Thursday, March 28,
2013, 7:29 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Follow Him” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, for your servant is
listening. I read Jeremiah 35 (NIV):
http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Jeremiah%2035&version=NIV
This is the word that
came to Jeremiah from the Lord during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king
of Judah: “Go to the Rekabite family and invite them to come to one of the side
rooms of the house of the Lord and give them wine to drink.”
So I went to get
Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his
sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. I brought them into the house of the
Lord, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was
next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of
Shallum the doorkeeper. Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the
Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.”
But they replied, “We
do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab gave us this
command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. Also you must
never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of
these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in
the land where you are nomads.’ We have obeyed everything our forefather
Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and
daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards,
fields or crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our
forefather Jehonadab commanded us. But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon
invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the
Babylonian and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.”
Then the word of the
Lord came to Jeremiah, saying: “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of
Israel, says: Go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem,
‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the Lord. ‘Jehonadab
son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has
been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their
forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have
not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They
said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do
not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have
given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened
to me. The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command
their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’
“Therefore this is
what the Lord God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to
bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced
against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but
they did not answer.’”
Then Jeremiah said to
the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of
Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jehonadab and
have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’
Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab
son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.’”
The Rekabites
The Rekabites (or Rechabites) belonged to the Kenites who
were with the children of Israel as they entered the Promised Land (source: Wikipedia).
According to Encyclopedia Britannica, they were an Israelite sect. “They were
fervent followers of Yahweh, the God of Israel.” According to International
Standard Bible Encyclopedia, the Rechabites were a part of the tribe of Kenite
who “joined the Israelites during their wilderness wanderings.” They became
identified with the tribe of Judah. The father of the Rechabites was Jehonadab,
who was a “zealous Yahweh-worshiper.” He was instrumental in the removal of
Baal worship. He led his family into a simple nomadic lifestyle “in order to
guard against the enervating tendencies of sensualism, and as a covenant of
fidelity to Yahweh, to whom they wholly devoted themselves when they joined
themselves with Israel” - http://bibleencyclopedia.com/rechabites.htm.
The Model
God used the Rekabites as a model for his people to follow,
not necessarily that they should all abstain from wine and live like nomads,
but as a model of fidelity and obedience, and of the honoring of their “father.”
The Rekabites did not drink wine because their forefather Jehonadab commanded
them not to drink wine. They lived in tents because their forefather commanded
them to live in tents. Evidently this continued for about 300 years (source:
Zondervan NIV Bible Commentary). The people evidently were faithful to God and
to their ancestor(s).
The Lesson
God used the Rekabites as an example of the kind of fidelity
and obedience that he demanded from his children, the Israelites, but which he did
not receive from them. He demonstrated this to Jeremiah who was then to go and
tell the people of Judah the message (lesson) God had for them. He used the
example of the Rekabites, as a family, and of their forefather, as a picture of
what he wanted his “family” to be like, and as an example of how he wanted to
be honored, respected and obeyed as their Father.
“Learn a lesson” can also be translated “respond to
correction.” God had not spoken to his children just once, but time and time
again he sent his children messages, confronting them with their sins of
idolatry, spiritual and physical adultery, complacency, rebellion and the
dishonoring and disrespect of their Father and of his commands, as well as of
their refusal, time and time again, to listen to God’s messages and to turn
from their wicked ways. Yet, he still loved them, and he still longed for them
to have the kind of relationship with him as was exemplified by this family of
Rekabites with the honoring of their forefather. So, he set before them an
example (a model) to follow – to encourage, instruct and perhaps also to shame
them.
“Again and again” God sent his servants the prophets to them
with this message: “Each of you must turn
from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to
serve them…” But they paid no attention to God. They didn’t listen to him.
The Rekabites listened to and obeyed their human ancestor in matters that had
nothing to do with eternity, yet God’s people would not listen and would not
obey in matters that had everything to do with their eternal destiny and with
their relationship with God while they still lived on the face of this earth.
