John Calvin Commentary Joel 2

This chapter contains serious exhortations, mixed with threatenings; but the Prophet threatens for the purpose of correcting the indifference of the people, whom we have seen were very slow to consider God’s judgments.

Now, the reason I wished to join these eleven verses together was because the Prophet’s design in them is none other than to stir up the minds of the people by fear.

The object of the narrative, then, is to make the people aware that it was now no time for taking rest; for the Lord, having long tolerated their wickedness, was now resolved to pour upon them in a full torrent His whole fiery judgment.

This is the sum of it all. Let us now come to the words.

Sound the trumpet, he says, in Zion; cry out in my holy mountain; let all the inhabitants of the earth tremble. The Prophet begins with an exhortation. We know, indeed, that he alludes to the usual custom sanctioned by the law; for as trumpets were sounded on festivals to call the people, so also it was done when anything extraordinary happened.

Hence the Prophet does not address each individual; but as all had done wickedly, from the least to the greatest, he directs the whole assembly to be called, that they might together confess themselves to be guilty before God and seek to avert His vengeance.

It is as if the Prophet had said that there was no one among the people who could exempt himself from blame, for iniquity had prevailed throughout the whole body.

But this passage shows that when any judgment of God is impending and signs of it appear, this remedy should be used: namely, that all must publicly assemble and confess themselves worthy of punishment, and at the same time flee to the mercy of God. This, we know, was, as I have already said, formerly prescribed for the people; and this practice has not been abolished by the Gospel.

And thus it appears how much we have departed from the right and lawful order of things; for today it would be new and unusual to proclaim a fast. Why is this? Because the greater part have become hardened; and as they generally do not know what repentance is, so they do not understand what the profession of repentance means; for they do not understand what sin is, what the wrath of God is, or what grace is.

It is no wonder then that they are so secure, and that when praying for pardon is mentioned, it is a thing wholly unknown today.

But though people in general are thus spiritually dull, it is still our duty to learn from the Prophets what has always been the actual practice among the people of God, and to work as much as we can so that this may be known.

In this way, when an occasion comes for public repentance, even the most ignorant may understand that this practice has always prevailed in the Church of God, and that it did not prevail through the ill-considered zeal of men, but through the will of God Himself.

But he commands the inhabitants of the land to tremble. By these words he intimates that we are not to trifle with God through vain ceremonies but must deal with Him in earnest.

When, therefore, the trumpets sound, our hearts should tremble; and thus the reality is to be connected with the outward signs.

This should be carefully noted, for the world is always inclined to focus on some outward service and thinks that satisfaction is given to God when some external rite is observed.

But we do nothing but mock God when we present Him with ceremonies while there is no corresponding sincere feeling in the heart; and this is what we will find discussed in another place.

The Prophet now adds a threatening, that he might stir up the minds of the people: For coming, he says, is the day of Jehovah, for it is near. By these words he first intimates that we are not to wait until God strikes us, but that as soon as He shows signs of His wrath, we should anticipate His judgment.

When God then warns us of His displeasure, we should instantly ask for pardon. The day of Jehovah is near, he says. What follows relates to the purpose we have mentioned, for the Prophet paints the terrible judgment of God with the aim of rousing minds that are wholly dull and indifferent.

And then he says, A day of darkness and of thick darkness, a day of clouds and of obscurity, as the dawn which expands over the mountains. By calling it a dark and gloomy day, he wanted to show that there would be no hope of deliverance.

For, according to the common usage of Scripture, we know that light designates a cheerful and happy state, or the hope of deliverance from any affliction. But the Prophet now extinguishes, so to speak, every hope in this world when he declares that the day of Jehovah would be dark, that is, without hope of restoration.

This is his meaning. When he says afterwards, As the dawn which expands over the mountains, he mentions this to signify the speed with which it would come; for we know how sudden the rising of the dawn is on the mountains: the dawn spreads in a moment on the mountains, where darkness was before.

For the light does not immediately penetrate either into valleys or even into plains; but if anyone looks at the summits of mountains, he will see that the dawn rises quickly.

It is thus clear, as though the Prophet said, “The day of the Lord is near, for the Lord can suddenly stretch out His hand, just as the dawn spreads over the mountains.”

He then mentions its character: A people great and strong, to whom there has not been the like from the beginning, or from ages, and after whom there will be no more the like, to the years of a generation and a generation.

Here the Prophet specifies the kind of judgment that was to come, of which he had generally spoken before. He shows that what he had until now recorded of God’s vengeance should not be understood as God descending openly and visibly from heaven, but that the Assyrians would be the ministers and executioners of His vengeance.

In short, the Prophet shows here that the coming of that people should have been as much dreaded as if God had put out His hand and executed on His people the vengeance their sins deserved.

And by these words he teaches us that people gain nothing by being blind to the judgments of God; for God will nevertheless execute His works and use human instruments, because people are the scourges by which He chastises His own people.

The Chaldeans and the Assyrians were unbelievers, yet God used them to correct the Jews. This the Prophet now shows: that is, that God was the avenger through these very Assyrians, for He employed them as the ministers and executioners of His judgment.

We see at the same time that the Prophet here describes the terrible wrath of God to shake off the Jews’ slowness, for he saw that they were not moved by all his threatenings and always laid hold of some new, flattering pretenses. This is the reason he gives such a long description.

Before them, he says, the fire will devour, and after them the flame will burn. He means that the vengeance of God would be such as would consume the whole people, for God had in various ways begun to chastise the people, but, as we have seen, to no avail.

The Prophet then says here that the final stroke remained, and that the Lord would wholly destroy people so rebellious, whom He could not until now restore to a sound mind by moderate punishments.

For He had, in a measure, spared them, though He had treated them sharply and severely and given them time to repent. Hence, when the Prophet saw that they were completely irreclaimable, he says that it now only remained for the Lord to utterly consume them at once.

He adds, As the garden of Eden the land is before them, and after them it is the land of solitude; and thus also there will be no escape from them.

Here the Prophet warns the Jews that though they inhabited a most pleasant and especially fruitful country, there was no reason for them to flatter themselves, for God could convert the fairest lands into a wasteland.

He therefore compares Judea to the garden of Eden, or to Paradise. But such also was the state of Sodom, as Moses shows.

What good did it do the Sodomites that they lived as if in Paradise, that they inhabited a rich and fertile land, and thought themselves to be nourished, as it were, in the bosom of God?

So also now the Prophet says, “Though the land is like Paradise, yet when the enemy marches through it, universal desolation will follow, a scattering will follow everywhere; there will be no cultivation, no pleasantness, no appearance of inhabited land, for the enemy will destroy everything.”

His purpose was to prevent the Jews, by trusting in God’s blessing which they had until now experienced, from heedlessly disregarding His vengeance in the future, for His wrath would in a moment consume and devour whatever fruitfulness the land had until now possessed.

