The prophet Jeremiah, after warning the people that their actions, their sins, is what was causing their problems and will bring judgment, quotes Psalm 1. The Psalm starts off giving a warning about those who wander further and further from God, but then explains the blessings that come by serving God faithfully. Jeremiah is giving those blessings. He is letting them know that serving God comes with great blessings. Even as the chapter ends, God is trying to tell Judah there is still a chance to change what is coming, and that is by a change of actions. God has already told Jeremiah that intercession for Judah isn’t going to help, but a change in the things people do will make a difference. This interesting thing is that God is saying not that they have to do everything the law requires, but just to begin with keeping the Sabbath.
Some may wonder why God is so interested in the Sabbath here when He made it clear he wanted Israel to keep all of the Law. My assumption is that keeping the Sabbath would be a tipping point for Judah. If Judah started keeping the Sabbath, they would have time to consider what they were doing in the rest of their lives, and this would lead to change. It is amazing sometimes that certain actions can cause greater change. We need to watch for those in our lives, both for the ones that lead us into trouble and those that keep us closer to God. For me at this time, writing faithfully keeps me faithful in other areas. It seems strange to some, I’m sure, but I think it was like Sabbath for Judah, when keeping other actions followed more easily.
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