Jeremiah 35 Study Notes: The Faithful Rechabites
Jeremiah brings the Rechabite family into the temple and offers them wine, which they refuse out of loyalty to their ancestor Jonadab’s commands. The LORD contrasts their faithfulness with Judah’s refusal to obey Him, announces disaster on Judah, and promises the Rechabites a lasting line.
General
True or False: The LORD said He would bring on Judah and Jerusalem every calamity He had announced, because He had spoken and called to them and they had refused to listen or respond (Jeremiah 35:17).
Answer: True
This is true. After setting the Rechabites’ faithfulness beside Judah’s stubbornness, the LORD announced that He would now bring on Judah and Jerusalem every disaster He had warned of (35:17). The reason is given in the same verse: He had spoken, and they did not obey; He had called, and they did not respond. The same charge appears in Jeremiah’s temple sermon (7:13). Scripture warns that a person who keeps hardening himself after many warnings will be suddenly broken (Proverbs 29:1).
- Jeremiah 35:17 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’””The LORD announces disaster on Judah and gives the reason.
- Jeremiah 7:13 (BSB)“And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer,”The same charge of refusing to listen and answer appears in Jeremiah’s temple sermon.
- Proverbs 29:1 (BSB)“A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.”One who stays stubborn after repeated correction is suddenly broken, as Judah would be.
Theological
True or False: In Jeremiah 35:17 the LORD grounds the coming disaster on Judah in their refusal to obey when He spoke and to answer when He called.
Answer: True
This is true. The LORD pronounces the full calamity He has threatened against Judah and Jerusalem, and grounds it in their persistent refusal: He spoke and they did not obey, He called and they did not answer (35:17). The same indictment appears in the temple sermon (7:13). Judgment falls on a people who have hardened themselves against repeated warning (Proverbs 29:1), and they bear real responsibility for refusing the word they heard.
- Jeremiah 35:17 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’””The LORD announces disaster on Judah and gives the reason.
- Jeremiah 7:13 (BSB)“And now, because you have done all these things, declares the LORD, and because I have spoken to you again and again but you would not listen, and I have called to you but you would not answer,”The same charge of refusing to listen and answer appears in Jeremiah’s temple sermon.
- Proverbs 29:1 (BSB)“A man who remains stiff-necked after much reproof will suddenly be shattered beyond recovery.”One who stays stubborn after repeated correction is suddenly broken, as Judah would be.
General
What lesson did the LORD draw for the people of Judah from the Rechabites’ faithfulness (Jeremiah 35:12-16)?
Answer: The Rechabites heeded a human ancestor, but Judah ignored God
The LORD sent Jeremiah to ask Judah and Jerusalem whether they would ever accept correction and listen to Him (35:13). The Rechabites had kept the instruction of a human forefather to that very day, but the LORD had spoken to His people repeatedly, and they had not obeyed (35:14). He had also sent prophet after prophet, time after time, calling them to turn from evil and from other gods, yet they would not listen (35:15-16). The contrast is sharp: if sons honor an earthly father’s word, how much more should God’s people submit to God as their Father (Hebrews 12:9). Jeremiah’s ministry had seen the same refusal for years (25:3-4).
- Jeremiah 35:14 (BSB)“The words of Jonadab son of Rechab have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk it to this very day because they have obeyed the command of their forefather. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you have not obeyed Me!”The LORD sets the Rechabites’ obedience against Judah’s disobedience.
- Jeremiah 35:15-16 (BSB)“Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me. Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not listened to Me.”The LORD recalls the prophets He sent and the people’s refusal to listen.
- Hebrews 12:9 (BSB)“Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?”The same lesser-to-greater reasoning: respect shown to human fathers who disciplined us is reason to submit far more to God as Father.
- Jeremiah 25:3-4 (BSB)““From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. And the LORD has sent all His servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear.”Jeremiah had already described years of Judah refusing the LORD’s repeated warnings.
Theological
What contrast does the LORD draw in Jeremiah 35:12-16 between the Rechabites and the people of Judah?