This is the meaning. He therefore concludes that there would be no escape from these enemies, the Assyrians, because they would come armed with a command to reduce the whole land to nothing.

He afterwards adds many similes, which anyone can sufficiently understand on their own: I will not, therefore, spend long explaining them, as many words would be superfluous.

As the appearance of horses their appearance, and as horsemen, so will they run. This verse again sets forth the suddenness of vengeance, as if the Prophet had said that long distance would be no obstacle, for the Assyrians would quickly move and occupy Judea.

Distance deceived the Jews, and they thought that there would be a long respite for them. Hence the Prophet here removes this vain confidence when he says that they would be like horses and horsemen. He then adds:

Like the sound of chariots. They interpret מרכבות (merecabut) as chariots, though the Hebrews tend to think they are harnesses or saddles, as we call them; but I still prefer to view them as chariots. For what the Prophet says, that they shall leap on the tops of mountains like the sound of chariots, would not be suitably applied to the trappings of horses.

They then shall leap on the tops of mountains—but how? As chariots; that is, they shall come with great force or make a great and terrible noise. And he speaks of the tops of mountains, for there, we know, the noise is greater when there is any commotion.

The Prophet, therefore, amplifies God’s vengeance in every way, that he might awaken the Jews, who by their indifference had too long provoked the Lord’s wrath.

Like the sound, he says, of the flame of fire, or of a fiery flame, devouring the stubble. He compares the Assyrians to a flame, which consumes all things, and he compares the Jews to stubble, though they thought themselves fortified by many forces and strongholds.

Finally, he adds, As a strong people, prepared for battle; their face the people will dread, and all faces shall gather blackness. By these words the Prophet intimates that the Assyrians at their coming would be supplied with such power that the mere report of it would lay all people prostrate.

But if the Assyrians were to be so formidable to all people, what could the Jews do? In short, the Prophet here shows that the Jews would by no means be able to resist such powerful enemies, for by their fame alone they would so lay all people prostrate that none would dare to rise up against them.

He then compares them to giants. As giants, he says, they will run here and there; as men of war they will climb the wall, and man (that is, every one) in his ways shall walk.

The Prophet heaps together these various expressions so that the Jews might know that they had to do with the irresistible hand of God, and that they would implore assistance here and there in vain, for they could find no relief in the whole world when God executed His vengeance in so formidable a manner.

He says further, They shall not stop their goings, though some render the words, “They shall not inquire about their ways.” For he had said before, “They shall proceed in their ways.”

Then the meaning is, they shall not come like strangers who, when they journey through unknown regions, make anxious inquiries whether anyone is lying in wait, whether there are any turnings in the road, or whether the ways are difficult and perplexing.

They shall not inquire, he says; they shall proceed securely, as though the road were open to them, as though the whole country were known to them. This part also serves to show speed, so that the Jews might dread the vengeance of God as if it were quite near them.

He then adds, A man shall not push his brother. By this manner of speaking, the Prophet means that they would come in perfect order, so that the multitude would create no confusion, as is usually the case.

For it is very difficult for an army to march in regular order without tumult, unlike two or three men walking together. When a hundred horsemen march together, some commonly hinder others. When, therefore, so large a number assemble together, it is hardly possible for them not to slow down and impede one another.

But the Prophet declares that this would not be the case with the Assyrians, for the Lord would direct their movements. Though the Lord would bring so large a multitude, it would yet be so well arranged and in such order that no one would push his companion or be any hindrance to him.

A man, he says, shall proceed in his way, even without any impediment.

And on swords they shall fall, and shall not be wounded: that is, they shall not only be strong men of war, so that they will intrepidly face every kind of danger, but they shall also escape unhurt from all weapons. Though they may rush on swords like madmen and show no care for themselves, they shall still not be wounded.

But this may be taken in a still simpler way: “They shall not be wounded,” that is, as if they could not be wounded. And it seems to me to be the genuine sense of the Prophet that they would not entertain any fear of death, so as to cautiously attack their enemies, but would with impunity provoke death itself by casting themselves on the very swords. They would not then fear any wound, but would dare to face swords as if they were wholly harmless to them.

Some render the word, “They shall not covet,” and then the word would mean, as if the Prophet had said, that they would not be covetous of money. But this meaning can hardly suit this place, and we see that the best sense seems to be that they would heedlessly rush on swords, as though they could not be wounded.

It afterwards follows, Through the city shall they march; over the wall shall they run here and there; into houses shall they climb; through the windows shall they enter like a thief. The Prophet here shows that the Jews trusted in their fortified cities in vain, for the enemies would easily penetrate them.

They shall march, he says, through the city; that is, as though there were no gates to it. The meaning then is that though Judea abounded in cities which seemed impregnable and appeared sufficient to stop the course of enemies (as had happened almost always, so that great armies were forced to desist when any strong, fortified city stood in their way), yet the Prophet says that cities would be no impediment to the Assyrians when they came to Judea.

For they would march through the city as along a plain road where no gates are closed against them.

They shall then march through the midst of cities as through a plain or open fields. To the same purpose is what follows; he says, They shall run here and there over the wall. These are indeed hyperbolical words; yet, when we consider how slow people are to fear punishment, we must allow that the Prophet in these expressions does not exceed moderation.

They shall then run up and down through the city; that is, “In vain you expect that there will be any rest or quietness for you, for you think that you will be able for a time to sustain the attacks of your enemies. This,” he says, “will by no means be the case, for they shall run here and there over the wall, as though it were a plain.”

Besides, they shall climb into the houses, and enter in through the windows, and do this as a thief; that is, though there should be no hostile attack, yet they will stealthily and secretly penetrate into your houses.

When there will be a great tumult, when the whole regions meet in arms, and when you will think yourselves able to resist, they will then, like thieves, quietly enter into your houses and come in through the windows, and you shall not be able to close up the passage against them.”

Then he adds, Before their face shall the earth tremble, and in anguish shall be the heavens; the sun and the moon shall become dark, and the stars shall withdraw their brightness.

The Prophet speaks here more hyperbolically; but we must always remember that he addressed people who were extremely dull. It then befitted him to speak in an unusual manner, that he might touch their feelings.

For it avails nothing to speak in an ordinary way to perverse people, especially to those who have cast off all shame and whom Satan has fascinated, so that they fear nothing and grieve at nothing.

When, therefore, such dullness lays hold of the minds of people, God must thunder so that His word may be heard. As the listlessness of the people was monstrous, so it was necessary, so to speak, for the Prophet to utter monstrous words.

This is the reason why he now says, Before their face (namely, that of the enemies) shall the land tremble; and then he adds, The heavens also shall be in anguish.

