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Jeremiah 35

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The LORD Tests the Rechabites 1–11

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The word which came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, ​
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Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of Jehovah, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. ​
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Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites;
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and I brought them into the house of Jehovah, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold. ​
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And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said unto them, Drink ye wine.
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But they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons, for ever: ​
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neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land wherein ye sojourn. ​
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And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters;
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nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:
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but we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
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But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, 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. ​

Judah Contrasted with Rechabite Obedience 12–17

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Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying,
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Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Go, and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith Jehovah. ​
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The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and unto this day they drink none, for they obey their father’s commandment. But I have spoken unto you, rising up early and speaking; and ye have not hearkened unto me.
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I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man 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 have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. ​
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Forasmuch as the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people hath not hearkened unto me;
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therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered. ​

A Blessing Upon the House of Rechab 18–19

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And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he commanded you;
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therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever. ​

Bible text: American Standard Version (1901) · Public domain

Study Notes for Jeremiah 35

Verse 1

in the days of Jehoiakim — The chapter is dated by an earlier king than chapter 34, so it stands out of order. In Jehoiakim's days 'Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up, and Jehoiakim became his servant three years' (2 Ki 24:1), and that invasion is what brought the Rechabites into Jerusalem (v.11).

Verse 2

the house of the Rechabites — Rechab's line were Kenites, 'the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab' (1 Chr 2:55). Jeremiah is to bring them into 'one of the chambers' (lishkah) of the house of the LORD and offer them wine, and their answer becomes the LORD's example to Judah (vv.13–14).

Verse 4

a man of God — The sons of Hanan are placed by the chamber of the princes and above that of 'Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the door'. Their father bears a title given elsewhere to Moses (Deut 33:1) and to prophets such as Shemaiah (1 Ki 12:22).

Verse 6

Jonadab the son of Rechab our father — This is Jehonadab, who rode in Jehu's chariot and shared his 'zeal for the LORD' against Baal (2 Ki 10:15–16, 23). His charge was no wine, no house built, no seed sown and no vineyard planted (vv.6–7), and it bound 'your sons for ever'. Judah is later set beside this obedience (v.14).

Verse 7

ye shall dwell in tents — The command shuts out the settled life of the land: no house built, no seed sown, no vineyard planted. 'Strangers' (gur, to sojourn) shares its root with the 'strangers and sojourners with me' of Lev 25:23, and the patriarchs lived 'in tabernacles' as strangers (Heb 11:9, 13). The promise attached is 'that ye may live many days'.

Verse 11

the army of the Syrians — 'Syrians' is the Hebrew Aram. The Chaldeans came up with Syrian, Moabite and Ammonite bands, which 2 Ki 24:2 says came against Judah 'according to the word of the LORD, which he spake by his servants the prophets'. The Rechabites' retreat to Jerusalem is their one change of dwelling, made 'for fear'.

Verse 13

receive instruction — Musar is discipline or correction. Jeremiah uses it of Judah's refusal elsewhere: 'that they might not hear, nor receive instruction' (Jer 17:23), and 'yet they have not hearkened to receive instruction' (Jer 32:33). The question sets the Rechabites' keeping of a man's word beside Judah's refusal of the LORD's.

Verse 15

rising up early and sending them — The verb shakam, 'to rise early', is used of the LORD's speaking and sending in eleven verses of Jeremiah (e.g. 7:25; 25:4; 44:4). The call itself repeats chapter 25: 'Turn ye again now every one from his evil way… And go not after other gods to serve them' (Jer 25:5–6). 'Inclined your ear' recalls 34:14.

Verse 17

all the evil that I have pronounced — The judgment is the one spoken against Jerusalem and her towns (Jer 19:15). The reason given matches Jer 7:13, 'I spake unto you, rising up early and speaking, but ye heard not; and I called you, but ye answered not'. The Rechabites' obedience closes the case: the warnings had been plain and repeated.

Verse 19

shall not want a man to stand before me for ever — The wording echoes the promises of Jer 33:17–18: David 'shall never want a man to sit upon the throne', nor the Levitical priests 'want a man before me'. 'To stand before' is the language of service (Deut 10:8). Here the same assurance is given to Jonadab's line for their obedience.