Answer: The Rechabites heeded a human ancestor, but Judah ignored God
The LORD asks whether Judah will ever receive discipline and heed His words (35:13). The Rechabites have kept the command of a mortal ancestor down to this day, whereas the LORD has spoken persistently to His people without being obeyed (35:14), and has sent His prophets time and again with the call to repent and forsake other gods, without being heard (35:15-16). The argument runs from lesser to greater: fidelity to an earthly father condemns infidelity toward God, the Father of His people’s spirits (Hebrews 12:9). The same refusal had marked the long years of Jeremiah’s ministry (25:3-4).
- Jeremiah 35:14 (BSB)“The words of Jonadab son of Rechab have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk it to this very day because they have obeyed the command of their forefather. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you have not obeyed Me!”The LORD sets the Rechabites’ obedience against Judah’s disobedience.
- Jeremiah 35:15-16 (BSB)“Again and again I have sent you all My servants the prophets, proclaiming: ‘Turn now, each of you, from your wicked ways, and correct your actions. Do not go after other gods to serve them. Live in the land that I have given to you and your fathers.’ But you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me. Yes, the sons of Jonadab son of Rechab carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not listened to Me.”The LORD recalls the prophets He sent and the people’s refusal to listen.
- Hebrews 12:9 (BSB)“Furthermore, we have all had earthly fathers who disciplined us, and we respected them. Should we not much more submit to the Father of our spirits and live?”The same lesser-to-greater reasoning: respect shown to human fathers who disciplined us is reason to submit far more to God as Father.
- Jeremiah 25:3-4 (BSB)““From the thirteenth year of Josiah son of Amon king of Judah until this very day—twenty-three years—the word of the LORD has come to me, and I have spoken to you again and again, but you have not listened. And the LORD has sent all His servants the prophets to you again and again, but you have not listened or inclined your ear to hear.”Jeremiah had already described years of Judah refusing the LORD’s repeated warnings.
General
Besides refusing wine, what else had their ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab told the Rechabites to do (Jeremiah 35:6-7)?
Answer: To live in tents instead of building houses
The Rechabites refused the wine because their ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab had forbidden it to them for all time (35:6). He had also told them not to build houses, sow fields or plant vineyards, but to dwell in tents for life, so that they would enjoy long life as wanderers in the land (35:7). They said they had kept every part of this command: their whole families had never drunk wine, owned vineyards or farmland, or built houses (35:8-10). Their loyalty to a father’s instruction is the kind of honor Scripture says a son owes his father (Malachi 1:6; Proverbs 1:8).
- Jeremiah 35:6-7 (BSB)““We do not drink wine,” they replied, “for our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, ‘Neither you nor your descendants are ever to drink wine. Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so that you may live a long time in the land where you wander.’”The Rechabites explain the command their forefather Jonadab gave them.
- Jeremiah 35:8-10 (BSB)“And we have obeyed the voice of our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab in all he commanded us. So we have not drunk wine all our lives—neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters. Nor have we built houses in which to live, and we have not owned any vineyards or fields or crops. But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done exactly as our forefather Jonadab commanded us.”The Rechabites state that they have kept every part of Jonadab’s command.
- Malachi 1:6 (BSB)““A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’”A son’s honor for his father is the very picture the LORD uses of the honor His people owe Him.
- Proverbs 1:8 (BSB)“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.”Scripture calls a son to hold on to his father’s instruction, as the Rechabites did.
Theological
According to Jeremiah 35:6-7, what way of life had Jonadab son of Rechab laid on his descendants besides abstaining from wine?
Answer: To live in tents instead of building houses
Jonadab’s charge to his descendants forbade wine (35:6) and also building houses, sowing seed and planting vineyards; they were to dwell in tents for life, with the stated purpose that they might live long in the land of their sojourning (35:7). The Rechabites testify that they and their wives and children have kept it in full (35:8-10). Their steady regard for their ancestor’s word illustrates the honor a son gives a father (Malachi 1:6; Proverbs 1:8), which the LORD will turn into a rebuke of Judah.
- Jeremiah 35:6-7 (BSB)““We do not drink wine,” they replied, “for our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab commanded us, ‘Neither you nor your descendants are ever to drink wine. Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so that you may live a long time in the land where you wander.’”The Rechabites explain the command their forefather Jonadab gave them.
- Jeremiah 35:8-10 (BSB)“And we have obeyed the voice of our forefather Jonadab son of Rechab in all he commanded us. So we have not drunk wine all our lives—neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters. Nor have we built houses in which to live, and we have not owned any vineyards or fields or crops. But we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done exactly as our forefather Jonadab commanded us.”The Rechabites state that they have kept every part of Jonadab’s command.
