JEREMIAH - CHAPTERS 35-36 & 34 - The House of the Rechabites, a Righteous Remnant
The House of the Rechabites, a Righteous Remnant
“The lesson is clear: God honors the Covenant”
Jeremiah 35, 36 & 34 (in that order)
Tuesday Morning Bible Study
Taught by: Carolyn Sissom
January 20, 2009
Jeremiah 35 is totally fascinating to me. The Lord speaks an eternal covenant to a group of devout Jews called the Rechabites. I researched the Rechabites and find evidence of them throughout biblical history. According to this promise made to them in Jeremiah 35:19, there will perpetually be Godly, righteous men of this tribe who have a relationship with the Lord whereby they “stand” before Him. This privilege means many things, one of which the son of a Rechab will not want.
The example of the Rechabites is an example of a righteous remnant. The lesson is clear: God honors the covenant! This is the principle of loyalty. The Rechabites were a tribe descended from the time of Moses. (1 Chron. 2:55; Num. 10:29-32; Judg. 1:16; 11 Kg. 10:15, 23). I am having fun again with this study. I am sure all of my minister friends have long ago been blessed by this revelation of the Rechabites. Give me slack at my naivety on the subject.
Chapters 34-38 are largely occupied with Jeremiah’s experiences during the siege of Jerusalem. They are not in strict chronological order, so I am taking the liberty to teach them in the order of my choosing. (Smile)
The Rechabites through the centuries had adhered to their ascetic life. This was a religious order inculcating the simplicity and purity of Bed-ou-in life. The Rechabites were founded by Jonadab, son of Rechab, during Jehu’s reign. They assisted in the eradication of Baalism from Israel. Because of the purity of their life, they would have had authority over that demonic power.
City life with its corrupting influences was avoided, and they lived simply in tents as shepherds, drinking no wine (like the Nazarite of Num. 6: 1-21).
Jeremiah used them as a lesson to Judah in the principle of obedience.
Chapters 35-36 are interpreted by all scholars as Jeremiah going back ten years to an earlier siege of Jerusalem to tell his story of how he was used to test the Rechabites. In the days of Jehoiachim he had been charged to bring the Rechab-ites into the house of Jehovah and test them in the matter of drinking wine.
I find this very interesting and certainly worthy of contemplation. I would be stretched to not be provoked if a Man of God should test me in such a way. Yet, the Lord told him to do it.
35: 1-10: “The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiachim the son of Josiah King of Judah, saying, Go unto the house of the Rechab-ites, and 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 Habaziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the
Re-chab-ites; And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the… man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes which was above the chamber of the keeper of the door.
And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab out father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever; Neither shall you build house, nor sow seed, not plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents; that you may live many days in the land where you are strangers. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab…in all that he has charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; Nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed; But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that our father commanded us…
The fear of the invading army of Babylon brought the Rechabites to the city (35:11) where their obedience to this pledge (Covenant) made 200 years before put the people of Judah to shame. They were an object lesson in that they obeyed their father, whereas Judah did not and had not obeyed their God!
35: 12-17:…Go and tell the men of Judah…Will you not receive instruction to hearken to my words?...The words of Jonadab…are performed…they…obey their father’s commandment; notwithstanding I have spoken unto you…I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, saying, return ye…go not after other gods…this people has not harkened unto Me…Behold, I will bring upon Judah…all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto the, but they have not answered.”
35: 18-19: And Jeremiah said unto the House of the Rechabites…Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadad your Father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he has commanded you…Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want for a man to “stand” before me for ever.
This would mean there will always be Godly men/women in that tribe and that it still exists today. Awesome!!!
Again the Rechabites are a type of the righteous remnant, the sons of God, who are a King-Priestly ministry. We can compare with the Sons of Zadok, yet they are of a different tribe.
Chapter 36: The Lord speaks to Jeremiah and tells him, “Take a roll of a book, and write therein all the words that I have spoken unto you against Israel, and against Judah, and against all the nations, from the day I spoke unto you, from the days of Josiah even unto this day.”
Jeremiah has been prophesying for 23-years, from the 13th year of Josiah unto the 4th year of Jehoiachim. He is now commanded to gather these prophecies into a book so that they could be read to the people. At the time, Jeremiah could not speak because he was under the restraint of the Holy Spirit.
36:5: “And Jeremiah commanded Baruch, saying, I am shut up; I cannot go into the house of the Lord; Therefore go you, and read in the roll which you have written from my mouth, the words of the Lord in the ears of the people in the Lord’s house upon the fasting day: and also you shall read them in the ears of all Judah that come out of their cities.”
It took a year or so to write the book. First we have the writing and reading of the scroll. (36: 1-20). The writing of the scroll was commanded about 605 B.C. The purpose was to set before the people the evil coming upon them so that they might turn from their sin. Baruch read the scroll as instructed by Jeremiah. The prophet had been barred from the temple.
The occasion was a fast ordered by the king because of Nebuchadnezzar’s advance against Ashkelon. The fasting day was selected to read the book because there would be a great many people gathered from all over the land who would hear and could spread the message upon their return.
(7-8): “It may be that they will present their supplication before the Lord, and will return every one from his evil way; for great is the anger and the fury that the Lord has pronounced against this people. And Baruch the son of Neriah did according to all that Jeremiah the prophet commanded him, reading in the book the words of the Lord in the Lord’s house.”
The princes received the contents of the roll with some kindness and respect for Jeremiah.
(11:18)… (V.15) “And they said unto him sir down now, and read it in our ears. So Baruch read it in their ears. Now it came to pass, when they had heard all the words, they were afraid both one and other, and said unto Bruch, we will surely tell the king of all these words. And they asked Baruch, saying, tell us now, how did you write all these words at his mouth?
They asked Jeremiah and Baruch to hide because they expected King Jehoiachim to endanger their lives. (V.19) “then said the princes unto Baruch, you and Jeremiah go hide, and let no man know where you are.”
The princes took the roll into the King and the scribe read it to him. The king demonstrated disdain and utter disregard for the contents of the roll. He brazenly and defiantly burned the book. The same satanic spirit that energizes unbelieving critics and opposers of God’s word in every age moved upon Jehoiachim as he cut and burned the scroll (21-26).
But the word moves on while doom is pronounced upon its rejecters and would be destroyers. It is possible to mutilate and even destroy a sacred writing, but it is not possible to make of none effect the Word of Jehovah. God’s word is indestructible,
(1 Peter. 1:23b): “by the Word of God which lives and abides forever.”
So, Jeremiah wrote it over again.
36:32: “Then took Jeremiah another roll, and gave it to Baruch the scribe, the son of Neriah; who wrote therein from the mouth of Jeremiah all the words of the book which Jehoiachim king of Judah had burned in the fire; and they were added besides unto them many like words.” These many words make up the present Book of Jeremiah.
Unlike the blessing on the Re-chab-ites, the Lord pronounced a judgment on Jehoiachim. (V.30) “He shall have none to sit upon the throne of David: and his dead body shall be cast out in the day to the heat, and in the night to the frost. And I will punish him and his seed and his servants for their iniquity; and I will bring upon them, and upon the inhabitants of Jerusalem, and upon the men of Judah, all the evil that I have pronounced against them; but they hearkened not.”
In verse 26, “The King commanded Jerahmeel to take Baruch the scribe and Jeremiah the prophet: but the Lord hid them.
Carolyn Sissom, Pastor
Eastgate Ministries, Inc.
Scripture from K.J.V. text from Principles of Present Truth by: Kelly Varner
Comments and conclusions are my own. Hopefully given to me by the Holy Spirit