“For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day.” Ex. 20:11.
5. What promise did God make to Israel, through Jeremiah, if they would keep the Sabbath?
“And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently harken unto Me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain forever.” Jer. 17:24, 25.
6. What did He say would happen if they did not hallow the Sabbath day?
“But if ye will not harken unto Me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem [pg 459] on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched.” Verse 27.
7. What befell the city of Jerusalem when it was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in 588 b.c.?
“And all the vessels of the house of God ... he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire.” 2 Chron. 36:18, 19.
8. Why was this done?
“To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath.” Verse 21.
Note.—Israel's Babylonish captivity, under Nebuchadnezzar and his sons, was seventy years long because that for 420 years, or for six times seventy years,—from the days of Solomon to Nebuchadnezzar's time,—they had largely neglected to keep the Sabbath. See Eze. 22:8, 26; Jer. 25:8-11; 17:24, 27; 2 Chron. 36:15-21. The seventy years' desolation made up for the 420 years of Sabbath desecration. So during the millennium, or the one thousand years after Christ's second advent, the whole earth will lie desolate, or keep sabbath, for one thousand years, because that for six thousand years the world's inhabitants have disregarded the Sabbath. See this period and condition pointed out in Rev. 20:1-4; Isa. 24:1-6; Jer. 4:23-27. The periods of rest and desolation of the land are divinely appointed sabbatical compensations for man's irreligion, as manifested in Sabbath desecration. They are impressive lessons on the importance of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, and the results of breaking and disregarding it.