The Sabbath in the Prophets #1

The point: Do not imitate the disobedience of your fathers in this thing. If you do, if you imitate the Sabbath breaking of your fathers, you will forfeit the blessings that God has promised and instead you will fall under God's un…

Jeremiah's description of Israel's refusal to hear God's word is illustrated by the physical actions of stiffening the neck and turning a deaf ear, symbolizing their stubborn rebellion and unwillingness to submit to God's will.

And the images of verse 23 are particularly striking. Instead of leaning forward, instead of inclining the image, instead of leaning the ear so as to clearly hear the word of the Lord,

17:21 - 17:36 Read in full sermon

The point: Do not imitate the disobedience of your fathers in this thing. If you do, if you imitate the Sabbath breaking of your fathers, you will forfeit the blessings that God has promised and instead you will fall under God's un…

The timing of Jeremiah's prophecy is likened to standing on the 'eve of the judgment' and the 'great crest of God's judgment is about to break,' yet God still offers a 'window' for repentance, highlighting God's long-suffering mercy.

God has pronounced judgment upon the land. Generation after generation have heard the threatenings of God and yet here Jeremiah stands in the gates even on the very eve of the judgment that is coming even as the great crest of God's judgment is about to break upon the nation and he says to them, if you will keep God's Sabbath, there shall go in and out of the gates of this city kings of the line of David and this city will remain forever.

19:02 - 19:31 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But here was an issue. Their obedience to the fourth commandment. An issue of such gravity, of such weight, that how they conducted themselves indeed showed the general disposition of their hearts before God.

The Sabbath is described as a 'sign, a token of the covenant at Sinai,' a weekly reminder that God had sanctified Israel, illustrating its symbolic importance in their relationship with God.

The special importance of the Sabbath on this occasion derives, I believe, from two things. First of all, the Sabbath, if you'll recall from last Lord's Day when we looked at Exodus 31,

21:40 - 21:52 Read in full sermon

Driving home: But secondly, their Sabbath breaking was important because it was an open public witness that they completely disregarded the authority of God's law.

The Israelites' Sabbath breaking is illustrated by their conducting commerce through the holy gates of Jerusalem, which should have been reserved for worship, demonstrating their open and public disregard for God's authority.

Not only have the men of Judah turned the Sabbath day into a day of commerce, a day to conduct their business, but they have done so in a way as to flaunt their disobedience in the very face of God.

25:10 - 25:26 Read in full sermon

Driving home: a love for the whole law including the fourth commandment is what showed that a man's heart was right before God but their disregard for the Sabbath was also a revealer of their hearts as much as though each man spoke wi…

Daniel Wilson's commentary is quoted to emphasize that the 'entire prosperity of the nation and all the favor of God is suspended on this one branch of moral obedience,' underscoring the gravity of Sabbath observance.

The psalmist could say in Psalm 119 verses 127 and 28 he could say I love your commandments above gold yea above fine gold therefore I esteem all your precepts concerning all things to be right and I hate every false way a love for the whole law including the fourth commandment is what showed that a man's heart was right before God but their disregard for the Sabbath was also a revealer of their hearts as much as though each man spoke with his lips declaring oh how I hate thy law and regarded as an insufferable burden their actions revealed where their hearts were really at.

27:01 - 27:55 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The sermon continues with Ezekiel 22:23-31, exposing the widespread corruption among Judah's prophets, priests, and princes. These leaders failed to distinguish between holy and…

The nation's moral decay is depicted as a 'wall crumbling,' and the false prophets' deceptive messages are likened to 'patching the wall with mortar that won't stay,' illustrating their failure to call the people to genuine repentance.

that should build up the wall and stand in the gap before me for the land that I should not destroy but I found none therefore have I poured out mine indignation upon them I have consumed them with the fire of my wrath their own way have I brought upon their heads saith the lord Jehovah Jeremiah and Ezekiel were both prophets and priests they were both priests who were given the prophets office as well but they weren't the only prophets and priests in the land there were also false prophets a multitude of false prophets there were apostate priests and the situation is one in which the figure i...

48:36 - 50:06 Read in full sermon

The point: In some cases, one's attitude toward the fourth commandment is still a revealer of one's relationship to the Lord and his will.

The pastor shares his own experience of being converted in 1973 but later realizing he had profaned the Sabbath due to ignorance and tradition, illustrating how genuine Christians can initially misunderstand this doctrine.

and to his will and my concern this morning brethren is not with those Christians who are basically ignorant of the Bible's teaching about the Sabbath I'm not concerned about them this morning there are myriads of genuine Christians who as yet haven't seen the implications of the text that we're examining in this series a multitude of people who as yet don't understand the first thing about what the Bible says about the Sabbath whose teachers whose traditions have told them that the Sabbath has nothing to do with them and who with a clear conscience I believe genuinely with a clear conscience ...

55:54 - 57:24 Read in full sermon