Focal Passage: Jeremiah 35:5-19
Introduction: We observe the Rechabites who in Jeremiah’s day were descendants or followers of Jonadab. Jeremiah 34 shows us Jerusalem shortly before it is destroyed in 586 B.C. Jeremiah’s people and us need the lesson on the difference between an obedient and disobedient heart.
What does the text say? The text introduces us to the Rechabites. They were descendants/followers of Jonadab, son of Rechab from Jeremiah 35:6. Jonadab helped destroy the house of Ahab about 250 years prior in II Kings 10:15-28. He also restored the worship of the Lord God in the Northern Kingdom. Jeremiah’s interaction with the Rechabites tells us they had adopted a faithfulness to Yahweh with certain restrictions, choosing a lifestyle more akin to the period of wilderness wandering.
Tyler
The restrictions they held were to never build or settle in a house but live in a tent, no planting of gardens, and no consumption of alcohol. The faithfulness of the Rechabites listening to instruction 250 years old from Jonadab, highlights the lack of listening to God’s commands after repeated attempts by the Lord.
Judah and Jerusalem will face judgment but the faithfulness of the Rechabites is commended and rewarded.
What does the text mean? One should focus on verse 15 as critical in teaching this passage or chapter of Jeremiah. Verse 15 highlights the illustration of the Rechabites over and against Judah. While the Rechabites held to faith traditions that the Bible did not command, they were not necessarily wrong.
Moses had warned Israel of the danger of settling in the promised land in Deuteronomy 8:11-20 and the temptation to adopt the Canaanite culture and religion, which many did do. The faithfulness of the Rechabites, even in the face of public pressure and accepting hospitality to drink in verse 5, shows those in Jerusalem what a faithful life looks like.
They were not just loyal as individuals, but also as a community. We should never forget the power of a united church to share the gospel as in John 13:35. Community faithfulness continues to be powerful.
How does the text apply? Repeated calls from God should never be ignored. Verse 15 reminds us that the prophets that God had called were not speaking their own words but God’s Word. We should never stray from the Word of God in our churches. We should actively listen in a world of noise and be doers of what is given in the WORD. Dwight L. Moody said, “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”
Be clear on the difference between biblical and non-biblical rules. When we instruct or tell someone on right and wrong, use the term “biblically wrong” when applicable, particularly with children.
When you add rules like don’t play cards, don’t dance, or don’t have sex outside of marriage, it will lead to confusion. The one receiving instruction will see only one command in the Bible, then begin to question all of the rules, and likely reject all three.
Never forget the high cost of disobedience. The cost of not listening will always lead to hardening of hearts. B&R
