The intention of the author is for the reader to learn that God is faithful to the faithful and keeps His promises. As a nation falls, the godly obey in small things more and more while the wicked disobey in larger and larger things.[1] Let the journey begin.
The Simple Seed of the Family Tree
On a hot and arid day in Egypt, the sound of a whip snapping across the back of a Hebrew slave was heard by a man out walking. This man was a prince of Egypt. This man’s name was Moses. Though the people thought he was of Egyptian descent, he knew otherwise. He knew that he was a Hebrew himself. He could not tolerate the actions of this taskmaster any longer. In the heat of anger, Moses[2] murdered the taskmaster and buried the body. The next day Moses went out walking again and found two Hebrew men fighting. When he tried to confront them and quell the fracas, the people rebuked him wondering if Moses would kill them too! This terrified Moses, for he knew that now the matter would be known by all. His fears were confirmed when the Pharoah tried to kill him. In terror, Moses fled eastward and lived amongst the Midianites.[3] Here, on the Gulf of Aqaba, Moses met Jethro, the priest of Midian.
The Midianites were a nomadic tribe living in northwestern Arabia. They were descendants of Midian, son of Keturah, wife of Abraham, which, in Gen 25:2, is the first mention of what would become the Rechabite family. The sons of Midian were Ephah, Epher, Hanoch, Abida, and Eldaah. Regrettably, this is all the information on these figures that Scripture can provide. What one can glean from this is that the leading of the Holy Spirit upon Moses did not see it as necessary to include their entire family. Moving bact to the topic of Jethro, it is known that he was also called Reuel (which means friend of God) and that he met Moses. For the sake of continuity, the author will refer to the priest of Midian as Jethro, which is the name predominantly used in the text.
Moses was relaxing by a well when he met the seven daughters of Jethro. The daughters of Jethro took Moses, whom they called an Egyptian, due most likely to his dress or complexion, back to their camp.[4] Jethro hired Moses to shepherd his large amounts of livestock. In gratitude Jethro gave Moses his daughter Zipporah as a wife.
From here, Moses would receive his commission to return to Egypt and would later free the Hebrews.
Jethro continued with the Israelites after they had been released from their captivity. Scripture provides ample proof to this as Jethro traveled to meet with Moses and even offered a sacrifice (Exod 18:6-12). Upon what we can only assume to be Jethro’s passing, a dialogue between Moses and Hobab, the son of Jethro, takes place. Moses invited Hobab to accompany him, not only because he was family, but also because his knowledge of the desert gained from being a nomad would be invaluable.[5] Hobab took his family and, upon entrance into the promised land, pitched his tent in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh. Again, the trail dies on this family after this point until the land of promise has been taken and the judges are now governing the people.
At this point in time, Deborah and Barak were attempting to free the Israelites from the oppression of Jabin, King of Canaan. Jabin’s commander, Sisera, boasted 900 iron chariots. By God’s grace, the Israelites routed the armies of Sisera, who fled to Kedesh and stayed at the tent of a woman named Jael, whom he assumed to be friendly because of the amicable relationship between her husband and Jabin.[6] Here is where the lineage comes back into the text. The reader learns that Heber the Kenite had separated himself from the other Kenites and from his father Hobab, and married Jael. Jael gave Sisera some warm milk and covered him most likely with a rug to “conceal him.” The warm milk had eased Sisera to sleep while Jael put the final phase of her plan into action. Clearly Jael did not share the same beliefs as her husband as the prophecy of Deborah was fulfilled as Jael drove the tent peg into Sisera’s temple. The way these people all tie together, even at this early stage of the Bible, is truly fascinating. The family tree does not end here though.
King Jehu had just finished his speech outside the gates of Jezreel. The disgusting rank of the severed heads of the heirs of Ahab choked some of the bystanders. Jehu’s desire to purge the land of all evil influence from Ahab and idolatry was almost finished. He was now on his way to Samaria. He met a very mercurial figure on the way to his destination. This man would be around for a long time helping Jehu cleanse the land.[7] His name was Jehonadab, the son of Rechab. He was a man who was faithful to the Lord and a strict observer of Mosaic Law.[8] Jehonadab was revered as a man of God whose heart, as the text states, was right. Jehonadab is the watershed figure that shapes the belief of this nomadic tribe, as the reader shall soon see.
