Jeremiah and the Rechabites

During the reign of King Jehoiakim, the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah. He was told to go to the Rechabites, bring them into the house of Yahweh, and offer them wine. So Jeremiah gathered Jaazaniah, his brothers, his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites, and brought them into one of the rooms there.

Jeremiah set bowls full of wine and cups in front of them and told them to drink. But they refused. They explained that Jonadab son of Rechab, their father, had commanded them never to drink wine. He had also told them not to build houses, sow seed, plant vineyards, or have them, but to live in tents.

The Rechabites said they had obeyed this command all their days, along with their wives, sons, and daughters. They had not built houses to live in, and they had no vineyard, field, or seed. They said they were only staying in Jerusalem because they feared the army of the Chaldeans and the army of the Syrians.

Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah again. God told him to speak to the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem. The Rechabites had kept the command of their father, but God had spoken again and again to his own people, and they had not listened. He had sent prophets to call them back from evil ways and from serving other gods, but they would not hear.

Because Judah and Jerusalem had refused God's words, Yahweh said he would bring on them the disaster he had spoken about. But Jeremiah gave the Rechabites a different message. Because they had obeyed the commands of Jonadab their father, God said Jonadab would never lack a man to stand before him. Whose words are we willing to hear and obey?