The Faithfulness of the Rechabites
Jeremiah 35:1-19 give us a positive contrast with the unfaithfulness of Judah.
In Jeremiah 34, King Zedekiah was presented as the ultimate promise-breaker. First, he violated his treaty with Nebuchadnezzar by allying with Egypt. Then, when Nebuchadnezzar started attacking Jerusalem, he freed all the Hebrew slaves but changed his mind after Egypt came to help fight. God was displeased:
Jeremiah 34:17 CSB
Therefore, this is what the Lord says: You have not obeyed me by proclaiming freedom, each for his fellow Hebrew and for his neighbor. I hereby proclaim freedom for you—this is the Lord’s declaration—to the sword, to plague, and to famine! I will make you a horror to all the earth’s kingdoms.
God was unhappy with Zedekiah’s promise-breaking, especially when he took the slaves’ freedom away. But, since God is a promise keeper, and he wants his people to be like him, chapter 35 compares the promise-breaking of Judah and King Zedekiah with the promise-keeping of a little-known people called the Rechabites.
The Rechabites are related to Jethro, Moses’ father-in-law. They lived nomadic lives separated from the other Israelites—like the Amish of our time who prefer to live away from the rest of society to preserve their way of life.
One historian (R. White) says of them, “The Rechabites were a family guild who worshipped God strictly after the manner of the pilgrim patriarchs, living as nearly as possible in the nomadic fashion of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob.”
But, when the northern kingdom fell, they moved south into more populated areas. And eventually, when it was no longer safe to live in their tents, they moved into Jerusalem for protection, where their oaths were tested.
The Rechabites Faithfulness Tested (1-5)
God commands the test in verses 1-2.
Jeremiah 35:2 CSB
“Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the temple of the Lord to offer them a drink of wine.”
So that’s what Jeremiah does. He gathers all the Rechabite leaders together in the temple, puts wine before them, and offers them a drink.
We can imagine them trying to rationalize a drink— “When in Jerusalem, do as the Jerusalemites do.” Or, “What if we offend our hosts by refusing?” These were probably just a few of the thoughts they had, and they weren’t necessarily wrong thoughts. But they had a greater loyalty.
The Recabites’ Loyalty to Jonadab (6-11)
Jonadab was their ancestor, their forefather, and he had commanded them not to drink wine. Jonadab probably thought prohibiting alcohol would help them stay away from Baal worship which was often accompanied by heavy drinking and worldly living.
Village Missions, the organization I work for, has a similar rule for its pastors and doesn’t allow us to drink. In many rural communities, alcoholism is a rampant problem, and the belief is that these communities need a leader to show them a way forward without alcohol. You may disagree with that, but the point is, it’s what I agreed to do.
For the Rechabites, it was pretty easy to obey while they were out in the desert. Of course, they didn’t have any vineyards in the desert, so they didn’t have access to any wine. But in Jerusalem, alcohol was readily available, and Jonadab had been dead for 250 years. What would they say?
Jeremiah 35:6 CSB
But they replied, “We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded, ‘You and your descendants must never drink wine.
And so they didn’t drink. A promise is a promise. They kept their oaths. Even though their situation had changed, they were going to keep their word, and that was that.
Now, this was in stark contrast to the promise-breaking of Zedekiah and Judah.
The Rebuke to Judah (12-17)
Notice the contrasts:
The Rechabites obeyed a fallible leader (v.14), but Judah’s leader was the eternal God (cf. Mal 1:6). How much more should they have obeyed God?
Jonadab gave his commands to the Rechabites only once, but God repeatedly sent his messages to his people (v.15).
The restrictions that bound the Rechabites did not deal with eternal issues, but God’s messages to his people had eternal implications. So how much more should his people pay attention?
The Rechabites obeyed the commands of Jonadab for about three hundred years, but the Lord’s people constantly disobeyed (v.16).
The loyalty of the Rechabites would be rewarded, but the disloyalty of God’s people would be punished (v.17).
God emphasizes these contrasts to encourage us to be like the Rechabites, not Judah. Judah was shamed.
In our culture, we don’t like the idea of shame. I remember one time I said, “shame on you” to one of my 4th grade students, and the next thing I knew, I was talking with a parent who was upset not about what their child did wrong but about my use of those “awful” words.
But in this section of scripture, God uses shame to impress upon his people just how bad they are. And the main problem with Judah was their lack of faithfulness and unwillingness to listen.
Jeremiah 35:17 ESV
Therefore, thus says the Lord, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.”
Throughout the gospels, Jesus says, “He who has ears, let him hear,” which is not just a generic statement for “hey, everybody, pay attention.” Instead, Jesus is calling for people to take careful heed and do what he says.
One of the things Jesus told his disciples to do was, “let our 'Yes' be 'Yes,' and our 'No,' 'No.' For whatever is more than these is from the evil one.” In other words, we should keep our promises. Promises are good, and we should always do our best to keep them, and if we do, there will be a great reward.
The Recabites’ Reward (18-19)
The Rechabites kept their promises to their ancestor Jonadab, so God rewarded them. Jeremiah 35:19 gives us the specific blessing:
Jeremiah 35:19 CSB
This is what the Lord of Armies, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before me always.
In other words, God promised that Jonadab’s descendants would always be in his presence. The word “stand” in verse 19 can also be translated as “serve.” And some believe that the blessing refers to Jonadab’s descendants becoming a part of the tribe of Levi and serving as Levitical priests.
Interestingly, I’m also told some records indicate the Rechabites are still living in the East. This is evidence that God keeps his promises and blesses those who listen to him and keep their promises too.
As God’s children, we need to be good listeners. We need to listen to his word and the Holy Spirit's prompting to confess our sins. We should be quick to listen, but not just to listen only. We also need to do what we hear God saying. Then God will call us good and faithful servants.