In Jeremiah, chapter seventeen, verses nineteen through twenty-three, “This said the Lord unto me; Go and stand in the gate of the children of the people, whereby the kings of Judah come in, and by which they go out, and in all the gates of Jerusalem; And say unto them, Hear ye the word of the Lord, ye kings of Judah, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, that enter in by these gates; Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it to the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might hear, nor recieve instruction.”
These verses on keeping the Sabbath day holy demonstrate that even Jeremiah’s prophecies of doom were conditional in nature. If the people would only turn to God, keep the Sabbath day holy, and do right, then they would wvoid captivity, as in verses twenty-four to twenty-six; a way of salvationwas still open to Judah.
The prophet was to lay before the rulers and the people of Judah, the command to keep holy the sabbath day. Let them strictly observe the fourth command. If they obeyed this word, their prosperity should be restored. It is a day of rest and must not be a day of labour, unless in cases of necessity. Take heed, watch against the profanation of the sabbath.
Let not the soul be burdened of the cares of this world on sabbath days. Let all by attention to their families, strive to check this, that souls will be saved in the end.