And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his injunctions, and have done according unto all that he hath commanded you;
Jeremiah has just announced ruin on Judah. Then he turns to a small clan of tent-dwellers with praise, and we are left asking why God honours obedience to a human father.
The chapter sets this family beside Judah, and the comparison stings:
In Jeremiah 35, the obedience of the Rechabites is set before the men of Judah. It was meant to make them feel that some men, at least, showed more respect for a human father than Israel showed for God Himself. The Rechabites were a certain class of Arabs — Bedouins of the desert, as we say — who were true to their father's requirement. He had bound them not to build houses and not to drink wine. These men had carried out their father's will for a long time.
The wine set before them in the temple was not bait. It was there to bring into view what God already knew:
The test which God permitted Jeremiah to apply to them was not, as some might think, a temptation to drink. God, who knew their principles and their faithfulness to them, wished to bring out their obedience to their father's word in contrast to the disobedience of Israel to His laws.
God's praise covers the whole command, not just the wine:
Here is convincing proof that the point is not moral evil. Besides the charge to drink no wine, their father had also commanded them not to build a house, not to sow seed, and not to plant or own a vineyard, but to live in tents all their days. Clearly there is nothing wrong in itself in a man having a house or sowing seed in a field. Yet these were tests of their obedience. They were as much bound to avoid sowing seed and planting vineyards as to avoid drinking wine.
Behind the rule, one writer sees a deliberate refusal to settle down in a land that had rejected God:
Jonadab refused to share the pleasures of those around him. He refused to have any part at all in the land while it stayed in that condition. This was his protest against it. If the Lord was rejected and treated as a stranger in His own land and among His own professed people, then Jonadab would be a stranger too.
The words "done all that he commanded you" cover a span no single lifetime could fill:
What is most impressive here is the span of time. Jonadab lived during the reign of Ahab, about 850 years before Christ's birth. What happens in Jeremiah 35 comes much later, in the reign of Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, about 600 years before Christ's birth. So about 250 years lay between Jonadab's command and the Rechabites' obedience — some 8 to 10 generations. They had understood that time made no difference to God in this respect.
Fear had driven them into Jerusalem, so they were no longer living in tents. Commentators differ on how to read that. One leaves the question open:
We may ask whether they needed to make this an exception. Was it any better for them to be in Jerusalem than in the land as before? It is always good to hold fast the principle on which we are called to act; it is dangerous to allow ourselves to change.
Another writer sees God leaving the question aside:
The Spirit of God uses their coming to that very place as a testimony to the nation. He neither approves nor condemns the way of life of the Rechabites, or their partial departure from it under the pressure of fear. This was not the point; but their faithfulness was an object lesson for the Jews.
The "because" of this verse leads straight to a promise in the next verse:
God is always like this, I think, with respect for parents and obedience from children, unless it stands in direct opposition to Himself. It has beauty in His eyes and honour from His hand. And so, at the very moment when — solemn sight! — God would give up the children of Israel to destruction, Jonadab the son of Rechab would never lack a man to stand before God for ever. That destruction was not final, because grace was held in reserve.
- Because — God's commendation rests on one word: they obeyed. The wine was never a moral question; it was where their obedience showed.
- All — He praises not part but the whole charge: no wine, no houses, no sowing, no vineyards. Each rule bound them as much as the wine did.
- Long — about 250 years and eight to ten generations lay between Jonadab's word and this test. Time had not weakened it.
- Contrast — their loyalty to a human father exposed Judah's refusal of God Himself.
- Honour — while the nation went to ruin, this family received a promise of a place before God for ever. Faithfulness has beauty in His eyes and honour from His hand.
therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel, There shall not fail to Jonadab the son of Rechab a man to stand before me, for ever.
Jeremiah 35 ends with a promise that seems out of place in a book full of coming ruin. Judah is heading for disaster, yet God guarantees one family a lasting place before Him. Everything turns on why God singles out the sons of Jonadab, and on what it means to "stand before" Him.
The Rechabites lived in tents among God's people and kept their ancestor's rule against wine. God contrasts their obedience with the nation's refusal to listen, and He speaks this promise as Judah's fate is sealed.
God is always like this, I think I may say, with respect for parents and with obedient children, unless it goes directly against Himself. It has beauty in His eyes and honour from His hand. And so it is that when — a solemn sight! — God was about to give the children of Israel up to destruction, Jonadab the son of Rechab would never lack a man to stand before God for ever. That destruction was not final, because of the reserve of grace.
What God rewards here is not a rule about wine but obedience to a father's word. One writer ties it to the law's command about parents.
The specific command was, "Honour your father and your mother" (Exodus 20:12; Deuteronomy 5:16). This was one of the "ten words." It is called the "first commandment with promise" (Ephesians 5:2), because the Lord marked this instruction out with His own assurance: prosperity and long life would be the portion of those who obeyed it. See the special reward granted to the house of Rechab for a son's obedience (Jeremiah 35:18-19).
Some have read "a man to stand before me" as a promise of service in the sanctuary. One writer tests that reading against Scripture.
God instructed Jeremiah to hold up the obedience of the Rechabites as an example to the men of Judah. These men faithfully obeyed their father, while Judah had not obeyed their God. It was said of them that because of their faithfulness to their father's commands Jonadab should never lack a man to stand before God for ever. The Rabbis interpret this to mean that they should serve in the sanctuary. They say the Rechabites became joined to the Levites. But we find nothing of this in scripture.
(The ESV ends the verse with "to stand before me." Older translations add "for ever," which several of these writers keep.)
God secured a line of descendants, and He put His own Name behind it.
The Lord was so pleased with their obedience to their father, and their faithfulness to their pilgrim principles, that He pledged His own Name to secure a succession of "sons of Jonadab" down to the end of time. The question for us is, are we among them? Do we chase the intoxicating pleasures of this world that wine stands for? Do we build houses, as though we were fixtures here?
Jonadab gave his command generations before Jeremiah's day. The gap is worth measuring.
What impresses most here is the time involved. Jonadab lived during Ahab's reign (2 Kings 10:15, 23), about 850 years before Christ's birth. The events of Jeremiah 35 came much later, under Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah (Jeremiah 35:1), about 600 years before Christ's birth. So about 250 years lay between Jonadab's command and the Rechabites' obedience. That matches 8–10 generations. They had understood that the time factor played no part for God in this respect.
Their reward matched the life they lived. Nazarites were people under a vow of separation to God.
They were a standing order of Nazarites, more separated to God than even Israel. They kept their vows of consecration faithfully to the end. So when the Lord was pronouncing judgment on His own people, He pledged to them that they should never lack a man to stand before Him for ever.
Commentators differ on how much weight to give the Rechabite way of life itself. One writer keeps the focus on what God was showing the nation.
The Spirit of God uses their coming to the house of God as a testimony to the nation. He does this without either approving or condemning the way of life of the Rechabites, or their partial departure from it under fear. That was not the point; but their faithfulness was an object lesson for the Jews.
- Cause — God noticed obedience: a father's word kept for centuries, while the nation He had taught ignored His word.
- Gift — He pledged His own Name, not their record, to secure a line of Jonadab's sons standing before Him.
- Reach — Some 250 years and up to ten generations lay between the command and the obedience. That gap counted for nothing with God.
- Result — God gives this promise as judgment falls on Judah. He honours faithfulness even when everything around it collapses.
- Reminder — The lesson is their pilgrim spirit: they lived in tents and claimed nothing here as home.