John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 38:20-22

"But Jeremiah said, They shall not deliver thee. Obey, I beseech thee, the voice of Jehovah, in that which I speak unto thee: so it shall be well with thee, and thy soul shall live. But if thou refuse to go forth, this is the word that Jehovah hath showed me: behold, all the women that are left in the king of Judah`s house shall be brought forth to the king of Babylon`s princes, and those women shall say, Thy familiar friends have set thee on, and have prevailed over thee: [now that] thy feet are sunk in the mire, they are turned away back." — Jeremiah 38:20-22 (ASV)

Here again Jeremiah strengthens Zedekiah, that he might not hesitate to make the trial, since God would still give him pardon, so that at least his chastisement would be paternal and light. He then promised to Zedekiah that he would be safe from all the insults about which he was anxious.

They will not deliver you, he says; as if he had said, “Leave this to God’s providence, resign yourself to God, and do not doubt that he will keep you safe.” God, in his kindness, as I have said, allows the faithful to cast their cares into his bosom; but at the same time, if any disobey when he confirms them, it is a sign of deliberate wickedness, and such perverseness extinguishes all the light of grace.

Such was the stupidity of Zedekiah, that he did not accept this second promise. He might indeed have confessed his fear, but he should also have received the remedy. The Prophet assured him that his life would be safe in God’s hand; what more could he have wished? But this was said to no purpose, because fear fully occupied his mind, so that there was no entrance for the promise.

Now this should be carefully noticed. For there are none of us whom many cares do not disturb and many fears do not perplex; but a place should be given to a remedy. God helps us when He sees us distressed by anxious thoughts. But if fear so prevails that all the promises by which God raises us up avail nothing, it is a sign of hopeless unbelief.

It afterward follows, Hear the voice of Jehovah, which I utter to you, that it may be well with you, and that your soul may live. The promise is again added, to lead Zedekiah to submit more willingly to God. For though we know that we cannot escape his power, it will still be dreaded by us, unless he favors us with the promises of grace.

In this way, then, the Prophet endeavored to lead Zedekiah to render obedience to God: Hear, he says, the voice of Jehovah, that it may be well with you. He showed that it was still in the power of Zedekiah to provide for his own safety, if only he obeyed the word of God.

And this passage teaches us that the Prophet had not spoken thoughtlessly and in vain, but under the guidance and teaching of God’s Spirit. For though he may not have received a new command, he still knew that it was God’s will that he should confirm and reassert the previous oracles; for he did not falsely assume God’s name when he instructed Zedekiah to hear God’s voice which he had made known.

Now, though this discourse was especially directed to Zedekiah, we may still conclude that it is always for our good to embrace whatever God declares to us, though it may apparently be hard and unpleasant, as it was to Zedekiah. For it was by no means an agreeable thing to him to deliver himself up to his enemies, to be deprived of his regal power, to be drawn into exile, and from a king to become a slave; and yet nothing was better for him, in order to save his life, than to obey God.

Though, then, the words of God contain what is contrary and grievous to our flesh, yet let us be persuaded that God always speaks what is good for our salvation. It would then have been well for Zedekiah had he obeyed the counsel of the Prophet.

For he would have found in captivity that God would be propitious to him, and this would have been an invaluable comfort. Then he might have been brought back from exile; at least he would have preserved the city and the Temple. But by his obstinacy he betrayed the city to his enemies, and for this reason the Temple was also burnt.

He then adds, If you refuse to go forth, this is the word which God has shown to me. Jeremiah again declares that Zedekiah resisted in vain, because he kicked, as it is said, against the goad, for he could not possibly escape falling into the hands of his enemies. Once this happened, then neither the city nor the Temple would be spared.

But the Prophet repeats again that it had been shown to him what to speak; he therefore did not speak in his own name, but by God’s command—a command which, perhaps, was not given to him at that exact moment. But the Prophet knew that God’s decree, of which he had been the herald, could not be abolished. He then says that this word had been shown to him by God, even what follows.

Behold, the women who still remain in the palace of the king shall go forth to the princes of the king of Babylon. That is, having left the city, they will betray you to your enemies. And they shall say, The men of your peace have deceived you, or persuaded you, and have prevailed; thus fixed in the mire are your feet, and they have turned backward.

There is here a part stated for the whole, for one thing here represents the whole calamity of the city.

We indeed know that women do not stand in the ranks to fight, and that when a city is taken, women are commonly spared. When, therefore, the Prophet says, Go forth shall women who are still remaining in the king’s palace. It is as if he had said, “Even the women shall be compelled to go forth to the enemies, and give themselves up into their power; what then will become of the men, when such shall be the hard condition of the women?”

We now perceive the meaning of the Prophet: Go forth then shall women. That is, when the city is taken, the women in the palace shall be drawn forth from their hiding-places, and be forced to appear before their enemies. And then he adds, and, behold, they shall say, etc.

He used the particle הנה (ene) twice to lead Zedekiah into the very scene itself, for it is necessary in this way to rouse those who are torpid in their apathy. And, behold, he says, they will say.

Here Jeremiah declares that women would be witnesses to bear testimony to the king's folly and also to the wickedness and obstinacy of the princes, as if he had said, “You will not obey me today, and your counselors also stubbornly resist. God has already pronounced judgment on you; you despise it and regard it as nothing. God will at last rouse up women, who will openly proclaim your folly, O king, and the perverseness of your counselors for having despised all the prophecies.”

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that since You daily invite us to repentance by constant exhortations, we may seriously reflect on Your goodness, and in due time return to You and submit to Your will, and never refuse to undergo the punishment You lay on us; and that we may not in the meantime so provoke Your extreme vengeance as to find You a rigorous judge, but ever experience, even under punishment, Your paternal mercy, until we shall at last come to the fullness of that joy which is laid up in heaven for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. — Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We were obliged yesterday to break off where the Prophet said to King Zedekiah that women would be his judges, and that for a heavier reproach to him, because he refused to believe the oracles of God. Though the Prophet had often exhorted him to repent, he had still refused all his admonitions. Therefore Jeremiah here declares that he would have to bear the punishment he had deserved: even that the very women would openly speak of his folly and of the perfidy of all the princes.

They shall then say, They have persuaded or seduced you, as some read (and others, “have driven you”—which I would prefer if it were the common meaning, because and have prevailed over you immediately follows); but we may simply take it in its proper sense, because they had perfidiously persuaded the king.

He calls them the men of peace, from whom acts of kindness might have been expected. We indeed know that friends and associates were thus called by the Hebrews. Peace does not only mean unity, but what is more, even friendship, such as should be between a king and his counselors. Jeremiah, no doubt, sought in this case to try whether Zedekiah was still capable of being recovered; for he foretells that women would announce this as from a judicial throne. But as I said yesterday, and as we will see later, he spoke to the deaf.

It is then added, Fixed are your feet in the mire. This is to be taken metaphorically. He might have secured his own life had he passed over to the enemy, and thus a willing surrender might have been, as it were, the price for his liberation; but he chose instead to live in his own nest. And the Prophet says that this torpor would be like clay, in which he would be fixed. What follows, turned are they backward, is, in my judgment, improperly applied to the princes. I read the words in connection with the former, Fixed are your feet in the clay, turned backward; for everything happened to the king contrary to what he hoped.