Jeremiah 17:19-27

The Sabbath Must Be Kept

19 Thus the LORD said to me, "Go and stand in the public gate, through which the kings of Judah come in and go out, as well as in all the gates of Jerusalem;

20 and say to them, '¹Listen to the word of the LORD, ²kings of Judah, and all Judah and all inhabitants of Jerusalem who come in through these gates:

21 'Thus says the LORD, "³Take heed for yourselves, and ⁴do not carry any load on the sabbath day or bring anything in through the gates of Jerusalem.

22 "You shall not bring a load out of your houses on the sabbath day ⁵nor do any work, but keep the sabbath day holy, as I ⁶commanded your forefathers.

23 "Yet they ⁷did not listen or incline their ears, but ⁸stiffened their necks in order not to listen or take correction.

24 "But it will come about, if you ⁹listen attentively to Me," declares the LORD, "to ¹⁰bring no load in through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, ¹¹but to keep the sabbath day holy by doing no * work on it,

25 ¹²then there will come in through the gates of this city kings and princes ¹³sitting on the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they and their princes, the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and this ¹⁴city will be inhabited forever.

26 "They will come in from the ¹⁵cities of Judah and from the environs of Jerusalem, from the land of Benjamin, from the ¹⁶lowland, from the hill country and from the ¹⁷Negev, bringing burnt offerings, sacrifices, grain offerings and incense, and bringing sacrifices of thanksgiving to the house of the LORD.

27 "But ¹⁸if you do not listen to Me to keep the sabbath day holy by not carrying a load and coming in through the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day, then ¹⁹I will kindle a fire in its gates and it will ²⁰devour the palaces of Jerusalem and ²¹not be quenched.""'

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Jeremiah 17:19-27 Meaning and Commentary

INTRODUCTION TO JEREMIAH 17

This chapter is a further prophecy of the destruction of the Jews, with the causes of it, their sins, as their idolatry, which was notorious; of which their own consciences, their altars, and their children, were witnesses, Jer 17:1,2 for which they are threatened with the spoil of their substance and treasure, and discontinuance in their land, Jer 17:3,4 as also their confidence in an arm of flesh, which brought the curse of God upon them, when such are blessed that trust in him; and the difference between those that trust in men and those that trust in the Lord is illustrated by very apt similes, Jer 17:5-8, the source of which vain confidence is the wicked heart of man, known to none but God, Jer 17:9,10 and the vanity of it is exposed by a partridge sitting on eggs without hatching them, Jer 17:11, and their departure from God, by trusting in the creature, and in outward things, is aggravated by their temple being the throne and seat of the divine Majesty; by what God is to his people that trust in him; and by the shame and ruin that follow an apostasy from him, Jer 17:12,13, wherefore the prophet, sensible of his own backslidings, prays to be healed and saved by the Lord, who should have all the praise and glory, Jer 17:14 and then relates the scoffs of the people at the word of God by him, another cause of their ruin; declares his own innocence and integrity; prays for protection and security from fear in a time of trouble; and for confusion, terror, and destruction to his persecutors, Jer 17:15-18, then follows an order to him from the Lord, to go and stand in the gate of the city, and exhort all ranks of men to the observation of the sabbath, with directions how to keep it, which had not been observed by their fathers, and which was another cause of their ruin, Jer 17:19-23, and the chapter is closed with promises of blessings in city, court, and country, in church and state, should they religiously observe the sabbath day; but if they profaned it, the city of Jerusalem, and its palaces, should be burnt with fire, Jer 17:24-27.

Taken from John Gill's Exposition of the Bible

Cross References 21

1. Ezekiel 2:7
2. Psalms 49:1, 2; Jeremiah 19:3, 4
3. Deut 4:9, 15, 23; Mark 4:24
4. Numbers 15:32-36; Nehemiah 13:15-21; John 5:9-12
5. Exodus 16:23-29; Exodus 20:8-10; Deuteronomy 5:12-14; Isaiah 56:2-6; Isaiah 58:13
6. Exodus 31:13-17; Ezekiel 20:12; Zechariah 1:4
7. Jeremiah 7:24, 28; Jeremiah 11:10
8. Proverbs 29:1; Jeremiah 7:26; Jeremiah 19:15
9. Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 11:13; Isaiah 21:7; Isaiah 55:2
10. Jeremiah 17:21, 22
11. Exodus 20:8-11; Ezekiel 20:20
12. Jeremiah 22:4
13. 2 Samuel 7:16; Isaiah 9:7; Jer 33:15, 17, 21; Luke 1:32
14. Psalms 132:13, 14; Hebrews 12:22
15. Jeremiah 32:44; Jeremiah 33:13
16. Zechariah 7:7
17. Psalms 107:22; Jeremiah 33:11
18. Isaiah 1:20; Jeremiah 22:5; Jeremiah 26:4; Zechariah 7:11-14
19. Lamentations 4:11
20. 2 Kings 25:9; Jeremiah 39:8; Amos 2:5
21. Jeremiah 7:20; Ezekiel 20:47

Footnotes 2

[a]. Lit "gate of the sons of the people"
[b]. Lit "fathers"