This is not because the heavens would fear the Assyrians, but the Prophet intimates that the vengeance would be such that it would terrify the whole world. This he intimates so that the Jews might cease to expect any escape routes, for they flattered themselves as though they could fly on the clouds or could find for themselves some hiding-places or distant corners.

The Prophet makes them understand that the whole world would be full of horror when the Lord would come equipped with His army. He also speaks of the sun and the moon, as though he said, “There will no longer be any hope of aid from created things, for the vital light itself shall fail when the Lord shall pour out the flood of His fury.”

He says, The sun and the moon shall become dark, and the stars shall withhold their brightness.

Though you then lift up your eyes, not even a spark of light will there be to comfort you, for darkness on every side will cover you; and you shall know by heaven, as well as by earth, that God is angry with you.

Here, in short, he closes off every avenue of hope for the Jews; for not only will the Assyrian rage on earth, but God will also give signs of vengeance from heaven, so that the sun will be constrained to show such a sign, as well as the moon and all the stars.

Finally, he adds, And Jehovah will utter His voice before His army. The Prophet seems in this verse to anticipate whatever objection people might bring forward: “Oh! You pronounce great terrors upon us, as if the Assyrians were not to be counted as men, as if no other people were in the world, as if there were no other army, as if there were no other forces, as if no one else had courage!

But if the Assyrians are formidable today, they still have neighbors who can easily gather a sufficient force to oppose them.” And Egypt was then a populous and well-fortified country; and who would not have said that the Egyptians were equal to the Assyrians? The Jews also thought themselves safe through a treaty with them.

And then there was Syria, and there were many kingdoms with which the Jews might have boasted they were surrounded, so that no access to them was open to the Assyrians. For however insufficient the people of Moab or the people of Ammon might be, yet they were all joined together—even Edom, Ammon, and Moab. And then Tyre and Sidon, and the many neighboring kingdoms, might certainly have been sufficient to resist the Assyrians.

Now, so that no one might object to all this, the Prophet briefly anticipates it by saying that God would be the leader of His army, as though he had said, “I have already declared this to be the hand of God, for the Assyrians will not come here of their own accord—that is, without being stirred up by God.

But as this truth has not yet sufficiently moved your feelings, know that God will be the leader of this army: God will send forth His voice before His army.”

Here he distinctly calls the Assyrians the attendants of God. They shall not then come as soldiers hired by their own king, nor as carrying on war for an earthly king, but the Lord Himself shall guide them and by His voice encourage them.

By this expression the Prophet shows that the Jews would not have a contest with one nation only, but also with God Himself and with all His celestial power.

He therefore says, God will utter His voice before His army; for very great will be His camp. He again repeats that the multitude which was to execute the commands of God would be so great that the Jews would seek forces in vain to resist it.

Strong, he says, is he who executes His word. He expresses more clearly what I have stated already: that though greed impelled the Assyrians, though they were intent on robbery and plunder, yet they would not come merely through an impulse of their own, but the Lord would prepare them and use them as His instruments.

“Powerful, then, is he who does the word of God; that is, who executes His command. This is not because the Assyrians intended to show regard to God or to offer Him their service, as the faithful do, who willingly devote themselves to Him, but because the Lord by His secret providence guided them and employed them to punish His own people.”

Finally, he adds, For great will be the day of Jehovah and terrible, and who will endure it? In this clause he shows that the vengeance would be such as would reduce the Jews to nothing, and that it was now time to repent. If they still turned a deaf ear to what the Prophet denounces, God would punish their perverseness.

Now with regard to what he says, that strong is he who does the word of God, we have elsewhere reminded you that people serve God in two ways: they either execute His commands willingly, or are led to do so by a blind impulse.

The angels and the faithful perform God’s commands because they are guided by the spirit of obedience. But the wicked also, and the devil who is their head, fulfill God’s commands; this, however, is not to be credited to them as obedience, for they are only led by their own wicked purposes and seek to destroy, as far as they can, the whole government of God.

But they are constrained, whether willing or unwilling, to obey God—not of their own accord or willingly, as I have said, but the Lord turns all their efforts to accomplish the end which He has decreed.

Whatever, then, Satan and the wicked attempt to do, they at the same time serve God and obey His commands; and though they rage against God, He yet holds them in by His bridle and also so guides their attempts and their purposes as to accomplish His own ends.

In this sense, then, Joel says that the Assyrians would do the word of God; not that it was their purpose to obey God, nor that God had commanded them anything, but he puts the word of the Lord here for His secret purpose.

As, then, the wicked perform no voluntary obedience to God, but are constrained when they execute God’s commands, so there is a twofold command or word of God.

There is the command by which He teaches His own children and leads them to obey Him; and there is another, a hidden command, when He does not deign to address people and does not show what pleases Him or what He means to do, but allows them to be led by their own sinful desires.

In the meantime, He has His own secret purpose, which He executes through them, though without their intention.

Prayer:

Grant, almighty God, that as You invite us daily with so much kindness and love, and make known to us Your paternal goodwill, which You once showed to us in Christ Your Son—oh grant that, being allured by Your goodness, we may surrender ourselves wholly to You, and become so teachable and submissive, that wherever You guide us by Your Spirit, You may accompany us with every blessing.

Let us not, in the meantime, be deaf to Your warnings; and whenever we deviate from the right way, grant that we may immediately awake when You warn us, and return to the right path. Deign also to embrace us and reconcile us to Yourself through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Prophet, having proclaimed the dreadful judgment which we have noticed, now shows that he did not intend to terrify the people without reason but, on the contrary, to encourage them to repentance. He could not do this without offering them the hope of pardon, for as we have said before, and as may be gathered from the whole of Scripture, people cannot be restored to the right ways unless they entertain a hope of God’s mercy. This is because the one who has been ungodly, when he despairs, wholly disregards himself, observing no restraint. Hence, the Prophet now represents God as propitious and merciful, so that he might thus kindly allure the people to repentance.

He says first, And even now the Lord says, Turn ye to me. The Prophet exhorts the people, not in his own name, but speaks in the person of God Himself. He might indeed have testified to the favor that he proclaimed, but the discourse becomes more striking by introducing God as the speaker.

And there is great importance in the words “even now.” For when one considers what we have noticed at the beginning of the chapter, a prospect of relief could hardly have been deemed possible. God had, indeed, in various ways, tried to restore the people to the right way. But, as we have seen, the greater part had become so devoid of feeling that the scourges of God were wholly ineffectual. Then nothing remained but the utter destruction with which the Prophet threatened them at the beginning of the second chapter.

Yet, in this state of despair, he still sets forth some hope of mercy, provided they turn to Him; even now, he says. The particles וגם ugam are full of emphasis, meaning “even now.” That is, “Though you have too long abused God’s forbearance, and as for you, the opportunity is past, for you have closed the door against yourselves; yet even now—which no one could have expected, and indeed what ought to be thought incredible by you—even now God waits for you and invites you to entertain hope of salvation.”