So, God had no choice but to send them a dose of divine
discipline and correction. He had warned them, but they had not responded to
correction, so now he would bring upon them every disaster he had pronounced
against them. He spoke to them, but they did not listen. He called to them, but
they did not answer. Wow! Yet, to the Rekabites God said they would never fail
to have a descendant to serve him.
The Lesson II
So, what can we learn from this today? We, the church, i.e.
followers of Jesus Christ, have been commanded to obey all of Christ’s
commandments to his church and to teach others to do the same (see Mt.
28:18-20). We have also been called of God to turn from our wicked ways and to
reform our actions and to not follow after other gods to serve them (see Luke
9:23-25; Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 6; 1 Co. 10:14; 1 John, et al). Jesus said: “If you love me,
keep my commands.” “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will
love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. Anyone who
does not love me will not obey my teaching” (Jn.
14:15, 23-24). So, the requirements God had of his people in the OT, as is
described here for us in this passage in Jeremiah, are the same requirements
Jesus demands of his followers even today.
We are blessed to have the words of God written for us in
the Bible, and most people in America have easy access to the Bible (or several
Bibles), as do some people in other countries. So, we can read for ourselves
the commands of Christ and of the necessity of following our Lord Jesus in
obedience and in surrender to his will for our lives. We can read for ourselves
how he said that if we are to come after him we must deny (disallow) ourselves
(our self-life), take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow
(obey) him (see Luke 9:23-25). We can read that the way we come to know Christ
is by dying to our old ways of living for self and sin, by being transformed in
heart and mind, and by putting on our new lives in Christ Jesus, “created to be
like God in true righteousness and holiness” (see Eph. 4:17-24). We can read
that coming to Christ means that “I” (my flesh) dies and “I” (my flesh) no
longer lives, but now Christ and his life live within me and out through me – a
life lived by faith and in his power and strength within us, not in absolute
perfection, but with a desire to truly please God with our lives in all we do
and say.
Yet, not every “follower” of Christ reads the Bible through,
or spends time really listening to God and to his words with the full intention
of heeding his words and obeying what he says. Many are listening to false
teachers who distort the words of Christ and who dilute the gospel of Jesus
Christ, leaving out God’s requirements for obedience and repentance (to turn
from their wicked ways, reform their actions, and to not follow after other “gods”).
The church of today, for the most part, has become so much one with the world
that it is barely distinguishable anymore between the church and the world. Many
are following after the “gods” of men (including preachers), of wealth, of
prosperity, of entertainment, of man-made religion, of complacency, idolatry,
adultery and the like, and God has taken a back seat in many a “follower’s”
life.
God is sending out messages today through his servants,
giving the same or similar messages as the prophets of old, and of John the
Baptist, Jesus and the apostles gave to the people – repent, obey, turn from
your wicked ways, from your idolatry, adultery and the like; obey God, do what
he says, listen to him, spend time at his feet, respond to his calls and stop
following the teachings of mankind, but learn what the word of God teaches and
follow it and follow Christ wherever he leads you. If you do not repent, and
you refuse the words of Christ time and time again, God will send his doses of
divine discipline and correction upon the church (see Rev 2-3), but it will be
to bring the church back into a right relationship with God Almighty so that he
can restore her, revive her, renew her, bless her and use her to reach this
world for Jesus Christ.
Follow Him / An
Original Work / February 21, 2013
Based off Luke 9:22-25
Jesus, Son of God,
Died for us on a
cross.
Anyone who would come
to Him
Must deny himself and
follow.
He must take up his
cross daily;
Die to sin and self each
day.
Father, God above,
Loved us so: gave His
Son.
If you want to save
your old life;
Keep on sinning,
follow your ways,
You will lose your
life forever;
Hope of heaven gone
away.
Spirit of our God
Gives us life in God’s
Son.
Nonetheless, if you die
to self;
Forsake your sin;
follow Jesus,
You will live with God
in heaven,
And forever praise His
name!
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