The Babylonians had camped outside the walls of Judah. Cannibalism was rampant. Jeremiah wandered the streets watching in horror as the city self-destructed morally. The people had been driven to extreme moral depravity and had even turned to worshipping Astereth. Jeremiah received a command from God to go to the house of the Rechabites and to give them wine to drink. The Rechabites had spiritual royalty on their side. Igdaliah was recognized in Scripture as the man of God, which could identify himself and his descendants as allies of Jeremiah.[9] Jeremiah had taken them into the house of the Lord and had offered them the wine. Something peculiar happened though. They refused the wine because of the commands of their father Jehonadab, or Jonadab as he is referred to by this generation. God commended them for their faithfulness to the commands of their father Jonadab and promised that the son of Rechab would never lack a man to stand before God always. Jeremiah used these people as an object lesson to the inhabitants of Jerusalem. These nomads were faithful to the commands of one ancestor for over 200 years while the Israelites were constantly turning away from God.[10]
This command carries with it incredible implications, for shortly thereafter, the kingdom of Judah was then laid waste. For seventy years the people were in captivity. A few questions, however, are raised. What exactly were the commands laid down by Jehonadab, and why did God command the Rechabites to drink when they were commanded not to, and is this blessing still in effect today? Did God forget the words of one of His own righteous followers? This author shall explain that shortly.
Their Commands
The commands of Jehonadab to his descendants were quite clear. The first of these commands was that they were not to drink wine. The reader must understand that, as stated above, these people were the descendants of Jehonadab who was a devout man of God. The Rechabites were a pure group of people and could be likened to the Nazirites. Since they were a nomadic group of people, they must have come across the practices of the Canaanites quite often. In this particular instance, the Rechabites must have viewed the Canaanites as a race of drunks and wanted to avoid any association with the pagans. Their abstinence was not based on the morals of the modern teetotaler, but on the fact that wine made from grapes, to them, symbolized Canaanite corruption.[11] Never did God or Jeremiah commend the people for their abstinence. The Rechabites were never meant to be an object lesson for abstinence in alcohol. What God commended them for was their faithfulness to the commands of their elder Jehonadab.[12]
The next law they lived by was for them to live in tents all of their days. Now, if the reader has been paying attention, this should raise an eyebrow. If these people were supposed to live in tents, what were they doing living in a house in Jerusalem? The next question this raises is why were they living in Jerusalem in the first place if they were supposed to be nomads? There is a method to the madness though. The Babylonians and Syrians had been on the warpath for quite some time and were ravaging the land forcing several people to take shelter so that life and limb could be spared. Among these groups of people were the Rechabites who had taken up momentary shelter in the walls of Jerusalem.[13] Because of their devout faithfulness to the commands of Jehonadab and the commendations of God, we can therefore assume that this lodging in Jerusalem was only temporary. In a large city like Jerusalem that was in the midst of every form of turmoil that the mind could fathom, living in tents was neither safe nor practical.
The next law was to never sow seeds or to grow a vineyard. The reasoning behind these is quite simple. The people were to live a nomadic lifestyle and the care required to grow vineyards and crops simply did not allow for these things to take place. One can only think that the Rechabites maintained their way of living through the consumption of meat and the purchasing of vegetables and such. Their nomadic lifestyles would also give them an advantage in knowledge of where to find water while traversing the desert.
The last command given to them was to live tents all their days. This is obviously because they were nomads and could not simply carry their homes on the backs of their livestock.
These people were faithful in every way to the commands of Jehonadab and were commended by God for it. This branch of the family that had been grafted into the society had been used by God to humble the people and show them true obedience.[14] As stated above, God never advocated their aesthetic lifestyle. Had God meant this, he would never have commanded people to go into the world and make disciples, but rather to live as vagabonds, having neither house nor land. His blessing was for their obedience.[15]
The Promise of God
The last verse of chapter thirty-five paints the picture quite clearly for the reader and all the inhabitants of the city. In short, it says that Jehonadab shall not lack a man to stand before God always. This is an incredible statement. Though it does present this author and the reader with two questions. Does this mean that the Rechabites would forever walk the earth remaining loyal to God, or was this promise upheld as long as the tribe existed? This author will do what he can to explain.
There are differing opinions amongst many scholars. Even the conclusion that must be arrived at is conjecture at best. On the one side, you have those that think that God, from this point on, incorporated the Rechabites into the service of the Lord. This would include having the people serve as prophets, priests, or kings.[16] The problem with this theory though is that no descendant of Jehonadab, Rechab, or Igdaliah has ever been recorded in Scripture as being king, priest, or prophet, and without an accurate bloodline tracing, readers can never know if this actually happened.
The second line of thought is that, since God had commanded the Levites to serve as His priests, the faithfulness of the Rechabites was transferred over to the Levitical line.[17] As with the previous theory, we cannot be sure of this fact. This theory could be acceptable solely for the fact that the line of priests had been tainted since the days of Eli and his sons. This author is quite sure that God grew angry over the rebellion of the Levites, a tribe that had been set apart solely for the service of God. This author finds it quite alarming at how often the few good kings of the Bible were written about making intercession to God themselves rather than through the priest. The priests, after all, were supposed to allow the people to approach God.