But it was necessary that these two particles, even now, should be added, for people do not have the power to determine for themselves, as they please, the season for mercy. God here shows the acceptable time, as Isaiah says (Isaiah 49:8), to be when He has not yet rejected people, but when He offers to be propitious.

We must then remember that the Prophet does not here give people liberty to delay, as the profane and scorners are accustomed to do, who trifle with God day after day. Instead, the Prophet here shows that we must obey the voice of God when He invites us, as Isaiah also says, Behold now the time accepted, behold the day of salvation: seek God now, for He is near; call on Him while He may be found.

So then, as I have reminded you, these two particles, even now, are added so that people may be made attentive to the voice of God when He invites them, so that they may not delay until tomorrow, for the Lord may then close the door, and repentance may be too late. At the same time, we see how indulgently God bears with people, since He left a hope of pardon to a people so obstinate and almost past recovery.

Even now, He says, turn ye to me with your whole heart. The Prophet here reminds us that we must not act deceitfully with God, for people are always disposed to trifle with Him. We indeed see what almost the whole world is accustomed to do. God graciously meets us and is ready to receive us into favor, though we have a hundred times alienated ourselves from Him. But we bring nothing but hypocrisy and disguise. Hence, the Prophet declares here distinctly that this pretense does not please God, and that those who only feign some sort of repentance by external signs can hide nothing, and that what is required is the serious and sincere feeling of the heart.

This is what he means by the whole heart; not that perfect repentance can be formed in people, but the whole or complete heart is contrasted with a divided heart. For people well understand that God is not ignorant; yet they divide their heart, and when they give some portion to God, they think that He is satisfied. In the meantime, an inner and hidden perverseness remains that separates them far from God.

This vice the Prophet now condemns when he says, Turn with the whole heart. He then shows that it is a hypocrisy abominable to God when people keep the greater part of their heart closed up, as it were, and think it enough if they only bring, so to speak, some fleeting feeling.

He afterwards adds, fasting, and weeping, and mourning; and by these words he shows how grievously they had sinned. It is as if he said that they deserved not only one kind of destruction but were worthy of a hundred deaths, and that God therefore would not now be content with any common repentance, unless they came suppliantly and deeply felt their own guilt.

It is indeed true that we ought daily and even constantly to sigh, because we continue almost every hour to provoke God’s wrath against us. But the Prophet here speaks of solemn fasting, because the people had so grievously offended God that some extraordinary confession was required, such as he here describes.

Come then to me with fasting, and weeping, and wailing” that is, “Show at length that you are guilty and submissively deprecate the vengeance that you have through your wickedness deserved.” He speaks like a judge when he tells the criminal not to act deceitfully, but simply to confess his fault.

The guilty are indeed accustomed to weave many excuses to avoid punishment. But when the judge deems a person guilty, and he is abundantly proven to be so, he says, “What good can you do? For your shuffling and subterfuges make your case worse. Now I hold you bound, and you cannot escape by these evasions, and will only provoke my displeasure all the more.

If then you wish me to show you favor, admit how grievously you have offended, and without any embellishment. Confess now that you are worthy of death, and that nothing else remains for you, unless I mercifully pardon you. For if you try to lessen your crime, if you attempt by some excuse to seek reprieve, you will gain nothing.”

So now the Lord deals with this people: Turn to Me, He says; first, sincerely; then with fasting, with weeping, and with wailing. That is, “Let it appear that you suppliantly deprecate the destruction that you have deserved, for moderate repentance will not do, since you are guilty before Me of so many crimes.” We now understand the Prophet’s meaning.

He then adds, Rend your heart, and not your garments, and turn to Jehovah your God. The Prophet again repeats that we ought to deal sincerely with God, for all those ceremonies by which people imagine that they fulfill their duties are mere mockeries when they are not preceded by a pure and sincere heart.

But as they were accustomed in mournful circumstances to rend their garments, he therefore says, “God has now become insensible to these customs. For with regard to people, you are ceremonious enough, and more than enough. You indeed rend your garments and thus draw pity from people, and yet your heart remains whole; there is no rending, no opening. Rend then your heart,” That is, “Stop mocking God in this way, as you have been accustomed to do, and begin with your heart.” It is indeed certain that Eastern peoples were given to many ceremonies, but the vice the Prophet here condemns in the Jews is natural, as it were, to all people, so that every one of us is inclined to hypocrisy and needs to have his attention drawn to the sincerity of the heart.

We must then remember that this truth is to be set forth at all times and to all nations. Let anyone search himself, and he will find that he labors under this evil—that he would rather rend his garment than his heart. And since the Jews usually observed this custom, the Prophet does not without reason deride it and say that it was of no account with God unless they rent their hearts.

But when He commands them to rend their hearts and not their garments, though He seems to reject that external practice, He does not yet distinctly condemn it but suggests that it was a lawful thing, provided the heart was rent. Now this expression, Rend the heart, ought not to be considered harsh, for it refers to the external practice: when they rent their garments, they made themselves bare before God and put off all ornaments. But He wished them to be displeased with themselves and, instead, to lay bare the heart itself.

The heart of hypocrites, we know, is wrapped up, and they always resort to hiding places so that they may avoid the presence of God. Thus, the simile is most suitable when the Prophet commands them to rend the heart. Besides, the passage is clear enough and does not need many remarks; it means that God regards the real feeling of the heart, as it is said in Jeremiah 4:14. He is not content with outward obedience, such as people exhibit, but He would have us deal with Him in sincerity and truth.

Hence he repeats again, Turn to Jehovah your God. Here the Prophet shows, from God’s nature, that people foolishly and grossly deceive themselves when they try to please God with their ceremonies. “What!” he says, “have you to do with a child?”

For the meaning of the words is this—“When an offense against a person is to be removed, you anxiously come to him. Now when you perceive that God is angry with you, you think that He will be propitious to you if you only trifle with Him. Can God bear such a reproach?”

Thus we see what the Prophet means when he says, Turn to Jehovah your God; that is, “Remember that you do not have to do with a block of wood or with a stone, but with your God, who searches hearts, and whom mortals cannot deceive with any craftiness.”

The same is said by Jeremiah, Israel, if thou turnest, turn to me, (Jeremiah 4:1); that is, “Do not pretend to turn by roundabout courses and windings, but come in a direct way, and with a real feeling of heart, for I am He who calls you.” So also now the Prophet says, Turn to Jehovah your God.

Then follows the promise of pardon: For He is propitious and merciful. We have already said that repentance is preached in vain unless people entertain a hope of salvation. For they can never be brought to fear God truly unless they trust in Him as their Father, as it is stated in Psalm 130:4: With Thee is propitiation that Thou mayest be feared.

