Jeremiah 35

Jeremiah  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented
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Introduction

Who were the Rechabites/Jonadab?
Descendants of Rechab and Jonadab after him;
they lived an ascetic life following the commands of their forefather Jonadab;
Jonadab rode in King Jehu’s chariot as Jehu went to slaughter Baal worshippers (2 Kgs 10:15-28);
the asceticism of the Rechabites may have been meant to protect the people from idolatry by being separate socially, sober physically, and simple materially;
perhaps in this way they would not be enticed by the idolatrous temptations of urban life.
But Jeremiah 35 isn’t advocating…
nomadic living
material minimalism
temperance (total abstinence from alcohol)
but is advocating…
obedience
by condemning Israel’s…
disobedience
and commending the Rechabites’…
obedience.
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Exposition

Verses 1-11 - A Tale of Obedience

Rechabite obedience was
their identifying practice (v. 6a)
their counter-cultural practice (vv. 6b-7a) most others lived in the city, drank wine, and owned property
their God-glorifying practice (v. 7b)
their complete practice (v. 8-9)
their consistence practice (v. 10-11)
Jeremiah, Lamentations (3) The Lesson for Judah (35:12–17)

Obedience to the Lord’s commands is not a problem unique to the Hebrews. From the beginning of history the human race has insisted on asserting its independence from God. It has not yet learned the lesson that declaring one’s independence from God does not bring happiness or blessing that the tempter promises (see Gen 3:5).

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Verses 12-16 - A Tale of Disobedience

The Rechabites…
COMMANDED (v. 6a)
SPECIFICS (vv. 6b-7a) not the point
PROMISED (vv. 7b)
CHOICE (vv. 8-10) obey; which is the point
The Judahites…
COMMANDED (v. 15a)
SPECIFICS (v. 15b)
PROMISED (v. 15c)
CHOICE (v. 15d) disobeyed; the point
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The Rechabites listened…
despite invitation to drink wine
although Jonadab was just a man and dead (about 250-300 years earlier)
despite Babylon and Aram (Syria) making them flee to Jerusalem
to receive the promise, life in the Promised Land (v. 7b)
God’s people should’ve listened…
despite invitation to disobey (Dt. 12:28-32; 29:16-17)
because YHWH is God and is the living God (v. 13)
despite Babylon and Aram (Syria) invading
to receive the promise, life in the Promised Land (v. 15b)
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The Prophets and Their Message (v. 15)
Turn from evil.
Amend your deeds.
Worship God alone.
Dwell in the Promised Land.
Jesus and His Message
Repent for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand.
Come follow Me.
Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me.
I go to prepare a place for you.
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Notice the telling contrasts between the Recabites and Judah.

1. The Recabites obeyed a fallible leader (v.14); Judah’s leader was the eternal God (cf. Mal 1:6).

2. Jonadab gave his commands to the Recabites only once; God repeatedly sent his messages to his people (v.15).

3. The restrictions that bound the Recabites did not deal with eternal issues God’s messages to his people had eternal as well as temporal implications.

4. The Recabites obeyed the commands of Jonadab for about three hundred years; the Lord’s people constantly disobeyed (v.16).

5. The loyalty of the Recabites would be rewarded; for their disloyalty God’s people would be punished (v.17).

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Verse 17 - Punishment for Disobedience

35:17 all the disaster. See 34:22. called to them. Through Moses and the prophets (Luke 16:29–31). not answered. By believing, repenting, and obeying (Hos. 11:1–2).

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Verses 18-19 - Reward for Obedience

The expression “serve me” (ʿōmēḏ lep̱ānay, lit., “stood before me”) has been variously understood (v.19). It is a technical term for the privilege of service, used of prophets (1 Kings 17:1), priests (Num 16:9), and kings (1 Kings 10:8). The term usually involves service in the temple but may not connote that here (so Laetsch). Some scholars think the promise in v.18 was literally fulfilled in the Recabites’ being in some way incorporated into the tribe of Levi.

Some think this simply means that the Rechabites will survive as a family, never being destroyed.
Nehemiah 3:14 NASB95
14 Malchijah the son of Rechab, the official of the district of Beth-haccherem repaired the Refuse Gate. He built it and hung its doors with its bolts and its bars.
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Jeremiah, Lamentations (4) Commendation of the Recabites (35:18–19)

It is quite remarkable that anyone would keep a vow made by an ancestor hundreds of years earlier or consider it still binding on the descendants. It is equally remarkable that anyone who enters into a covenant relationship with God through the new covenant today (see 31:31–34) would be inclined to a life of disobedience. The commendation of the Recabites for their faithfulness and the warning to Judah for its unfaithfulness contain a valid lesson for the present generation.

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Application

“This is My Beloved Son, listen to Him.”
Why should we listen to Jesus?
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Because He is God’s Son, i.e., He is God in the flesh.
Claimed this.
Proved this.
“Who can forgive sins but God alone?”
“But so that you know the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins…”
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Because He had no sin.
“He who had no sin...”
“tempted in every way as we are, although without sin...”
“although He had no sin” Peter
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Because He died for us.
on the cross
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Because He rose from the dead.
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Because He’s interceding for us now.
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Because He’s coming back again.
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So, if we should listen to Jesus for these reasons, what did Jesus say? He said many things
John 3:16–17 NASB95
16 “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. 17 “For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
John 8:24 NASB95
24 “Therefore I said to you that you will die in your sins; for unless you believe that I am He, you will die in your sins.”
John 14:1–3 NASB95
1 “Do not let your heart be troubled; believe in God, believe also in Me. 2 “In My Father’s house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. 3 “If I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also.
John 14:6 NASB95
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.
Luke 6:46 NASB95
46 “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?
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Conclusion

If we obey the Lord and believe on Jesus, then we shall never lack a man to stand before the Lord always; that man is Jesus.
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