The final line of thought is that God would not spiritually save them all. He would however spare them by preserving their posterity in which some have a place of service to Him.[18] This line of thinking stems from the fact that the word used for the patriarchs, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, as well as Moses and Samuel, is the same as the word used to reference the Rechabites. Without a clear definition of God’s promise though, readers can only interpret the text literally and assume that this is a literal tribal salvation and not a spiritual salvation.
The Faithfulness of God at Work
Persia, led by the brilliant military general Cyrus, decreed for all captured slaves to return to their original lands and worship their gods. This was right at the end of the seventy allotted years that God had commanded the Jews must serve in captivity.
Nehemiah was allowed to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the walls of his beloved city. This would require much work. Nehemiah doled out the responsibilities to various sections as piece by piece the wall began to take shape. Just as the project was beginning to move along easily, opposition arrived. Three men stood up and fought against Nehemiah’s efforts. They tried to convince the people to join their efforts and repel Nehemiah from the land. Daily they would hurl abuse at the people trying to convince them that, even if they did manage to rebuild the wall, it would not be strong enough to keep enemies at bay.[19] Nehemiah knew what he was doing was right and would not leave. He quelled the uprisings and work on the walls and gates continued. The gate is where we will draw our interest as a beautiful detail is recorded.
We see in our reading of Nehemiah that he takes careful time to accurately record in mass detail the sections of the wall that were being rebuilt, the order they being rebuilt in, and the people who fixed them. As we scour the names of the people working on the walls, the readers may stop in astonishment as they see a name they recognize. This name belongs to the man whose task it was to repair a small section of the western wall. It was a menial task, but it was important nonetheless. He was quite capable in his work since he is recorded as an official of the district of Beth-haccherem. He built his gate strongly, hung it on its hinges, and slatted the door with wooden beams for strength. This man, whose name only appears once in the whole of Scripture, whose lineage is one of the most obscure of the entire Bible, whose menial job was to repair the refuse gate, a man whose lineage disappears from all written text after this point, still serving God faithfully, was Malchijah the Rechabite.
Conclusion
This author hopes that the reader has learned something on this journey. God rewards faithfulness so mightily in His Scripture, and in life in general. Countless times, the faithlessness of a people is a major source of the kindling of God’s wrath. The Rechabites were faithful to the commands of Jehonadab, the man of God, all their days. Though this lifestyle was not necessarily commended by God, the concepts of obedience because they were told to is so very commendable and a lesson that must be learned by all who claim to be children of God.
God used these nomadic people to express five key flaws in the Israeli spirituality:
1. The Rechabites received and obeyed the commands of a fallible leader. The Israelites served the almighty God.
2. Jehonadab gave his commands to Rechabites only once; God on the other hand communicated His laws repeatedly and it still did not work.
3. The restrictions placed on the Rechabites did not have eternal implications to them; God’s laws did.
4. The Rechabites obeyed the commands of Jehonadab for 300 years; the Israelites constantly disobeyed.
5. The loyalty of the Rechabites would be rewarded; for their disloyalty God’s people would be punished. This is the reason why Jeremiah had them come into the temple. He wanted all the inhabitants of Jerusalem to see and be humbled by these non-Jews.[20]
The Rechabites obeyed simply because they were told to. This author asks, “Why can the people of this age not simply obey?” [1] Pastor Jon Stephens. East Side Bible Church. Sermon Notes. Iggy and the Rechabites.
[2] Carl F. H. Henry. The Biblical Expositor: The Living Theme of the Great Book (A. J. Holman Company: Philadelphia, 1960), 96.
[3] John F. Walvoord and Roy B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures by Dallas Seminary Faculty (David C. Cook: Colorado Springs, 1983), 110.
[4] Ibid., 111.
[5] Ibid., 226.
[6] Henry, The Biblical Expositor, 250.
[7] Stephens. Iggy and Rechabites.
[8] Henry. The Biblical Expositor. 558.
[9] Gerald L. Keown, Pamela J. Scalise, Thomas G. Smothers. World Biblical Commentary (Word Books, Publisher. Dallas, Texas. 1995), 194.
[10] George Arthur Buttrick, Walter Russell Bowie, Paul Scherer, John Knox, Samuel Terrien, Nolan B. Harmon. The Interpreter’s Bible (Abingdon Press, Nashville, Tennessee 1956), 1060.
[11] Ibid., 1059.
[12] Ibid., 1061.
[13] Frank E. Gaebelein. Charles L. Feinberg. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Regency Reference Library, Grand Rapids, Michigan 1986), 599.
[14] Stephens. Iggy and the Rechabites.
[15] Buttrick, Bowie, Scherer, Knox, Terrien, Harmon. The Interpreter’s Bible. 1062.
[16] Gaebelein, Feinberg. The Expositor’s Bible Commentary. 602.
[17] Ibid., 602.
[18] John MacArthur. The MacArthur Study Bible, NASB-U (Thomas Nelson, La Habra, California, 2006), 1089.
[19] Henry. The Biblical Expositor. 388.
