John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 38:1-4

"And Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashhur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashhur the son of Malchijah, heard the words that Jeremiah spake unto all the people, saying, Thus saith Jehovah, He that abideth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live, and his life shall be unto him for a prey, and he shall live. Thus saith Jehovah, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and he shall take it. Then the princes said unto the king, Let this man, we pray thee, be put to death; forasmuch as he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt." — Jeremiah 38:1-4 (ASV)

The Prophet now shows that he was again dragged from the court of the prison to the inner part, which was dark, filthy, and like a grave. He states the cause of this: it was because four of the princes had heard his words. It is probable that many of the people had come there to hear the Prophet, and that he, having received a message, delivered it to everyone who came to him.

Although he was then shut up in prison, yet the word of God could not be bound, as Paul says, who gloried in the fact that though he was in chains, the truth still spread far and wide (2 Timothy 2:9). This was the case with Jeremiah; though he was held as a prisoner, he still did not cease to discharge his office. And yet, there is no doubt that the king’s purpose was to restrain him in this way. The prison was, as it were, the captivity of prophetic truth. But the king and his counselors were mistaken, for Jeremiah was no less free in the court of the prison than if he had walked through the city all day; indeed, he had many heralds.

But the four princes mentioned here watched him, namely Shephatiah, Gadaliah, Jucal, and Pashur. Then the four princes he names, having insidiously watched what he said, immediately made a commotion. They had, no doubt, contrived the ruin of the Prophet before they came to the king; for we know that the unprincipled and wicked discuss matters together when intent on mischief, and their courtly arts must be taken into account.

Since, then, the four were in authority, they undoubtedly influenced the greater part of the king’s council, and led astray easily influenced men, or those who were not of themselves bent on evil. The matter was eventually brought before the king; and therefore he adds, that they came to the king. But he first explains the doctrine, on account of which these unprincipled men created so much ill will toward him, and endangered his life.

Hence he says that the accusation was that he had not only threatened with ruin all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, but that he had also promised life to all who would go out to the Chaldeans: Every one who abides in the city shall die by the sword, famine, or pestilence; but every one who goes out to the Chaldeans shall live. This was the accusation.

We have seen elsewhere that the Prophet had said the same thing before; it was not, then, a new thing, for he had clearly pronounced the same in the Temple thirty years before that time, and it was then written as a prophecy and fixed to the doors of the Temple.

It was, therefore, nothing new to hear all this from the mouth of Jeremiah. But as I have already said, the king and his courtiers thought that he was so subdued by afflictions that he could hardly open his mouth. In short, they thought that the holy man had, in a way, lost his tongue since he had been in prison. This, then, was the reason why they now accused him so seriously to the king and declared him worthy of death.

He had deserved death many years before, if he had now committed a capital offense. But as I have already stated, they regarded the Prophet as having intentionally despised the king’s authority, and they were indignant because he could not be subdued, even though he was a prisoner and could see danger near every hour. This, then, was the reason why they regarded as a new thing what Jeremiah said, Whosoever abides in the city shall perish, etc.

As for these threats, we have said elsewhere that all those who expected help from the Egyptians were willful despisers of God. For the Prophet had often exhorted them all to bear quietly and submissively that temporary punishment which God had resolved to inflict on them. In their perverseness, they wished to keep God’s judgment at a distance, and then, when they saw that God was their enemy, they considered it enough to have the Egyptians as their friends. It was no wonder then that the Prophet allotted to them the sword, famine, and pestilence.

He then adds, Whosoever passes over to the Chaldeans shall live. The condition, however, was very hard; his soul, he says, shall be for a prey, as though he had said, “He who flees to the Chaldeans shall only save his life but must suffer the loss of all his property.”

This is similar to when a shipwreck is dreaded, and everyone is ready to save their life at the loss of all their goods. Therefore, in extreme danger, merchants are accustomed to cast all that they have into the sea, for they prefer to escape to the harbor empty and destitute of everything, rather than perish together with their riches.

It was, then, a hard condition; but the Prophet shows that they could not escape otherwise. They were to give up their own country and all other things, and could only preserve their life. For this reason he says that their life would be for a prey to them, as when anything is snatched from the fire, or as when one exposed to plunder would be content to take something away by stealth; for otherwise, if he sought to take away many things, he would have to contend with many enemies.

The Prophet then intimates that the Jews could not save themselves from death in any other way than by casting away all they had and by being concerned only with saving life. He again repeats, he shall live. By this repetition, he more pressingly urged them and with more earnestness exhorted them to save their life.

Then follows a confirmation: Given up shall be this city into the hand of the army of the king of Babylon, and they shall take it. The Prophet shows the reason why he exhorted the Jews to flee: because the city would eventually be taken. This is substantially what he says.

Now the princes add, Die let this man, because in this manner, or therefore, that is, on account of his bad counsel, he weakens the hands of the men of war, etc. Here hand is to be taken for valor, for deeds are mainly performed by the hands. Hence to loosen or weaken the hands means the same as to make men inert, or so idle that they do not move a finger.

Then the princes accused Jeremiah on this account: that he terrified the men of war and thus made them listless. It was a specious charge, but the slander had nothing to support it. For Jeremiah could not have been condemned as a public enemy to his country when he earnestly exhorted them to flee and gave no hope to the people, so that they might all, despairing of deliverance, willingly surrender themselves to their enemies.

