John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 37:21

"Then Zedekiah the king commanded, and they committed Jeremiah into the court of the guard; and they gave him daily a loaf of bread out of the bakers` street, until all the bread in the city was spent. Thus Jeremiah remained in the court of the guard." — Jeremiah 37:21 (ASV)

The Prophet tells us that God regarded the miseries to which he had been unjustly exposed; and the king no doubt became humane towards Jeremiah because God turned his heart towards what was just and right. We said, indeed, yesterday, that the king was not cruel or bloodthirsty in disposition; yet he would not have been so easily entreated by the Prophet had he not been influenced by the hidden working of God’s Spirit. We therefore see how God favors His servants and has regard for their infirmity when necessary. Yet we also see that the Prophet was not treated so kindly as to be allowed to return free to his own house, but that he was removed to another prison, where his condition was more tolerable. He was then in the court of the prison.

He says that a crust of bread was given to him daily, or every day. The word ככר, kekar, is by some rendered “mass,” or lump, and sometimes means a large loaf; but it is probable that during so much scarcity the Prophet had only a scanty living. He then had a crust or piece of bread every day. We see how meager his food was; but God often tries His servants in this way, withholding from them all the delicacies of this world.

It is added, from the street of the bakers; by these words is meant, I think, that it was coarse bread, not made of fine flour, such as rich men ate, for their mouths could not endure what was rough and coarse. Then God’s holy Prophet was content with the common bread.

The king and his counselors had their own bakers; but it is said that bread was brought to the Prophet from a common place, the street of the bakers. And the bread then sold during such a scarcity was no doubt black bread. We therefore see what kind of bread it was, because it was sold for the common use of the people.

Thus the Prophet shows that though some relaxation was allowed him, he was still confined in prison, and also that no meat nor any delicacies were given him, but only a crust of bread. He however commemorates the favor of God, since in so great a scarcity he was not without bread. He had, then, his daily bread until all provisions failed.

And from this we learn that God often so provides for His servants that He appears to have forsaken them; and yet He then especially takes care of them and supplies them with what is necessary for their support. Had Jeremiah been at home, he might have been stoned by the people at any time; for there was no lack of those disposed to stir up famished men against him.

He might then have been in danger of his life at home every moment. But now in prison, he was safe, and no one could do him any harm. Besides, had he been at home, many might have robbed him, leaving him with nothing to preserve his life; but in prison he had his daily allowance.

Thus, then, God often guides His servants in a manner that is wonderful and beyond what we can conceive, and in the meantime acts as the head of a family, supplying their wants. In short, the Prophet here intimates that he was cared for by God, so that during the famine and scarcity among the whole people, his bread was still given to him when he could not have begged for it. When he could not have procured bread for himself either by labor, by industry, by begging, or by money, he shows that God took care of him so as to feed him during that distress.

He however adds that he was in the court of the prison to show that God tried his patience, for a prison was a place of degradation. The Prophet was exposed to the reproaches of all; and then the princes might have often threatened him with danger, and might have also transferred him to another place, as we shall see later. Therefore, God brought aid to His Prophet only in a measure, for it was not His pleasure to deliver him wholly, and yet He did not allow him to be reduced to extremities.