From Sabbath to The LORD’s Day

Tonight, we discover another sin that Judah was guilty of & thus another reason why GOD’s judgment would fall upon the nation. First, I plan on walking you through the text & explain why Judah’s sin of breaking the Sabbath was so serious, & then spend the rest of our time explaining how in the NT a new day of worship has been divinely chosen for the church to commemorate the unique, salvation-historical event of the death & resurrection of Christ. Alright, let me begin this message by answering the question, “If GOD has already pronounced judgment upon the nation back in chapter 7, why does the message He gives to Jeremiah offer repentance & blessing?” Well, there are a couple of possibilities. First of all, as we’ve already noted, not all of the Book of Jeremiah (which is a compilation of his writings spanning his ministry over decades) is presented chronologically. Its possible that this message was given to Jeremiah early in his ministry, but it has been strategically inserted here in the Book as an ongoing prosecution as Jeremiah continues to present evidence of the nation’s sins against GOD. And so, this may be an editorial decision in order to systematically build the case against Judah. The other possibility is that this message was delivered after GOD had already determined to judge the people, but, knowing that this generation will not listen, He intends for the message to instruct the remnant of survivors who will one day return to the land after the Babylonian invasion & 70-year exile. No doubt, the exiles who would return in the future would have many questions about the status of their covenant relationship with the Lord after His judgment had wiped out the nation & dispelled the survivors from the land. Regardless of the timing of this message, the violations & instructions contained within the message are clear.