Wisdom for Successful Living
Jeremiah 35
The Rechabites were descendents of Moses father-in-law Jethro. They were God-fearing people with a strong testimony in Israel.
As we saw last week, the newly anointed king Jehu chose Jonadab the son of Rechab to ride with him in his chariot as he cleaned up the wicked influences that had dominated Israel.
Jonadab’s presence would have strengthened Jehu’s reputation as a godly king.
And when he was departed thence, he lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is. If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot. And he said, Come with me, and see my zeal for the LORD. So they made him ride in his chariot.
(2Ki 10:15-16)
Jehu executed the wicked sons of Ahab and his evil wife, Jezebel. He went on to destroy the prophets of Baal. Jonadab observed as Jehu acted with zeal. He also took to heart the lessons of Jehu’s shortcomings… 2 Kings 10:28-32 says,
Thus Jehu destroyed Baal out of Israel. Howbeit from the sins of Jeroboam the son of Nebat, who made Israel to sin, Jehu departed not from after them, to wit, the golden calves that were in Bethel, and that were in Dan. And the LORD said unto Jehu, Because thou hast done well in executing that which is right in mine eyes, and hast done unto the house of Ahab according to all that was in mine heart, thy children of the fourth generation shall sit on the throne of Israel. But Jehu took no heed to walk in the law of the LORD God of Israel with all his heart: for he departed not from the sins of Jeroboam, which made Israel to sin. In those days the LORD began to cut Israel short: and Hazael smote them in all the coasts of Israel;
I believe Jonadab was motivated to some personal decisions regarding how he could insure that he would keep his heart right with God. He passed these expectations on to his descendents and likely solemnized them in his last will & testament.
Almost 300 years later, the descendents of Jonadab were still following their father’s example and showing loyalty to the Lord. Jeremiah was assigned to test the Rechabites so that their contrasting obedience could challenge Judah and be an example to every generation. Vs.1-5
What were the Commands of Jonadab? Vs.6-10
• No wine
• No houses
• No farms (Scribes – I Chron.2:55)
What was the reason for his commands?
• A Healthy restriction (No wine)
Dr. Adolph Lorenz, a famous surgeon, refused a drink at a banquet. He was asked “Are you a tee-totaler?” He responded, “Yes, my success depends upon my brains being clear, my muscles firm, and my nerves steady. No one can take alcoholic liquor without blunting these physical powers, which must be kept on edge. As a physician I must not drink.”
Thomas Alva Edison was asked why he didn’t drink. The great scientist replied, “I have a better use for my brains.”
Wine is a mocker, strong drink is raging: and whosoever is deceived thereby is not wise.
Prov. 20:1
It is not for kings, O Lemuel, it is not for kings to drink wine; nor for princes strong drink: Lest they drink, and forget the law, and pervert the judgment of any of the afflicted. Give strong drink unto him that is ready to perish, and wine unto those that be of heavy hearts.
(Pro 31:4-6)
An Emergency-room Doctor wrote, “Recently we saw another preview of hell in the Parkland Hospital in Dallas. A woman struck down by a drunken driver. A college student lying semi-conscious following a head on collision with another drunk driver who himself was critically injured. The drunk’s companion was dead. Four other drunks with lacerations and stab wounds waiting to be treated. Night after night, year after year, the same bloody trail of horror, major automobile accidents, stabbings, rapes, wife-beatings, the nightly emergencies treated and released or admitted to the hospital or pronounced dead on arrival; and almost always the bloody trail is lead by that honored man of distinction, the weekend drinker, not the alcoholic.
I wonder if there is that much joy to be gained from the total consumption of all beers and whiskies ever made, ever to equal even a small fraction of the innocent suffering, the damaged bodies, the broken marriages, the discarded children, the total brutalities and crimes that will inevitably accompany its use.
What a quiet place our emergency room would be if beverage alcohol were ever abolished from our city!”
Are you a Muslim; do you think heaven’s inhabitants will be reeling around in a drunken stupor?
But I say unto you, I will not drink henceforth of this fruit of the vine, until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom. Mat 26:29
Question
Who claims 50 times more lives than all the illegal drugs combined? Who costs the American people 130 billion dollars every year to mop up it’s blood-bath of human slaughter? Who destroys 1 in every 4 families in America? Who kills over 200,000 Americans each year? Is it crack? Is it cocaine? Could it be heroin?
No, the undisputed heavy-weight champion of the drug world and number one killer of Americans is KING ALCOHOL!
And nobody dares utter a peep!
THANKS TO KILLER ALCOHOL . . .
• There are over 18 million alcoholics in America.
• Cirrhosis of the liver kills over 30,000 each year and rising.
• 50 percent of the people on welfare are due to killer alcohol.
• 80 percent of all fire deaths are due to killer alcohol.
• 65 percent of the drownings
• 22 percent of home accidents
• 77 percent of falls
• 36 percent of pedestrian accidents
• 65 percent of all murders
• 40 percent of all assaults
• 35 percent of all rapes
• 30 percent of other sex crimes
• 30 percent of all suicides
• Over 80 percent of all arrests are linked to killer alcohol!
And one of the most disturbing statistics of all - 60 PERCENT OF ALL CHILD ABUSE IS DUE TO KILLER ALCOHOL!
Let’s wage a war on crack, on cocaine, on heroin, and marijuana! BUT DON’T DARE EVEN MENTION KILLER ALCOHOL!
During the Viet Nam war, 57,000 Americans gave their lives fighting for this country. A wailing wall was built in Washington with each soldiers’ name engraved. But in that same 9-year period, when 57,000 died in Viet Nam OVER 2 MILLION AMERICANS were killed by killer alcohol! During the Viet Nam War, thousands of protesters were all over this country. What I want to know is where are the protesters against killer alcohol?
