Jeremiah 35: The Faithful Rechabites
A family that has obeyed its ancestor's command for generations becomes a living rebuke to a people who will not obey their God.
Jeremiah 35 (WEB)
1 The word which came to Jeremiah from Yahweh in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
2 Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into Yahweh’s house, into one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.
3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;
4 and I brought them into Yahweh’s house, into the room of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the room of the princes, which was above the room of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.
5 I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, Drink wine!
6 But they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, You shall drink no wine, neither you, nor your sons, forever:
7 neither shall you build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents; that you may live many days in the land in which you live.
8 We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters;
9 nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
10 but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, “Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we will dwell at Jerusalem.”
12 Then Yahweh’s word came to Jeremiah, saying,
13 Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Go, and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words? says Yahweh.
14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s commandment: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; and you have not listened to me.
15 I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and don’t go after other gods to serve them, and you shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.
16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to me;
17 therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of Armies, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard; and I have called to them, but they have not answered.
18 Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, Thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you;
19 therefore thus says Yahweh of Armies, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever.
Jeremiah 35 (KJV)
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,
2 Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
3 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 Rechabites;
4 And I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door:
5 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.
6 But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever:
7 Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.
8 Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;
9 Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.
12 Then came the word of the Lord unto Jeremiah, saying,
13 Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the Lord.
14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.
15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; but this people hath not hearkened unto me:
17 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of hosts, the God of Israel; Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem 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 them, but they have not answered.
18 And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you:
19 Therefore thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.
Jeremiah 35 (ASV)
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,
2 Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of Jehovah, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;
4 and I brought them into the house of Jehovah, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold.
5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.
6 But they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons, for ever:
7 neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land wherein ye sojourn.
8 And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters;
9 nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
10 but we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
11 But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we dwell at Jerusalem.
12 Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,
13 Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Go, and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith Jehovah.
14 The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and unto this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s commandment. But I have spoken unto you, rising up early and speaking; and ye have not hearkened unto me.
15 I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
16 Forasmuch as the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people hath not hearkened unto me;
17 therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem 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 them, but they have not answered.
18 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 precepts, and done according unto all that he commanded you;
19 therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.
Summary
God sends Jeremiah to the house of the Rechabites, a clan that has kept the command of their ancestor Jonadab for generations: to drink no wine, build no houses, sow no fields, and dwell only in tents. Jeremiah brings them into the temple and sets bowls of wine before them, inviting them to drink. They refuse, explaining that their forefather forbade it and they have faithfully obeyed in everything, even temporarily living in Jerusalem only for fear of the invading armies. God seizes on their example to confront Judah. The Rechabites have obeyed a mere human ancestor for generations, but God's people, to whom he has spoken persistently through his prophets, rising up early and sending them, have refused to listen, turn from their evil, and worship him alone. Because of this stubborn deafness, God will bring on Judah and Jerusalem all the disaster he has pronounced. But to the Rechabites he gives a gracious promise: because they have kept their father's command, Jonadab will never lack a descendant to stand before the Lord. The chapter holds up faithful obedience as both a rebuke to the disobedient and a path to blessing.
Main Characters
- Jeremiah — The prophet who tests the Rechabites with wine and then turns their faithfulness into a pointed lesson for unfaithful Judah.
- The Rechabites — A clan who for generations have faithfully kept their ancestor Jonadab's command, becoming a living example of obedience.
- Jonadab the son of Rechab — The ancestor whose commands the Rechabites honor, and to whom God promises an enduring line for their faithfulness.
- Yahweh (the LORD) — The God who contrasts the Rechabites' obedience with Judah's refusal to listen, and who blesses the faithful clan.
Key Verse
Jeremiah 35:14 (WEB)
The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s commandment: but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; and you have not listened to me.
Lessons Learned
- Faithful obedience, even to a lesser authority, can put our disobedience to God to shame.
- God speaks to his people persistently and patiently, longing for them to listen.
- Consistency over generations is a powerful testimony.
- God notices and rewards faithfulness.
- Human faithfulness exposes our unfaithfulness. The Rechabites obey Jonadab for generations, yet Judah will not obey God (Jeremiah 35:14, WEB). Their constancy is a living rebuke.
- God speaks persistently. God sends his prophets "rising up early and sending them" (Jeremiah 35:15, WEB). His patience in calling us is relentless and kind.
- Refusing to listen invites judgment. Because the people "have not heard" and "not answered" (Jeremiah 35:17, WEB), God brings the disaster he had pronounced.
- God rewards faithfulness. "Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever" (Jeremiah 35:19, WEB). Faithfulness is not overlooked by God.
- Why does God use the Rechabites as an example, and what made their obedience remarkable?
- How does the Rechabites' faithfulness to Jonadab expose Judah's failure toward God?
- What does it mean that God spoke to his people "rising up early" through the prophets?
- What promise does God give the Rechabites, and why?
- What command or commitment is God calling you to keep faithfully, even over the long haul?
- The Rechabites had kept their ancestor's command for generations, refusing wine even when offered in the temple (35:6-10). Their obedience was remarkable for its consistency and its costliness, becoming a clear, undeniable example God could hold up to Judah.
- If a family will faithfully obey a human forefather for generations, how much more should God's people obey the living God who has spoken to them directly (35:14)? The contrast shames Judah's stubbornness and highlights the seriousness of ignoring God.
- The vivid phrase pictures God eagerly and repeatedly sending his prophets, like one who rises early to address an urgent matter (35:15). It conveys his patience and persistence, underscoring that the people's deafness was inexcusable.
- Because they kept their father's command, God promises that Jonadab's line will never lack a descendant to stand before him (35:18-19). God honors faithfulness, granting an enduring blessing to a family marked by obedience.
- This is a personal-application question. Invite members to identify a commitment that requires long-term faithfulness, and to consider what helps them persevere. As leader, affirm that God sees and honors quiet, steady obedience.