Truth and Consequences:
A study in the prophecy of Jeremiah
Chapter 35
By Bob Mendelsohn
Given 26 August 2022
Lesson Thirty-five: Give me that old time religion
INTRODUCTION
You might have seen the list of excuses that floats around companies and workstations that is designed to help you to stop making excuses and get to work. Some of them are funny; but really all of them are spot on target. Let me name four of them:
Excuse #1: “I didn’t know” or “I wasn’t told.”
Excuse #2: “We’ve always done it that way.” (Corollary is “we’ve never done it that way before”)
Excuse #3: “It’s not our responsibility; that’s another department”
Excuse #4: “I didn’t know you wanted it done now.”
No matter what people say, you and I both know none of these excuses holds water. We might try to skirt our responsibilities, but the reality is, if there’s work to do, and it’s in our personal or even our corporate capability to make it happen, then we should do so. The corollary to #2 is what I’m thinking today about Jeremiah 35.
“we’ve never done it that way before”
Here we see a group of people named the Rechabites whose original ancestor Rechab lived about 300 years before this incident. And as we see in this reading, they continue his instructions especially about not drinking, and thus the dinner and drinks invitation to the Temple will be met with sanity and refusal rather than what would have been the case in chapter 34.
Remember, last week we saw that chapter and its people do the ridiculous thing of keeping Hebrew slaves and not releasing them as would be both socially sensible, biblically required, and physically helpful to the slaves themselves. The contrast couldn’t be clearer. Chapter 34: how not to behave. Chapter 35: how to behave.
And I’m titling this episode, “Give me that old-time religion” to remind me and you that if a religion is old, that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Now, to be fair, old isn’t always right either, but what we have to learn is that what matters is who is talking, and what he’s asking, and then get on with it—without excuses!
Let’s dig into our chapter today and see what it has to say to us as 21st century people.
Verse one. The source of this interaction is the word of God. Please don’t tire of this. Don’t weary yourself in figuring out how to sort things out on your own. IF you are a believer, you have an avenue, a channel, a connection with God that means he can speak with you and to you. He can advise you well. He WANTS to advise you well and to lead you to make the world a better place. Not because you are so clever or wise, although both of those are great traits to seek. But because he, the All-wise, can and will speak with you. We’ve seen it before and again in chapter 35 we see this. 32 times in this little chapter of 19 verses the words DAVAR (meaning word or speak), AMAR (meaning say), and SHEMA (meaning hear and/or obey) are used. You don’t have to be very clever yourself to sort out what the emphasis is in this chapter. Listen to what God has already said, and say, “Yes, sir.” That’s pretty much it.
But let’s continue with the whole chapter in line-by-line study as is our custom.
Verse 2, Jeremiah is told to go to the house of the Rechabites, meaning the family of, or the leader of the clan of the Rechabites. Who were these folks? For that we need to revisit two passages in the OT, 1 Chronicles chapter 2, and 2 Kings chapter 10.
1 Chr. 2: 55 The families of scribes who lived at Jabez were the Tirathites, the Shimeathites and the Sucathites. Those are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab.
Rechab, if this is the same one, and we have no reason to doubt that it’s the same, is a Kenite.
But the point Jeremiah makes is not the head of the family, Rechab, but rather the family of the Rechabites. For that we need to visit 2 Kings chapters 9 and 10. There we meet Jehu who was the son of Jehosophat, and was anointed king by some of the school of the prophet Elisha (2 King 9.6) and was charged to decimate the house of Ahab and Jezebel. He was violent and thorough. In 2 Kings 9, Jehu assassinates Joram, then he assassinates Ahaziah, and gets rid of Jezebel. There is a storm of destruction and ruin, almost at every turn. Chapter 10 begins with Jehu killing relatives of the dead, and then he encounters Rechab beginning at verse 15.
2Kings 10:15 Now when Jehu had 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 with your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” And he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. 16 He said, “Come with me and see my zeal for the LORD.” So 1he made him ride in his chariot. 17 When he came to Samaria, ahe 1killed all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, until he had destroyed him, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke to Elijah.”
