astonishment arose.

He therefore says that he prayed; and by this we are taught that whenever thoughts creep into our minds which toss us here and there, we ought to flee to prayer. For many increase their anxieties by fomenting them, while they turn in every direction, indulge their own thoughts, and weary themselves without any benefit.

Whenever, therefore, any anxiety stealthily takes hold of our minds, let us know that the remedy ought to be applied in due time, that is, to pray to God, so that He may relieve us and not allow us to sink into the deep, as usually happens to all who are curious and give free rein to their own imaginations.

We now see that the Prophet was greatly astonished, and yet in such a way as not to look for more than what was profitable. Instead, he immediately prayed that God would make him understand what troubled his mind. His prayer follows, which, however, does not immediately reveal the Prophet's mind, for he does not show the purpose of his prayer until he comes to the 25th verse (Jeremiah 32:25). But he seems here to refer to many things unconnected with his subject. His design must be ascertained from the conclusion of his prayer: “O Lord,” he says, “why have you commanded me to buy the field which is now in the hand of enemies? The Chaldeans possess it; and you have commanded me to throw away my money.” This was substantially his prayer.

But Jeremiah seems to wander and take long detours when he says, “You have made the heavens and the earth by your great power and stretched-out arm; nothing is wonderful to you; you show mercy to thousand generations; you repay the iniquity of fathers to their children; your name is Jehovah of hosts; you are great in council and excellent in work; your eyes are open,” etc.

These things seem not to belong in any degree to the present subject. But the Prophet’s object, no doubt, was to restrain himself, as it were, by putting on a bridle, so that he might acquiesce in the counsel of God, though it was hidden and incomprehensible to him. For if he had immediately rushed into prayer, he might, at the first burst of his feelings, have contended with God; for such is the disposition and character of man that when he suddenly addresses God, he boils over beyond all moderation.

The Prophet then, who well understood that there is no such moderation in men as to judge rightly and calmly of God’s works, set up these fences against himself and placed, as it were, barriers around him, that he might not take more liberty than what was right. Let us then know that these lofty terms in which the Prophet spoke were designed for this end: that he might produce moderation and humility in himself, so that he might check all those roving thoughts by which men are accustomed to be sidetracked. Let us come now to the words:

Ah, Lord Jehovah! he says; behold, you have made heaven and earth. If anyone did not pay attention to the circumstances of the passage, they might think that the Prophet is here rambling and does not connect his sentences, so that his prayer seems incoherent. But as I have already said, because the Prophet knew that men take too much liberty when they speak of God’s works, he bridled himself in due time, before he came to his subject.

He then made this sort of introduction: “O Lord, it is not fitting for me to contend with you, nor is it right for me to require you to give me a reason for your doings, for you have made heaven and earth by your great power and extended arm.” There is here then an implied contrast between God and mortal man: “For who am I to dare to summon you to a contest! For your power is justly to be dreaded by us; when we raise up our eyes to heaven, when we look on the earth, there is nothing which ought not to fill us with admiration of your power, for its immensity appears above and below.”

Thus we see that the Prophet extols in lofty terms the power of God, in order that he might keep himself in a meek and humble state of mind, and not dare to clamor against God, nor presumptuously rush forward to pronounce a judgment on His works. Behold, he says; he sets before his eyes the wonderful workmanship of the world, in which the immeasurable power of God shines forth most conspicuously.

He then adds, Nor is there anything hidden from you. This clause admits of two meanings, for פלא, pala, means wonderful, and also hidden. Now the greater part of interpreters give this explanation: that nothing is hidden from God, because all things are before His eyes, for His knowledge penetrates to the deepest depths. It may then be a commendation of God’s knowledge, just as praise of His power has previously been given; and this meaning is not unsuitable.

I do not, however, reject the other meaning, given by Jerome, that there is nothing difficult for God, or too wonderful for Him, because all things are subject to His will. Thus the Prophet might say, continuing the same thought, that the power of God, which shines forth to our view in the heavens and in the earth, may at the same time be observed in the permanent government of the world. For He who has created the heavens and the earth can do all things, so that nothing is too wonderful for Him—that is, nothing is difficult for His power as soon as He has decreed this or that. The main object of the Prophet is, however, still the same.

He now adds, You show mercy to thousands, and repay the iniquity of the fathers into the bosom of their children. Here the Prophet acknowledges God’s judgments to be right, though the reason for them escapes human minds. Both these things were necessary: that Jeremiah should set before himself the awesome power of God, and that he should also regard God’s judgments as right, though men often think otherwise.

