The Book of the Prophet Jeremiah

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- Chapter 35 -

Several years earlier, when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was the king of Judah, Yahweh gave me this message:

“Go to the place where families of the Rekab clan live. Invite them to my temple. When they arrive, take them into one of the inside rooms and offer them some wine.”

So I went to see Jaazaniah and all his brothers and sons who represented the Rekab clan. Jaazaniah was a son of another man named Jeremiah and grandson of Habazziniah.

I took them to the temple, and we went into the room where the sons of Igdaliah’s son Hanan, who was a prophet, stayed. That room was next to the room that was used by the men who were in charge of the entrances to the temple. It was above the room that belonged to Maaseiah, who was the temple gatekeeper and the son of Shallum.

I set jugs of wine and some cups in front of them and urged them to drink some,

but they refused. They said, “We do not drink wine, because our ancestor Jonadab son of Rekab, commanded us, saying ’You and your descendants must never drink wine.

And you must not build houses or plant vineyards or other crops. Instead, you must always live in tents. If you obey those commands, you all will live for many years in this land.’

So we have obeyed him in all those matters. We have never drunk wine. Our wives and our sons and our daughters have also never drunk wine.

We have not built houses or planted vineyards or other crops or worked in fields.

We have lived in tents. We have obeyed all the commands that Jonadab, our ancestor, gave us.

But when the army of King Nebuchadnezzar attacked this country, we said, ‘We must go to Jerusalem to escape from the armies of Babylonia and Aram.’ So, we came to Jerusalem and we are living here.”

Judah Rebuked

Then Yahweh gave this message to me:

“This is what I, Yahweh, Commander of the angel armies, the God whom Israel worships, say: ’Go and tell this to the people in Jerusalem and in other places in Judah: “Why do you not listen to me or learn something about how to obey me?

The Rekab clan still do not drink wine, because their ancestor Jonadab told them to not do that. In contrast, I have spoken to you many times, but you ignored me and refused to obey me.

Many times I sent prophets to you. They told you, ‘Turn away from your wicked behavior, and do things that you should do. Stop worshiping other gods, in order that you will be able to live peacefully in this land that I gave to you and your ancestors.’ But you would not pay attention to what I said or obey me.

The descendants of Jonadab have obeyed their ancestor, but you have refused to pay attention to what I told you.

Therefore, this is what I, Yahweh, Commander of the angel armies, the God whom Israel worships, say: ‘You have refused to listen to me and you did not answer when I called you. Therefore, I will cause the people in Jerusalem and other places in Judah to experience all the disasters that I said that I would cause to happen.’””’

Then Jeremiah turned to the Rekab clan and said, “This is what Yahweh, Commander of the angel armies, the God whom Israel worships, says: ’You have obeyed what your ancestor Jonadab told you. You have obeyed all his instructions.

Therefore, this is what Yahweh says: “There will always be descendants of Jonadab who will do work for me.”’”

The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,

“Go to the house of the Rechabites, and speak to them, and bring them into the LORD’s house, into one of the rooms, and give them wine to drink.”

Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, with his brothers, all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;

and I brought them into the LORD’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.

I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine!”

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 children, forever.

You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, or have any; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land in which you live as nomads.’

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;

and not to build houses for ourselves to dwell in. We have no vineyard, field, or seed;

but we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, we said, ‘Come! Let’s 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.’”

Judah Rebuked

Then the LORD’s word came to Jeremiah, saying,

“The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words?” says the LORD.

“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.

I have sent also to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Every one of you must return now from his evil way, amend your doings, and don’t go after other gods to serve them. Then you will 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.

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.”’

“Therefore the LORD, the God of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘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.’”

Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “The LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he commanded you,’

therefore the LORD of Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jonadab the son of Rechab will not lack a man to stand before me forever.’”