John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 39

Jeremiah seems here indeed to undertake the office of a historian rather than that of a Prophet; but he seals his previous prophecies and, at the same time, shows that he had brought forward nothing rashly or thoughtlessly. There is, then, a proof here of all his former doctrine; he brings before us the reality and shows that whatever he had predicted was accomplished by God’s hand, and in a manner almost incredible. We now understand what this chapter contains.

He says that King Nebuchadnezzar came, though he soon departed from the siege, for, as we shall soon see, he went to Riblah, which, as some think, was the Antioch of Syria; but of this we shall speak in its proper place. When, therefore, the king came with his army, he soon departed. His purpose was to live at leisure and in the enjoyment of pleasures as long as the city was besieged; he was not disposed to undertake the trouble and weariness of a long warfare. Yet, in order to spread more terror, he came himself to the City and gave instructions to his army.

We must notice the time: he came in the ninth year, in the tenth month, that is, about the end of the year. Zedekiah, no doubt, entertained a good hope, though reports were flying about concerning the coming of the Chaldean army, for the king had not prepared for the war as soon as he ought to have done. He thought that his revolt from the king of Babylon would be passed by unpunished. But the Prophet here reminds us that it was a false confidence, for though God spared him for a time and suspended His judgment, He eventually punished the impiety of his revolt, to which ingratitude was also added, as has been stated before. This much concerns the ninth year and the tenth month.

It then follows, In the eleventh year, in the fourth month, the city was broken up. From this we see that the city was besieged for a year and a half. For there was the whole of the tenth year, and then two months of the ninth year and four months of the eleventh year must be added; thus, a year and a half was the whole time.

Here also we must remember how much the Jews must have suffered. For if a city today were to bear a siege for a few months, it would appear a rare instance of valor; but Jerusalem was besieged for a year and a half. Let us now consider how many people must have been there, as we have seen that the Prophet threatened them with famine.

And the Prophet has not only testified elsewhere to how much scarcity there was in the city, but in the book of Lamentations he has shown it most fully (Lamentations 4:10). And there was not only famine, but it was followed by pestilence. From this we learn how ferocious the king's character must have been, that he could see miserable men perishing by scores and yet persist in his obstinacy.

Nor is there any doubt that the people, on their part, were also obstinate and eventually became stupefied through their sufferings. For nearly everyone, from the least to the greatest, despised what the Prophet taught; and thus they were all blinded by madness and stupidity.

It should be noted that they bore a siege for a year and six months and were not even then persuaded to surrender themselves until the city was broken up—that is, until the walls were beaten down by battering rams and other warlike engines.

The city was broken when the wall, beaten by the engines, fell down.

In short, the city was gained by storm. This is what is meant and will be expressed more fully later.

But I cannot proceed further now.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as we are surrounded by so many dangers and bring on ourselves daily, through our sins, so many miseries. O grant that we may at least yield to Your threats and learn in due time to seek Your favor and to anticipate Your judgment. May we so humble ourselves under Your mighty hand that we may find You propitious to us miserable sinners, who flee to Your mercy, until, having at last been freed from all our sins, we shall appear before Your tribunal and there receive the reward of our faith: that blessed immortality, which Your only-begotten Son, our Lord, has procured for us by His own blood. Amen.

It is proved here that the prophecy of Jeremiah was fulfilled, so that it became really evident that he had not spoken rashly, but from the mouth of God. And so what is said as a common proverb was also fulfilled: that fools become wise too late, for they never obey good and wise counsels while they can, but eventually they learn by their own miseries and their teacher, experience, that what they despised is true, but without any benefit. This happened to Zedekiah, who had often been exhorted by the Prophet to surrender himself to King Nebuchadnezzar. Since, then, he had obstinately refused the yoke, he was eventually forced to reap the fruit of his obstinacy.

