Slices
Prepare
Come confidently but humbly before the throne of our holy God today.
Bible passage
The Rekabites
35 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.’
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 shall 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 shall never fail to have a descendant to serve me.”’
Explore
Your church leader has an affair with a married congregant. A Christian business owner is convicted of tax fraud. A well-known Christian author is exposed as a plagiarist. You might be forgiven for thinking there is no one without feet of clay, not a single, genuinely godly person on this planet. And after all, we are human. How could we ever meet God’s standards for holy living?
Jeremiah had moments of profound discouragement and dismay, living and ministering in a largely faithless, idolatrous, corrupt society as he did. But here he is meeting a group of people who break the mould. The Rekabite family – every member in every generation since their ancestor Jehonadab gave the commands – have been obedient to a set of harsh restrictions, from an alcohol ban through to having to live in tents instead of houses. When Jeremiah offers them wine, they risk offence or worse and turn it down. They are obedient in ways large and small, individual and corporate, public and private. ‘Learn a lesson!’ God says (v13). It can be done.
Respond
We are in a race, and our goal is to cross the finish line (Hebrews 12:1). Being distracted by those who have fallen will break our stride and slow us down. Identify the Rekabites in your life – they do exist – and be inspired by them.
Deeper Bible study
Lord, teach me to a be a good listener. May I fully digest what I hear with understanding, letting your word be firmly rooted in my heart.
We do not know much about the Rekabites, except that they were nomadic Kenites, who drank no alcohol and had rejected a settled lifestyle complete with houses, agriculture and urban dwelling. The group Jeremiah encountered descended from a certain Jehonadab, son of Rekab, who was once associated with Jehu’s purge of the household of Ahab.1 Jehonadab issued the commands which defined his descendants’ identity and to which they continued to adhere unwaveringly two centuries later.
Under instructions from the Lord (v 2), Jeremiah tests the resolve of the Rekabites. They were unmoving, proving their loyalty and obedience to their ancestor. This encounter provided Jeremiah with an object lesson for the nation of Israel and their king, who had abandoned the word of the Lord and indulged in Canaanite worship and culture. Their unfaithfulness stood in sharp contrast to the constancy of the Rekabites and attracted God’s severest censure.
In our modern cultures all over the world, we admire self-made men and women, people like Jeff Bezos, Elon Musk and Bill Gates. That is why Frank Sinatra’s song, ‘I did it my way’, is so popular at funerals, certainly in England. By contrast, Israel as a community was meant to be a people steeped in listening to what the Lord had said in the Torah and continued to say through his prophets. Disciples of Jesus are under the same obligation. The decisions and choices we make, the identities we create for ourselves, should conform to and grow out of our understanding of the ways of the Lord – and that demands deep listening.
Develop an unwavering devotion to the Word of God through daily hearing, reading, studying, meditating and memorising. ‘Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly’.2
Bible in a year
Read the Bible in a year: Hosea 3–6; Revelation 1
Pray for Scripture Union
This week's prayers relate to this story. Please pray for all our amazing volunteers, for their dedication and their passion to share Jesus with children and young people.
At the start of Advent, praise God for sending Jesus to be our saviour. Please pray for volunteers in churches who have activities planned to introduce more children and young people not in church to Jesus this Christmas.