The Call Goes Out For The True Observance Of The Sabbath Day (Jeremiah 17:19-27).
In Jeremiah 17:5-11 YHWH had promised cursing and blessing on individuals depending on whether they were obedient to His covenant, and this had included a warning about those who obtained riches unfairly. Now YHWH sets a standard test in order to see whether His people will obey Him or not, and whether they will count that obedience as more important than profit from trade. By it He is giving them the opportunity to face up to the covenant and clearly declare that they are His people, for the maintenance of the Sabbath, along with circumcision, were the two clear signs of those who were His.
It is quite clear from what is said that the seventh day Sabbath Law had been diluted with the result that they were using the Sabbath as a convenient market day, a practise which had been prevalent in Israel, but was something which Amos 8:5 had made clear was not allowed. So the call was that they should demonstrate their obedience by going back to fully observing of the Sabbath day by not engaging in buying and selling, and by maintaining a day of complete rest. No doubt the hope was that this would then be a trigger which would spur them on to a new consideration of the whole Law. It was a demand which would separate those who were ready to obey the covenant from those who were not.
The Sabbath day was undoubtedly of ancient origin, and it is mentioned in all the early sources, thus there are no reliable grounds for denying these words to Jeremiah. It was to be used by him as an acid test of obedience.
Note On The Sabbath Day. The Significance Of The Sabbath.
The seventh day Sabbath was unique to Israel in that it was observed every seventh day regardless of the day of the moon period the seventh day fell on, and was a day of total abstention from work of any kind. (Feeding and caring for animals was probably not seen as work, but as an act of compassion and necessity as with feeding the family). It was intended to be a day of delight (Isaiah 58:13-14) and the Israelites saw the ‘seventh day' (although not as stated to be the sabbath) as ‘blessed' (Genesis 2:3). It was a day on which evil should not be done lest it polluted the day (Isaiah 56:2-4). It was especially of delight to the lower orders, for Deuteronomy 5:14 especially emphasises the social benefit of the day in that it ensured that even the lowest menial had a day of rest. Thus all the emphasis in relation to the Sabbath in Israel is positive. It is, however, interesting to note that it is never designated as a day of worship, even though certain special sacrifices were offered on that day. The whole emphasis is on avoidance of work for all resulting in a period of relaxation and rest.
It has been suggested that the closest parallel to the Sabbath was the Babylonian sabattu or sabattum, but we should note:
1. That the seeming similarity of name is artificial as is evidenced by the fact that sabbath has two ‘b's and one ‘t', while sabattu has only one ‘b' and two ‘t's, something important etymologically. Thus they are not directly related words.
2. That the Sabbath in Israel was a day observed in a totally different way from the Babylonian sabattu. The Babylonian sabattu was a ‘day of appeasement of the mind' (of a deity), and directly connected with the 15th day of the month (the full moon), and no other. But we know that work was regularly done on it (as witnessed by contract tablets) and it is never connected with a seven day period, nor indeed seen as something to be observed in a regular cycle.
It is true that the Babylonians did also observe certain days of ill-omen in certain moon periods of the year (although seemingly not every moon period) but these were never called sabattu. They involved only the king, priests and physicians, and were days of ill-omen, days on which these particular people must beware of arousing the anger of the gods. They were not designated as days of rest. In order to fulfil his obligation the king had to abstain from food prepared by fire, from putting on royal dress, from going out in his chariot and from speaking officially. This would appear to have been a sign of servitude to the gods. These days of ill-omen occurred on the 7th, 14th, 19th, 21st and 28th days of each moon period and while superficially giving the impression of almost paralleling the seventh day sabbath did not in fact do so because they did not follow the continual seven day pattern. This is emphasised by the fact that a moon period was not twenty eight days long. Thus from the twenty eighth day of one moon period to the seventh day of the next was quite regularly longer than seven days. There is indeed nowhere a suggestion that a seven day pattern is important.
The Babylonians in fact appear to have divided time into five day periods, but even then it is clear from contract tablets that days designated as sabattum were not days of cessation from labour, whilst contracts from Mari show that work was sometimes performed over a series of several days without any interruption for a ‘seventh day'.
It is quite apparent from this that the Israelite Sabbath and the Babylonian sabattu (the nearest apparent parallel) bore little relationship to each other, while any resemblance with the days of ill-omen is superficial. The whole emphasis in the Israelite Sabbath is on continuity and regularity without it being related to specific days in a moon period or any other period. It is in fact the only known sacred day which was related to neither sun nor moon, and probably indicated that time was perfectly and separately controlled by God. Furthermore its initial introduction in Exodus 16 indicates no connection with the phases of the moon. Rather it was connected with the giving of the manna. The first ‘sabbath' fell on the seventh day after the first giving of the manna. It was thus a day marking God's double provision on the previous day and would later be connected with the seventh day of creation and with the need to give all people of whatever level one day of rest in seven.
End of note.
