22 Nor do ye take out a burden from your houses on the day of rest, Yea, any work ye do not do, And ye have sanctified the day of rest, As I have commanded your fathers.
`Remember the Sabbath-day to sanctify it; six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, and the seventh day `is' a Sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thy cattle, and thy sojourner who is within thy gates, --
O the happiness of a man who doth this, And of a son of man who keepeth hold on it, Keeping the sabbath from polluting it, And keeping his hand from doing any evil. Nor speak let a son of the stranger, Who is joined unto Jehovah, saying: `Jehovah doth certainly separate me from His people.' Nor say let the eunuch, `Lo, I am a tree dried up,' For thus said Jehovah of the eunuchs, Who do keep My sabbaths, And have fixed on that which I desired, And are keeping hold on My covenant: I have given to them in My house, And within My walls a station and a name, Better than sons and than daughters, A name age-during I give to him That is not cut off. And sons of the stranger, who are joined to Jehovah, To serve Him, and to love the name of Jehovah, To be to Him for servants, Every keeper of the sabbath from polluting it, And those keeping hold on My covenant.
And he saith unto them, `It `is' that which Jehovah hath spoken `of'; a rest -- a holy sabbath to Jehovah -- `is' to-morrow; that which ye bake, bake; and that which ye boil, boil; and all that is over, let rest for yourselves in charge till the morning.' And they let it rest until the morning, as Moses hath commanded, and it hath not stank, and a worm hath not been in it. And Moses saith, `Eat it to-day, for to-day `is' a sabbath to Jehovah; to-day ye find it not in the field: six days ye do gather it, and in the seventh day -- the sabbath -- in it there is none.' And it cometh to pass on the seventh day, some of the people have gone out to gather, and have not found. And Jehovah saith unto Moses, `How long have ye refused to keep My commands, and My laws? see, because Jehovah hath given to you the sabbath, therefore He is giving to you on the sixth day bread of two days; abide ye each `in' his place, no one doth go out from his place on the seventh day.'
`And thou, speak unto the sons of Israel, saying, Only, My sabbaths ye do keep, for it `is' a sign between Me and you, to your generations, to know that I, Jehovah, am sanctifying you; and ye have kept the sabbath, for it `is' holy to you, he who is polluting it is certainly put to death -- for any who doeth work in it -- that person hath even been cut off from the midst of his people. `Six days is work done, and in the seventh day `is' a sabbath of holy rest to Jehovah; any who doeth work in the sabbath-day is certainly put to death, and the sons of Israel have observed the sabbath; to keep the sabbath to their generations `is' a covenant age-during, between Me and the sons of Israel it `is' a sign -- to the age; for six days Jehovah made the heavens and the earth, and in the seventh day He hath ceased, and is refreshed.'
`Observe the day of the sabbath -- to sanctify it, as Jehovah thy God hath commanded thee; six days thou dost labour, and hast done all thy work, and the seventh day `is' a sabbath to Jehovah thy God; thou dost not do any work, thou, and thy son, and thy daughter, and thy man-servant, and thy handmaid, and thine ox, and thine ass, and all thy cattle, and thy sojourner who `is' within thy gates; so that thy man-servant, and thy handmaid doth rest like thyself; and thou hast remembered that a servant thou hast been in the land of Egypt, and Jehovah thy God is bringing thee out thence by a strong hand, and by a stretched-out arm; therefore hath Jehovah thy God commanded thee to keep the day of the sabbath.
and God completeth by the seventh day His work which He hath made, and ceaseth by the seventh day from all His work which He hath made. And God blesseth the seventh day, and sanctifieth it, for in it He hath ceased from all His work which God had prepared for making.
And My sabbaths sanctify, And they have been for a sign between Me and you, To know that I, Jehovah, `am' your God. And -- the sons rebel against Me, In My statutes they have not walked, And My judgments they have not observed -- to do them, Which the man who doth -- liveth by them. My sabbaths they have polluted, And I say to pour out My fury upon them, To complete Mine anger against them in the wilderness.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Jeremiah 17
Commentary on Jeremiah 17 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 17
In this chapter,
Jer 17:1-4
The people had asked (ch. 16:10), What is our iniquity, and what is our sin? as if they could not be charged with any thing worth speaking of, for which God should enter into judgment with them; their challenge was answered there, but here we have a further reply to it, in which,
Jer 17:5-11
It is excellent doctrine that is preached in these verses, and of general concern and use to us all, and it does not appear to have any particular reference to the present state of Judah and Jerusalem. The prophet's sermons were not all prophetical, but some of them practical; yet this discourse, which probably we have here only the heads of, would be of singular use to them by way of caution not to misplace their confidence in the day of their distress. Let us all learn what we are taught here,
Jer 17:12-18
Here, as often before, we have the prophet retired for private meditation, and alone with God. Those ministers that would have comfort in their work must be much so. In his converse here with God and his own heart he takes the liberty which devout souls sometimes use in their soliloquies, to pass from one thing to another, without tying themselves too strictly to the laws of method and coherence.
Jer 17:19-27
These verses are a sermon concerning sabbath-sanctification. It is a word which the prophet received from the Lord, and was ordered to deliver in the most solemn and public manner to the people; for they were sent not only to reprove sin, and to press obedience, in general, but they must descend to particulars. This message concerning the sabbath was probably sent in the days of Josiah, for the furtherance of that work of reformation which he set on foot; for the promises here (v. 25, 26) are such as I think we scarcely find when things come nearer to the extremity. This message must be proclaimed in all the places of concourse, and therefore inthe gates, not only because through them people were continually passing and repassing, but because in them they kept their courts and laid up their stores. It must be proclaimed (as the king or queen is usually proclaimed) at the court-gate first, the gate by which the kings of Judah come in and go out, v. 19. Let them be told their duty first, particularly this duty; for, if sabbaths be not sanctified as they should be, the rulers of Judah are to be contended with (so they were, Neh. 13:17), for they are certainly wanting in their duty. He must also preach it in all the gates of Jerusalem. It is a matter of great and general concern; therefore let all take notice of it. Let the kings of Judah hear the word of the Lord (for, high as they are, he is above them), and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, for, mean as they are, he takes notice of them, and of what they say and do on sabbath days. Observe,