John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 4:30

"And thou, when thou art made desolate, what wilt thou do? Though thou clothest thyself with scarlet, though thou deckest thee with ornaments of gold, though thou enlargest thine eyes with paint, in vain dost thou make thyself fair; [thy] lovers despise thee, they seek thy life." — Jeremiah 4:30 (ASV)

The Prophet boldly ridicules the Jews, in order to cast down their pride and haughtiness. It was indeed his object to check that pride with which they were puffed up against God. The Prophet could not have done this without assuming a more elevated tone than usual, and by making his discourse more striking by using metaphorical words. It is indeed the language of derision; he exclaims, What will you do, you wretched one? The Jews had until now been filled with contempt for God, and their proud spirit had not been subdued. Since, then, their haughtiness remained untamed, the Prophet cries out and says, “You wretched one, what will you do?” as if he had said, “In vain do they flatter themselves and promise themselves aid from various sources, for their condition is beyond any remedy.”

He afterward adds, Though, etc.; for this is how I view the connection of the verse, and those who do not separate the words of the Prophet seem right to me. But the view which others take appears stiff: Who now adorn yourself, who now clothe yourself in scarlet, who now adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, who now paint your eyes black. It is to no purpose that they introduce the relative pronoun, for it makes the Prophet's meaning different from what it truly is.

These parts follow each other, and the principal verb is found in these words, In vain do you adorn yourself; and the particle כי is to be translated “though.”

There are those who consider ceremonies to be intended, as hypocrites think that they are protected by these against God’s judgment: but this view is unsuitable and entirely foreign to what is presented here. It is indeed true, that ceremonies are to hypocrites dens of thieves, as we shall later see (Jeremiah 7:11), but the Prophet in this place refers to a harlot's ornaments; for the people, as had appeared before, had become like an adulterous woman.

God had formed with them a marriage contract, so to speak; they had violated it, and this treachery was like the defection of an adulterous woman, who leaves her husband and wanders about, and lives as a prostitute. Just as harlots, then, for the purpose of enticement, are accustomed to dress themselves elegantly, to paint their faces, and to use other enticements, the Prophet says, In vain will you adorn yourself; though you put on scarlet, though you shine with gold even from head to foot, yet all this will be superfluous and useless; and though, in addition to all this, you paint your face, it will yet avail you nothing.

Now, we know whom he means by “lovers,” namely the Egyptians and the Assyrians. For the Jews, when oppressed by the Egyptians, were accustomed to seek help from the Assyrians; and again, when attacked by the Assyrians, they became supplicants to the Egyptians. The prophets compared this sort of conduct to that of prostitutes; for whenever they sought the aid of either of these parties, they broke the bond of marriage by which they were connected with God, and treacherously violated their pledged faith. Hence, the Prophet says, Even if the Egyptians promise wonderful things to you, as a lover allured by your beauty and by your harlot's ornaments, yet they will deceive you; and if the Assyrians show themselves ready to bring aid, they also will disappoint your hope: so that you shall be like a destitute prostitute, reduced to extreme want. I cannot finish today: I must therefore postpone the rest until tomorrow.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that even though we are sluggish in our vices, we may yet be attentive to these examples of your wrath, by which you intend to warn us, so that we may learn from the misery of others to fear you. May we also be attentive to those threats by which you draw us to yourself when your kindness fails to allure us. And may we, in the meantime, feel assured that you will always be propitious and merciful to all miserable sinners who will seek you from the heart and sincerely and genuinely repent. May we, therefore, contend with our vices and with real effort strive to deliver ourselves from those snares of Satan which he always spreads for us. Grant that we may more freely devote ourselves entirely to you and take such delight in your righteousness that our object and aim throughout our entire lives may be to please you and to render our services acceptable in Christ Jesus our Lord. Amen.

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

We stated yesterday what the Prophet meant by the scarlet clothing, by the golden ornaments, and by the painting, which he mentions—namely, those deceptive strategies which the princes and the people employed in forming alliances; for they always acted treacherously. But it was also said that the Prophet refers to the spiritual marriage which God had formed with the people of Israel; for a type of adultery was committed when they sought foreign alliances, as they thus denied God, being not satisfied with his protection. As a wife considers herself sufficiently protected by her husband, so the Israelites ought to have depended on God only: but since they ran here and there, following their own wandering desires, the Prophet justly compares them to adulterous women.

But he says that they would be an abomination to their lovers; and not only so, but that both the Egyptians and the Assyrians, in whom they foolishly trusted, would be their worst enemies: Hate you, he says, shall your lovers; yes, they will seek your life; that is, those aids by which you think to become safe and secure will be for your destruction.