Jeremiah 36:1-19.  Yesterday we saw God use a faithful non-Jewish family to teach the unfaithful Jews what they were missing; to challenge them about their lack of response to his repeated messages to them.  And that family, the Rechabites, weren’t even being directly obedient to God, although they were honoring one of his principles by their actions.  It was interesting to think that they were doing instinctively what the Jewish people would not do in spite of repeated direct communications from God.  In today’s reading we see more of the attitude that led to the downfall of the Kingdom of Judah.

In verse 1-3 the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah.   God told Jeremiah to write down all the messages he had given Jeremiah up until that day; messages for the Northern Kingdom, messages for the Southern Kingdom, and messages for all the nations of the earth.  In verse 1 we learn that it is the fourth year of King Jehoiakim.  Jehoiakim bdcame king in 609 BC so that would mean that this happened in 605 BC.  That is an interesting year because it is also the year the Nebuchadnezzar crushed the Egyptian army at Carchemish and demanded allegiance from the Judah and the other kingdoms in the area.  It was also that year that the first captives were taken to Babylon, including the prophet Daniel.  If Jeremiah was to writhe all of his messages on the scroll (and that certainly looks like what God told him to do) it could have been quite a job.  Jeremiah first delivered messages from God in the thirteenth year of Josiah (Jehoiakim’s father); that would have been 627 BC.  How would you like to have to write down every homework assignment from the beginning of your school career (for Jeremiah it would have been 22 years, that’s a lot of writing).

As we saw yesterday and in our reading of Jeremiah there is a lot of repetition in his messages, in fact God even made a point of that yesterday. But the leaders and people were not getting it; they were hearing but not listening.  Jeremiah obeyed God and called his secretary, Baruch, who then began writing everything Jeremiah told him; all that God had told Jeremiah.  When Baruch completed the scroll Jeremiah asked him to take it to the Temple and read it on a “fast” day.  Evidently Jeremiah had been banned from the Temple.

In verse 7 we see that Jeremiah hopes the people will call out to God and ask for help and forgiveness.  The word translated “supplication” means to “fall down”, the idea is to show respect and humility.  Jeremiah hoped the people would be reminded by the word on the scroll of their defection from God and would beg him to help them back.   In verse 8 we see that Baruch obeyed Jeremiah and read the scroll in the Temple.

Verse 8 was a summary of the actions of Baruch in reading the scroll.  Verses 9-10 are a more detailed description of the reading.  In verse 9 we learn that the actual reading happened in the ninth month of the fifth year of Jehoaikim, 604 BC.  This is probably the same reading that is described in verse 8, it would have taken some time to write down all of the messages Jeremiah had given over a 22 year time span.  We don’t know when in the fourth year they started writing but we are now about a year later.  We see that there was a time of “fasting” and many people were in Jerusalem.  The point of fasting is not to punish the body but to spend extra time talking to and listening to God.  For most that would have involved going to the Temple (although Jeremiah regularly communicated to God outside of the Temple).  In a way fasting isn’t about what you aren’t doing as much as it is about what you are doing,; focusing on God.   In the Temple they would have heard Baruch reading the scroll of Jeremiah’s messages.

In verses 11-16 we see one of the religious leaders reporting to the others who were in the palace hanging out.  You would think that on a national day dedicated to communicating with God that they all would have been at the Temple, but they weren’t.  The messenger told them all about what Baruch had been saying so they called for Baruch.  They then asked Baruch to re-read what was written on the scroll to them (wouldn’t it have been better if thay had just been in “church” like everyone else?).  When he finished reading they all looked at each other and were afraid.  We don’t know if they were afraid because of the message they had heard (which consistently had been one of destruction of Judah, Jerusalem, and the Temple), were afraid because of the frequent appeals by God for the people of Judah to turn back to God (which the leaders and most of the people had regularly ignored), or if they were afraid for Baruch because the king probably would not appreciate the message.  In the days of the kings father (Josiah) a similar thing happened when a scroll of the Old Testament was found stuffed away in the Temple, when it was read King Josiah tore his clothing (a sign of great sadness and sorrow)(2 Kings 22-23).  Interestingly the guy who made the report to the others and one of the guys in the palace were the grand-son and son of the guy who had delivered the other scroll to Josiah, and Elnathan’s dad, Achbor, was involved too (2 Kings 22:15).  At the end of the reading they told Baruch that they were going to tell the king what they had heard for him.

