The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah
Jeremiah 35
Chapter XXXV · Vol. III, p. 1276
1 By the obedience of the Rechabites to their father's command, 12 Jeremiah condemneth the disobedience of the Jews. 18 God blesseth the Rechabites for their obedience.
1 The word which came unto Jeremiah from the LORD, ain the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah king of Judah, saying,1
a ch.46.1,2. 2 Ki.23.33,34. Da.1.1.
1 All the prophecies from ch.xxvi. belong to the reign of Zedekiah, and are consequently posterior to this chapter and the following, which, together with ch. xlv., were delivered in the days of Jehoiakim. There is, however, no reason to conclude that the prophecies were not arranged with order and design. On the contrary they appear to be introduced here to enforce the prophecies against Zedekiah, who had no dread of captivity, by the recollection of the captivity of Jehoiakim, and the spoliation of the temple, 2 Ch. 36. 6, 7. See ch.36.1-8.—C.
2 Go unto the house of the bRechabites,2 and speak unto them, and bring them cinto the house of the LORD, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.
b 1 Ch.2.55. 2 Ki.10.15,16. Ju.4.10;1.16.
2 The original Hebrew more properly signifies 'family.'—The Rechabites were descended from the Kenites (1 Ch. 2. 55); they were never completely incorporated with the Jews (ver.7), but were treated as friends and allies, 1 Sa.15.6. Their rules forbade architecture and husbandry, and confined them to pasturage and tents. They had now, however, fled to Jerusalem to avoid the depredations of the Chaldean army.—C.
c ver.4. 1 Ki.6.5,6. 2 Ch.3.11.
3 Then dI 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 echamber of the sons of gHanan, the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by hthe chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah, the son of Shallum, the ikeeper of the door:3
e ch.36.10. 1 Ki.6.5. 1 Ch.9.27-30.
h ch.26.10.
i 1 Ch.9.18,19,26; 26.12,13. 2 Ch.8.14. 2 Ki.12.9. ch.52.24. Ps.84.10.
3 Heb. threshold or vessel.
5 And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, jDrink ye wine.4
4 The prophet has been thoughtlessly accused of tempting the Rechabites to sin. It is sufficient to reply, that the whole was emblematic, a living parable. He knew their steady character: he knew they would not swerve from the precepts of their father, and had no intention of tempting them to a violation, but merely of affording them an opportunity of exhibiting their obedience.—C.
6 But they said, We will drink no wine: for kJonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, lYe shall drink no wine, neither ye nor your sons for ever:
k 2 Ki.10.15.
7 Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; nthat ye may live many days in the land where ye be ostrangers.5
n Ex.20.12. Ep.6.2. He.11.9,13;12.14.
o 1 Pe.2.11.
5 See note * below.
* The land of Judea being all allotted to the tribes, Jonadab easily foresaw that if his posterity applied themselves to husbandry, and obtained fixed habitations, their permanent improvements would excite cupidity in the original owners, and so produce either quarrels, or the final expulsion of his descendants. He therefore confines them to pasturage, which, so long as any part of the country remained unoccupied, would render them acceptable tenants, who might profitably occupy the land for the present, and could at any time be removed if it were required by the tribes with whom they might sojourn.—C.
8 Thus have we pobeyed 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;
10 But we have rdwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.6
r ver.7.
6 For about three hundred years past.
11 But it came to pass, when sNebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, tCome, 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.
s 2 Ki.24.1,2. Da.1.1. ch.25.1.
t ch.4.5;8.12. 2 Ki.24.2.
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, uWill 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 vand speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me.
v 2 Ch.36.15,16. ch.7.13,25; 11.7. Ps.81.11,13. Pr.1.20-24.
15 Ix have sent also unto you all my servants the yprophets, rising up early7 and sending them, saying, zReturn ye now every man8 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 ahave not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me.
x Is.28.9-13;30.9-16; 42.20,23; 48.4; 53.1;57.17;65.2-7;25.3-6.
7 See note on ch.26.5.—C.
z ch.25.4,5; 44.4; 18.11;4.14;6.8,19;7.3,5-15,23-28; 17.20-23. Is.1.16-19;55.7. Ps.37.27. Ho.14.1-4.
8 The proper office of a prophet, an apostle, a minister of the word, is to call upon 'all men,' upon 'every man,' everywhere to 'repent and believe the gospel.' The commission of the Lord is never confined to a congregation or a single church; such limitation may be convenient, but is sadly narrow and sectarian. The commission of the Lord accredits his servant to all churches, to every man he meets, to every fellow-subject, to every fellow-creature, to every saint whom he is to comfort, to every sinner whom he is to reprove, and to invite to Jesus for pardon and salvation.—C.
a Lu.13.34,35.
16 Because the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father, which he commanded them; bbut this people hath not hearkened unto me:
b Mal.1.6. Ps.50.21. 1 Co.10.22. Zec.7.11,12.
17 Therefore thus saith the LORD God of hosts, the God of Israel, cBehold, I will bring upon Judah, and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, all the evil that I have pronounced against them: dbecause 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, eBecause ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you;
e Ex.20.12. Ep.6.1,2,3.
Notes
Ver. 19. 'To stand before me' denotes attendance on the person and service of a prince, 1 Ki. 10. 8. And as it appears that some of the Rechabites, or Kenites, returned from the captivity, 1 Ch. 2. 55, it has been inferred that they were admitted into some office about the temple. All, however, that is necessarily implied in the phrase is the perpetuation of the family of Rechab. And of this fact there seems the most unquestionable evidence. Benjamin of Tudela professes to have found them in Arabia in great prosperity. Niebuhr obtained information of the Beni Kheiber inhabiting the mountains on the north-east of Medina, and holding no intercourse with the other Jews. And Joseph Wolf learned from Rabbi Mose Secot at Jerusalem, that, in his opinion, the Beni Kheiber were the Rechabites, who firmly adhere to the precepts of the son of Jonadab, have neither house, nor field, nor vineyard, and observe the law of Moses by tradition (Missionary Journal, 1824, p. 257, 261). C.
Reflections.—Never let us be ashamed of the honest employment of our ancestors, however mean. And let us prudently accommodate ourselves to our place, rank, and condition; but never live above it. Humility and contentment in obscurity are often the best policy and surest protection. If we be strangers in this world, we should abstain from fleshly lusts, and treat the objects of sense with a gracious and generous disdain. The more we are confirmed in so doing, temptation will have the less force. The more mortified we are to this world, the more meet we are for the next, and the more willing shall we be to go to it; nay, we are the more meet for suffering here. But no rules of external discipline ought to exclude a dispensation when necessity requires. To neglect proper means of safety is to tempt God. It is superlatively absurd and wicked to refuse doing as much in obedience to God as we would be ready to do in obedience to a progenitor who is long since dead, and can never remind us of our obligation; and such as are guilty may expect judgment, sure, however slow. But while sinners are ruined, the temperate and obedient are often preserved in this world. And often such as live soberly on small estates have the most numerous and flourishing families. Nay, temperance, and mortification to this world, do much befriend the exercises of piety, and help to transmit the observance thereof to posterity, as their principal honour.