John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 42:13-17

"But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land; so that ye obey not the voice of Jehovah your God, saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: now therefore hear ye the word of Jehovah, O remnant of Judah: Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, If ye indeed set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye fear, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt; and the famine, whereof ye are afraid, shall follow hard after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die. So shall it be with all the men that set their faces to go into Egypt to sojourn there: they shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence; and none of them shall remain or escape from the evil that I will bring upon them." — Jeremiah 42:13-17 (ASV)

God, having promised that the counsel he gave to the Jews would be good and safe, now, on the other hand, threatens them that if they disobeyed, everything they would attempt would end miserably. They had not expressly asked whether it would be for their good to go into Egypt, or whether it would be pleasing to God; but God, who penetrates into all hidden purposes, anticipated them and declared that their going would be unhappy if they fled into Egypt. From this, we see how the Prophet, or rather God himself, who spoke by his servant, tried by all means to keep them in the way of duty.

He then says, If you say, We shall not dwell in this land, it shall be ill with you, he says. But before he denounced punishment, he showed that they deserved to be destroyed if they went to Egypt. For even if the thing had been lawful in itself, yet to attempt such a thing against the express will of God was, as we know, an impious and a diabolical presumption and rashness.

God had forbidden them specifically in his Law ever to set their hearts on Egypt (Deuteronomy 17:16), and he had often confirmed the same thing by his Prophets (Isaiah 30:2; Isaiah 31:1). Now again he seals the former prophecies, as he expressly forbids them to go to Egypt. The Prophet then sets this crime before their eyes: “If you flee into Egypt, what is it that compels you? It is because you will not obey God.”

There is then great weight in these words, Nor obey the voice of Jehovah your God; as if he had said that they could not think of Egypt unless they intentionally, so to speak, rejected the authority of God and resisted his counsel.

He adds, Saying, No; for we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall not see war, etc. Here the Prophet discovers the very fountain of rebellion, namely, that they paid no regard to God’s favor. They were indeed exposed to many dangers in their own land, which produced fear and trembling, and its desolation also might have filled them with horror and weariness. But as God had declared that their safety would be cared for by him, how great and how base an ingratitude it was to deem as nothing that aid which he had freely promised!

The Prophet then, in condemning their disobedience, shows at the same time the cause of it: that unbelief led them away from rendering obedience to God. If, then, you say, No — this word was a proof of their obstinacy. But he adds, We shall go into Egypt, where we shall not see war, where we shall not hear the sound of the trumpet, as though, indeed, the promise of God were false or void.

But the Prophet here discovers their hidden impiety: that they did not rely on God’s promise. They promised themselves a peaceable life in Egypt. Was it in their power to effect this? And God, what could he do? he had declared that they would be safe and secure in the land of Canaan. It was to charge God with falsehood to hope for rest in Egypt, and to imagine nothing but disturbances in the land where God commanded them to remain in quietness.

We now then see why he says, We shall go into Egypt, where we shall not see war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor hunger for bread. They promised themselves an abundance of all blessings, for the land of Egypt was fruitful. But could not God afflict them with want? The Egyptians, we know, had also been sometimes visited with famine. Thus we see why God so much condemned the design of the people regarding their going into Egypt, for they entertained vain hopes and at the same time charged God indirectly with falsehood.

He adds, Hear the word of Jehovah, you remnant of Judah. Jeremiah, by thus addressing them, no doubt endeavored to lead them to obedience. We indeed know that men in prosperity are in a manner inebriated, so that they are not easily induced to obey sound counsels. For why is it that kings and princes of the world indulge themselves so much, and allow such license to their lusts? It is because the splendor of their fortune inebriates them.

So also private men, when all things succeed according to their wishes, they lodge in their own dregs; thus it is that they are difficult to rule. The Prophet, on the other hand, shows that there is no reason for them to be proud. You are, he says, a small number, and God has wonderfully saved you. Hear, then, you remnant of Judah. In short, they are reminded of their humble and miserable condition, that they might be more teachable. But this also was done without any fruit, as we shall see later.

This says Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel. Of these words we have spoken elsewhere. God is often called the God of hosts on account of his power, so by this term God sets forth his own greatness. Afterwards, when he is said to be the God of Israel, we know that the benefit of adoption was thus brought to the recollection of the people, for God had them especially as his people and bound them, so to speak, to himself.

This ought then to have been a most holy bond of faithfulness and obedience. It was not, then, by way of honor that the Prophet thus spoke, but in order to reprove the Israelites for their hardness and ingratitude towards God. If, he adds, you set your faces to go into Egypt, and you enter in there to sojourn, it shall be that the sword which you fear shall meet you, etc.

Here their punishment is described, and there is nothing obscure in the words. God shows that they were greatly deceived if they thought that they would be prosperous in Egypt, for no prosperity can be hoped for except through the favor and blessing of God. God pronounced a curse on all their perverse counsels when he saw that they would not be restrained by his word.

If, then, we attempt anything contrary to the prohibition of God, it must necessarily end unsuccessfully. And why? Because the cause of all prosperity is the favor of God, and so his curse always renders all outcomes sad and unhappy. And however prosperous at first what we undertake against God’s will may be, yet the end will be wretched and miserable, according to what the Prophet teaches here.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as You have not once only shown to us the way and the end to which we ought to proceed, but are pleased daily to stretch forth Your hand to us, and do by Your constant exhortations invite and stimulate us to go onward — O grant, that we may attend to Your voice, and so renounce all the corrupt desires and lusts of our flesh, that nothing may hinder us wholly to submit to You, and so to follow wherever You may call us, that we may at last come to that blessed rest, which You have prepared for us in heaven through Christ our Lord — Amen.