TURN to JEREMIAH 35 • Today the Ladies Are at the Women's Retre

Home , 2 Kings 10, Jaazaniah, Jeremiah 35

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INTRODUCTION: TURN TO JEREMIAH 35 • Today the ladies are at the Women’s Retreat, so I thought it might be appropriate to talk to the guys • I want to talk about the power of a godly man • There are over 151 million men in America • Of that number, 27 million are between the ages of 5 and 17 years old • And this is what’s frightening… over half of those young men are being raised without a dad in the house • That means young men are being left without a spiritual role model • Young men are being raised without man on man mentoring • Young men are being raised without a “father figure” • So young men are turning to other places for guidance… pop culture, media, sports heroes and their friends… • The result is a lack of godly leadership on all levels of culture • I think the absence of godly men is a big reason for a resurgence in super heroes… young men are looking for heroes • Strong godly men who they can not only look up to, but whose life they can follow • Today we are going to look at a group of people who were influence by one godly man • And because they followed his example, God promised a special blessing on them • The people are known as the Rechabites… so let’s begin by reading their story

Jeremiah 35:1–10 (NKJV) 35 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, 4 and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door. 5 Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 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 The Power Of A Godly Man / Jeremiah 35 © 2015 Holland Davis ______THE FATHER’S HEART SERIES sons, forever. 7 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.’ 8 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, 9 nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed. 10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

To understand what is going on here, we need some history • The Rechabites were descendents of Jethro • Jethro was the father in law of Moses • So they came from a family with a rich spiritual heritage • The father of the Rechabites was a man by the name of Jonadab, the son of Rechab • Jonadab lived in a period of Israel’s history when Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel introduced the worship of Baal and Asherah on a national level • Jezebel brought in 450 prophets of Baal and 400 prophets of Asherah to Israel and Ahab her husband did nothing to stop it • In fact, Ahab worshipped the Lord and he also worshipped Baal and Asherah • Now why would Ahab compromise his convictions? • For money and power • It was through marriage that treaties were made so by marrying Jezebel he gained political power and increased business • So Ahab lived a life of compromise and these were the times that Jonadab lived in

We learn about Jonadab in 2 Kings 10:15-16 where Jonadab assists Jehu as he is going to execute judgment on Ahab and his evil wife Jezebel 2 Kings 10:15–17 (NKJV) 15 Now when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab, coming to meet him; and he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. 16 Then he said, “Come with me, and 17 see my zeal for the LORD.” So they had him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he

• So He assists Jehu in wiping out all of Ahab’s followers and then goes back to the temple of Baal and assists him again in wiping out all the worshippers of Baal • Now Jehu was a radical guy, but he let some things slide

We read of Jehu 2 Kings 10:29–31 (NKJV) 29 However Jehu did not turn away from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who had made Israel sin, that is, from the golden calves that were at 30 Bethel and Dan. And the LORD said to Jehu, “Because you have done well in doing what is right in My sight, and have done to the house of Ahab all that was in My heart, your sons shall sit on the throne of Israel to the 31 fourth generation.” But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart; for he did not depart from the sins of Jeroboam, who had made Israel sin.

All of this had an influence on Jonadab • He saw Jehu’s radical zeal for the Lord, but he also saw Jehu compromise his walk with God • I believe that Jonadab made a commitment to raise up godly sons that would follow the Lord • Keep in mind that Elijah is alive at this time and Jonadab was probably there to witness the show down between the prophets of Baal and the prophet of God • Taking into consideration the times they were in, he made some decisions about what it would take to insure that both he and his sons would have a right heart towards God • And for Jonadab that meant no wine, no houses and no farms • No wine to remain sober and vigilant in this world • No houses to remember that they were strangers and pilgrims in this world • No farms so that they would devote themselves to serving the Lord • In fact we learn in 1 Chronicles 2:55 that Jonadab was a scribe • The job of the scribes were to copy the Torah and to preserve the Word of God for future generations • The scribes were also teachers of the law because they knew the law The Power Of A Godly Man / Jeremiah 35 © 2015 Holland Davis ______THE FATHER’S HEART SERIES

• Jonadab’s convictions were so strong that 300 years later, the descendents of Jonadab are still following their father’s example • That is the power of a godly man

