Jeremiah 35 introduces the Rechabites. This is a clan within Israel that had refrained from wine, lived in tents, and refused to sow seed or plant vineyards for generations. The sole basis for this abstinence from normal life was the command of Jonadab the son of Rechab who commanded \u201cYou shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever\u201d (v. 6).<\/p>\n
Yahweh points to the Rechabites as a rebuke to Israel. Yahweh gave His law to His people, and continuously sent prophets to turn His people from their idols, but they continuously refused. \u201cThe sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have observed the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me\u201d (v. 16).\u00a0<\/p>\n
Jonadab\u2019s command was entirely supererogatory; Yahweh wasn\u2019t requiring anyone to follow the specifics of Rechabite discipline. It was a formal commendation: It wasn\u2019t the content <\/em>of the command that Yahweh admires, but the Rechabites\u2019 faithfulness to it. Israel the Son refused to listen to Yahweh his Father, but the Rechabites were commended for their completely unnecessary <\/em>adherence to a father\u2019s command.<\/p>\n Jeremiah 35 doesn\u2019t answer all our questions by itself, but the passage needs to be figured into Protestant thinking about a host of issues: About the legitimacy of disciplines of abstinence; about adherence to extra-biblical traditions; about faithfulness to practices that are not required of all of God\u2019s people.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rigorous obedience over the long haul \u2013 even obedience to commands that are not strictly divine commands \u2013 is a standing witness against the laxity of the average believer.\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/body><\/html>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Jeremiah 35 introduces the Rechabites. This is a clan within Israel that had refrained from wine, lived in tents, and refused to sow seed or plant vineyards for generations. The sole basis for this abstinence from normal life was the command of Jonadab the son of Rechab who commanded \u201cYou shall not drink wine, you […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3021,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[97],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-17057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bible-ot-jeremiah"],"yoast_head":"\n