A FENCE OF ABSTINENCE (Jer 35)
Dr. Paul Manuel—2016
Children depend on their parents for many things, from basic necessities (e.g., food, clothing, shelter) to basic guidance in understanding the world.
The prophet Jeremiah ministered at the end of Judah's existence as a nation. He started his service in the royal court at a high point in the country's history, during the reign of King Josiah, Judah's greatest reformer. Jeremiah remained in the royal court through the next four monarchs, all of whom did "evil in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Kgs 23:32, 37; 24:9, 19), until Babylonian forces invaded for the last time, destroying the temple and the capital city. During the reign of the second of Judah's last four kings, the prophet encourages the people's faithfulness to their heavenly father with an example of one family's faithfulness to its earthly father. Jeremiah begins by examining...
I. A Family Tradition (Jer 35:1-11)
God gave this instruction only to priests, but Recab thought his family would benefit from following it as well.6
Two other individuals had to decide how they would respond to a call to violate their convictions. Rather than the call issuing from a prophet of God, however, the call in both cases issued from God Himself.
Ceremonial impurity is not a concern for Christians today, especially in the absence of the temple. Moral impurity, however, is still a concern, or at least it should be. As Paul writes...
Having encountered the Recab clan's unusual family tradition, Jeremiah receives...
II. A Divine Explanation (Jer 35:12-19)
It is important for God's people to represent Him well, and they do that better with mental clarity all the time (God's perfect will) than with mental clarity most of the time (God's permissive will).14 Recab may have realized this difference without God's explicitly stating it. For Racab, total abstention focused on what God prefers (habitual sobriety) rather than merely serving as a fence for what He permits (occasional sobriety). This distinction may account for the commendation.
While it is important that we remain faithful to God, our relationship to Him is not the only indication of our loyalty. Among His many commands, He says: "Honor your father and your mother" (Exod 20:12a). In fact, if repetition is any gauge of importance, this command (which appears numerous times) is one of the most important commands in scripture.17 Its significance in this context is magnified because, as Paul notes, it is one of the few commands that comes with a promise for obedience: "so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you" (v. 12b).18
It is uncertain if Babylonian forces took away Recab's family. Members of that clan do not appear on the list of deportees or returnees. Perhaps their nomadic way of life enabled them to avoid capture and exile. If they managed to remain in the land after the destruction of Jerusalem, it may have been because of God's promise. Either way, God's commendation of Recab's decision and of his descendants' respect for that decision illustrate the importance of this command to honor one's parents, even for grown children. It also illustrates how a child's relationship with parents changes as that child becomes an adult: It is less about obeying them but should still involve honoring them.
Recab, the patriarch of his family, told his descendants to adopt a lifestyle different from their fellow Judeans, including not drinking wine.19 It was more than God explicitly required from most people, but it pleased Him that Recab would make refraining from alcohol incumbent on his progeny. It was A Fence of Abstinence that would enable them to avoid the pitfalls of intoxication and serve God with mental clarity. The same clarity is available today for those (including you) who avoid imbibing in what would impair communication with or service for our great God.
A father and son went fishing one day. After a couple hours out in the boat, the boy suddenly became curious about the world around him. He asked his father, "How does this boat float?" The father thought for a moment, then replied, "I don't rightly know, son." The boy returned to his contemplation, then turned back to his father, "How do fish breath underwater?" Once again the father replied, "Don't rightly know, son." A little later the boy asked his father, "Why is the sky blue?" Again, the father replied. "Don't rightly know, son." Worried he was going to annoy his father, he says, "Dad, do you mind my asking you all of these questions?" "Of course not, son. If you don't ask questions...you'll never learn anything!"Children depend on their parents for many things. Even adult children can benefit from their parents' guidance, as the children of Recab do in erecting A Fence of Abstinence.
The prophet Jeremiah ministered at the end of Judah's existence as a nation. He started his service in the royal court at a high point in the country's history, during the reign of King Josiah, Judah's greatest reformer. Jeremiah remained in the royal court through the next four monarchs, all of whom did "evil in the eyes of the Lord" (2 Kgs 23:32, 37; 24:9, 19), until Babylonian forces invaded for the last time, destroying the temple and the capital city. During the reign of the second of Judah's last four kings, the prophet encourages the people's faithfulness to their heavenly father with an example of one family's faithfulness to its earthly father. Jeremiah begins by examining...