In verses 17-19 the religious leaders to whom Baruch had read the scroll asked him where it had come from, did Baruch write it (like maybe he was writing what he remembered) or had Jeremiah told him what to write.  Baruch informed them that he had written down words dictated to him by Jeremiah.  The officials told Baruch to go find Jeremiah and hide.  Clearly at least part of their fear was for the safety of Baruch and Jeremiah.  They must have also had some sense that the words were actually those of God; they were going to report them to the king whom they believed would be very unhappy about the message.  If they had though the words were just Baruch’s biography of Jeremiah then they probably would not have passed them on.  I’m sure they feared for their own safety too, since they would be delivering an unpopular message to Jehoiakim.

I think it’s important to see that being God’s messenger can be a risky job.  In 2 Corinthians 5:20 we are told that we are Jesus’ “ambassadors”; he says that God is using us to bring the world back to him.  In Matthew 28:19-20 Jesus told his followers to go into the whole word and make followers (literally “students”) of his.  It is clear from the history in the Old Testament (see “The Old Testament Connection”), from the history of Israel and Judah, and from our own personal histories that people like to do their own thing, nobody likes to admit that they are a failure and that they cant get by on their own.  The message of Jesus is “good news” but it also offends almost everyone.  The message of Baruch could have been good news, there was time to turn back, but most in Judah were offended.  That is why Jeremiah and Baruch needed to hide, but they needed to proclaim too. We need to tell the world about Jesus, through our lives, our actions, and our words but many wont like it and some may even try to harm us.  E need to be faithful and careful.  In the book of Mark Jesus said he had come to teach (Mark 1:38) but he was also careful when in the presence of those who hated him.  He was focused and wise making sure he could finish all that God had for him to do.  We need to be faithful too, we need to live for and tell others about Jesus.  We also need to be wise when danger is present and carefully figure out what God wants us to do.

God help us remember that we are here to help a lost world understand the way back to you; we need to be Jesus’ ambassadors.  It may take a long time and involve a lot of rejection and suffering but we need to do what you tell us to do; we need to deliver the “word of Yahweh” that as been given to us.  God help us be faithful, keep us safe, and give us words of life, word of healing, words that communicate your love and care for the world.

Jeremiah 35:1-19.  Yesterday Jeremiah gave a very serious warning to the people of Judah and their leaders.  They had “mocked” God; played “Chicken” with him; made a deal with him and then broke it and assumed they would get away with it.  God informed them, through Jeremiah, that he was serious and that they would suffer consequence for breaking their promise.  God is not powerless, but he does use his power for our benefit, he doesn’t want anyone to go to Hell (2 Peter 3:9) and even became one of us to suffer the punishment we deserved in our place.  It is sad that we think we can play games, break the rules and still win.  It is sadder that God has made so much effort to help us and we show him so little honor.

Today’s reading turns to the story of a group of people called Rechabites.  Their ancestor was a guy named Jonadab.  There are two guys by that name in the Bible.  In 2 Samuel 13 there is a Jonadab who is a nephew of David (not a Rechabite or son of Rechab) and one in 2 Kings 10 where his name is spelled a little differently (Jehonadab).  This one is a son of Rechab and is probably the one referred to in Today’s reading.  The Rechabites seem to have been nomads; wandering the wilderness caring for livestock.  In Jehonadab’s day Israel (the Northern kingdom) was ruled by a king named Ahab.  Ahab was about as bad as a guy can be and his wife was equally evil.  Both encouraged the worship of a false god named Baal.  A general in the army of the Northern Kingdom, Jehu, was chosen by God to become the new king of the Northern Kingdom and to completely destroy the household of Ahab and the worshippers of Baal.  In 2 Kings 10 it appears that he was assisted by Jehonadab (an alternate spelling of Johadab).  Unfortunately Jehu was only half hearted in living for God (2 Kings 10:31).

It is not completely important for our story to know exactly who the Rechabites were, the story in Jeremiah is a symbolic story, or an example, and it explains itself very well.  In verses 1-2 Jeremiah was told to go get the Rechabites who were in the city and bring them to the Temple.   In verse 3 Jeremiah did as he was told and brought the Rechabites into a room in the Temple.  Jeremiah then set bowls of wine in front of these men and told them to drink it.  The leaders of the Rechabites then informed Jeremiah that they had been instructed by their ancestor, Jonadab, not to drink wine, that their sons were not to drink wine, that they were not plant seeds nor a vineyard, that they should not build hoses, and that they should live in tents for the rest of their existence.  Their ancestor told them that if they would obey him that they would live in the land for a long time.  According to verse 8 the leader insisted that they had kept the “commandment” of their ancestor through all their “days”.  Meaning all the generations since Jonadab.  That had been 250 years.  They told Jeremiah no because they intended to remain faithful to their ancestor.

