Daily Devotions
Jeremiah
"Jonadab our father commanded us"
Text: Jeremiah 35:10
THE TESTIMONY OF THE RECHABITES
Jeremiah had given an invitation to the Rechabite family to dine with him in one of the residences of the Temple. When wine was offered to the Rechabites they responded by giving a testimony.
“But they said, ‘We will drink no wine,
for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying,
‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever.
You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these;
but all your days you shall dwell in tents,
that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’
Thus we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father,
in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days,
we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,
nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in;
nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed.
But we have dwelt in tents and have obeyed and done
according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
But it came to pass, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
came up into the land, that we said,
‘Come, 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.'”
Jeremiah 35:6-11
1. The Rechabites had their own family tradition
a) They did not own homes in cities.
b) They lived in tents.
c) They had recently come into Jerusalem because of the war with the Babylonians.
d) They also feared the Syrian marauders.
2. They were given certain commands from their father Jonadab, the son of Rechab.
a) They are not to partake of wine.
b) They were to live in tents.
c) They would have a nomadic lifestyle.
d) They would not own:
i) Houses
ii) Vineyards
iii) Fields and seeds
3. They had kept these commands faithfully
a) Thus, they turned down Jeremiah’s offer of wine.
b) They chose to obey their father’s commands.