Now Jeremiah says that the princes of King Nebuchadnezzar, that is, those he had set over his forces, entered the city, the wall being broken down, and sat in the middle gate; for it was necessary for them to be wary, in case there were ambushes. Even conquerors do not immediately penetrate into every part when a city is taken, but search whether all the places are free from enemies. This then was done by the leaders of the army, for they stood in the middle gate, so that they might exercise authority over the city and yet be safe from all ambushes. Jeremiah mentions some of them by name, but it is uncertain whether he adds a surname to some of them. But as this is doubtful and is of no great importance, it is enough for us that the chief leaders are named in order to accredit the narrative.

He then adds, After Zedekiah saw them, etc.; not that he came to that part, but after he understood that that part of the city was occupied by the enemies, for the situation had then become desperate. Then he fled with his men of war. And here a sad spectacle is set before us: men in no way trained for war were left in the city; women and children were also left there, while the men of war fled, since their own condition was worse because they had delayed the capture of the city.

So they fled, as is common in such situations. We still see that ungodly men, after long despising heavenly truth, flee in time of danger and are so filled with terror that they cast themselves headlong into many perils. This is a just reward for those who are not terrified by the threats of God but become so hardened that they acknowledge too late that they should have feared; and, being stunned, as it were, they do not see what is expedient and cannot follow any fixed course.

The Prophet adds that they fled in the night, that they went out by the way of the king’s garden, and lastly, that they came to the gate which was between the two walls. There is nothing superfluous in this passage. For he meant to show us that although the king thought he could escape from the hands of his enemies, he was still taken, as God had predicted.

For if, after the city was taken, he had come as a suppliant of his own accord, he might probably have obtained mercy. This counsel, we know, was given while the situation was not yet desperate, but he put no faith in God’s word. Meanwhile, he thought he could thwart his enemies if he quickly fled through some secret way.

Some think that there was a subterranean passage, which had a door in the middle of the garden and also an exit at the other end in the plain of Jericho, as we will see later. That region was barren and therefore solitary. Thus, the king felt confident, but he eventually discovered how certain prophetic truth was, for it is said later that the Chaldeans followed and took him.

But this circumstance, as I have said, should be carefully observed: that the king, as the Prophet tells us, fled through a secret way during the darkness of the night and escaped.

The Chaldeans pursued the fugitive king, no doubt, through a hidden impulse from above. It is, indeed, probable that he was betrayed by his own people, as often happens in a disturbed state of affairs. However, he might have escaped if he had not been given up by the hand of God.

These events are therefore narrated so that we may know that the ungodly, by their evasions, gain nothing else than to truly acknowledge that God is true in His threatenings as well as in His promises. They do not believe His word; therefore, it is necessary for them to be convinced by actual experience. Zedekiah, then, is set before us here as an example, so that we may know that as soon as God announces any calamity, we ought to tremble and humble ourselves under His mighty hand. For He holds us completely shut up on every side, so that even if hiding places and refuges are open before us, they still can avail us nothing.

The Prophet then tells us that he was taken in the deserts of Jericho. This circumstance is also important, for he had gone out beyond the sight of men, even into solitude. That plain was not fertile enough to support many inhabitants, but it was, as it were, a desert. It is a wonder, then, how the Chaldeans found him in that solitude, for they had God, as it were, as their guide. Thus it was, then, that Zedekiah fell into the hands of the Chaldean army.

The Prophet adds that they brought him to Riblah, which is thought to have been Antioch. It is also called Hemath, but this name designated the country and not the city. And yet, in Amos 6:2, it means the city, when it is said:

“Go to Calneh, go to Hemath the great.”

But it may be that the dignity of the city was the reason the country was so called. And no doubt Pliny, in his fifth book, calls that part of Syria Antiochean. As for what he says shortly before—that Antioch was that part of Syria toward Cilicia—that passage seems to me to have been corrupted.

I prefer to read it as follows: that it was a part of Syria, for, as I have said, he calls it Antiochean. And it was not unsuitable for the city to be called Hemath and Riblah, and for the name of the city to be given to the country. Interpreters, indeed, agree that Riblah was Antioch.