For God has hidden reasons for His judgments; and so it happens that various thoughts disturb us, and everyone is disposed to set himself up against God. Therefore the Prophet, after having spoken of the immeasurable power of God, now also declares that He is a just judge of the world; and he again restrains himself by another bridle, so that he would not pronounce a judgment on God’s works according to his own perceptions.

You, he says, show mercy to thousands. This is taken from the Law of Moses (Exodus 20:6), for the Prophets often borrowed their chief sentences from Moses, of whom they were the interpreters. Since God then under the Law declared that He is merciful to a thousand generations, though it appears unaccountable to us, yet nothing remains for us to do but to learn reverently to receive what we cannot comprehend.

The Prophet then here confesses that the method which God adopts regarding His mercy is hidden from the human mind. But the latter clause seems, however, less reasonable—that God should repay the iniquity of fathers to their children. Shortly before, we saw that this was set forth as an impious blasphemy (Jeremiah 31:29), when they said that their fathers had eaten sour grapes, and that their children’s teeth were set on edge; for it is always true that the soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:2, 20; Deuteronomy 24:16).

But if God repays the iniquity of fathers to their children, He punishes the innocent and transfers to children what He ought to have rendered to their fathers. But the Prophet, regarding it as a wicked thing to contradict what God had spoken by Moses, adores this mystery here and thus brings himself to humility and meekness, so that he might not break forth into extremes when speaking of the hidden works of God.

We must at the same time briefly observe that the innocent are not punished when God includes children with their fathers and casts the iniquity of fathers into the bosom of their children, for He does not refer to the innocent and the righteous, but to the wicked. Some, when they saw that this truth conflicted with the common feelings of mankind, have adopted an evasion: that God, by a temporal punishment, renders to children what their fathers had deserved.

But God speaks without exception, that He repays to the bosom of children the reward due to their fathers. But how should this be understood? It is a part of this punishment that God withholds His Spirit from them. When, therefore, His purpose is to punish the vices of fathers in their posterity, He withholds from their posterity the light and grace of His Spirit.

It is then inevitable that they will always accumulate evils upon evils, and thus they are entangled in the guilt of their fathers. God then proceeds by degrees in the work of punishing sins. For when it is His purpose to forgive the son the punishment which he, together with his father, has deserved, He draws him to Himself by His Spirit, so that he is freed from punishment. But if His purpose is to execute vengeance on sons and grandsons, He withholds from them, as I have already said, the gift of the Spirit, so that they do nothing but provoke His wrath more and more. Thus they become involved in the same guilt with their fathers; therefore, fathers and children receive in common the same punishment.

This indeed seems not at first glance to be just and right; but let us remember that God’s judgments are hidden from us, and for this reason: that we may cultivate meekness and humility, learn to be soberly wise, and so confess God to be a just judge, knowing that our minds cannot penetrate this deep abyss.

But still, the solution given seems clear enough: that God never punishes the innocent. For when He visits the sins of fathers on their children, a part of that punishment is, as I have already stated, that He withholds from the children the light of His Spirit. Being blind, they always run headlong to their own ruin, and thus by the continual commission of new sins they provoke God’s vengeance against themselves.

When therefore God renders to them the reward due to their fathers, He punishes them at the same time for what they themselves have deserved. Nor do they have any reason to complain, because they have been guilty in common with their fathers; there is, therefore, nothing strange in their sharing with them in their punishment.

But it, however, depends on the hidden mercy of God that He favors some with pardon and thus delivers them from ruin, while He forsakes others; and as they are wicked, they deserve all the punishment He inflicts on them. You, then, repay into the bosom of their sons after them, that is, after their death.

He afterwards exclaims, God, strong and mighty! Jehovah of hosts is His name. He again declares the greatness of God’s power, that he might restrain himself and not rashly undertake any new inquiry, as is the case with curious men, who indulge themselves in speculations and thus summon God, as it were, to an account, as though a tribunal could be appointed before which He might be found guilty. As then the insolence and arrogance of human nature are so great, the Prophet here sets barriers around himself, so that he might keep within the bounds of humility and soberness.

He afterwards changes the person, which is a proof of vehemence and ardor, for it is, as we have seen, a prayer. He does not now address God directly, but says, Jehovah of hosts is His name, speaking in the third person. Had he continued in the same vein, he would have said, “You are God, strong and mighty,” etc., but he says, “Jehovah of hosts is His name.” We then see that the Prophet, as it were, turns aside; and this change of person, as I have stated, proceeded from the vehemence and ardor of his mind. And it often happens to the faithful that they break off their direct address when they pray, while they contemplate God’s works, as displaying now His power, then His goodness, or His wisdom. The faithful then do not always pray in a continuous manner; but as feeling guides them, they now address God, then they turn aside and blend apostrophes.