Now this is where it gets interesting… • God tells Jeremiah to invite the Rechabites to come into one of the large rooms of the Temple, and to set pots of wine before them with the invitation to drink • Keep in mind that for 300 years they’ve been clean and sober • I know you get a coin after 1 year but what do you get after 300 years? • The Rechabites lived according to this code of holiness… like the Amish • The only reason they were in Jerusalem was because the Babylonians had taken over their land and they fled to Jerusalem for safety • Their obedience to their father’s commands impressed Jeremiah • But God tells Jeremiah to invite them in for a drink

Now why would God do that? Is He tempting them to drink wine? • No… God doesn’t tempt us to sin • What are you saying? Is it a sin to drink wine? • The Bible doesn’t say it’s a sin to drink wine… it says it’s a sin to be drunk with wine • In fact, there are 4 cups of wine in the Passover… • So it wasn’t a sin to drink wine • But for the Rechabites, it was a sin because their father commanded them to never drink wine, to never build houses, to live in tents and to never plant vineyards, fields or sow seed… • To remind them that they are sojourners, travelers here on earth • And what’s impressive is they followed their father’s example • Now that’s faithfulness!!!

Here is the truth about trials • Trials or times of testing reveal what is really there • They give us the opportunity to live out what we really believe • They are not for learning as much as they are for exposing

For instance, when did Abraham become the father of faith? • If you look at Abraham’s early life, he was a coward • Lying about his wife being his wife so he wouldn’t be killed

• It was God who protected Abraham’s wife, not Abraham! • We know that Abraham believed God and God counted it as righteousness • But Abraham’s belief didn’t become real until he was about to sacrifice his son Isaac on Mount Moriah • It wasn’t until he had the knife in the air, ready to plunge into the heart of his only son whom he loved that he became the father of faith • Because we are told that he believed that God would raise Isaac from the dead… that’s faith • Oftentimes we can say we believe, but it doesn’t become real until we’re put into a situation where we have to live out what we believe • And it’s at that point that our belief becomes something greater than a theory or an idea or a theology… • It becomes a reality… our faith becomes real • That’s why the Book of James is so focused on living what you believe • The point of James is not the difference between faith and works • The point of James is simply to say that our works are proof of our faith • That is you don’t live what you believe, then you don’t really believe it • And what our culture needs today are men who are men of faith • Whose faith is not just a bunch of empty talk around the dining room table… but who live out their faith with such conviction that their influence is still felt generations after they are gone

Now, here we also see another reason for trials Jeremiah 35:12–16 (NKJV) 12 13 Then came the word of the LORD to Jeremiah, saying, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction to obey My 14 words?” says the LORD. “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; for to this day they drink none, and obey their father’s commandment. But although I have spoken to you, rising early and speaking, you did not obey Me. 15 I have also sent to you all My servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Turn now everyone from his evil way, amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them; then you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me. 16 Surely the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them, but this people has not obeyed Me.” ’

• The other reason we see for God testing the Rechabites is to make them an example of obedience to the nation of Judah • Through the example of the Rechabites He says… listen Judah, these guys obey the commands of their father and they’re remained faithful for over 300 years • Yet I’ve spoken to you directly, I even spoke to you first… before you were influenced by anyone else, I even sent you my prophets and yet you didn’t obey me • Here’s the gold for us men today… we need to understand, whether you agree or not… but your life is on display • There are little ears and little eyes listening to your conversations and watching your every move and they are going to make decisions for their lives based on what they see and hear • Make sure that you are living a life that is fully surrendered to Jesus • It doesn’t stop when your kids grow up • Your life is an example to someone… make sure it’s a godly example

Now notice the reward of faithfulness in vs. 18 Jeremiah 35:18–19 (NKJV) 18 And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done 19 according to all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever.” ’ ”

What’s the reward? • You will not lack a man to stand before the Lord forever • Notice it’s not Jonadab or Rechab that will stand before the Lord • It’s the men that they will influence • In other words, you will influence generations of men to follow after the Lord… hallelujah • Listen, it doesn’t take an army of godly men to change the world • It only takes one • One man who is willing to live out his faith, stick to his convictions • For that man who decides to live a godly life, you have the joy of standing in the Presence of God

• The Bible says that in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand there are pleasures evermore • Joy and satisfaction is promised to the man who lives a life of faithfulness to God • THAT IS THE POWER OF A GODLY MAN