AN EXAMPLE OF FAITHFULNESS

Jeremiah 35:1-19 / Keywords 35:16

The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.

The Rekabites

35:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 2 “Go to the Rekabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. 4 I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5 Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

6 But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab[a] son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ 8 We have obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9 or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian[b] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

12 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. 14 ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

17 “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’”

18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19 Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.’”

Footnotes

a. Jeremiah 35:6 Hebrew Jonadab, a variant of Jehonadab; here and often in this chapter

b. Jeremiah 35:11 Or Chaldean

1. The Rekabites were a nomadic tribe that lived among the Israelites. The Lord told Jeremiah to invite them to the temple for fellowship, to hear their testimony (1-5). When Jeremiah offered them wine to drink, they refused and explained why they never drank wine or built houses for themselves. It was the command of their ancestor Jehonadab (6-10). 

2. God wanted Israel to learn a lesson from the Rekabites. They were more faithful to the commands of their ancestor than God’s own people were to keep his words! (13-16) The Rekabites’ lifestyle displayed their strong sense of identity. The Lord blessed the Rekabite line to continue and serve him through the generations (18-19). 

3. It is easy to live by just reacting to our situation, following the pattern of the world. But God calls us in Jesus to be different, holding on to our identity and purpose as the people of God. Sometimes we see good examples of commitment among those who are not God’s people. Let’s pray to find how we can hold on to God’s command in our daily life. God always blesses a decision to be faithful even to one thing. 

Prayer Father, help me be humble to learn from others who are faithful to their calling. Make me a good example of holding on to your word. 

One Word Keep God’s word in my lifestyle