- Malachi 1:6 (BSB)““A son honors his father, and a servant his master. But if I am a father, where is My honor? And if I am a master, where is your fear of Me?” says the LORD of Hosts to you priests who despise My name. “But you ask, ‘How have we despised Your name?’”A son’s honor for his father is the very picture the LORD uses of the honor His people owe Him.
- Proverbs 1:8 (BSB)“Listen, my son, to your father’s instruction, and do not forsake the teaching of your mother.”Scripture calls a son to hold on to his father’s instruction, as the Rechabites did.
General
What promise did the LORD give the Rechabites because they had obeyed their forefather Jonadab (Jeremiah 35:18-19)?
Answer: Their family would always have someone to serve before the LORD
Jeremiah told the Rechabites that because they had obeyed Jonadab and kept all his instructions, the LORD of Hosts promised that Jonadab would always have a descendant to serve in His presence (35:18-19). To stand before the LORD describes serving Him in His presence. While Judah faced the disaster it had been warned of (35:17), this faithful family received a lasting promise. The wording echoes the LORD’s promises to keep a line for David and for the Levites (33:17-18).
- Jeremiah 35:18-19 (BSB)“Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have kept all his commandments and have done all that he charged you to do, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before Me.’””Jeremiah announces the LORD’s promise to the Rechabite family.
- Jeremiah 35:17 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’””The promise to the Rechabites stands beside the disaster announced for disobedient Judah.
- Jeremiah 33:17-18 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says: David will never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests who are Levites ever fail to have a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to present sacrifices.””The LORD uses similar words to promise lasting lines for David and for the Levites.
Theological
What blessing does the LORD pronounce on the Rechabite family in Jeremiah 35:18-19?
Answer: Their family would always have someone to serve before the LORD
In contrast to the judgment on Judah (35:17), the LORD of Hosts declares that because the Rechabites have kept all Jonadab’s commands, Jonadab’s line will always include one who stands in His presence to serve Him (35:18-19). The phrase describes ongoing service in the LORD’s presence. The promise uses the same form as the LORD’s pledges of an unbroken line for David and for the Levitical priests (33:17-18).
- Jeremiah 35:18-19 (BSB)“Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites: “This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have kept all his commandments and have done all that he charged you to do, this is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to stand before Me.’””Jeremiah announces the LORD’s promise to the Rechabite family.
- Jeremiah 35:17 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD God of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: ‘Behold, I will bring to Judah and to all the residents of Jerusalem all the disaster I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them but they have not obeyed, and I have called to them but they have not answered.’””The promise to the Rechabites stands beside the disaster announced for disobedient Judah.
- Jeremiah 33:17-18 (BSB)“For this is what the LORD says: David will never lack a man to sit on the throne of the house of Israel, nor will the priests who are Levites ever fail to have a man before Me to offer burnt offerings, to burn grain offerings, and to present sacrifices.””The LORD uses similar words to promise lasting lines for David and for the Levites.
General
True or False: The Rechabites said they had moved into Jerusalem because Jonadab had told his descendants to settle near the temple (Jeremiah 35:11).
Answer: False
This is false. Jonadab had told them to live in tents and not to build houses (35:7). They explained that they were staying in Jerusalem only because Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon had invaded the land, and they had come into the city to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies (35:11). The danger of war, not any instruction from Jonadab, had brought them there. The LORD had warned that He would bring Nebuchadnezzar against the land because Judah would not listen (25:8-9).
- Jeremiah 35:11 (BSB)“So when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, we said: ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem to escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.””The Rechabites explain why they are living in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 35:7 (BSB)“Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so that you may live a long time in the land where you wander.’”Jonadab’s command was to live in tents rather than build houses; it said nothing about settling in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 25:8-9 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”The LORD had warned that He would bring Nebuchadnezzar against the land because Judah had not listened.
Theological
True or False: In Jeremiah 35:11 the Rechabites explain their presence in Jerusalem as obedience to a command of Jonadab to settle near the temple.
Answer: False
This is false. Jonadab’s charge was to dwell in tents (35:7). The Rechabites explain that they took refuge inside Jerusalem only when Nebuchadnezzar invaded, to escape the Chaldean and Aramean forces (35:11). Their presence in the city was a wartime necessity. Nebuchadnezzar’s coming against the land was what the LORD had announced as judgment on Judah (25:8-9).
