1

Follow the Recabites

2

[Jeremiah 35:19]

Therefore, this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Jonadab son of Recab will never fail to have a man to serve me.'"

3

When the king of Babylon Nebuchadnezzar had attacked Judah and tormented Judah, God told Prophet Jeremiah. "Jeremiah, go to the house of the Recabite families. Invite them to the temple of the LORD and bring them to one room and give them wine to drink."

4

Upon hearing the words of God, Jeremiah gathered the Recabites. The Recabites didn't live in a city. They were nomads, so they looked very shabby. Why did God tell Jeremiah to invite those shabby people to the holy temple of God?

5

Jeremiah brought the Recabites to the temple of the LORD. In the temple, Jeremiah brought them into the room of the sons of Hanan, a holy man of God. When they opened the door, they saw bowls and cups filled with fresh grape wine.

6

Jeremiah said,

"Sons of Recab! God called you to this holy place. There are fresh wines that are prepared to welcome you. Please enjoy."

7

Jaazaniah, a Recabite answered,

"We will not drink wine. This is because our forefather, Jonadab ordered us, 'you and your descendants should never drink wine!'"

8

Continuously, the sons of Jaazaniah, the Recabites said,

"Also, Jonadab ordered us not to build houses, not to sow seeds or to plant vineyards. He told us that we must never own those and he told us that we should forever live as wanderers so that we may live long in this world."

9

Jaazaniah and all the other Recabites believed and followed their forefather Jonadab unconditionally. This Jonadab lived about 250 years ago from that time. Jonadab, together with the tenth king of Israel Jehu, destroyed all the idols of Baal in the land of Israel and killed all the evil people who served Baal. Jonadab was a loyal man of God.

10

Jaazaniah, a Recabite continued to tell Jeremiah.

"We, the Recabites have always followed all the orders of our forefather Jonadab, son of Recab. We have lived in tents and have followed all the orders of our forefather Jonadab."

11

The Prophet Jeremiah answered,

"However, are you not living in Jerusalem, in a house made of stones? The order to live in tents is broken so what is the problem with drinking wine like the people living in Jerusalem?"

12

The Recabites answered,

"We did not break the order of Jonadab. We came into Jerusalem because the king of Babylon, Nebuchadnezzar was attacking Judah. We had no choice but to come into Jerusalem to avoid the attack. We will never drink wine no matter what!" Even if a prophet would suggest to us, we, the Recabites will only follow the order of Jonadab.

13

At that time, God told the prophet Jeremiah.

"Jeremiah, do you see the order of Jonadab, son of Recab, being kept by all of his descendants?"

14

"Even it is the order of their forefather, the descendants of Jonadab, son of Recab, they have kept those orders in front of me. However, the people of Judah did not listen even though I told them by myself. Therefore, I will now give all the disasters I proclaimed to the people of Judah and Jerusalem."

15

The people of Judah and Jerusalem suffered great pain by the invasion of Babylon. They suffered because the people did not follow the orders of God, served idols and did evil things too much. Because of that, the people of Judah got terrible punishment from God.

16

On the other side, God was happy with the loyalty of the Recabites. Then, God promised a great blessing that the Recabite family will always have people who will serve God.

17

The orders of God are not difficult to follow. When you feel following God's words is difficult, remember the loyal Recabites who followed the order of their forefather for 250 years. Also, I hope all of you will have the guidance of the Holy Spirit and become people of faith who sincerely follow the orders of God.

(This is the sample conclusion provided by CTM.
Please feel free to change the conclusion to best suit the listeners of your sermon.)