John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 40:6

"Then went Jeremiah unto Gedaliah the son of Ahikam to Mizpah, and dwelt with him among the people that were left in the land." — Jeremiah 40:6 (ASV)

This shows us the Prophet's firmness, in that he did not hesitate to reject what Nebuzaradan kindly offered him, even though he might have committed a great offense by making light, as it were, of Chaldea. Chaldea was, as we know, a very pleasant and fertile country; and tyrants cannot bear for their generosity to be despised, for when they choose to honor someone, however little they may offer, if that person refuses, they consider it a dishonor to them.

The Prophet, then, might have been overcome by modesty and fear, and so moved to Chaldea. That he dared simply to refuse the offer and ask to dwell in his own country was proof and evidence that he had more concern for religion and more care for God’s Church than for all human favors and all he might have hoped for from the wealth of Babylon and Chaldea.

Hence, we see that the Prophet, in receiving presents, accepted nothing but what he knew would be for the benefit of God’s Church.

At the same time, he made light of the offense he might have given when he chose to remain in his own country. For, as we have said, it was as though he erected a standard to invite the Jews to return and thus to prove the truth of his prophecy that their exile was temporary, the end of which was to be hoped for after seventy years. For this reason, he says that he went to Gedaliah and dwelt among the people, even among those who remained in the land.