Hence, whenever the Prophets were anxious to achieve anything by their doctrine, while exhorting the people to repentance, they joined to the invitation “Come,” the second part, “You shall not come in vain.” This “Come” comprehends all exhortations to repentance; “You shall not come in vain” includes this testimony respecting God’s grace, that He will never reject miserable sinners, provided they return to Him with the heart.

The Prophet then is now engaged on this second point: God, he says, is propitious and merciful. We are to observe this connection, for as Satan fills us with insensibility when God invites us, so also he draws us away into despair when God pronounces judgment, when He shows that it is not time for sleep. “What good will you gain?” Thus Satan by his craftiness disheartens us, so that we labor in vain when we seek to be reconciled to God. Hence, whenever Scripture exhorts us to repentance, let us learn to join this second part: “God invites us not in vain.” If then we return to Him, He will be instantly inclined to grant forgiveness, for He does not will that miserable people should labor in vain or be tormented. This is the benefit of which the Prophet speaks when he says that God is propitious and merciful.

He afterwards adds that He is slow to wraths and abundant in goodness. These testimonies about God occur often in other places; and all the Prophets, as well as David, have borrowed these declarations from Exodus 34:6; where the nature of God is described. And He is said there to be propitious and merciful, slow to wrath, and abundant in goodness.

Though there is no need to dwell longer on these words, since we perceive the Prophet’s design, yet more extensive remarks will not be superfluous, as the Prophet so extensively recommends the mercy of God.

Though people too much indulge themselves in security, yet when God calls them to Himself, they are not able to receive His favor. Though He may testify two or three times that He will be propitious to them, yet He cannot persuade them except with great difficulty.

This is the reason why the Prophet, after having said that God is propitious and merciful, adds that He is slow to wrath, and abundant in goodness; it was so that the Jews might overcome their distrust, and that however much despair might keep them back, they might still not hesitate to come to God, seeing that He declares Himself to be so merciful.

He at last adds, He will repent of the evil. The Prophet here not only describes the nature of God but goes further and says that God, who is by nature forgiving, will not remain fixed in His purpose when He sees people returning to Him in sincerity. Instead, He allows Himself to be turned to show favor, so as to remit the punishment that He had previously denounced.

And it is a way of speaking that often occurs in Scripture, that God repents of evil; not that He really changes His purpose, but this is said according to human understanding. For God is in Himself immutable and is said to turn from His purpose when He remits to a person the punishment He has previously threatened.

Whatever proceeds from God’s mouth ought to be regarded as an inviolable decree. Yet God often threatens us conditionally, and though the condition is not expressed, it is nevertheless to be understood. But when He is pacified toward us and lessens the punishment, which was, in a way, already decreed according to the external word, He is then said to repent. And we know that, as we do not understand God as He is, He is therefore described to us in such a way as we can comprehend, according to the measure of our weakness. Hence, God often takes on the characteristics of human beings, as though He were like them. And since this way of speaking is common, and we have spoken of it elsewhere, I will now pass over it more briefly.

The Prophet seems at first sight to leave people here perplexed and doubtful; and yet in the last verse, as we have seen, he had offered a hope of favor, provided they sincerely repented. Hence the Prophet seems not to pursue the same subject, but rather to vary it. We have already said that all exhortations by which God stirs us up to repentance would be ineffectual, indeed useless, unless he testifies that he is ready to be reconciled.

Since the Prophet here leaves the minds of people in suspense, he seems to revoke what he has previously stated respecting God’s mercy. But we must understand that this is a way of speaking that often occurs in Scripture. For wherever God is portrayed to us as one hardly willing to pardon, it is done to rouse our laziness and also to shake off our negligence.

We are at first sluggish when God invites us, unless he applies his many prods; and then we act perfunctorily in coming to him. It is therefore necessary that both these vices should be corrected in us—our sluggishness must be roused, and those self-satisfactions, in which we too much indulge ourselves, must be shaken off.

And this is the purpose of the Prophet, for he addresses, as we have seen, people almost beyond hope. If he had only said, "God is ready to pardon"—if he had used this way of speaking—they would have come carelessly and would not have been sufficiently touched by the fear of God. Hence the Prophet here, as it were, debates the matter with them: "Even though we ought justly to despair of pardon (for we are unworthy of being received by God), yet there is no reason why we should despair; for who knows"—which means, "God is appeasable, and we must not despair."

The Prophet then presents here the difficulty of obtaining pardon, not to leave people in suspense (for this would be contrary to his former doctrine), but to create in them a desire for the grace of God. He intends that they might gradually gather courage, yet not immediately rise to confidence, but that they might come anxiously to God, and with much deliberation, duly considering their offenses. We now understand the Prophet's purpose.

But this will be more easily understood by considering two stages in repentance. The first step is when people feel how gravely they have offended. Here, sorrow is not to be immediately removed in the manner of deceivers, who flatter the consciences of people so that they indulge themselves and deceive themselves with empty self-flatteries. For the physician does not immediately ease pain but considers what is more necessary; it may be that he will increase it, for a thorough cleansing may be necessary.

So also do the Prophets of God: when they observe trembling consciences, they do not immediately apply soothing consolations. On the contrary, they show that people ought not, as we have already said, to trifle with God. They exhort them, even while willingly running to God, to set before themselves his terrible judgment, so that they may be more and more humbled. The second step is when the Prophets encourage people and show that God now willingly meets them, desiring nothing more than to see people willing to be reconciled to him.

The Prophet is now urging them to take the first step when he says, Who knows whether the Lord will turn? But some may object and say, "Then the Prophet has spoken inconsistently. For first he has described God as merciful and has spoken of his goodness without any reserve; then he introduces a doubt. He seems here to observe no consistency."

I answer that the Prophets of God do not always very anxiously adhere to what seems consistent in their discourses. Furthermore, the Prophet has not spoken here in vain or thoughtlessly. In the first place, he generally presents God as merciful. Afterwards, he particularly addresses a people who were almost beyond hope, saying, "Though you think that it is all over with you regarding your salvation, and you deserve to be rejected by God, yet you ought not to continue in this state; rather, entertain a hope of pardon." This is what the Prophet had in view. He introduces no doubt that would make the sinner uncertain whether or not he could obtain pardon; but as I have said, he wished only to rouse sluggishness and also to shake off vain self-flatteries.

He then adds, And leave after him a blessing. We see here more clearly what I have already said: that the Prophet, considering the state of those whom he addressed, states a difficulty. For the Jews were not to escape temporary punishment, and the Prophet did not intend to dismiss them in a secure state, as though God would inflict no punishment on them. Indeed, he wished to bend their necks so that they might receive God's blows and calmly submit to his correction.