“Thus said YHWH to me,
‘Go, and stand in the gate of the children of the people,
By which the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out,
And in all the gates of Jerusalem,”
Commencing with ‘the gate of the children of the people', which was also the gate by which the Kings of Judah came in, and by which they went out (a reminder that the Temple was no longer the king's chapel), Jeremiah was to go and stand in all the gates of Jerusalem in order to proclaim the message that follows. The ‘gate of the children of the people' was clearly seen as an important and well used gate, and was probably the east gate of the Temple facing the door of the sanctuary, being the gate most regularly used by the people, and by kings of Judah, and gaining in importance from the royal use. It may have been intended to distinguish it from the gates more often used by the priests and Levites, of whom there would have been many. The mention of both kings and people emphasises that Jeremiah's message was to both kings and people. The fact that YHWH is calling for obedience to the covenant may suggest a date in the early days of Jehoiakim before Judah's sin had reached the point of no return.
“And say to them, ‘Hear you the word of YHWH,
You kings of Judah, and all Judah,
And all the inhabitants of Jerusalem,
Who enter in by these gates.”
The call was to ‘the kings' of Judah, to all the people throughout Judah who had come to the feast, and to the people of Jerusalem themselves. The whole nation was thus involved. The plural ‘kings' may have been intended to indicate the king and his princes, especially including the crown prince who may well have been co-ruler as was common in Judah. Or Jeremiah may have seen himself as speaking to all kings in the future about something that was foundational.
“Thus says YHWH,
Take heed to yourselves,
And bear no burden on the sabbath day,
Nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem,
Nor carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day,
Nor do you any work,
But hallow you the sabbath day,
As I commanded your fathers.
But they did not listen, nor inclined their ear,
But made their neck stiff,
That they might not hear,
And might not receive instruction.
The call was for them to remedy what their fathers had failed to do, and to commence keeping the Sabbath day correctly. This is an indication that the Sabbath day was only being observed laxly if at all. The purpose of carrying a burden on the Sabbath day would have been in order to take goods for resale to the Temple market for sale, which would include goods brought in by those who entered Jerusalem for a similar purpose. We can compare here Nehemiah's words in Nehemiah 13:15, ‘I saw in Judah some treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses with them, as also wine, grapes and figs, and all manner of burdens which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I testified in the day in which they sold victuals.'
Furthermore they were to abstain from all work, thereby treating the Sabbath day as ‘holy' (sanctifying it), and acknowledging YHWH's Lordship. This had previously been commanded to their fathers, but they had not listened or responded. Indeed they had deliberately stiffened their necks so at to avoid hearing or being instructed. It had been a total slight to YHWH. Now their offspring were being given a ‘second chance'.
“And it will come about, if you diligently listen to me, the word of YHWH,
To bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day,
But to hallow the sabbath day,
To do no work in it,
Then will there enter in by the gates of this city,
Kings and princes sitting 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 city will remain for ever.”
And the promise was that if they would renew their obedience to YHWH and listen diligently to Him, (it was the guaranteed word of YHWH), something that they would demonstrate, firstly by not bringing trading goods through the gates of the city on the Sabbath day, and secondly by ‘hallowing' it by not working on it, then their kingship and rulers would be established, sitting on the throne of David and riding in authority and splendour, with the result that they, and the men of Judah and the citizens of Jerusalem, together with their city, would remain for ever. The Davidic rule would be permanently established. It was a remarkable call back to the covenant accompanied by remarkable promises. The implication was that even at that stage they were being offered independence and immunity for Jerusalem and its environs if only they would follow YHWH with all their hearts.
“And they will come from the cities of Judah,
And from the places round about Jerusalem,
And from the land of Benjamin, and from the lowland (the Shephelah),
And from the hill-country, and from the South (the Negeb),
Bringing burnt-offerings, and sacrifices,
And meal-offerings, and frankincense,
And bringing praise,
To the house of YHWH.”
And not only so, but they would be free to worship in peace as they chose. The description of those who would come to worship indicates the size of the kingdom of Judah at this point. It included the cities of Judah to the south and west, the environs of Jerusalem, the land of Benjamin to the north, the Shephelah (lower hills) which would include Lachish and Libnah, the hill-country (which may have included the hill-country of Ephraim), and the far south, the Negeb, the pastureland with its oases and towns on their southern borders which would have included Beersheba.
And the people from all these areas would come bringing dedicatory burnt offerings, sin and peace offerings (sacrifices), meal offerings of grain, olive oil and frankincense, and praise and worship in psalms and prayers of thanksgiving, all to the house of YHWH. Judah would be a free and flourishing country under YHWH..
“But if you will not listen to me,
To hallow the sabbath day,
And not to bear a burden and enter in at the gates of Jerusalem on the sabbath day,
Then will I kindle a fire in its gates,
And it will devour the palaces of Jerusalem,
And it will not be quenched.”
But if they would not listen to Him, and would not hallow the Sabbath by abstaining from work, and would not abstain from trade on the Sabbath, then Jerusalem would be handed over to their enemies. Its gates would be burned down, its palaces would be ‘devoured' by fire, and the fire would not be quenched. None would escape.
The point was not that if they kept the Sabbath nothing else would matter, but that how they responded to the Sabbath would reveal what their lives and thoughts were like generally. It would demonstrate a genuine dedication to God and a concern for their fellow human beings, and indicate that they desired to do God's will. It was the litmus test, similar to Jesus' command to the rich young man to sell all and follow Him, and would mark them out as belonging to YHWH in a society which would resent it and demonstrate that He mattered more to them than profit and gain. One thing that all this does make clear is that YHWH gave Judah every opportunity to repent before He finally closed His offer and sealed their final judgment.