The Rechabites

“Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever.” - Jeremiah 35v19

The Rechabites are not one of the most common groups of people in the Bible. They are in fact only mentioned a couple of times. They were not Judahites, but were strangers in the land.

Jeremiah invited the Rechabites to treat with him and drink wine with him in the Temple. When invited they refused his wine and said that their ancestor Jonadab had instructed them not to either drink wine or live in houses, but to always live in tents in the land. There were nothing special in the rules that were set down, but what is noted in the Bible is their obedience to their ancestor. God promised to bless them and preserve their people forever for their faithful obedience to Him and even promised that there would always be a man to stand for God from the Rechabites.

Obedience is a great part of living for God. He has established the importance of obedience to authority. If we cannot learn to obey man we will never really be able to obey God. May we learn, as God tells us, and from the example of the Rechabites, the blessings of simple obedience.