Remaining Faithful

This morning I came to Jeremiah 35 and within this chapter I learn about the Rechobites. The Rechobites were a group of people who were decedents of Rechab. Rachab was an early ancestor of the Kenite Tribe which became identified with the tribe of Judah. They moved into Jerusalem due to the war.

Jeremiah is using the Rechobites as an example in Chapter 35. God command Jeremiah to gather this group of people together, "Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink." (vs. 3). We see in verse 5 that Jeremiah obeyed the Lord, "Then I set before the men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, "Drink wine!."

In the following verses we see how the Rechobites responded to Jeremiah's request and why, "But they said, "We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, 'You shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but in tents you shall dwell all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.' (vs .6-7).

We see in verses 8-11 that these people remained obedient to their father's wishes, "We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, or father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons or our daughters, nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; and we do not have vineyard or field or seed. We have only dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. But when Nebuchadnezzar kind of Babylon came up against the land, we said, 'Come and let us go to Jerusalem before the army of the Chaldeans and before the army of the Armeans,' So we have dwelt in Jerusalem."

The fact that these people didn't drink is not my point. But the fact that they were obedient is. And that is why God told Jeremiah to gather them together and ask them to drink wine. He knew they'd remain faithful to their father's command. "The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are observed. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. But I have spoken to you (Judah) again and again; yet you have not listened to Me. Also I have sent to you all My servants the prophets, sending them again and again, saying; 'Turn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to worship them. Then you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me. Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me." (vs. 14-16)

Remember how God uses repetition to get his point across? We see in these verses He repeats, "again and again" and "you have not listened to Me." My Bible Dictionary says of Jeremiah using the Rechobites as an example, "Jeremiah utilizes the example of the Rechabites and their obedience to their father to drink no wine as a method of sharply berating the nation for their lack of obedience to God. The Rechabites, though thirsty, had refused to partake of the wine rather than break faith. The Israelites, though partakers of the divine blessings, had indeed broken the covenant."

Because these people remained faithful they were blessed, "therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, "Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me always." (vs. 19)

They were thirsty and were given an opportunity to quench that thirst. I'm sure it looked good and would have given them immediate satisfaction. So often we see that something on the other side of our faith fence that looks better then what we're dealing with on our side. Standing upon faith and being obedient can be a difficult thing to remain faithful to when it hurts. You just want to jump over the fence to what looks like a quick resolution because it looks like it'll be better then what you have.

My Streams in the Desert devotional spoke of a couple who were on vacation traveling through a very small town in the middle of nowhere. There they meet a lady who had very little contact with the outside world. The one thing that bothered her was that she didn't have a radio and therefore didn't get to listen to any music. Yet behind her little house was a pond that was full of wildlife. When asked if she had frogs she said, "Yes, and they croak every night!" The traveler was astonished that this woman would rather listen to music then the music of nature. I love what the last paragraph had to say, "this poor 'deaf' woman had her ears tuned to the horizon and never knew that she was missing the wonderful harmonies of nature. Just as so often we fix our eyes on the 'apples on the other side of the wall.'"

What is my lesson to be learned from the Rechabites and the 'deaf' woman? Faithful obedience. No matter what temptation or what looks like a quick fix to a painful time is set before me I need to remain faithful to my Heavenly Father.

Krista Jones
8.23.08

Bible Reading Guide:

Beginning to End: Ezek. 25-27
Old and New Testaments Together: Proverbs 1-2 & I Cor. 16
Historical: Neh. 1-3
Chronological: Ezek. 35-37
Blended: Judges 1-3 & John 2

The Bible reading guides will be taken from Back to the Bible