Jeremiah · chapter 35 of 52
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Jeremiah 35 tells how Jeremiah brings the Rechabites into a chamber of the temple and offers them wine, but they refuse because their ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded them never to drink wine, build houses, sow seed or own vineyards. God uses their obedience as a contrast to Judah, which does not listen to his words, and promises that Jonadab will never lack a descendant to serve him.
This chapter tells an episode from the days of King Jehoiakim, before the fall of Jerusalem, so it falls outside the chronological order of the neighboring chapters. The book of Jeremiah does not follow a continuous timeline but groups messages by theme. Here the obedience of a simple family becomes a mirror for the people of God.
In the days of Jehoiakim, the Lord tells Jeremiah to bring the Rechabites to the house of the Lord, into one of its chambers, and offer them wine. Jeremiah gathers the whole family of Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, son of Habazziniah, and sets before them pitchers and cups full of wine.
The Rechabites answer that they will not drink wine, because their ancestor Jonadab son of Rechab commanded that neither they nor their sons ever drink it, and that they not build houses, sow seed, plant vineyards or own them, but live in tents all their days so that they may live long in the land where they sojourn. They say they have obeyed in everything. If they are now in Jerusalem it is out of fear: when Nebuchadnezzar invaded the land, they took refuge in the city from the Chaldean and Syrian armies.
Then the Lord speaks to Judah and Jerusalem: the Rechabites kept the command of a man, but you do not listen to what I have told you again and again, and you do not turn from your evil way. So he will bring the evil he announced. And to the Rechabites the Lord promises that Jonadab son of Rechab will never lack a man to stand before him.
References follow ESV book names and verse numbers. Read each verse in your Bible before the explanation.
The Rechabites answer that they will not drink wine because their ancestor Jonadab forbade it to them and their sons forever. They are faithful to a command received generations earlier, even with the temptation in plain sight.
The Lord points out that Jonadab's command is kept to the letter, while he has spoken to Judah again and again and not been heard. The contrast is not about wine but about obedience to a word that carries authority.
God recalls that he sent his servants the prophets with an invitation to turn from their evil ways and amend their deeds, and that Judah did not incline its ear. Their sin was not ignorance but disobedience to a clear word.
The Lord promises that Jonadab son of Rechab will never lack a man to stand before him. God honors this family's humble faithfulness and counts it as part of his care.
6 questions with answers and references, ready for Sunday school, small group or a Bible quiz night.
Answer: In a chamber of the house of the Lord, the temple. — Jeremiah 35:2-4
Answer: They will not drink wine, because their ancestor Jonadab commanded them never to drink it. — Jeremiah 35:6
Answer: Not to build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards, and to live in tents. — Jeremiah 35:7
Answer: Out of fear of the Chaldean and Syrian armies that invaded the land. — Jeremiah 35:11
Answer: They obey their ancestor's command, but Judah does not listen to the Lord. — Jeremiah 35:14-15
Answer: That Jonadab will never lack a man to stand before him. — Jeremiah 35:19
Jeremiah 35 asks a direct question: if a family obeyed an ancestor for generations, how much more should we listen to the Lord? The Rechabites are not a model for each of their customs, but for steadiness in obedience. In a small group you can talk about which of God's commands we neglect while keeping more comfortable ones.
It also encourages those who obey quietly. The Rechabites were neither famous nor powerful, yet God saw them and honored them. Whoever serves faithfully without applause can trust that the Lord sees, and their example may move others without their knowing.
The Rechabites show what Judah did not do: listen and obey. In chapter 36, also in the days of Jehoiakim, God's word is written on a scroll, and the king will have to decide what to do with it.
A clan descended from Rechab, whose son Jonadab led them into a simple life without wine or settled houses. Jonadab son of Rechab appears in 2 Kings 10 supporting Jehu. They were a group apart within Israel, keeping their identity through obedience to their ancestor.
No. The command was for that family, and God does not impose it on his whole people. What the Lord highlights is obedience to a word received, not the content of the rule. Each Christian must discern with Scripture and conscience.