Today’s message is a distinct word from the Lord to those that will listen.
[Study text: Jeremiah 35:1-19]
This story is one that I have always found intriguing and been blessed by in my own life. The name “Rechabites” is only used 4 times in the entire Bible and it is in this one chapter in Jeremiah. It has some very good instructive points in it that I want to share with you today. This entire family-line for several generations lived without compromise according to a command made by an Israelite forefather named Jonadab, the son of Rechab.
There obedience to that command again was this:
We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: 7 Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. 8 Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; 9 Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: 10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
Rechab: Of the tribe of Benjamin and lived at the time of King Saul. After Saul and Jonathan’s death, military officers in Saul’s army Rachab and his brother Baanah killed Saul’s son, Ishbosheth, thinking they would be greatly favored by David. Ishbosheth was Jonathan’s brother and Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth’s uncle and also caretaker; Rachab by Jeremiah’s time was a very distant great-grandfather.
Jehonadab/Jonadab: Means “Jehovah-largessed,” which means blessed or gifted by Jehovah, was the son of Rechab and by the time of Jeremiah was also a distant great-grandfather but one step closer in time.
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These two men as (Rechab) father and (Jonadab) son were men that lived in the time of King David at the beginning of his reign in Judah—whereas Jeremiah lived during the end of the time of Judah’s greatness and at the time of Jerusalem’s destruction (circa 600 B.C.; some 3 centuries after King David). This family line of the Rechabites had remained obedient to the instructions of their great-great-grandfather and godly man Jonadab for more than three hundred years!
Even as Jerusalem was being stripped of its glory and wealth and freedom by Nebuchadnezzar’s army, these family members did-not-compromise! That is the point of the Holy Spirit including the details of this short story in His Word. For the Lord said, “This family has walked in obedience to their human father’s commands even to this very day and yet, as the God of Israel, I have repeatedly called her to repentance and righteous living and they do not listen and refuse to obey. That is why this great destruction is upon the land of My former blessing. But for this family—there shall be no end to their family line; they shall always continue before Me and be blessed.” This passage also reminds me of this one:
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Referenced: Malachi 1:6-8 & 3:7-17]
Let’s look at what this story means for you and I in our day as ones forgiven of our sins, washed in the blood of Jesus, and given both His Holy Spirit and the written Word of God to know Him and live by His commands (like the children of Jonadab did for centuries obeying their father’s command).
I have shared with you that we need to read and know God’s Word for several very compelling reasons, which one of them is to know how He feels about things and what He promises. These two lengthy passages in Jeremiah and in Malachi tell us how God feels about honoring Him, our obedience, and how He rewards it. You would do well to reread both references this week and meditate on them toward your own blessing.
Why would a godly father command his descendents to not drink wine, nor have vineyards, plant field-crops, and to not build houses but to always live in tents? Is there anything wrong with those things, per se? No—yet Jonadab had learned something about being part of the people of the God of Israel that so few knew.
In considering the details of this story we can surmise these things, which things we can then relate to our lives today:
1.) Rechab (Jonadab’s father) had an evil heart as to kill an innocent man for (perhaps) someone’s possessions but at least for the desired favor by the king (2 Sam. 4)—and they slew the man in his bed that’s not even a fair fight.
2.) From King David there was no favor rather he had both Rechab and his accomplice-brother executed on the spot for murder.
3.) In the long-term reign of righteous King David, Rechab’s son Jonadab recognized a fact of life and that was that evil will not only continue but in time will come against the God’s true people, therefore his commandments were to help avoid or at least minimize trouble for his family-line.
4.) Wine is not generally forbidden except for those in the priesthood or ones serving in special capacities and for Nazarites. “Wine is a mocker and strong drink is raging, which leads to deception and foolishness” (Prov. 20:1)!
5.) Having vineyards and planting large plots of land for crops and building houses speaks to a permanence in one place—again something that is not typically wrong—except for those called to be ready to leave a place on short notice.
6.) Jonadab’s command against wine, and crops, and owning lands and houses was to keep his progeny free of covetousness, greed, and certain other psychological shackles that would lead to either terrible sin or his children’s captivity or untimely deaths.
7.) Jonadab’s reasons were so compelling that his descendants and their wives for more than 300 years did not fail to uphold that patrilineal edict. This was faithfully passed down from father to son and obeyed for more than 8 generations.
What do these things have to do with us today?
The nation of Israel having been delivered from Egyptian bondage for 40 years did not have bread to eat nor wine to drink (Dt. 29:6) because they were always living in tents and on the move frequently. Among the many things God was doing in their lives as a people of God (called to be a holy nation) was to strip them of their pagan ways and values, train them in the ways of God, teach them to be obedient, and by the successful accomplishment of these things God would bless everything about their lives (Mal. 3).
Very soon now (and it is even now beginning to happen among those with ears to hear) God is going to speak loud and clear to Christians and the Jews He wishes to save to leave their homes and lands and go to a prearranged safe place immediately ahead of the indignation that comes.
But what things will cause deafness and disobedience in the ears of these peoples today? Their happy times, their worldly friendships, their good-paying jobs, their comfortable homes, their sense of security in these things, and a faulty relationship and faith toward God.
The children of Jonadab had no deep roots in a place and could always pick up and leave just like the children of Israel did those 40 years in the Wilderness. When the Presence of God said, “It’s time to go!”—they took down their tents, loaded their carts, gathered in their few animals, and followed the cloud by day. Essentially, they were trained to be nomads.
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Referenced: 2 Corinthians 6:14-18, Revelation 18:3-5, Matthew 24:15-22]
What have I been pleading with you for years now to have on-hand and ready to go(?)—but a large tent, camping gear, some stored, non-perishable food and some water, and a bug-out-bag!
The Rechabites’ lifestyle was one where they could be ready to move in a couple hours and rely on the provision of God provided by their obedience.
You can trust the Lord to provide a safe place for you to flee to, to provide for you the necessities of life, and to protect you from the horrors of His judgment on the earth for sin if—you will hear His voice and obey what He says.
A large majority of those God desires to save from the terrors of great tribulation, including mega-earthquakes, radioactive fallout and also volcanic ash-filled skies, famine and no water, roving gangs and foreign invaders, and wicked rulers, [a large majority] will fail to hear or refuse to obey when He sounds the warning, “LEAVE NOW OR YOU WILL DIE!”
If you are not possessed by your possessions you will say, “Yes, Lord. I hear and obey. Lead me and I will follow.”
In your heart and daily life it is time to be a Rechobite, the sons and daughters of Jonadab, committed to the commands of your Father God and Savior the Lord Jesus Christ.
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Referenced: Luke 12:13-15, Luke 21:17-18, Romans 8:14-18]
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Tune your ears to His voice
and ready yourselves to obey
what our Father commands!
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~Brother Scott ... With ... The Right Word© ... For Today~
