THROUGH THE BIBLE STUDY JEREMIAH 35-37 Jesus was on retreat with His disciples in Caesarea Philippi, when He asked them, “Who do men say that I am?” The disciples came back with the most recent Gallup tracking poll... “Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah, or one of the prophets.” But it’s intriguing that there were some folks who mistook Jesus, the Son of God, for Jeremiah! What a compliment to Jeremiah! He lived 600 years before Christ, but he must’ve been a Christ-like person. Jeremiah was one of the godliness men in the Bible. The irony though, is that despite the fact Jeremiah was highly esteemed among the first century Jews, in Jesus’ day - in his own day, the sixth century BC, Jeremiah was much maligned and persecuted. The man was a priest, a prophet, and a patriot… Jeremiah maintained a deep intimacy with God… He spoke boldly the words God gave him to speak… He interceded with God on behalf of the people… Yet the Jews of his day, turned a deaf ear to him. They refused to listen to his message. In fact, they tried to shut him up. First, by slinging mud - finally by sinking him in the mud. Chapter 36 continues the saga of Jeremiah and his attempts to deal with the Jews… But first, the prophet shifts gears and gives us a story of another group of people called the Rechabites. !1 Chapter 35, “The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying…” We’ve mentioned this before, but remember this book is not in chronological order. “The days of Jehoiakim” were eighteen years earlier than the events involving King Zedekiah in chapter 34. God speaks to Jeremiah, “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. 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,” The Rechabites were an interesting group of people. They weren’t true Hebrews. They were Kennites - a branch of the Midianites, a collection of nomadic tribes. These were the descendants of Jethro, who became Moses’ father-in-law - after he left Egypt the first time and married Yvonne de Carlo… I mean “Zipporah.” Technically, the Rechabites were Gentiles, who seem to have been assimilated into the Israelite family due to their connection with their forefather, Jethro. Incidentally, the Jeremiah in verse 3 is not our Jeremiah. We know the Prophet was never married and thus, never had a son. This man was a Rechabite. The Jeremiah writes, “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 !2 princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door.” Around the outside of the Temple’s inner court there were chambers, or meeting rooms where different interest groups gathered to conduct Temple business. A chamber for the ushers, and women’s ministry (where they kept the leftover fru-fru), and for children’s ministry. It was sort of like an administrative wing. The Rechabites were brought to one of these rooms. Verse 5 must’ve been sort of a test. “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.” “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.’ Jonadab, father of the Rechabites, lived in Israel shortly after the time of the wicked King Ahab. He helped King Jehu put an end to the vile worship of Baal in the northern kingdom. And he gave his heirs a few prohibitions. The Rechabites weren’t to drink wine, or build homes, or plant fields and vineyards. They weren’t to settle down. They were to live a nomadic lifestyle. Apparently, the Rechabites were like the Nazarites. !3 In Israel there were men who took a special vow to God. The Nazarite vow involved three prohibitions… Not to touch the fruit of the vine - grapes or wine… Not to cut your hair… And not to come in conduct with anything dead. The Nazarites were a walking billboard for the values of God. They avoided cocktails, clips, and cemeteries. Wine represented physical pleasure. Hair is a part of outward beauty. A corpse reminds us of life’s brevity. Thus, to avoid wine was to seek spiritual pleasure over physical. To forego a haircut was to value inward beauty over outward. And to steer clear of corpses and funerals was to set your sites on eternity rather than the here and now… The Nazarite’s life was a advertisement for godly living - real pleasure is found in spiritual things not physical, real beauty is inward not outward, real meaning is found in eternity not on earth. The vow of the Rechabites was not as extensive, but it too majored on avoiding wine and not planting vines. Wine is a symbol of earthly, physical pleasure. And though the Bible allows it in moderation, the Scriptures warn us repeatedly of its dangers. It can lead us astray. The Rechabite vow was also about sinking roots. Essentially, their lifestyle said don’t get comfortable in this life. Like Christians today they were pilgrims and strangers on earth. They should live like citizens of heaven. The Rechabites had been faithful to their vow. !4 They continue in verse 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, 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.” For 300 years they had kept their father’s commands. And even now when tested by Jeremiah these faithful folks had remain resolute. They continue, verse 11, “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.” The only reason they’re inside the city now was due to the Babylonians outside. They sought protection. “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 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. 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 !5 you will dwell in the land which I have given you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear, nor obeyed Me. 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.”’ God was using the Rechabites to prick the conscience of the Jews. For 300 years they were faithful to their father’s calling. Yet the Jews couldn’t remain obedient to their Father God for a few weeks.. Verse 17 continues, “Therefore thus says the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the doom that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them but they have not heard, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’ 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 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.”’” Because they were faithful, God will favor the Rechabites. God loves obeidence. The Rechabites will always have a representative before God. According to the Jewish Mishnah, they had a special day of the year where it was their honor to collect firewood for the altar in the Temple. !6 I suppose a descendant of Jonadab is hanging out around the throne in heaven today. They’ll also have a special place in Jesus’ administration when He returns. Chapter 36, “Now it came to pass in the fourth year of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, that this word came to Jeremiah from the Lord, saying…” The fourth year of Jehoiakim was 605 BC, the first time Nebuchadnezzar threatened Jerusalem.