Faithful to Obey – Jer 35
The rough desert garments of the Rechabites contrasted sharply with the rich furnishings of Temple apartments. They had been invited there by Jeremiah and told to drink of wine places before them.
They refused to drink, referencing their father’s commands many years before. He told his sons and their sons after them to never drink wine, build any house, plant and field or vineyard and live a nomadic lifestyle in tents.
They said, we will not drink because we want to be faithful to our father and obey his instructions. The only reason they were in Jerusalem was because of the Babylonian invasion.
It was a setup. They had brought there as an illustration of faithfulness in a time of compromise. God knew they would stay true and wanted to show all of Judah that the way the Rechabites obeyed their father was the way the Judeans should have obeyed Him.
No matter how many times God told His people what to do they did not listen. But when Jonadab told his sons what to do they listened and continued to listen through the generations.
Do we have the fidelity of the men of Rechab? Or the waywardness of the people of Judah? Do we listen to God’s Word? Or do we drift and disobey? May we learn from the faithfulness of the men of Rechab.