2. Rechabites Jeremiah 35:1-19

3. Introduction When you think of famous nations / tribes / peoples of the Bible, Rechabites probably are not in your top ten  May not have been in your top 100 But God had Jeremiah point to this relatively obscure people as an example for Judah  So let us look at their example and understand the lesson God wanted Judah to understand

4. Background of Rechabites The Rechabites were descendants of Rechab through a man named Jonadab (Jehonadab)  Rechab was a Kenite The Kenites seem to have been one of the tribes that wandered in the Sinai peninsula  Some joined the children of Israel and entered the land of Canaan These were circumcised and followed the law of Moses, but were not joined to any of the 12 tribes

5. Background of Jonadab He is mentioned in 2 Kings 10:15-17  Jehu has just become king and is in the process of destroying Ahab's descendants  Jonadab states that he is on Jehu's side Then they go to Samaria and kill “all who remained to Ahab”  Not clear if Jonadab does the killing with Jehu's approval  or if Jehu does the killing with Jonadab's approval  Does not really matter The killing had been authorized by God Jonadab was on Jehu's side because Jehu was doing God's work of punishing the idolatry of Israel

6. The command of Jonadab Jer 35:1-11  God has Jeremiah offer wine to the Rechabites while in the temple of God The Rechabites explain they had certain rules  No wine (Heb. Yayin, any product of the grape), no permanent homes, no farms, no vineyards  They were not going to violate those rules The Rechabites could have reasoned  Jeremiah is a prophet, we are in God's temple, Jonadab was 200+ years dead, times have changed  Therefore, it must be okay But even though they were temporarily in Jerusalem due to a foreign army, they had taken no permanent home, nor would they break their rules

7. The lesson of the Rechabites Some use the story to teach obedience to parents  But although that is admirable and right, it is not the point Some want to use the Rechabites to teach abstinence  But then would have to teach nomadism (no homes, no farming, no vineyards) Others look at the Rechabites as a lesson against worldliness  Jonadab instituted his rules as a reaction against the evils of the worldliness of his day If the people of Israel had not settled down and become so used to the worldly goods, then perhaps they would not have betrayed God Perhaps a lot of truth there, but it isn't the point God wants to make to Jeremiah

8. The lesson of the Rechabites Did you ask yourself why God had Jeremiah make the offer of wine to the Rechabites?  God surely knew what their answer was going to be They had kept the rules of Jonadab faithfully for more than 200 years They were not going to just suddenly forsake those rules now  So the offer was not a test of the Rechabites, nor was it for God to learn something about them The lesson was for Jeremiah to learn something from the Rechabites reaction to the offer, and then teach that lesson to Judah

9. The lesson of the Rechabites Jeremiah 35:12-16  God says the lesson is in the contrast The Rechabites were commanded once, more than 200 years before, not to do certain things  And they faithfully obeyed under ALL circumstances Judah had been given commands by God, they had been constantly reminded of those commands by the prophets  And yet they could not seem to stop disobeying the commands of God  God wants His people to be like the Rechabites – FAITHFUL and OBEDIENT

10. The lesson of the Rechabites Consider the society in which the Rechabites remained faithful  Amos 2:6-8  Amos 6:1-8  Hosea 4:1-2, 11-13 Evil, wicked, and corrupt would not scratch the surface of Israel's spiritual condition  Yet the Rechabites remained faithful  People could say, “We can't help sinning. Look at all the sin with which we are surrounded.”  God says, “Look at the Rechabites!”

11. Lessons for Today We CAN remain faithful  Some people think faithfulness is impossible Yet many of them are faithful to unimportant things  Faithful to a sport's team or school (Waiting for hours in freezing temperatures, wearing the colors, spending money on tickets and merchandise)  Faithful to fashion trends  Faithful to TV shows  Faithful to their jobs  Faithful to their country None of those things is necessarily wrong But they show we can be faithful, if we want to If we can be faithful in those things, we can remain faithful to God

12. Lessons for Today We MUST remain faithful  Rev 2:10 Even in the face of death Even in the face of a wicked society God won't wait for repentance forever 2 Peter 3:8-10 Jer 35:17

13. What next? What became of the Rechabites?  Jer 35:18-19  Promised they would always have someone “to stand before” God “To stand before” means to come to worship (Jer 7:10, Lev 9:6)  A promise to always have access to the place of worship  Or a promise that at least one would always remain faithful  Or a promise that God would always look upon them in their faithfulness  One of the wokers on the wall of Jerusalem is called a “son of Rechab” (Neh 3:14)

14. Conclusion For many centuries scholars assumed the Rechabites had died out  In 1839, a bedouin tribe in Yemen were found who claimed to be Rechabites  Later in the 1800s another bedouin tribe near the Dead Sea was found who made the same claim They dwelt in tents They drink nothing from the grape They neither farm nor plant vineyards Still faithful to the commands of Jonadab almost 3000 years later Will God find us to be as faithful to Him?