John Calvin Commentary Zechariah 14:21

"Yea, every pot in Jerusalem and in Judah shall be holy unto Jehovah of hosts; and all they that sacrifice shall come and take of them, and boil therein: and in that day there shall be no more a Canaanite in the house of Jehovah of hosts." — Zechariah 14:21 (ASV)

The Prophet explains here more clearly what we have already considered: that such would be the reverence for God, and the fear of Him throughout the whole world, that whatever men undertook would be a sacrifice to Him. He therefore says that all the kettles, or pots, or vessels, would be sacred to God. This is fulfilled when men regard this end: to glorify God throughout their whole life, as Paul exhorts us to do (1 Corinthians 10:31). Our provisions and our beds, and all other things, then become holy to God when we truly devote ourselves to Him and, in all the actions of our life, regard the end I have mentioned—namely, to testify in truth that He is our God and that we are under His guidance. By such comparisons, then, Zechariah teaches us that men will be sacred to God, for nothing they touch will be unclean, but what was previously profane will be sanctified to His glory.

Come, he says, shall they who sacrifice, and shall boil flesh in pots; as though he had said that such would be the multitude of men who would ascend to offer sacrifices to God, that the vessels of the temple previously in use would not be sufficient. It would therefore be necessary to use for that purpose what was previously profane.

The language of Isaiah is similar, for he says that those who were Levites would become priests of the first order, and that those of the common people would become Levites, so that they might all come near to God (Isaiah 66:20–21). The meaning of the Prophet is now clear, then: that he wished to stir up the Jews to constancy and firmness, who regarded their small number as their reproach and were almost disheartened. Since they then thought that they had returned to their own country in vain, as the Lord did not gather the whole people, he says that God’s worship would become more celebrated than at the time when the state of things was most flourishing in Judea. For they would assemble from the whole world to offer sacrifices to God at Jerusalem, so that the whole city, with all its utensils, would be sacred to God, because the pots and the sacred vessels of the temple, previously used under the law, would not be sufficient.

And he adds, And there shall be no Canaanite in the land: the meaning is that the Church would become pure from all defilements. This change ought to have given no small comfort to the Jews in their sad and calamitous state, for God had used no small severity when all were driven into exile. Many tokens of this dreadful rigor still remained, since very few worshipped God and were despised by all, so that true religion was exposed to the contempt and ridicule of all nations. This compensation, then—that the Lord would by this remedy cleanse His Church from its filth—must have greatly allayed their sorrow. On this subject I have already said much.

Zechariah now briefly promises that the Church would become pure, so that all would worship God from the heart and sincerely, and that there would be no mixture of hypocrites to pollute the temple and holy things. But this seems strange, since the Church has always been contaminated by many pollutions. Hence John the Baptist compares it to a floor where the chaff is mixed with the wheat; and it is also compared to a net into which are gathered many fish, some good and some bad. Also, to this day, in the kingdom of Christ, the Church is subject to this evil, that it cannot cast out all corruptions. It seems, then, that the Prophet has spoken hyperbolically.

But what we have said elsewhere ought to be kept in mind: that a comparison is made between the ancient state of the people and their second state, when the Church was renewed. Since religion had been corrupted in the most disgraceful manner, and since the Jews had impudently boasted that they were the holy people of God while they were the most wicked of men, the Prophet justly says that the Church, when renewed, would be purer. For the Lord would cleanse it by the cross, just as gold and silver are cleansed; they are not only tried by the fire but also become brighter because the dross is removed. This is simply what the Prophet means when he says, that there will be no Canaanite among the people of God; that is, there will be no foreign or profane men mingled with the faithful to pollute the pure worship of God.

Some have distorted the passage and applied it to the last coming of Christ. But this is inconsistent with the subject at hand. At the same time, I allow that the kingdom of Christ, according to the prophetic mode of writing, is here described from its commencement to its end.