According to the leaders of the Rechabites they were only living in Jerusalem because Nebuchadnezzar had invaded the land.  Some see this as an explanation as to why they were actually breaking the rule of their father by living in hoses in Jerusalem.   It is unknown if they were living in houses is Jerusalem though or had pitched their tents somewhere.  In verse 2 when Jeremaih was told to go to the “house” of the Rechabites, the meaning was probably “family” or “place where the family was”.  Also I think it is important to know that the commandment was not to build houses.  I think the idea was that they were not to settle down; no houses, no gardens, no vineyards.  The leaders of the Rechabites insisted that they had obeyed all that Jonadab had commanded them.  The specific test by Jeremiah though was with respect to wine, and it is that item that will serve as God’s example in this message.

In verses 12-14 Jeremiah is given a message from Yahweh for the men of Judah.   In verse 13 God basically asks the people of Jerusalem and Judah, “Won’t you listen to me?”  Then God tells the people of Judah the story of the Rechabite,  “250 years ago their ancestor asked them not to do certain thing, he said it would make the live in this land longer.  And for the last 250 year they have listened to what he ask them to do that one time.”  He then mentions that he has sent his messengers to them over and over and over again, but they would not listen.

In verse 15 we see that God’s messengers had asked the people to turn away from  the things they were doing that displeased God and to stop chasing after false gods.  The promise from God through his messengers was the same as Jonadab’s promise to his descendants; you will live in the land a long time.

In verses  16 God confirms what the Rechabite leaders had said; they had obeyed their ancestor, but the Israelites had not listened to God.  In verse 17 Yahweh then tells his people that because they have not listened that he is bringing disaster on Judah and Jerusalem.  His explanation of his actions is sounds almost sad to me, “I spoke but they did not listen, I called but they did not answer.”  Verses 18-19 give the flip side of the story.  God tells the Rechabites that he is going to reward them for being faithful to their ancestor.  The reward?  The Rechabites would not lack a man to stand before God.  We see that their faithful and obedient attitude pleased God.  I suppose that God figured if they could obey their human forefather that they would probably honor their Father in Heaven too.

It is interesting to note that the Rechabites were not Jews, yet they received a blessing from God.  In Matthew 7:7-11 Jesus is teaching and tells the people that earthly parent listen to their children’s needs and give them good things.  He then asks if evil human parent can get it right don’t they thing god will care for them too.  I think God’s deal with the Rechabites is almost the opposite of this if they got it right with a mere human request how much more likely are they to get it right when God is doing the asking.  I’m also reminded of Romans 1:30; 2:13-15.  In the first verse Paul lists disobedience to parents as something that displeases God (sin), and in the other three verse he tells us that even people who have never heard the Law of Moses can understand right and wrong; they instinctively do and break the Law of Moses; part of God’s  perfect standards.  I wonder if the Rechabites were instinctively doing right, they certainly were being obedient to their parent for generations.  They were a good example and God rewarded them for their obedience to Jonadab (and possibly even to him through their father).  In Romans Paul also says he is not ashamed of the good news about Jesus (the promised one from the Old Testament; the future king and suffering savor).  The good new is of course that Jesus died for our sins and that he promises to bring us safely into his forever kingdom to live forever (1 Corinthians 15).  That good news, according to Paul, is the power of God for salvation both for Jews and non-Jews alike.  The story is powerful because of what God did but it is also powerful because it presents us with a chance; a chance to accept Jesus; the only way back to God (John 14:6).  I like it that God accepted the Rechabites.  I like it that he saw their faithfulness and did not focus on the fact that they were not Jews or a multitude of other faults.  I like it that God repeats himself over and over and over again.  It shows that he really wants us to hear and understand.  He wants us to have as many chances as possible to turn back to him.  God is way cool.

God thank you for not seeing my sinful past and rejecting me because of it.  Thank you for pursuing me, for calling me.  Thank you for continuing to call until I answered.  Help me listen to you today and every day.  Help me not get comfortable and forget to keep honoring you.  Help me to never eve take you for granted.  Thank you for your love, help me love you back each and every day.