Scientists have only recently discovered the physical process that creates the slurred speech and drunken stupor. Once in the blood stream, alcohol causes a coagulation of the red corpuscles referred to as "sludging". The blood thickens so that it cannot flow freely and clogs the metabolic exchange of life-giving oxygen. And when cells are deprived of oxygen - THEY DIE! And because brain cells require a high oxygen supply continuously, they are particularly vulnerable! And brain cells are the only cells that do not reproduce! Brain cells destroyed are never replaced! Autopsies performed on drinkers, often reveal hollow cavities in the skull, where ENTIRE CONVOLUTIONS OF THE BRAIN HAVE DISAPPEARED! And according to studies by Dr. Melvin H. Kinsley, brain damage occurs progressively from THE VERY FIRST DRINK! The next time you see that man staggering drunk - YOU ARE WATCHING A MAN LITERALLY DESTROYING HIS BRAIN!
Killer alcohol has destroyed our homes!
85% of all the children in foster homes are there, thanks to killer alcohol! God only knows the thousands of women and children beaten black and blue - thanks to killer alcohol! God only knows the rivers of tears wept - thanks to killer alcohol!
Mental illness and the homeless is in epidemic proportions in America. A panel of 20 doctors and scientists was asked in Pageant Magazine, what is the greatest single cause of insanity in the U.S.? THEY ALL REPLIED WITHOUT EXCEPTION - ALCOHOL!
You’ve heard it said, one or two drinks won’t hurt you, or an occasional drink may even be good for your health. NOT ACCORDING TO THE LATEST RESEARCH! An article in U.S. News and World Report states, "Alcohol begins to alter the functioning of virtually every organ from the moment it enters the body. . . experts believe even OCCASIONAL DRINKS CAN BE DANGEROUS." According to studies, you have at least a 1 in 10 chance of becoming an alcoholic with each sip! Research states, "Everytime you take a drink you are playing RUSSIAN ROULETTE! Any given "sip" may pull the switch that will change your metabolism and turn you into a chronic alcoholic and destroy your life."
THE KILLER IS GLAMORIZED AND GLORIFIED!
The alcohol industry spends over 400 million dollars a year advertising and glorifying the killer! By age 18, American children on an average, have seen an estimated 100,000 beer commercials! They innocently watch as their favorite heros glamorize and glorify killer alcohol."You only go around once in life, so grab for all the gusto you can", they proclaim. But what they don’t tell you is - every single day - at least 10 young people die because of drinking alcohol! God have mercy on these athletes, who prostitute their God-given athletic ability, sacrificing our young people on the altar of alcohol!
NO, THEY WON’T SHOW YOU THE END OF "HAPPY HOUR"!
Killer Alcohol is turning our highways into rivers of blood and our interstates into a slaughter-house! On the average, every 50th car you see is driven by a drunk driver on their way to murder an innocent victim! Nearly 700 a week will be killed, 100 a day, nearly 5 an hour - every 12 minutes somebody is killed by a drunk driver! Over 25 million Americans have died in traffic accidents because of alcohol. Thousands of innocent people are, "LAMBS LED TO THE SLAUGHTER" on the highways across America by a drunk driver!
Killer alcohol can make an otherwise, faithful man or woman forget their marriage vows. Currently, 2 out of every 3 marriages end in divorce - and 2 out of every 3 adults drink alcohol! A Miami judge recently"shocked" the news media when he stated that a WHOPPING 90% OF ALL DIVORCES WERE CAUSED BY DRINKING PROBLEMS!
What about when Jesus turned the water into wine at the marriage in Cana. If Jesus Christ turned water into fermented liquor, he directly disobeyed Habakkuk 2:15, "Woe unto him that giveth his neighbour drink, that puttest thy bottle to him, and makest him drunken also . . ." And, if Jesus disobeyed Habakkuk - HE WAS A SINNER! The Bible makes it very clear in 1 Peter 2:22, 2 Corinthians 5:21, and other verses - THAT JESUS CHRIST WAS WITHOUT SIN!
God has placed a very strong warning in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10, "Be not deceived: NO DRUNKARDS, . . . shall inherit the kingdom of God."
• A Healthy Restriction (No wine
• A Spiritual refreshment (No wine)
But Daniel purposed in his heart that he would not defile himself with the portion of the king’s meat, nor with the wine which he drank: …
(Dan 1:8)
And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit;
(Eph 5:18)
IS ALCOHOL WORTH IT?
Friend, alcohol will never satisfy that unquenchable thirst, burning inside of you.
ONLY JESUS CHRIST CAN QUENCH THAT THIRST!
Jesus said in John 7:37,"IF ANY MAN THIRST, let him come unto me, and drink."
John 4:14 says,"But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him SHALL NEVER THIRST; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
• A heavenly priority (No Houses) vs.7
Wherefore Jesus also, that he might sanctify the people with his own blood, suffered without the gate. Let us go forth therefore unto him without the camp, bearing his reproach. For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come. By him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips giving thanks to his name.
(Heb 13:12-15)
Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;
(1Pe 2:11)
• A God–oriented service (No farms) - Scribes
No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
(Mat 6:24)
But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition.
(1Tim. 6:9)
And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.
(Luke 12:15)
Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: Lest I be full, and deny thee, and say, Who is the LORD? or lest I be poor, and steal, and take the name of my God in vain.
(Pro 30:8-9)
The greatest blessing in any family is to have the worship of God continue in successive generations! Temperance and self denial do much to insure that the blessing of the Lord is retained!
• A Healthy Restriction (No wine
• A Spiritual refreshment (No wine)
• A heavenly priority (No Houses)
• A God–oriented service (No farms) - Scribes
• A Priceless Reward Vs. 18-19
I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth.
3 John 4
