John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 32:24-25

"Behold, the mounds, they are come unto the city to take it; and the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans that fight against it, because of the sword, and of the famine, and of the pestilence; and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it. And thou hast said unto me, O Lord Jehovah, Buy thee the field for money, and call witnesses; whereas the city is given into the hand of the Chaldeans." — Jeremiah 32:24-25 (ASV)

Here then at last the Prophet reveals his own perplexity. We have already stated the reason why he made so long an introduction before he came to the main point: it was necessary for him to put on, as it were, a bridle; for unless we restrain our thoughts, we will become petulant against God, and there will be no moderation.

The Prophet then, so that he would not peevishly expostulate with God, set before himself His immeasurable power, and then added that nothing happens except through His righteous vengeance. He now, however, asks how it was that he was commanded to buy the field when the city and the whole country were delivered up to their enemies. He then mentions this inconsistency here and confesses that his mind was embarrassed, because he could not understand why God had commanded him to buy the field, even while He had determined to drive the people into exile and scatter them into remote lands. But, as we have said, the Prophet was fully persuaded of God’s truth. This is why he was so willing and ready to obey: he made no delay in buying the field and afterwards laid up the purchase documents with Baruch. Yet, after performing all this, he brought a complaint before God; and as the matter appeared unreasonable, he desired this knot to be untied.

He then says, Behold the mounts, or, the siege engines, for the word can mean either. The word סללות sallut, often means mounts; but as mention is made here of a siege, the Prophet seems to refer, as we have said in the sixth chapter, to siege engines or battering rams.

And there were engines to beat down walls; great stones or a number of stones were also cast. I am therefore inclined to the opinion of those who consider that they were either engines to shoot stones and darts, or battering rams.

Behold, then, he says, there are moved to the city battering rams to take it, and the city is delivered up to the Chaldeans. It was, it seems, the tenth year of Zedekiah, and at the beginning of the eleventh month the city was taken.

But the Prophet is the best interpreter of his own words, and what he means may be easily gathered from the context, for he says that the city was taken by the sword, by famine, and by pestilence. This was as though he had said that even if the enemies had not yet entered the city, it was all over with it; there was no hope remaining.

This was because it was not only assailed by arms and a powerful force, but it also had enemies within, which pressed hard on it—even famine and the pestilence. Since, then, a great number had already been consumed by pestilence and famine, the Prophet says that even if the enemies should cease to assail it and make no forcible entrance into it, it was still all over with it, because the pestilence and famine had so prevailed that there was no hope of deliverance.

By these words he intimates an extremity of despair. From this also arose the thought that tormented the Prophet's mind: that it appeared wholly unreasonable that God should command him to buy the field when the city had already been delivered up into the power of enemies.

He adds, and what thou hast spoken is come to pass; and, behold, thou seest it. He confirms what he had just said—namely, that the destruction of the city did not happen except through God’s judgment. And he confirms this because whatever then happened had already been testified during the Prophet's own time.

And so it appeared that the city was not distressed by chance, because God had foretold by His servants nothing except what He had decreed and resolved to do. Thus, the ruin of Jerusalem was the work of God, which He had foretold by His servants.

For these two things ought to be joined together—the mouth of God and the hand of God. Nor is it lawful to imagine, as some fanatics do, that God sees from heaven whatever is done on earth, and yet remains in an idle state.

But He decrees what is right, and then, when it is necessary, He testifies to it by His servants the Prophets. However, the mouth of God ought not to be separated from His hand. The Prophet then shows that the destruction of the city was the righteous judgment of God, because the Prophets had previously spoken of it.

The words, thou seest it, refer to the preceding sentence, or to the one that immediately follows, because it seemed inconsistent or unreasonable that the Prophet should buy the field as God commanded, even though God knew that the land was possessed by enemies and that the people were to be driven into exile.

Since God, then, had resolved to cast out the people from the land, how was it that He had commanded His servant to buy the field? Had all this been unknown to God, the inconsistency would not have been so evident.

But when God perfectly knew that what He had so often proclaimed by His Prophets concerning the exile could not be changed, what could be His purpose in commanding the field to be bought and the purchase to be confirmed by witnesses, when the city was already delivered up to enemies?

Jeremiah, after having mentioned the substance of his prayer, now adds the answer he received from God. In this answer is seen the fruit of his prayer: namely, that he had been taught what concerned the deliverance and return of the people, so that the faithful might entertain hope and also that they, relying on the promise, might cheerfully bear their exile until the appointed time came.

The words are these—