In these studies in the second half of the book of Jeremiah,  we will see God’s word coming through Jeremiah and being rejected again and again. We will see the difficulties of Jeremiah but also the way he is saved through it all. Jeremiah is God’s reporter on the spot, in the midst of one of the most tumultuous periods in Israel’s history.

For those who may wish to ‘study’ this chapter, and the particular theme, as with studies elsewhere, each passage has a four-Part approach to help you take in and think further about what you have read on the main Bible page.

The Rekabites Come

Jer 35:1-11

 1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: ² “Go to the Rekabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”

³ So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. ⁴ I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. ⁵ Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”

⁶ But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. ⁷ Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ ⁸ We have obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine ⁹ or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. ¹⁰ We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. ¹¹ But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”

A. Find Out

1. In whose reign did this happen? v.1
2. What did the Lord tell Jeremiah to do? v.2
3. Why did they refuse wine? v.6
4. What sort of lifestyle did they have? v.7
5. Who were they following? v.6,8,10
6. Why were they in Jerusalem? v.11

B. Think:

1. Why was Jeremiah “interviewing” this family?
2. What do you think the Lord was doing?
3. What sort of people were this family?

C. Comment:

We backtrack now to an incident that occurred earlier in Jeremiah’s ministry, during Jehoiakim’s reign. The Lord, it seems, is about to give an object lesson of some kind using this family.

He tells Jeremiah to invite this family to come and drink wine in the temple of the Lord, so this Jeremiah does.  When the family come they politely refuse the wine and explain why. Apparently their forefather, Jonadab, had instructed them never to drink wine and never to settle in one place.

All we know of this family is that Jonadab (Jehonadab) was around at the time of king Ahab of Israel (2 Kings 10:15), and was possibly a Levite who was a temple scribe (1 Chron 2:35). If they were Levites that would perhaps explain why they didn’t have a territory of their own.

The fact that their forefather made them abstain from wine and instructed them not to settle seems to indicate that he was calling them to greater dedication and availability to the Lord. We’ll see tomorrow what the Lord has to say about them.

D. Application:

1. Are we people of conviction like this family?
2. Are our lives clearly set apart for the Lord, not doing what the rest of the world is doing, pandering to desire with static unchanging lives, having little impact?

God’s Word & the Rekabites

Jer 35:12-19

¹² Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: ¹³ “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. ¹⁴ ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. ¹⁵ Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. ¹⁶ The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’

¹⁷ “Therefore this is what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’”

¹⁸ Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ ¹⁹ Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.’”

A. Find Out

1. How did Israel differ from the Rekabites? v.14,16
2. Through whom had God spoken to Israel? v.15a
3. What had they said to Israel? v.15b
4. What was the Lord therefore going to do? v.17b
5. What therefore was Israel’s main sin? v.17c
6. What did the Lord promise the Rekabites? v.19

B. Think:

1. How was the Lord able to use the Rekabites as an example?
2. Why would Israel have no excuse by the time the Lord brought judgement on them?
3. What lesson do we gain from this?

C. Comment:

Having confirmed the testimony of obedience by the Rekabites, the Lord is able to take their testimony and use it as an illustration to Israel of those who are obedient.  This family had simply been obedient to their earthly forefather. Israel had not been able to be obedient to their heavenly Father, God. The contrast is clear.

The Lord pointed out to Israel that He had spoken many, many times to them, very clearly through the various prophets He had sent. They had come and called and called the people back to God but to no avail.  The people stubbornly refused to respond.  Tragic!

When God’s judgement comes, therefore, the people had no excuse or room for complaint that God was being unfair.  He had warned and warned and warned them, and now the time was drawing near for the fulfilment of those warnings.

The truth is that the Lord warns and warns and warns EVERY man, many times throughout his life. At the end of his life, if his end is hell he has no excuses.

D. Application:

1. Do we hear the warnings of God that come, through His word, through His Spirit within us, and through the circumstances of our lives?
2. Do we heed such warnings?