John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 36:32

"Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah, who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiakim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and there were added besides unto them many like words." — Jeremiah 36:32 (ASV)

Here the Prophet tells us that he faithfully obeyed God in writing another volume; and his constancy in this affair deserves no common praise, for he had recently fled in fear, and he knew that the king was his enemy, as the king had already ordered him and Baruch to be slain.

Since, then, he knew that the king burned with so much rage and hatred, how did he become so bold as to exasperate him still more? But we see that the Prophets were not exempt from the influence of fear and were often anxious about their own safety; yet they always preferred the duty imposed on them by God to their own life. The Prophet, no doubt, trembled; but, feeling bound to obey God’s command, he disregarded his own life when he had to choose whether to refuse the burden laid on him or to provide for his own safety. Thus, he offered his own life as a sacrifice, though he was not free from fear and other infirmities. This is one thing.

But Baruch, I do not doubt, again proclaimed these words. How then did the king abstain from cruelty? Had his madness been in any way mitigated? It is certain that he did not change and that he did not spare God’s servants out of kindness; rather, God restrained his cruelty. For when it is not His will to soften the hearts of the ungodly, He still bridles their violence, so that they either dare not or cannot find the way to execute with their hands what they have intended in their minds, however much they may strive.

I therefore consider that King Jehoiakim was restrained by the hidden power of God, so that he could not do any harm to Jeremiah and his scribe Baruch. In the meantime, the magnanimity of the Prophet and of his scribe remained invincible. For it was God’s will to fight, as it were, hand to hand with this impious king, until he was ignominiously cast from his throne, which happened, as we shall see, soon after.

Prayer:

Grant, Omnipotent God, that since You warn us by such remarkable examples that the ungodly, by obstinately resisting You, do nothing but aggravate their own ruin—O grant that we may receive with meek hearts the admonitions of Your Prophets, submit to You, and be so humbled by Your threats and tremble at Your word, that, being touched with the feeling of true repentance and reconciled to You by faith, we may find You to be the best and kindest Father to obedient children, until we at last enjoy that eternal inheritance which has been obtained for us by the blood of Your only-begotten Son. Amen.