What might you have been feeling if you were Jehonadab, the son of Rechab? This guy who brought you into the front seat of his Uber of Death is still carrying a sword and you …probably are not. You have listened to your father and his words of non-violence, and really separation from the madness of the City-folks. He wanted the Rechabites not to build houses, but to stay in tents. They were not to sow seed, meaning not to run a farming industry, and not to plant vineyards. They were to remain mobile, not fixed. And not to drink wine. Business as usual—not for the Rechabites.
The Rechabites were to live long in the land, and as evidenced in Jeremiah’s time, they had lived, so far, 300 years! Without homes and without providing for themselves, they were trusting the Lord.
Now before you get all taken with their spirituality, the point of Jeremiah’s telling us about this episode, if I read it right, is to point to the contrast and not the mechanics of their life in God. Contrast chapters 35 and 34, not chapter 35 and your life. God may want you to live as a hermit, or a mobile mendicant and ambassador, but everyone is not called to be everything. What we are called to be is obedient and observant and people who spend time with the Lord of life, not necessarily as beggars.
When we meet these Rechabites, they are invited to a party of some celebration at the Temple. Verse 4. The details are clear. This is a magnificent room with celebrity figures as name plates and visible ceremony. Have you ever been invited to a fancy-shmancy venue and you actually have to worry about getting a new suit, polishing your new shoes, perhaps a haircut? The ball is not ordinary life. The intimidation factor of going to Buckingham Palace or the White House, even the Casa Rosada in Buenos Aires… this is substantial and could be overwhelming to landsmen, people of the land. Think of the 1960s sitcom the Beverly Hillbillies and the Clampetts coming to Beverly Hills for the first time. Or Cinderella approaching the ball that night.
Then in verse 5, Jeremiah places pitchers full of wine and tells them to drink up! Already they are out of their comfort zone, and now this prophet, or at least this person of some significance, is inviting them to a banquet and firstly, to imbibe on the delicacies. These are people who for 300 years haven’t tasted the liquor of the day. Verse 6, they say, “Our fathers didn’t and they commanded us not to drink.” And in verse 7 they repeat the further commandments which came with a promise to live on we are better defined as ‘sojourners.’ BTW, sojourn is the Hebrew word “Gur” meaning stranger, and like the Kenites before them, not Jews, but they had taken on Jewish ways and names and probably were like unto converts. Barnes says,
“Wine is the symbol of a settled life, because the vine requires time for its growth and care in its cultivation, while the preparation of the wine itself requires buildings, and it then has to be stored up before it is ready for use. The drink of nomads consists of the milk of their herds.”
Verse 8, they say, that’s our commitment and our history, and it’s our future with our wives and kids, too. Verse 9, no houses, verse 10, in a positive way, we dwell in tents. So making us come to this banqueting table in this illustrious venue, well, sir, it’s not for us. That’s not the us we want to be.
Verse 11, Nebuchadnezzar came and unsettled the countryside and we had to move into town. That’s bad enough. That’s against our protocols, but that’s the line in the sand for us. We’re done with breaking our grandfather’s rules.
God bless these folks. BTW, Rechab is the Hebrew word for ride or mount, and makes good sense since they were nomads. Oh, and the modern Hebrew word for the train is רכבת רכבת
This takes me on a journey with the sojourners. This is a word of action and mobility, being on the move. Rakevet. They are not to be stationary. But again, don’t miss this, it’s not about being aliens, although you can read that as prescriptive for the people of God. This is not about not drinking, although if that’s what you hear from heaven, so be it.
No the point is the contrast with the people 17 years later in chapter 34 who disregard what God has said and enslave fellow Jewish people.
Look at verse 12 and following.
Verse 13, God tells Jeremiah to tell the Judeans and especially the Jerusalem folks to compare and contrast their lives with those of the Rechabites. Verse 14, their fathers gave commands and the children obeyed. But I’ve spoken to you with this idiom
הַשְׁכֵּ֣ם וְדַבֵּ֔ר
That’s unusual. It means “rising early and speaking” and probably is well translated as “again and again.” Sometimes it’s translated ‘persistently.’ The point is you have heard and heard again and continually, AND YET, you missed it.