But all hope might have been lost when the Jews saw that, though the Prophet had declared that God would be gracious, they were still not spared but suffered severe punishment for their sins. They might ask, "What does this mean? Has God then disappointed us? We hoped that he would be gracious, and yet he does not cease to be angry with us." Hence the Prophet now adds, Who knows whether he will leave behind him a blessing?

What is this—behind him? What does it mean? It means this: since God was to be a severe judge to punish the people’s wickedness, the Prophet now says, "Though God beats you with his rods, he can yet relieve you by administering comfort. You indeed think that you are beaten almost to death; but the Lord will moderate his wrath, so that a blessing will follow these most severe punishments." We now, then, understand the Prophet's purpose: for he does not simply promise pardon to the Jews, but mitigates the dread of punishment—that is, though God would discipline them, he would yet give place to mercy.

Then God will leave behind him a blessing; that is, "These blows shall not be incurable." And this admonition is very necessary whenever God deals severely with us; for when we feel his wrath, we then think that there is no grace remaining. It is then not without reason that the Prophet says that God leaves behind him a blessing, which means that when he shall pass by us with his rod, he will yet restrain his severity, so that some blessing will remain.

He afterwards adds, מנחה ונסך ליהוה אלהיכם meneche unesac laIeuve Aleicam, an offering and a libation, he says, to Jehovah your God. This has been intentionally added so that the Jews might entertain more hope. For with regard to them, they had deserved to be wholly exterminated a hundred times; indeed, they deserved to waste away utterly through famine. But the Prophet intimates here that God would have regard for his own glory and his worship.

"Though," he says, "we have deserved to perish by famine, yet God will be moved by another consideration, namely this: that there may be some offering, that there may be some libation in the temple. Since then God has chosen us as a people for himself, and has required the first-fruits to be offered to him, and has consecrated for himself all our provision and all our produce in the first-fruits and also in the daily offerings, though he has now resolved to consume us with famine and want, yet so that his worship may continue, he will make the land fruitful for us; corn and wine will yet be produced for us." But the Prophet does not mean that there would only be so much corn as would be enough for offerings, or only so much wine as would be sufficient for libations. Rather, he means, as I have already said, that though God would not provide for the safety of the people, he would yet have regard for his own glory.

God required the corn and the wine to be offered to him, not because he needed them, but because he consecrated to himself our provision. Since he would have the food and provisions on which we live to be sacred to him, he will not allow them wholly to fail. "God will yet surely pity us, and he will pity us, because he has deigned to choose us as a people for himself, and so to join us with himself, that he wishes to eat, as it were, with us." For God seemed then to partake, as it were, of the same table with his people. The law required bread or the ears of corn, and also wine, to be offered to God—not that he, as I have said, needed such supports, but that he might show that he had all things in common with his people. This communion then, or shared participation of God with his chosen people, gave them more hope; and this is what the Prophet had in view.

Grant, Almighty God, that as you see us so foolish in nourishing our vices, and also so ensnared by the gratifications of the flesh, that without being constrained we hardly return to you—O grant, that we may feel the weight of your wrath, and be so touched with the dread of it, as to return gladly to you, laying aside every insincerity, and devote ourselves so entirely to your service, that it may appear that we have from the heart repented. May it also be clear that we have not trifled with you by an empty pretense, but have offered to you our hearts as a sacrifice, so that we and all our works might be sacred offerings to you throughout our whole life, so that your name may be glorified in us through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Here again the Prophet reminds them that there was a need for deep repentance, for not only had individuals transgressed, but the whole people had become guilty before God; and we also know how many and grievous their sins had been. It is no wonder then that the Prophet requires a public profession of repentance.

He commands them first to sound the trumpet in Zion. This custom, as we have seen at the beginning of the chapter, was in common use under the Law; they summoned their meetings by the sound of trumpets. Then there is no doubt that the Prophet here refers to an extraordinary meeting. They sounded the trumpets whenever they called the people to the festivals. But it must have been unusual for the Jews to proclaim a fast on account of God’s heavy judgment, which was to come upon them unless it was prevented. He then shows the purpose of this, commanding them to sanctify a fast. By this word קדש, kodesh, he means a proclamation for a holy purpose. Sanctify, then, a fast; that is, proclaim a fast in the name of God.

We briefly touched on the subject of fasting in the first chapter but deferred a fuller discussion to this passage. Fasting, we know, is not in itself a meritorious work, as the Papists imagine it to be; indeed, strictly speaking, no work is meritorious. But the Papists dream that fasting, in addition to its merit and worth, is also by itself of much use in the worship of God; yet fasting, when regarded in itself, is an indifferent work.

It is not then approved by God, except for its purpose; it must be connected with something else, otherwise it is a vain thing. By private fastings, men prepare themselves for the exercise of prayer, or they mortify their own flesh, or seek a remedy for some hidden vices.

Now, I do not call fasting temperance, for the children of God, we know, ought to be sober and temperate in their habits throughout their whole life. But fasting, I regard as occurring when something is subtracted from our moderate allowance; and such a fast, when practiced privately, is, as I have said, either a preparation for the exercise of prayer, a means to mortify the flesh, or a remedy for some vices.

But as for a public fast, it is a solemn confession of guilt, when men humbly approach the throne of God, acknowledge themselves worthy of death, and yet ask pardon for their sins. Fasting then, with regard to God, is similar to black and plain garments and a long beard before earthly judges. The criminal does not go before the judge in a splendid dress with all his fine things, but casts aside everything that was previously elegant in his appearance, and by his uncombed hair and long beard, he tries to arouse the compassion of his judge.

There is, at the same time, another reason for fasting. For when we deal with men, we may wish to please their eyes and win their favor; and he who fasts not only openly testifies that he is guilty, but he also reminds himself of his guilt. For since we are not sufficiently moved by an awareness of God’s wrath, those aids are useful that help to stir and affect us. Therefore, he who fasts further incites himself to penitence.

We now understand the right use of fasting. But it is of public fasting that the Prophet speaks here. For what purpose? That the Jews, whom he had previously summoned, might present themselves before God’s tribunal, and that they might come there, not with vain excuses, but with humble prayer.

This is the purpose of fasting. We now see how foolishly the Papists have abused fasting, for they think it to be a meritorious work; they imagine that God is honored by abstinence from meat. They also mention those benefits of fasting to which I have referred, but they join fasts with festivals, as if there were some religious value in abstaining from flesh or certain foods.

We now then understand by what gross foolishness the Papists trifle with God. We must then carefully note the intended purpose whenever Scripture speaks of fasting, for all things will be confused unless we grasp the principle I have stated—that fasting ought always to be connected with its purpose. We shall now proceed.

