CHAPTER 35

(607 B.C.)

THE OBEDIENCE OF THE RECHABITES

¹The Word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying (as the Prophecy in the previous Chapter came just months before the fall of Jerusalem, this Prophecy in Chapter 35 came in the days of Jehoiakim, which was approximately 20 years earlier),

²Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the House of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. (The House of the LORD refers to the Temple, with one of the chambers referring to one of the many rooms in Solomons Temple.

And give them wine to drink, refers to intoxicating beverage. This might seem strange coming from the Lord; however, in the light of the entire episode, we will find this is not so.)

³Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites (the Jeremiah spoken of here was not the Prophet Jeremiah, but rather one of the Rechabite rulers);

⁴And I brought them into the House of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door (whoever these sons of Hanan were, Jeremiah calls one of their group the son of Igdaliah, a man of God):

⁵And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink you wine.

⁶But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons forever (Jonadab was a Kenite, one of the descendants of the father-in-law of Moses. He lived during the time of Jehu, king of the Northern Confederacy of Israel. There is some small evidence that he may have helped Jehu in his extermination of the evil family of Ahab [II Ki. 10:15, 17]. At any rate, he definitely was not an idol worshipper, and seemed to have a zeal for the Lord. He commanded that his sons nor your sons forever not drink intoxicating wine or dwell in houses. These commands were binding from generation to generation, and it seems they had been kept, at least up to this time):

⁷Neither shall you build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days you shall dwell in tents; that you may live many days in the land where you be strangers. (The reason for these two commands [the drinking of no wine and not living in houses, but rather tents] seemed to have something to do with the religion of Baal, which was prominent in the time of Jonadab. Seeing this debauchery, it seems that Jonadab chose the very opposite lifestyle. From this account, it seems to have been approved greatly by the Lord, even to the using of Jonadabs descendants as a Godly example to Judah. It should be an example to us, as well!)

⁸Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he has charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters (as stated here, Jonadab impressed this charge upon all his descendants);

⁹Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

¹⁰But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. (Little did these people realize that the Lord was taking careful note of all their activities; therefore, when the time came for them to be used of the Lord as an example of faith and obedience, they were ready.)

¹¹But it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem. (Inasmuch as every room in Jerusalem no doubt was filled, the tents of the Rechabites may have then been the better mode of accommodation.)

¹²Then came the Word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying,

¹³Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction to hearken to My Words? says the LORD. (All of this portrays the hurt felt by the Lord of Glory at the spiritual condition of His People.)

¹⁴The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their fathers commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but you hearkened not unto Me. (The Holy Spirit is actually asking, If the sons of Jonadab would heed his words, why would not Gods sons heed His Words?)

¹⁵I have sent also unto you all My Servants the Prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return you now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but you have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto Me. (Three times in this one Chapter the Lord uses the phrase, nor hearkened unto Me [Vss. 14, 15, and 16]. The repetition portrays to the reader the significance of this command.)

¹⁶Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them: but this people has not hearkened unto Me (once again, the Holy Spirit points to the comparison of the Rechabites and Gods People. The Rechabites obeyed, while Judah would not!):

¹⁷Therefore thus says the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them: because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered. (The wickedness of Israels disobedience is emphasized by the Title, Jehovah Elohim Zabaoth Elohim of Israel. The full and most solemn use of this Divine Title occurs three times in this Book [35:17; 38:17; 44:7].)

GODS COVENANT WITH THE RECHABITES

¹⁸And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel; Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he has commanded you:

¹⁹Therefore thus says the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before Me forever. (The form of this Promise is remarkable. Exactly what the Lord meant by this is not clearly stated. This we do know: it was a favor to be compared only to that accorded to His most honored servants among the Israelites the Patriarchs, the Priests, and the Prophets.

Incidentally, they refused the command to drink the wine, even as the Lord knew they would, and even as they should have refused.)