John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 49:18

"As in the overthrow of Sodom and Gomorrah and the neighbor cities thereof, saith Jehovah, no man shall dwell there, neither shall any son of man sojourn therein." — Jeremiah 49:18 (ASV)

He expresses in greater detail what he had briefly included in one word: he had said that Edom would become a waste; but he now shows what sort of waste it would be, even like that of Sodom and Gomorrah, and other cities; for God, as is well known, destroyed the five cities against which He thundered judgment.

And from this again we learn that there was no hope left for the Idumeans; as if the Prophet had said that their final overthrow was inevitable, because God willed them to be wholly destroyed, and their memory obliterated. It is still probable that a remnant of the nation existed; but this was not inconsistent with this prophecy, because those who remained alive became so scattered that they never formed one people, nor had any name. And though God might have chosen some from that nation, yet this favor remained hidden, and, as it was unknown to people, it can hardly be taken into account.

However this may have been, we must bear in mind what I have briefly referred to before—that the Idumeans were so accursed that their calamity was much more severe than that of other nations. This they had deserved by their unnatural cruelty and many abuses towards the suffering Israelites, their own relatives. This, then, was the reason why Jeremiah compared the land to Sodom and Gomorrah, and the other cities; no man shall dwell there, that is, the country shall be desolate.

And yet it appears from history that that country was later inhabited, for even the Romans placed a garrison there. But the Prophet, as I have already said, meant that none of the Idumeans would survive to possess the land so as to become a nation. So, although other inhabitants might have later possessed the land, this meant nothing for the Idumeans as a people; for that people had perished, and from that time no restoration followed. This was sufficient as a fulfillment of this prophecy. Indeed, it was a more grievous thing that their land should receive foreigners and strangers than if it had been left desolate.

But we must also bear in mind the common manner of speaking adopted by the Prophets. For when they cite Sodom and Gomorrah as examples, they speak hyperbolically; and there is no need here to accumulate passages to prove this, for those who are reasonably familiar with Scripture must know that whenever mention is made of Sodom and Gomorrah, all pardon and alleviation of punishment are excluded. Isaiah, extolling God’s mercy towards His chosen people, says,

“Had not God left us a very small seed, we must have been as Sodom and like to Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:9).

And this manner of speaking, as I have said, often occurs in Scripture; indeed, even our prophet threatened the Israelites with the destruction of Sodom and Gomorrah (Jeremiah 23:14). The words, no doubt, are used hyperbolically, for God had not thundered judgment against other lands or nations and sunk them into the depths, as He had done to Sodom and Gomorrah. But in comparisons, not all parts correspond.

Now, someone may ask, why does God speak in this way, seemingly exceeding due limits? To this I answer that it is not done without just reason and necessity. We indeed see that people are indifferent to God’s judgments; for such is their sloth and insensibility that they treat lightly, or consider as nothing, what God threatens.

Since people are so spiritually dull, being unmoved by God’s threats, it is necessary that such indifference should be roused and awakened. He therefore sets Sodom and Gomorrah before their eyes; and as Jude also says, an example of all the punishments that await the reprobate has been exhibited there (Jude 1:7). God therefore intended to represent once for all, as in a mirror, how dreadful His vengeance on all the wicked will be. Since this is so, this threat serves the same purpose: that God would destroy the Idumeans and all like them, as He did Sodom and Gomorrah, so that none would survive, though foreigners might come and succeed the Idumeans and occupy their inheritance. I cannot finish now; we will leave the other comparison.

Prayer:

Grant, Almighty God, that as You have been pleased to stretch out Your hand to us, we may be raised by faith above the world, and learn to submit to You in true humility, and to know how miserable our condition and life must be, unless we wholly depend on You alone, so that we may be made partakers of that glory which You have purchased for us in Heaven, and which Your only-begotten Son, our Lord, has obtained for us. — Amen.