Therefore, when God purposed to renew His Church, He cleansed it from much filth. He still cleanses it daily and will not cease to do so until, after all the defilements of the world have been removed, we will be received into the celestial kingdom. Whenever, then, the Prophets speak of perfection under the reign of Christ, we ought not to confine what they say to one day or to a short time; rather, we ought to include the whole time from the beginning to the end. Hence, when Christ appeared in the world, the splendor of which Zechariah now speaks then began to shine. But the Lord will continue until that which now makes continual progress is completed.

Some read, There shall be a merchant no more, etc.; and they have some reason for what they say, for the word is sometimes translated "merchant." But as in this case, we must resort to allegories and take merchants for impious corrupters who make merchandise of God’s worship, or give this interpretation—that there will be no merchant anymore because all would freely bring their offerings. Since these explanations are not appropriate, it is better to take the passage simply as it is: that the Lord will gather His elect, so that pure sacrifices will be offered by them all, and that there will be no more hypocrites to contaminate and corrupt the Church, or to adulterate the worship of God.

Prayer

Grant, Almighty God, that as You have deigned to choose us as Your peculiar treasure and to consecrate us to Yourself in the person of Your only-begotten Son—O grant that we may so follow holiness throughout the whole course of our life, that Your glory may shine forth in all our works. May we never undertake anything except for this end—that Your name may be more and more glorified. May we be holy both in body and soul, and free from all the pollutions of the flesh and of the world, that we may thus be confirmed in the hope of our calling and be encouraged to proceed during the remainder of our course, until we at length reach that glory which has been procured for us by the blood of Your only-begotten Son.—Amen.

End of Calvin’s Commentary on Zechariah

Commentary on Malachi

Calvin's Preface

CALVIN’S PREFACE TO MALACHI

[Exposition continues from previous day's lecture]

The Book of Malachi follows, whom many have imagined to be an angel on account of his name. We indeed know that מלאך, Melac, in Hebrew is 'Angel'; but it is easy to see how absurd such a supposition is, for the Lord at that time did not send angels to reveal His oracles but adopted the ordinary ministry of men.

And since י is added at the end of the word, as was usual in proper names, we may indeed conclude from this that it was the name of a man. At the same time, I freely allow that it may have been added for some particular reason unknown to us now. I am more disposed to grant what some have said: that he was Ezra, and that Malachi was his surname, because God had called him to do great and remarkable things.

However this may be, he was undoubtedly one of the Prophets and, as it appears, the last. For at the end of his Book he exhorts the people to continue in their adherence to the pure doctrine of the Law. This he did because God was not going to send Prophets afterwards in succession as before, for it was His purpose that the Jews should have a stronger desire for Christ, since they had been for a time without any Prophets.

Indeed, their being deprived of that benefit which Moses mentions in Deuteronomy 18 was either a token of God’s wrath or a presage of Christ’s coming. For God had then promised to send Prophets so that the Jews might know that He cared for their safety. Therefore, when God left His people without Prophets, it was either to show His great displeasure, as during the Babylonian exile, or to hold them in suspense, so that they might look forward with stronger desire to the coming of Christ.

However we may regard this, I have no doubt that he was the last of the Prophets, for he bids the people to adhere to the doctrine of the Law until Christ would be revealed.

The sum and substance of the Book is this: that though the Jews had only recently returned to their own country, they nevertheless soon returned to their own nature, became unmindful of God’s favor, and thus gave themselves up to many corruptions. Their state was no better than that of their fathers before them, so that God had, as it were, lost all His labor in chastising them.

Since, then, the Jews had again relapsed into many vices, our Prophet severely reproves them and upbraids them with ingratitude, because they rendered such a shameful recompense to God their deliverer. He also mentions some of their sins, so that he might prove the people to be guilty, for he saw that they were full of evasions.

And he addresses the priests, who had by bad examples corrupted the morals of the people, although their office required a very different course of life. For the Lord had set them over the people to be teachers of religion and uprightness; but a great portion of the vices of the age emanated from them, and therefore our Prophet condemns them all the more severely.

At the same time, he shows that God would remember His gratuitous covenant, which He had made with their fathers, so that the Redeemer would at last come. This is the substance of the whole. I come now to the words.