Even the world has standards. Jeremiah makes an illustration from the Rechabites that the Lord’s people don’t follow His standards.
Jeremiah 35: The Obedience of the Rechabites
1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
2 "Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink."
3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites.
4 I brought them to the house of the LORD into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold.
5 Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, "Drink wine."
6 But they answered, "We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, 'You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever.
7 You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.'
8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,
9 and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed,
10 but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, 'Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Syrians.' So we are living in Jerusalem."
12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah:
13 "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the LORD.
14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me.
15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, 'Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.' But you did not incline your ear or listen to me.
16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.
17 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."
18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, "Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you,
19 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me."
Things to think about…
1. n Jer 35:1-16, Jeremiah is making a point when he offers wine to the descendants of Rechab. He knew they would not accept his offer to drink wine. In the NT we are told never to put a stumbling block before anyone. Is this hypocrisy in the scriptures where the Lord tells Jeremiah to do something that he knew the Rechabites would not agree with? Certainly not, these men were not recovering alcoholics. The point is that these men obeyed their earthly father, why should the children of the Lord disobey their heavenly Father.
2. Jonadab the son of Rechab, Jer 35:6 was invited by Jehu back in 2Kings 10 to carry out the Lord’s judgement upon the house of Ahab. He was a mighty leader within that line of the family and his decree to not drink wine was honoured by all his descendants. Do you have family traditions that have been kept for generations? What value do you put on them? What about when it comes to the church, are there traditions that should be kept? While some traditions are limiting to outreach, some are used by the Lord to reach the unsaved. I would consider carols, Christmas and easter services to be in this category.
3. These Rechabites have come into Jerusalem for protection because they only lived in tents and agreed never to own land. This is a symbol of our temporary status here on earth, we are just passing through. The church, as represented by Jerusalem, should be a protection from the world and be a place where we receive comfort, protection, accountability and truth. This is why the church needs to stay near the truth of God’s word. The Rechabites were honoured for their obedience and the Lord promised that they shall never lack a man to stand before Him”, Jer 35:19.
4. The Lord blesses the Rechabites for their stance, Jer 35:17-19. Apparently, there was a tribe of Bedouins even into the 19th Century recorded that traced their lineage to Rechab. We know this family was blessed when they were taken to Babylon because they saw the Lord’s provision through these events. Has the Lord blessed and honoured you because of your stance upon a moral issue?
Vision statement for CBC
CBC’s Vision :- To be a growing biblical church community, significantly influencing our city and beyond, through intentional outreach, fulfilling our mission.
Life groups Wednesday – 6:30pm at church. 5:30om for prayer. We will be discussing how Jesus is the King in your life. New Life group starting in Karana Downs.
Prayer Points
1. Easter services – pray for messages and visitors
2. Pray for Israel/Gaza, Ukraine wars. May Yeshua, the Prince of Peace still the storms
3. New people as they settle in
4. New Life group in Karana Downs
5. Those that haven’t come to church for a while to return.
6. Revival over our city.
7. Finances to cover our needs
8. Pray for PlayPatch, Kids church and Kids Hope at Karalee State school.
9. Growth, conversions, joy in the Word and Spirit to increase.
Praise Points
1. Praise God for response to Hs word on Sunday.
2. PlayPatch keeps seeing new people every week.
3. The Lord’s grace over our lives and country
4. Café, music, kids church, admin, sound and technical team every week
5. Joy, peace and grace we see at CBC. Thankyou Lord
Announcements
1. Ministries this week. Life group, Kids@Church, Kids Hope - Karalee.
2. PlayPatch 1-5yos, Fridays 9:30am at church.
3. Church bank details bsb:- 704 913 and Acc number:- 4000 4388 1
4. Tune in again this week on our YouTube page. Subscribe to the CBC channel Chuwar Baptist YouTube channel.
Catechism questions for March...
Q. 30. What does every sin deserve? A. The anger and judgement of God.
