John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 47:6-7

"O thou sword of Jehovah, how long will it be ere thou be quiet? put up thyself into thy scabbard; rest, and be still. How canst thou be quiet, seeing Jehovah hath given thee a charge? Against Ashkelon, and against the sea-shore, there hath he appointed it." — Jeremiah 47:6-7 (ASV)

Here Jeremiah turns to address the sword of God, and it is a felicitous apostrophe. It is very striking and forcible when the Prophet at one time addresses the land of the Philistines, and at another, the sword of God. He had no other object than to confirm his prophecy, which the Jews might otherwise have doubted.

He then says, Ho! sword of Jehovah! Though he puts here the preposition ל, lamed, which designates the dative case, it is often redundant. Meanwhile, there is no doubt that he intimates that the slaughter of which he speaks would be, as it were, by God’s sword, or by a sword hired by Him. Thus he shows that the Chaldeans would do the work of God in destroying the land of the Philistines.

How long, he says, before you rest! Hide yourself in your sheath, rest and be still. Here the Prophet assumes the character of another, as though he wished to soothe the sword of God with gentle persuasions and mitigate its fury. “O sword,” he says, “spare them, cease raging against the Philistines.” The Prophet, it is certain, had no such feeling; but, as we have said elsewhere, it was a common practice for the Prophets to assume different characters while endeavoring more fully to confirm their doctrine.

It is, then, as though he represented the Philistines here; and the Prophets also often speak in the person of those on whom they denounce God’s vengeance. It is here as though he had said, “The Philistines will humbly ask pardon of God’s sword, but it will be to no avail; for when they seek to mitigate God’s wrath, the answer will be, How can it rest?” Here the Prophet, as it were, reproves himself: “I act foolishly in wishing to restrain the sword of God; for how can you rest?” It could not be; and why?

Because God has commanded it against Ashkelon. He now changes the person, but without any detriment to the sense. God, then, has commanded it; therefore, the whole world would intercede in vain. In vain also will the Philistines entreat against it, for it will not be in their power to mitigate God’s wrath when it burns against them and against Ashkelon.

Some take it, ה, he, as meaning the land itself; but as it immediately follows, against Ashkelon and against the seashore, it is better to explain it as above.

By the seashore some understand Joppa, but it is probable that the Prophet includes the whole coast and that he thus still speaks of Tyre, Sidon, and Gaza, though he names Ashkelon, which was a little distant from the sea. Therefore, when God commanded His sword against Ashkelon and all the cities that were by the seashore, the execution of His judgment could not be prevented in that region.

He further adds, He has commanded it; but it is in a solemn manner, and hence I have rendered the words, He has called it to witness, or protested it. He then intimates that God had not simply given His sword a command to commit slaughters throughout the whole land, but bound His sword, as it were, by solemn protest.

It is as though he had said that this decree could not be revoked, because God will not only command His sword to execute His vengeance, but will also give it a solemn command and bind it, as it were, by an oath, never to cease from its work until the whole people, all the cities, and the whole land are destroyed together.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as You willed for a monument of Your invaluable mercy towards Your chosen people to exist, shown when You so grievously punished the unbelieving—O grant, that we may today turn to You whenever our enemies distress us, and never doubt that You will take care of our safety. May we so rely on Your mercy that we patiently wait for the time of our deliverance. In the meantime, may we see from on high, as in a mirror, the punishment prepared for the unbelieving, so that we do not follow their example nor involve ourselves in their vices. Instead, may we separate ourselves from them so that, being devoted to You, we may fight under the banner of Your only-begotten Son, until He gathers us into His celestial kingdom. Amen.