Verse 15, same thing, Hashkaim, and you disregarded the prophets. You didn’t even incline, much more, you didn’t observe.
Compare verse 16, the Rechabites did; you didn’t.
Then, the final sentence in verse 17, I’m bringing judgment; no escape; it’s coming because I tried and tried, and you refused.
I had a serious conversation 18 months ago with a Jewish man…in KC….4 epiphanies, and yet he wanted one more… Who deserves more?
Verse 18 and 19, God’s plan for the Rechabites was a good plan. The obedience to their father was noted and to be rewarded. The word ‘always’ may be confusing, but it doesn’t mean forever, into 2022 and beyond. It means for a very long time,
CONCLUSION
God is calling each of us to know him and to walk with him, today and throughout our days. Have you received Yeshua as your messiah and Lord? He is risen from the dead! Have you renounced your sin, your idolatry, your forsaking God and given him First Place in your life? If not, please, do so now, just now, as we pray together. Use your own words, if you want, but yield, surrender, to the Lord of life.
PRAYER
Then please write us (admin@jewsforjesus.org.au) to tell us what you have just done, and we will send you literature and encourage you. You are part of our family; we love and appreciate you. And we want you to enjoy the presence of the Lord who calls, who knows, who blesses and builds us up.
We hope to see you again next week as we study chapter 34. Until then, Shabbat shalom!
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Barnes, Albert, Commentary on the Old Testament. (Published by many, from 1880 on)
Henry, Matthew, Commentary.
Keown, Gerald, Scalise, Pamela, Smothers, Thomas, Word Biblical Commentary. Book of Jeremiah (Part 2). 1995.
McConnville, Gordon, Jeremiah, New Bible Commentary.
Wright, Christopher, The Message of Jeremiah, The Bible Speaks Today. Intervarsity Press, Downers Grove, Illinois, 2014.
For other links:
FB: https://www.facebook.com/jewsforjesusau
The videos, especially the Bible teachings are always free. However, if you are enjoying and learning from them, and would like to share in the costs $ of putting them together, to donate use this link: https://www.jewsforjesus.org.au/giving
T: http://www.twitter.com/jewsforjesusau
I: https://www.instagram.com/jewsforjesusau
If you haven’t yet done so, please click the red box to the right which says ‘SUBSCRIBE’ and you will be notified of any new content on our channel. Thanks!
ACTUAL TEXT
Jer. 35:1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of aJehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 2 “Go to the house of the aRechabites and speak to them, and bring them into the house of the LORD, into one of the bchambers, and give them wine to drink.” 3 Then 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 and I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the aman of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, bthe doorkeeper. 5 Then I set before the 1men of the house of the Rechabites pitchers full of wine and cups; and I said to them, “aDrink wine!” 6 But they said, “We will not drink wine, for aJonadab the son of bRechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall cnot drink wine, you or your sons, forever. 7 ‘You shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed and you shall not plant a vineyard or own one; but in atents you shall dwell all your days, that you may live bmany days in the land where you csojourn.’ 8 “We have aobeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons or our daughters, 9 nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; and we ado not have vineyard or field or seed. 10 “We have only adwelt in tents, and have obeyed and have done according to all that bJonadab our father commanded us. 11 “But when aNebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come and let us bgo to Jerusalem before the army of the Chaldeans and before the army of the Arameans.’ So we have dwelt in Jerusalem.”
Jer. 35:12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “aWill you not receive instruction by listening to My words?” declares the LORD. 14 “The awords of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are observed. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. But I have spoken to you 1bagain and again; yet you have cnot listened to Me. 15 “Also I have sent to you all My aservants the prophets, sending them 1again and again, saying: ‘bTurn now every man from his evil way and amend your deeds, and cdo not go after other gods to worship them. Then you will ddwell in the land which I have given to you and to your forefathers; but you have not einclined your ear or listened to Me. 16 ‘Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have aobserved the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’”’ 17 “Therefore thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, aI am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them; because I bspoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’”
Jer. 35:18 Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have aobeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands and done according to all that he commanded you; 19 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, “Jonadab the son of Rechab ashall not lack a man to bstand before Me 1always.”’”
No comments:
Post a Comment