Lessons From The Rechabites Clan For The Church Today.

My daughters have a friend who comes to play with them, but one thing about this girl is that she is ever clean. I have watched her grow but she has maintained that discipline. Sometimes when I have trouble getting mine to shower, I challenge them using the example of their friend. Then one day my youngest said, “From today onwards, when I see Patience from afar coming home, I will run to bathe” (although it never really happened). But the older one keeps saying “Mum, I will take a shower after playing because I will still get dirty”.

When Israel wouldn’t do what God wanted them to do, He brought in the Rechabites to challenge them.(Jer 35:12-15)

The Rechabites were descendants of Jehonadab from the tribe of the Kenites, relatives of Jethro Moses’s Father-in-law. (Jdg 1:16, 1Ch 2:55). He (Jehonadab) gave an order to his sons not to drink any wine, nor to build permanent houses or plant crops. They were to be nomads moving from place to place tending livestock.

Following Israeli’s continuous disobedience to God, God instructed, Prophet Jeremiah to invite the Rechabites to one of the chambers in the temple, to test their faithfulness to their custom. Jeremiah put pots full of wine before them and told them to drink but they refused, saying their forefather Jonadab instructed them not to drink wine. (Jer 35:2-6, 8).

“And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites pots full of wine, and cups, and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. 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: 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 where ye be strangers.

Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us”. (Jer 35:5-10)

Noteworthy is that, from the time of Jonadab to Jeremiah there was a span of over 200 years and yet his descendants were still faithful to his instruction. These people were not Israelites but they impressed God. .

KEY LESSONS FROM THE STORY

1. We should learn from those who are excelling spiritually. Just like in other arenas, spiritually there will be those who are doing better than the others. However, instead of becoming jealous or envious of them, we should befriend them if possible and learn from them. Imagine what great difference it would have made, if Cain had asked Abel the secret behind his sacrifice (that was accepted by God) instead of killing him.

Roberts Liardon compiled profiles of the ministers of God in a book called “God’s Generals”. I believe the goal for that book is so that the church can learn from these men and women of God and do better. However even while there are various platforms for that, some church leaders don’t want their members to learn from other ministers or churches. And also some individuals are very rigid; they feel like its sin to listen to other men and women of God except their own. Another evil is the stiff competition among churches instead of cooperation. We are of one faith, one hope, and one Spirit. And Jesus prayed that we should be one. The wealthy people say if you want to be rich, surround yourself with people who are better than you, so you can learn from them. The Rechabites were brought as a point of comparison to Israel, but we can take it that God wants us to learn from those who are doing well so we can pull up our socks.

2. Do not look at non-believers with contempt. The Rechabites were gentiles living among Israelites, yet God was impressed with them and even chose them to be priests.

Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says; “You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all the instructions and have done everything he ordered. Therefore, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says; Jonadab son of Rechab will never fail to have a man to serve me.

I heard Winfrey Oprah ask Bishop T.D. Jakes in an interview if there were many paths to God. And Bishop Jakes said, “You know you can even be in the right path and still miss heaven”. He was saying that even if you are a Christian and you do not follow God’s instructions, you can still miss heaven. Today many Christians have a superiority complex over people of other religions. They feel like they are the only righteousness ones just because they confessed. But many will be surprised on the Day of Judgment. The Israelites knew God, had all the laws yet they remained disobedient. And they were severely punished for their disobedience.