TO SERVE HIM, TURN TO HIM

May 23, 2011

TO SERVE HIM, TURN TO HIM

Jeremiah 35

Cathy Ratliff

Central Truth

God desires obedience.

"But I have spoken to you again and again; yet you have not listened to Me." (Jeremiah 35:14c)

The Obedience of the Rechabites

1 The word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah: 2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink.” 3 So I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah and his brothers and all his sons and the whole house of the Rechabites. 4 I brought them to the house of the LORD into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was near the chamber of the officials, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, keeper of the threshold. 5 Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine.” 6 But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever. 7 You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn.’ 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, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, 9 and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, 10 but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up against the land, we said, ‘Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Syrians.’ So we are living in Jerusalem.”

12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah: 13 “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the LORD. 14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father's command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. 16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me. 17 Therefore, thus says the LORD, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I am bringing upon Judah and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the disaster that I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them and they have not listened, I have called to them and they have not answered.”

18 But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, 19 therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.”

Jeremiah tells about the Rechabites, a nomadic tribe that was living in Judah. He was told by God to go and bring them to the house of the Lord and offer them wine to drink. They refused the wine, however, because of a command from their forefather (Jonadab, son of Rechab). For several generations the tribe had been obedient to this vow of not drinking wine, as well as to some other commands from Jonadab.

God used the remarkable continued obedience of this tribe as a contrast to the continued disobedience of the Israelites who would not turn from their evil ways and stop their idolatry. "But these people have not obeyed me." (Jeremiah 35:16, NIV) God, through Jeremiah, tells the Israelites to turn from their wicked ways, reform their actions, and not serve other gods. Jeremiah reports the good news and the bad: the Rechabites will always have descendants to serve the Lord, but the Israelites will receive all the disaster God has pronounced upon them (Jeremiah 35:17). God is serious about obedience.

Do you have an area in life that you struggle with? Is obedience to God hard for you? My areas of struggle are overeating and underexercising, and I am not sure how much drinking is too much. This Scripture was very convicting for me. I know that God desires me to be healthy, to love Him, and to be free to love and serve others. If I am obedient in the areas of eating and drinking, I will be better able to do these things. This Scripture indicates serious consequences for repeating the same offense again and again. For me, this is something that takes daily effort. I must turn away from fleshly desires by following the leading of God's Spirit who can enable me to overcome every temptation. "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires." (Romans 6:12 NIV)

1. What ways do you have that need reforming?

2. Has God been calling you to obedience in some area of your life?

3. How can you remember to turn away from the sin that calls you?

WEEKLY FAMILY ACTIVITY

JEREMIAH 35-39 (MAY 23-27)

Read Jeremiah 38:1-13.

What did Jeremiah tell the people God had told him? How did the people respond to him? How do you think Jeremiah might have felt when he was stuck in the mud at the bottom of the cistern?

What did Ebed-melech do?

Now read Jeremiah 39:15-17. Who sent Ebed-melech to help Jeremiah?

Have you ever been persecuted for speaking God's truth? What happened? How did you feel when you were being persecuted? Did you ever feel like maybe God had forgotten you? What can you do when you are in the middle of the persecution?

Activity: Think about a situation in which you were being persecuted and another person came to help. Might have been a boss that stood up for you when you were doing the right thing or a friend at school that stepped in when another kid was making fun of you. Then, take time to write that person a note to say thanks for helping you to continue to do the right thing.