Jerome says that in his day, the first station towards Chaldea still retained its ancient name, though, by changing some letters, they called it Emmaus. But he does not doubt that it was Antioch, which was formerly called Epidaphne and also had the name of Hemath. There, then, Zedekiah was brought to Nebuchadnezzar, who spoke judgments with him; that is, Nebuchadnezzar brought him as a criminal before his tribunal so that he might pronounce sentence upon him. For “to speak judgments” means the same as to administer justice or to pass judgment.

Now this was very inconsistent with royal dignity. For though, as a conqueror, Nebuchadnezzar was angry with his enemy, he might still have been content with his death alone. Kings are not accustomed to deal in this way with other kings, for they respect themselves and are not inclined to degrade royal dignity.

But Jeremiah says that Zedekiah was by no means treated royally, for he was forced to plead guilty and was condemned by a solemn sentence. Thus, “to speak judgments” is the same as what is called in French former proces criminel.

This indignity increased the weight of his calamity and punishment. For Zedekiah not only had to bear many reproaches while the king of Babylon expostulated with him, but he was also brought to judgment, so that punishment was allotted to him according to common practice. Nebuchadnezzar had made him king and imposed tribute on him; therefore, he condemned him as guilty of perfidy and perjury. This is the degradation that the Prophet points out when he says that Nebuchadnezzar “spoke judgments with him,” or acted towards him judicially. The Prophet repeats the same expression in the last chapter of his book.

It is probable that Nebuchadnezzar continued in that pleasant city while Jerusalem was attacked, for he would not endure the weariness of a long siege and also wished to be far away from danger. It was enough for him that his generals, who are mentioned, fought under his banner. Nebuchadnezzar was then beyond the reach of danger. Yet, he filled the Jews with terror because he did not return home or to the principal seat of government, but remained in the neighborhood, as Antioch of Syria was not far from Judea.

The Prophet now tells us how cruelly Nebuchadnezzar acted towards Zedekiah. It was surely a sad spectacle to see a king—who had previously been respected, who was of a noble family, and who was a type of Christ—lying prostrate at the feet of a proud conqueror. But much more bitter for him than this was to see his own sons killed before his eyes.

It would have been better for him to die a hundred times than to be compelled to witness that slaughter. He was, however, compelled to do so. Then, so that all hope might be cut off, all those who excelled in dignity and power were slain. For by the term 'princes,' Jeremiah generally included the chief men; thus, all who had any prominence among the people were killed.

It was a horrible carnage! Not only were the king’s sons slain, but also all who were capable of restoring the city and the land to a better condition. Thus, Nebuchadnezzar wished to take away every hope by putting the royal family and all the nobles to death.

Here was an accumulation of misery: the king had his eyes pulled out, after having been a witness to the slaughter of his own sons! He then saw piled up the dead bodies of his own offspring and of all his nobles. After that slaughter, he was made blind.

His life was, no doubt, prolonged so that he might die, as it were, little by little, according to what a notorious tyrant has said. Thus, Nebuchadnezzar intended to kill him a hundred and a thousand times, and not to put him to death at once, for death removes man from all the miseries of the present life. That Zedekiah remained alive was then a much harder condition.

And this has been recorded so that we may know that, because he had been so long obstinate against God, the punishment inflicted on him was long protracted. For he had not sinned through frivolity or lack of thought, or some hidden impulse, but had hardened himself against all truth and all counsel. It was therefore just that he should die little by little, and not be killed at once. This was the reason why the king of Babylon pulled out his eyes.

The Prophet says finally that he was bound with chains and, in this miserable condition, led into Babylon. This disgrace was an addition to his blindness: he was bound with chains as a criminal. It would have been better for him to have been taken immediately to the gallows or to have been put to death in any way; but it was Nebuchadnezzar’s design that he should lead a miserable life in this degraded state and be a public example of what treachery deserved.