Jeremiah 17:19-27--Keep the Sabbath Holy

Jeremiah 17:19-27
English Standard Version

Keep the Sabbath Holy
19 Thus said the LORD to me: “Go and stand in the People's Gate, by which the kings of Judah enter and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem, 20 and say: ‘Hear the word of the LORD, you kings of Judah, and all Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, who enter by these gates. 21 Thus says the LORD: Take care for the sake of your lives, and do not bear a burden on the Sabbath day or bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem. 22 And do not carry a burden out of your houses on the Sabbath or do any work, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your fathers. 23 Yet they did not listen or incline their ear, but stiffened their neck, that they might not hear and receive instruction.

24 “‘But if you listen to me, declares the LORD, and bring in no burden by the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but keep the Sabbath day holy and do no work on it, 25 then there shall enter by the gates of this city kings and princes who sit on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their officials, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem. And this city shall be inhabited forever. 26 And people shall come from the cities of Judah and the places around Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the Shephelah, from the hill country, and from the Negeb, bringing burnt offerings and sacrifices, grain offerings and frankincense, and bringing thank offerings to the house of the LORD. 27 But if you do not listen to me, to keep the Sabbath day holy, and not to bear a burden and enter by the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day, then I will kindle a fire in its gates, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem and shall not be quenched.’”

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Jeremiah is go out in front of the gate (presumably where everyone gathers to do business), in the hearing of all the people and leaders of the city and remind them that the Sabbath day, the seventh day that we call Saturday, is to be a day of rest that is holy unto the LORD.  The Jewish people were commanded to do no work on the Sabbath day, as apparently they were failing to keep the Sabbath and this was one of the high crimes of the Law that was worthy of death.  Jeremiah pleads with the people for the sake of their own lives to remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy.

The LORD promises that if they will renew their covenant with Him and keep the Sabbath day, there will be many more kings of Israel and Judah that come in and out through that very gate.  The LORD will continue to protects the inhabitants of Jerusalem which bears His Name and they will live there forever.  He is going to do this eventually in the New Jerusalem, but He was going to give them a taste of that here and now.  The Temple will continue to be there and all of the Twelve Tribes will be united together and come tot he Temple to bring their sacrifices and burnt offerings, their grain offerings and their offerings of frankincense as they bring their thank offerings to the LORD in His house.

However, if they do not listen to the LORD and do not obey Him in all things (the Sabbath day is the easiest barometer of how seriously the people take everything else) and they continue to work on the Sabbath and keep the gates open for business when they are to close them and let no resident or traveler gather there to do business, then fire will come from the LORD to burn up the gates and devour the paneled houses (called palaces) in Jerusalem---the people of Jerusalem in general lived in luxury compared to other parts of the country.  This fire will not be able to be quenched because it is the fire of the LORD's zealous judgment  Today is set before the choice of obedience that leads to life and blessing or rebellion that leads to a fiery death and destruction.  Both were to take place in the here and now, but both were to point forward to something about the eternal life in store for those who were either obedient or disobedient.  God has prepared a place that we call "heaven" for those He loves and those that love Him because He first loved us.  He has also prepared a place for the devil and his angels and all of those who chose to be part of the kingdom of darkness and live in rebellion against the LORD and the kingdom of the Son of God.  You can choose which kingdom you want to be a part of and which master you want to serve, but you cannot change your citizenship after your death.  "Choose you this day whom you will serve" was the call of Joshua to the people as they settled into the Land of Canaan.  It seems they have forgotten their promise as they swore along with Joshua, "As for me and my house, we will serve the LORD."  God is calling this generation to another decision point--will they serve Him and show that by keeping the Sabbaths, or will they serve other gods and show that by acting like the Gentiles so that the Sabbath day is just another ordinary day to them? We may not specifically see this commandment repeated in the New Testament, but we see it lived out by Jesus and the Apostles and the early Church.  Gentiles were told they didn't have to participate in the feasts and festivals of the Jewish calendar which meant nothing to them, but the Sabbath day started at the time of creation and was given to all men.  It has taken on additional meaning as history has progressed not only to remind us that God finished His work of creation in six literal days (something we need to be reminded of today) and that with a mighty hand an an outstretched arm, He redeemed His people out of the land of Egypt (something Israel could celebrate, but the rest of the world couldn't, but that work of making them a nation was "finished" as well) and then the finished work of Jesus's substitutionary atonement which was accomplished during what we call Passion Week, and He "rested" in the grave on the Sabbath day to rise victorious on the first day of the week (Sunday), and the hope that we have given to us in the book of Hebrews of a better day of Sabbath rest that is being prepared for us in the LORD's Kingdom when He will say one last time "It is finished" because everything He set out to do to redeem a people to Himself and sanctify them and glorify them and make them completely into His image will be completed and all the blessings of the covenant will be given to them.  We look both backwards and forwards as we remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy and we tell the story of Creation, Redemption, Regeneration, Reconciliation, Resurrection, and the Return and Reign of Jesus. (there are many other things I can think of that this celebrates, but these were all the words with "R" that I could think of)..  Do you celebrate the LORD's Sabbath and keep it holy? Are you surprised to hear that it was a death-penalty offense just like murder, adultery, blasphemy, idolatry, sorcery, witchcraft, divination, and human trafficking (among others)? Are you surprised to hear it's the main reason given by the LORD in this book of prophecy for why His people must go into Exile and it is why the number of days is set to 70 years (there was a Sabbath year that they did not keep as well as a Sabbath day).  The LORD's Sabbaths are important because they are a way for His people to tell His gospel story through how they keep their calendar.  What is the reason for almost every Sabbath day or holy day (we get the world holiday from this) in the Bible?  It's because God did something or is going to do something or both related to salvation and we are to remember to tell the story from generation to generation. Is that what you do when you gather together to worship the LORD (I know most of us don't gather on the Sabbath day, but do we celebrate these things and tell this story)?  Maybe that's food for thought as we were to be ambassadors with a specific message, lifestyle and culture to spread if we are truly the people of God, and the Sabbath day is one of the primary ways for us to do that.