Proclaim a meeting, he says. The word עצרה, otsare, is not properly an assembly, but the act itself; hence the word is also transferred to festivals. Proclaim, then, a meeting; call the people; sanctify the assembly. The word “sanctify” seems to be taken here in a different sense than it was before. The people, in order to engage in holy services, performed those rites by which, as is well known, they cleansed themselves from their pollutions. No one entered the temple without washing, and no one offered a sacrifice without abstaining from intercourse with his wife. The Prophet then alludes to these legal purifications when he says, Sanctify the assembly.

He afterwards adds, Bring together the old, gather the young sucking the breasts. Regarding the old, we have said before that they are named separately because they ought to have taken the lead by their example. Furthermore, a greater guilt belonged to them, for we know that it is a duty incumbent on the old to govern others and, as it were, to hold the reins.

But when the old themselves become dissolute and do not restrain the lusts of the young, they are doubly culpable before God. It is no wonder then that the Prophet here commands the old to be called, for it was fitting for them to be the leaders of others in confessing their repentance.

But what follows seems strange. He would have the young, sucking the breasts, to be assembled. Why are these brought in as involved in guilt? Besides, the people were to acknowledge their repentance, and yet infants are without understanding and knowledge, so that they could not humble themselves before God.

It must, then, have been a mockery and an empty show; indeed, the Prophet seems to encourage the people in hypocrisy by commanding young infants to assemble together with men and women. To this I answer that children should have been brought together so that those grown up and advanced in years might perceive through them what they deserved. For the wrath of God, we know, reached to the very infants, yes, and even to brute animals: when God puts forth his hand to punish any people, neither asses nor oxen are exempt from the common scourge.

Since, then, God’s wrath comes upon brute animals and upon young infants, it is no wonder that the Lord commands all to come forth publicly and make a confession of repentance. We see the same to have been the case with brute animals; and when, if the Lord grants, we come to the Prophet Jonah, we shall then speak on this subject.

The Ninevites, when they proclaimed a fast, not only abstained themselves from food and drink but also constrained their oxen and horses to do the same. Why? Because the very elements were involved, as it were, with them in the same guilt. They reasoned, “Lord, we have polluted the earth; whatever we possess we have also polluted by our sins. The oxen, the horses, and the asses are in themselves innocent, but they have contracted contagion from our vices. That we may therefore obtain mercy, we not only offer ourselves humbly before Your face, but we also bring our oxen and horses; for if You exercise the fullest severity against us, You will destroy whatever is in our possession.”

So also now, when the Prophet commands infants to be brought before God, it is done on account of their parents.

Infants were in themselves innocent regarding the crimes of which he speaks, yet the Lord could have justly destroyed the infants together with those of advanced age. It is then no wonder that to pacify God’s wrath, the very infants are summoned with the rest. But as I have already said, the reason is on account of their parents, so that the parents themselves might perceive what they deserved before God, and that they might more deeply abhor their sins by observing that God would take vengeance on their children unless he was pacified.

For they should have reasoned from the lesser to the greater: “See, if God exercises his own right towards us, destruction not only hangs over us but also over our children. If they are guilty through our crimes, what can we say of ourselves, who are the authors of these evils? The whole blame belongs to us; then severe and dreadful will be God’s vengeance on us, unless we are reconciled to him.”

We now then understand why infants were called, together with their parents: not that they might confess their penitence, as that was not compatible with their age, but that their parents might be more moved, that such a sight might touch their feelings, and that dread might also seize them on seeing that their children were doomed to die with them for no other reason than that by their contagion and wickedness they had infected the whole land and everything that the Lord had bestowed on them.

He afterwards adds, Let the bridegroom go from his closet, or recess, and the bride from her chamber. It is as though the Prophet had commanded every joy to cease among the people; for it was in itself no evil to celebrate nuptials, but it was necessary for the people to abstain from all rejoicing on seeing the wrath of God now suspended over them.

Hence, things in themselves lawful ought to be laid aside for a time when God appears angry with us; for it is not the season for nuptials or for joyful feasts when God’s wrath is kindled, when the darkness of death spreads all around. No wonder, then, that the Prophet commands the bridegroom and the bride to come forth from their chamber—that is, to cast aside every joy, defer their nuptials to a more suitable time, and now forego their delights, for the Lord appeared armed against all.

It would have been, then, to provoke, as it were, His wrath, to heedlessly indulge in pleasures when he wished not only to terrify but almost to frighten to death those who had sinned; for when the Lord threatens vengeance, what else is indifference but a mockery of his power?

“I have called you to weeping and wailing; but you have said, ‘We will feast:’ as I live, says the Lord, this iniquity shall never be blotted out.” We see how extremely displeased the Lord appears there to be with those who, having been called to weeping and fasting, yet indulged themselves in their pleasures; for such, as I have said, altogether laugh to scorn the power of God. The Prophet’s exhortation should then be noted, when he commands the bridegroom and the bride to leave their nuptials and put on the same mournful appearance as the rest of the people. He thus shook off heedlessness from all, since God had appeared with tokens of his wrath. This is the sum of the whole.

Then it follows, Between the court and the altar let the priests, the ministers of Jehovah, weep. It was the priests’ office, we know, to pray in the name of the whole people, and now the Prophet follows this order. It was not, indeed, peculiar to the priests to pray and ask pardon of God, but they prayed in the name of all the people.

The reason must be well known to us, for God intended by these legal types to remind the Jews that they could not offer prayers to him except through a mediator; the people were unworthy to offer prayers by themselves. Hence the priest was, as it were, the intermediary.

The whole of this is to be referred to Christ, for by him we now pray; he is the Mediator who intercedes for us. The people then stood far off; we now dare to come near to God, for the veil is rent, and through Christ we are all made priests.

Hence, we are allowed in a familiar way and in confidence to call God our Father; and yet without Christ’s intercession, no access to God would be open to us. This then was the reason for the legal appointment.

Hence the Prophet now says, Let the priests weep; not that he wished the people in the meantime to neglect their duty, but he expresses what had been prescribed by the law of God: that is, that the priests should offer supplications in the name of the people.

And he says, Between the court and the altar; for the people remained in the court. The priests themselves had a court by its side, which they called the sacerdotal court, but the people’s court was opposite the sanctuary. Then the priest stood, as it were, in the middle between God (that is, the ark of the covenant) and the people; the people also were standing there.

We now understand that what the Prophet meant was that the people had the priests as their mediators to offer prayers, and yet the confession of them all was public. He calls the priests the ministers of Jehovah, as we have found before. He thus designates their office, as though he had said that they were not more worthy than the rest of the people, as though they excelled by their own virtue or merits, but that the Lord had conferred this honor on the tribe of Levi by choosing them to be his ministers. It was then on account of their office that they came nearer to God, and not for any merit in their own works.

