"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 Jonadad the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying,Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever."
My heart’s desire and prayer to God is that our contemporaries and generations future’s testimony of New Zion is and will be "Those folk are a People of Principles. A people who wouldn’t fall for anything because they stood for something."
Fellow Zionites, I am of the strong conviction that the greatest legacy we can ever leave to those future souls waiting to be born again by God using us as His mid-wives is A PERPETUAL AND PERTINENT PACKAGE OF POWERFUL PRINCIPLES.
We ought, we must, hand to them a house that is financially stable; they need not inherit our debt. Fiscal responsibility is important. We ought, we
must deliver to them a congregation deeply immersed in worship, mission,evangelism, ministry, and mercy; for these are extremely important also. And yet, I argue, the greatest legacy we can leave behind us is A
PERPETUAL AND PERTINENT PACKAGE OF POWERFUL PRINCIPLES which we have ourselves PROCLAIMED AND PRACTICED!!!
Now, my reason for drawing that radical conclusion is based upon our Target Text. For here, we are confronted and challenged by A People who Proclaimed and Practiced Principles for a Protracted Period, even in the Presence of a Provocative Proposal from a Powerful Prophet. You see, it’s relatively easy to practice principles in the presence of folk who are
pedestrianing in the opposite direction of you. It’s easy to hold to convictions when there is no tension and strife in your life. But how pertinent are your principles, how firm is your convictions, when you are challenged by a man of God to do something that goes against your core beliefs? No; how stable is the ground of your beliefs when God Himself challenges the
convictions of your culture and folk?
When God challenges your faithfulness, how Pertinent are Your Principles?
I believe that is a relevant question; for in Verses 1 and 2, we find that Jeremiah is acting under orders from the Lord (read). Now, before we go off on a tangent screaming that there is some inconsistency here, let’s balance this equation. For though God tempts no man with evil to sin, He does put our faith to the test in order to approve its character. You see, God knows what you and I will and will not do. But the bigger picture is this: Sometimes God spotlights us to show the world what A People of Principle really look like. We are God’s Show People. We show others what God can do and what He is like. We are Show Folk. So, when God wants to demonstrate to the world a portion of His awesome power and limitless
wisdom, He brings us forth as exhibit A. He spotlights His people to reveal what a People of Principle Really looks Like. Read Verses 3-5 again. GOD’S SHOW FOLK!
Now, there are several truths this passage teaches us about Principles.
I. FIRST, A PRINCIPLE IS FIRST PRACTICED
AND PRESCRIBED BY A PREDECESSOR.
Now, I would have you note that verse 2 informs us that the people in question were descendant and offspring of one Rechab, who was a contemporary of King David. But he set a bad precedent, he laid a bad example; for in his ignorant zeal, he killed one of King Saul’s sons and brought his head to King David. and for that act, David had his men to cut off their hands and feet and hung them over a pool. So, we need
to understand that the people we have targeted did not practice nor subscribe to the principles of Rechab.
And that is significant; because too many of us are practicing the principles of sin laid down by earlier generations in our families. This cycle of sin and self-destruction is being perpetuated because so many of us have chosen to follow the wrong folk in our families. We all have a Rechab in our family. But that doesn’t mean we have to follow his example. There is someone else in our family history who is more noble.
Perhaps, we ought to look to the example of a Jonadad. Jonadad was one of the ones who helped eradicate Baal worship from Israel. He staked his claim on the One God of Israel and would not bow down to another.
And so, it was he who taught his children and kinfolk to fear God only.
By his example, he taught them to refrain from drinking wine, because at that time, wine was associated with devil worship and led to all kinds of
immoral acts. Therefore, to keep oneself from idolatry, they refrained from drinking wine.
A PRINCIPLE IS FRIST PRACTICED AND PRESCRIBED
BY A PREDECESSOR.
That means that none of us are doing anything that’s New. Nothing that we are doing is original. Somebody else has done it before us! The question is: WHO? Who’s example are we following? Who’s Principles
are we practicing? It’s best to follow the principles of Him who said: "But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness." Of He who said, "Follow Me and I will make you fishers of Men." Of He who said "I am the light of the world... the Bread from heaven... the Good Shepherd ... the Door of the Sheep. It is best to follow the Principles of the Prince of peace, the LORD of lords and KING of kings, the LORD JESUS CHRIST.
The Second Truth this passage teaches us about Principles is that:
II. PEOPLE ARE STRENGTHENED WHEN THEY
ARE UNIFIED.
Notice what they said to Jeremiah in verse 6: "WE will drink no wine..."
That means that everyone was in agreement; everyone was practicing the same thing; they all were together in their Practice of the Principle.
Thus, I submit to us that when all of us see the significance of obeying the commands of Christ, this Church Will Be Strengthened to the point that no weapon, man, demon, force or power will be able to stand against us! We need this WE language; this WE-Thing!!!
III. THIRD, I WANT US TO NOTE THE SIMPLE REASON THEY
GAVE FOR PRACTICING THE PRINCIPLE: BECAUSE OUR FATHER
SAID SO.
There’s nothing magical about the word father; just as there is nothing magical about the word mother. It’s a title full of influence, but there’s no
guarantee that its power will be used for good. Shem, Ham and Japheth could have caught faith from their father, Noah, because he was one of history’s great heroes of faith. But they might have also caught from him and inclination to drunkenness.
All of which simply says that there is untold power of influence in family:in mothers and fathers and siblings and aunts and uncles and grandparents.
And also in all those persons who get close enough to us to teach us not only lessons that can be measured in a classroom test, but also lessons that are not always easy to verbalize. Sometimes they are the people who explain the difference between right and wrong and between the good and the best, and sometimes they are those who make us want to be good or those
who give us a passion for what is best. Because so many of life’s greatest commitments are established no only at the level of calculated logic but also at the level of inner conviction, we cannot fully explain why we believe so strongly, because our believing has been caught even more than it has been taught.
When challenged by Jeremiah in verse 5 to drink wine, they declined in verse 6, citing as their reason: BECAUSE OUR FATHER SAID SO.
I want to leave Two Things with you. First, be very Thankful for the Good you have caught from your father and mother and any other person who has touched your life at some point where you have been ready to receive such a positive influence. God speaks to us often thru the simple goodness we encounter in a variety of people; and that goodness, and the nature of the relationship, causes us to hear and to learn in a fashion that is much deeper than pure logic.
Second, Ponder how much others may be catching from You. You and I really have no idea what persons may be attending to our words and our influence. and that includes some, who at a particular moment, may respond with disdain or skepticism. I’m not suggesting that you go about thinking that people are finding gems of wisdom in your every passing greeting, but I’m very sure that some people are catching something from
you. But be sure that what they catch is good.
But above all, may we have the confidence to Practice our Principles simply because OUR HEAVENLY FATHER SAID SO!!!
IV. BECAUSE, IN THE FINAL ANALYSIS THERE IS A PROMISE
TO PEOPLE WHO ARE PRINCIPLED.
Look at verses 18 and 19 of Jeremiah 35 (read).