A question may be raised here: whether it is lawful for a private individual to persuade subjects to violate their oath of allegiance to their king or prince. I now call Prophets private persons, for I have civil order in view. Jeremiah, indeed, sustained a public character, for he was God’s Prophet; but as for the government of the city, he was a private individual, one of the people.

It seems, then, that the Prophet had exceeded the limits of what is right when he persuaded the people to revolt, for that could not have been done without forfeiting allegiance to the king. To this I answer that the Prophet was invested with a special command, and therefore, he did nothing presumptuously or rashly.

Although, then, the people had pledged their faith to the king to the end, yet as God had now delivered the city to the Chaldeans, the obligation of the oath ceased. For when governments are changed, whatever the subjects had promised is no longer binding. For example, when any country has a prince, he binds the whole people to himself by an oath, so that they may all remain in their allegiance.

When anyone invades that country, the subjects incur the charge of perfidy if they do not come forward and assist their prince, as they had promised. But when a foreign enemy takes possession of the whole land, the obligation of the oath ceases, for it is not in the power of the people to set up princes, because it belongs to God to change governments as He pleases.

Since, then, this power belongs to God alone, while a prince rules, the people ought to remain resolutely obedient to him, as their legitimate prince, set over them by God. But this was not the case with the Jews at that time; for though the Chaldeans had not yet entered the city, God had declared that they were its masters.

The people, then, were not to wait until the Chaldeans broke into the city, burned its houses, and killed all they encountered; but it should have been sufficient for them that the Prophet’s prediction was the decree or sentence of God, by which they were given up to the Chaldeans.

The question regarding Jeremiah and all others in similar circumstances is now answered: for when anyone sees only some danger near, he should not, on that account, persuade the people to forsake their prince. Instead, everyone who seeks to be God’s faithful servant will risk his own life in the defense of his king.

When called to his council, he will advise what is useful and right; but he will not stir up commotions and tumults. On the contrary, he would rather die a hundred times than cause the people to revolt either by his counsel or by his influence. But the case of Jeremiah, as has been said, was peculiar, for God had made known His purpose regarding the Chaldeans.

Hence Jeremiah not only prudently persuaded the people to do what he deemed necessary, but he also faithfully discharged his office as a Prophet. Nor did he give any other counsel than what he had been commanded to give; indeed, he commanded them, by authority, to pass over to the Chaldeans, for it was according to God’s will.

The princes, however, brought this charge against him, that he weakened the hands, etc.; and added, In this manner he seeks not the good of the people, when he thus speaks, (peace here is to be taken for what is good or useful,) but he seeks evil. This they slanderously added, for Jeremiah, as far as he could, consulted the public good.

He wished the city to continue safe; had it been in his power, he would have put to flight all the Chaldeans. But he could not carry on war with God, under whose banner the Chaldeans fought.

Jeremiah then sought the good of the people, but he could not resist God, and therefore he yielded to the divine decree. He saw no other remedy than this: that the Jews should undergo a temporary punishment and be chastened by an exile, so that they might return afterward to their own country.

Had it been possible, as I have said, he would have kept the people from every injury. But this was not now practicable, for God had pronounced that it was all over with the kingdom and the city until the Jews were punished by an exile of seventy years.

There was then a second good or benefit, so that exile might be more tolerable for the miserable, or captivity become milder. And this good was to go of their own accord to King Nebuchadnezzar and to allow themselves to be led away to the Chaldeans. This was the second good.

Jeremiah then, seeing that the city, the kingdom, and the Temple were not to stand, was anxious to urge with all his might what remained to be done, so that the city might at least continue as it was while the inhabitants migrated to another land, so that afterward they might return to it. This was the best thing for the people, because God had determined to drive them all into exile. It was then absurd to bring against him this unjust charge, that he sought not the good of the people, but their ruin.

But as we said yesterday, all the sayings and doings of the saints have always been unjustly condemned. And if the same thing happens to us today, let us patiently bear it.

We also see that it has always been objected to the Prophets and faithful teachers, as a crime, that they did not consult the public good, just as all ungodly men today bring the same charge against us. This is especially true of courtiers, who take it for granted that if anything were changed, it would be the cause of all kinds of disturbances; and hence they think that their religion could not possibly fall without ruin to the public good.

Hence it is that the free preaching of the Gospel is disliked by them, as though it brought with it some public calamity. Therefore they call us turbulent; and they say that we go astray through ignorance: though we are not avowedly enemies of the public good, yet we do not understand how kingdoms are to be governed; and hence we rashly stir up the greatest tumults.

All these reproaches we have to bear, as Jeremiah did, when, with a quiet mind, he endured the hatred which the princes unjustly incited against him on account of his doctrine. This doctrine he had announced by God’s command and was necessary for the safety of the city and people, for the Jews could not, against God’s will, remain in their city, from which God had resolved to remove them.

When, therefore, Jeremiah saw that the city could not be defended against the Chaldeans—even if he had been the only counselor of the king and not God’s Prophet—what could he have advised better or more beneficial than to anticipate the extreme cruelty of their enemies? What better counsel than to do all they could, so that the city might not be burned with fire and the slaughter of the people might not be universal, but that they might continue alive, with the loss only of their property?

He could not then have given better counsel. But, as I have already said, nothing is deemed good or useful by the ungodly except the liberty to perversely resist God. This was the reason why they so unjustly accused God’s Prophet.