He further adds, Spare, Lord, or be propitious to, Your people; and do not give Your heritage to reproach, that the Gentiles may rule over them. Here the Prophet leaves the priests nothing but to flee to God’s mercy, as though he had said that now no plea remained for the people, that they were greatly deceived if they offered any excuse, and that their whole hope was in God’s mercy.

He afterwards shows the basis on which they were to seek and hope for mercy, and he calls their attention to God’s gratuitous covenant: Do not give Your heritage for a reproach to the Gentiles.

By these words he shows that if the Jews depended on themselves, they were past recovery, for they had so often and in such various ways provoked God’s wrath that they could not hope for any pardon. They had also been so obstinate that the door, as it were, had been closed against them on account of their stubbornness.

But the Prophet here reminds them that as they had been freely chosen by God as his peculiar people, a hope of deliverance remained for them, but it should not have been sought in any other way. We now then understand the Prophet’s purpose when he speaks of God’s heritage, as though he had said that the people could now undertake nothing to pacify God if they had not been God’s heritage. Do not give then Your heritage to reproach. He had in view the threatening that he had mentioned before, for it was an extreme kind of vengeance when the Lord determined to visit his people with utter destruction; after having worn them out and consumed them by famine and want, God resolved wholly to consume them by the sword of enemies.

It is then to this vengeance that he now alludes when he says, That the Gentiles may not rule over them. It is therefore absurd, as many do, to connect with this the discourse concerning the locusts; such a thing is wholly inconsistent with the Prophet’s purpose.

It is then added, Why should they say among the people, ‘Where is their God?’ The Prophet now presents another reason by which the Jews might propitiate God, and that is because his own glory is concerned. This reason indeed has an affinity to the former, for God could not expose his heritage to the reproaches of the Gentiles without also subjecting his holy name to their blasphemies.

But the Prophet shows here more distinctly that God’s glory would be subject to reproach among the nations if he dealt with the people according to the full demands of justice, for the Gentiles would contemptuously deride him, as though he could not save his people. Hence in this second clause he reminds us that when engaged in seeking pardon, we ought to place before our eyes The glory of God; that we ought not to seek our own salvation without remembering the holy name of God, which ought rightly to be preferred to all other things.

And at the same time he also strengthens the hope of the people when he teaches that the glory of God is connected with the salvation of those who had sinned, as though he had said, “God, that he may provide for his own glory, will have mercy on you.” They must then have come more willingly to God’s presence when they saw that their salvation was connected with the glory of God, and that they would be saved so that the name of God might be preserved safe and free from blasphemies.

We now then understand what the Prophet meant in this verse: he first strips the Jews of all confidence in works, showing that nothing remained for them unless they fled to God’s free mercy. He then shows that this mercy is based on God’s gratuitous covenant, because they were his heritage. In the third place, he shows that God would be merciful to them out of regard for his own glory, lest he should expose it to the reproaches of the Gentiles if he exercised extreme severity towards his people.

The Prophet here again repeats that prayers would not be in vain, provided the Jews truly humbled themselves before God. Then God, he says, will be jealous for His land and spare His people. He confirms what I have already said: that God would deal mercifully with His people because they were His heritage—that is, because He had chosen them for Himself.

For the title of heritage, from where does it proceed except from the gratuitous covenant of God? For the Jews were not more excellent than others, but election was the only fountain from which the Jews had to draw any hope. We now then see why these words, God will be jealous for His land, are added; as though he said, “Though this land has been polluted by the wickedness of men, yet God has consecrated it to Himself. He will, therefore, regard His own covenant and thus turn away His face from looking on their sins.” He will spare, he says, His people, that is, His chosen people; for, as I have said, the Prophet no doubt ascribes here the safety of the people, and the hope of their safety, to the gratuitous election of God, for the jealousy of God is nothing else but the vehemence and ardor of His paternal love.

God could not, indeed, express how ardently He loves those whom He has chosen without borrowing, as it were, what belongs to men. For we know that passions do not appertain to Him; but He is set forth as a father who burns with jealousy when he sees his son ill-treated; he acknowledges his own blood, his bowels are excited—or, as a husband who, on seeing dishonor done to his wife, is moved. And though he had been a hundred times offended, he yet forgets every offense, for he regards that sacred union between himself and his wife.

Such a character, then, does God assume, that He might the better express how much and how intensely He loves His own elect. Hence he says, God will be jealous for His land. As He has until now been inflamed with just wrath, so now a contrary feeling will overcome the former; not that God is agitated by various passions, as I have already said, but this mode of speaking, transferred from men, is adopted on account of our ignorance.

He afterwards says, God has answered and said to His people, “Behold, I will send to you corn, wine, and oil.” The Prophet does not here recite what had been done but, on the contrary, declares that God in future would be reconciled to them. It is as though he said, “I have until now been a herald of war and have bid all to prepare themselves for the coming evil. But now I am a messenger to proclaim peace to you. If only you are resolved to turn to God, and to turn unfeignedly, I do now testify to you that God will be propitious to you. And as for your prayers, know that they are already heard; that is, know that as soon as they were conceived, they were heard by the Lord.”

Hence he says, He has answered; that is, “If, moved by my exhortation, you return with sincerity to God, He will meet you; indeed, He has already met you. He does not wait until you have done all that you ought to do. But when He bids you to come to His temple and to weep, He at the same time wipes off your tears and removes every cause of sorrow and anxiety.” God, then, has answered; that is, “I am to you a certain and sufficient witness that your prayers have been already accepted before God, though, as I have before reminded you, you have not offered them.”

And, at the same time, he speaks of the effect: “Behold, I will send to you corn, wine, and oil; and you shall be satisfied.” Here, by the effects, he proves that God would be propitious, for want of food was the first evidence of God’s displeasure, to be followed by the destruction that the Prophet had threatened. What does he say now? God will restore to you abundance of corn, wine, and oil; and he says further, “I will not give you to the Gentiles for a reproach that they may rule over you.”

We now then apprehend the meaning of the Prophet. For he not only promises that God would be placable but also declares that He was already placable; and this he confirms by external tokens, for God would immediately remove the sins of His wrath and turn them into blessings. Hence he says, ‘He will give you abundance of corn, wine, and oil, so as fully to satisfy you.’ As they had perceived that God was angry with them by the sterility of the land, and also by its produce being consumed by chafers, locusts, and other animals or insects, so now the Lord would testify His love to them by the abounding fruitfulness of everything. And then he joins another sentence: “I will not give you any more for a reproach to the Gentiles.” When he says “any more,” he intimates that they had before been exposed to reproach. And we indeed know that they were then suffering many evils, but there remained that destruction of which we have heard. God does then here promise that they should no more be subject to the reproaches of the Gentiles, provided they repented, for the Prophet always speaks conditionally.