- Jeremiah 35:11 (BSB)“So when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon marched into the land, we said: ‘Come, let us go into Jerusalem to escape the armies of the Chaldeans and the Arameans.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.””The Rechabites explain why they are living in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 35:7 (BSB)“Nor are you ever to build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard. Those things are not for you. Instead, you must live in tents all your lives, so that you may live a long time in the land where you wander.’”Jonadab’s command was to live in tents rather than build houses; it said nothing about settling in Jerusalem.
- Jeremiah 25:8-9 (BSB)“Therefore this is what the LORD of Hosts says: ‘Because you have not obeyed My words, behold, I will summon all the families of the north, declares the LORD, and I will send for My servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon, whom I will bring against this land, against its residents, and against all the surrounding nations. So I will devote them to destruction and make them an object of horror and contempt, an everlasting desolation.”The LORD had warned that He would bring Nebuchadnezzar against the land because Judah had not listened.
General
During King Jehoiakim’s reign, what did the LORD tell Jeremiah to do with the family known as the Rechabites (Jeremiah 35:1-5)?
Answer: Bring them into a room of the temple and offer them wine
The LORD told Jeremiah to go to the Rechabite family, bring them into one of the side rooms of the temple, and offer them wine to drink (35:2). Jeremiah gathered the whole clan, including Jaazaniah with his brothers and sons, brought them into a chamber in the LORD’s house, set out pitchers of wine and cups, and invited them to drink (35:3-5). As the rest of the chapter shows, the LORD used this scene as a living lesson for Judah about obedience (35:12-14).
- Jeremiah 35:2 (BSB)““Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the house of the LORD to offer them a drink of wine.””The LORD’s instruction to Jeremiah about the Rechabites.
- Jeremiah 35:5 (BSB)“Then I set pitchers full of wine and some cups before the men of the house of the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Drink some wine.””Jeremiah sets the wine before the Rechabites and invites them to drink.
- Jeremiah 35:13-14 (BSB)““This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: ‘Will you not accept discipline and obey My words?’ declares the LORD. The words of Jonadab son of Rechab have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk it to this very day because they have obeyed the command of their forefather. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you have not obeyed Me!”The LORD Himself explains that the scene is a lesson for Judah about obeying His words.
- Jeremiah 13:1-2 (BSB)“This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a loincloth in accordance with the word of the LORD, and I put it around my waist.”Earlier the LORD had Jeremiah perform another sign at His command, buying and wearing a linen loincloth.
Theological
What acted-out test did the LORD instruct Jeremiah to set before the Rechabites in Jeremiah 35:1-5?
Answer: Bring them into a room of the temple and offer them wine
The LORD directs Jeremiah to bring the Rechabites into one of the temple chambers and offer them wine (35:2). Jeremiah assembles the whole Rechabite clan, takes them into a room in the LORD’s house, sets pitchers of wine and cups before them, and urges them to drink (35:3-5). Like other sign-acts in the book, the scene is staged by divine command to become a message for Judah, here a lesson on faithful obedience (35:12-14).
- Jeremiah 35:2 (BSB)““Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them to one of the chambers of the house of the LORD to offer them a drink of wine.””The LORD’s instruction to Jeremiah about the Rechabites.
- Jeremiah 35:5 (BSB)“Then I set pitchers full of wine and some cups before the men of the house of the Rechabites, and I said to them, “Drink some wine.””Jeremiah sets the wine before the Rechabites and invites them to drink.
- Jeremiah 35:13-14 (BSB)““This is what the LORD of Hosts, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the residents of Jerusalem: ‘Will you not accept discipline and obey My words?’ declares the LORD. The words of Jonadab son of Rechab have been carried out. He commanded his sons not to drink wine, and they have not drunk it to this very day because they have obeyed the command of their forefather. But I have spoken to you again and again, and you have not obeyed Me!”The LORD Himself explains that the scene is a lesson for Judah about obeying His words.
- Jeremiah 13:1-2 (BSB)“This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” So I bought a loincloth in accordance with the word of the LORD, and I put it around my waist.”Earlier the LORD had Jeremiah perform another sign at His command, buying and wearing a linen loincloth.