John Calvin Commentary Jeremiah 8:1-2

"At that time, saith Jehovah, they shall bring out the bones of the kings of Judah, and the bones of his princes, and the bones of the priests, and the bones of the prophets, and the bones of the inhabitants of Jerusalem, out of their graves; and they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, which they have loved, and which they have served, and after which they have walked, and which they have sought, and which they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried, they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth." — Jeremiah 8:1-2 (ASV)

I have said that Jeremiah repeats in the first verse what he had previously said—that the Jews would be deprived of their graves, so that there might be on the dead a mark of God’s vengeance. It was as if he had said that after being destroyed by the hand of enemies, their punishment would be extended further by having their dead bodies exposed to the wild beasts and birds.

The faithful, as I have said, suffer no loss when burial is denied them; yet they do not disregard burial, inasmuch as it is a badge of the resurrection. Though God allows them to be involved in this disgrace with the reprobate, this does not prevent God from executing His vengeance on the wicked through such a temporal punishment, which turns into a blessing for the faithful. Therefore, it is not a meaningless denunciation when the Prophet says that the time was near when their bones would be taken out of their graves.

He mentions the bones of kings, and of priests, and of prophets, and of the whole people. The kings thought that as soon as they were hidden in their graves, their dead bodies would be deemed sacred. The same notion prevailed regarding rulers, priests, and prophets. But he says that no grave would be untouched or free from the outrage of enemies.

Thus he shows that the city would be rooted up from its foundations. If the city were to remain safe, the graves would be spared. Hence, this punishment could not have been inflicted unless the enemies dug up the very foundations of the city. In short, he points out here a dreadful and final overthrow, and at the same time he shows the reason why God would manifest such severity towards the Jews.

It was because they served the sun, and the moon, and the stars. It was God’s just vengeance that their bones should be taken from their graves, so that the sun and moon and all the stars might be witnesses of His judgment. By these words Jeremiah indirectly condemns the senselessness of the people for thinking that they performed an acceptable service to the sun and moon.

He therefore says that all the stars and the planets would become, as it were, spectators of the vengeance which God would execute; as if he had said that the whole celestial host would approve of that punishment, for nothing is more detestable to creatures than when the glory of their Maker is ascribed to them.

It is indeed true that the sun, moon, and stars are without sense or reason; but the Prophet here attributes reason to them, in order to shake the Jews free from that stupidity in which they hardened themselves, while they thought that they were rendering an acceptable service to the sun.

At the same time he alludes, as it appears also from other places, to the punishment inflicted on adulterers: for when a harlot is drawn out and led forth in contempt and disgrace in the presence of her adulterers, it is deemed a most just punishment. And thus as the Jews had, as it were, committed adultery with the sun and the moon and the stars, so the Prophet says here that their disgrace and baseness would be made manifest in the sight of the sun, and the moon, and the stars.

He says, which they have loved. He no doubt alludes to the blind ardor by which idolaters were possessed when they zealously pursued their illicit devotions. For it was a kind of unbridled and mad passion, as it appears from other places; for no fornicator burns with a more impetuous lust for a woman than idolaters do when Satan dazzles their eyes and fascinates their hearts.

It is of this impure love, then, that the Prophet now speaks. At the same time, he indirectly condemns the Jews for having alienated themselves from God without cause, who was their legitimate husband. Indeed, nothing is less tolerable than for people to thus perfidiously forsake God, when He has invited them to Himself and contracted, as it were, a holy and inviolable marriage with them.

He afterward adds, whom they have served. This was still more base; they devoted themselves to the work of serving the sun, the moon, and the stars. He mentions in the third place, that they walked after them. God had shown them the right way and had commanded them to follow Him; but they forsook God, says the Prophet, and followed the stars of heaven.

He states in the fourth place, that they sought them. By this he refers to their perverseness. Some interpret the word as “consulted,” which I do not approve, as it is strained and far-fetched. The Prophet, I doubt not, here denotes the persevering attention of the Jews to the objects of their worship, for they followed their idols not by a sudden and momentary impulse, but they resolutely devoted themselves to them and became, as it were, fixed in their wicked purpose.

And he says in the last place, that they prostrated themselves before them. This was the way in which they served them. It is an evidence of reverence when people prostrate themselves before their idols, and thus they serve them, for it is an act of worship.

The Prophet might indeed have sufficiently expressed the impiety of the people in one sentence, but he joins together several sentences for amplification, to make more evident the ingratitude of the people in seeking unknown gods for themselves and in setting up false and fictitious modes of worship, rather than rendering obedience to the only true God and acquiescing in His law, which is a sure rule and never leads anyone astray.

He afterward adds, They shall not be gathered, nor be buried; for dung shall they be on the face or surface of the land. He confirms what he had previously said about the punishment—that because they had acted disdainfully towards God and had prostrated themselves before their idols, after death they would be made base and detestable, so that one’s mind would revolt at such a hateful sight. This is the meaning.