I. A Family Tradition (Jer 35:1-11)
A. The prophet tests the Recabites' loyalty to their father (Jer 35:1-5).
The Lord's instructions to Jeremiah were quite simple: Invite the Racabite family to dinner and serve them wine. However unusual it may have been to receive a dinner invitation from the prophet, there was nothing unusual about the menu. God left the food choice to Jeremiah—presumably, he would serve nothing unclean. The only item God specified was the beverage, a common one at middle eastern meals.3Jer 35:1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 2 "Go to the Recabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the LORD and give them wine to drink." 3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Recabites.1 4 I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God.2 It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5 Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the men of the Recabite family and said to them, "Drink some wine."
B. The prophet proves the Recabites' loyalty to their father (Jer 35:6-11).Abstinence is not something God requires from His people.4 Only priests on duty had to abstain.5 It was a rule that God put in place after: "Aaron's sons Nadab and Abihu took their censers, put fire in them and added incense; and they offered unauthorized fire before the LORD, contrary to his command" (Lev 10:1). It is after that incident, during which both men die for their impudence, that God institutes the 'no drinking on duty' policy:
Then the LORD said to Aaron, "You and your sons are not to drink wine or other fermented drink whenever you go into the Tent of Meeting, or you will die. This is a lasting ordinance for the generations to come. You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean (Lev 10:8-10).Although God provides no explanation for His action or His subsequent decree, many biblical exegetes deduce that the two men were intoxicated at the time, which clouded their judgment.
God gave this instruction only to priests, but Recab thought his family would benefit from following it as well.6
Jer 35:6 But they replied, "We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jonadab son of Recab gave us this command: 'Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.' 8 We have obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab son of Recab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9 or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land,7 we said, 'Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies.' So we have remained in Jerusalem."8Recab expanded the 'no drinking on duty' decree to include other rules for members of his family, all of which reinforced a nomadic and agrarian lifestyle:
- They were not to build permanent homes.
- They were not to farm permanent fields.
Two other individuals had to decide how they would respond to a call to violate their convictions. Rather than the call issuing from a prophet of God, however, the call in both cases issued from God Himself.
- God called the priest Ezekiel to violate his principles of ritual purification by having contact with human excrement:
"Take wheat and barley, beans and lentils, millet and spelt; put them in a storage jar and use them to make bread for yourself.... Eat the food as you would a barley cake; bake it in the sight of the people, using human excrement for fuel." ...Then I said, "Not so, Sovereign LORD! I have never defiled myself. From my youth until now I have never eaten anything found dead or torn by wild animals. No unclean meat has ever entered my mouth." (Ezek 4:9a, 12, 14)
- God called Peter, the apostle to the Jews, to jeopardize his principles of ritual purification by having contact with gentiles:11
He saw heaven opened and something like a large sheet being let down to earth by its four corners. It contained all kinds of four-footed animals, as well as reptiles of the earth and birds of the air. Then a voice told him, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." "Surely not, Lord!" Peter replied. "I have never eaten anything impure or unclean." (Acts 10:11-14)Both these experiences were tests of loyalty. In neither case did the man of God violate his conscience. God did not require Ezekiel to defile himself but agreed to a constructive alternative: "I will let you bake your bread over cow manure instead of human excrement" (Ezek 4:15). Likewise, God did not require Peter to defile himself but revealed the meaning of his vision: "God has shown me that I should not call any man impure or unclean" (Acts 10:28b).
Ceremonial impurity is not a concern for Christians today, especially in the absence of the temple. Moral impurity, however, is still a concern, or at least it should be. As Paul writes...
Among you there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people (Eph 5:3).These are all moral qualities the should characterize every believer, but you can promote them by ensuring that they have a climate conducive to its growth. So Paul also writes...
I urge...that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone—for kings and all those in authority, that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness (1 Tim 2:1-2).Although both clergy and laity are concerned about holiness, the kind of holiness and the course to holiness are not the same. Despite what you may think, becoming holy is not 'mission impossible,' difficult perhaps, but definitely not impossible. The priests achieve and maintain ceremonial holiness through prescribed actions before God, like special washings. The laity (you) achieve and maintain moral holiness (in part) through prescribed communications with God, like interceding for others. Becoming holy is not 'mission impossible.' Saints (a.k.a. holy people) are just ordinary folks serving an extraordinary God.
Having encountered the Recab clan's unusual family tradition, Jeremiah receives...
II. A Divine Explanation (Jer 35:12-19)
A. The Lord commends the Recabites' loyalty to their father (Jer 35:12-16).
What Racab told his family was not something God commanded. It was beyond what He commanded. Why then would God commend it?12 ...There are instances in which His permissive will is less demanding then His perfect will, when His command seems to represent a minimal (acceptable) requirement rather than the optimal requirement. For example, it was fine for most of the laity to imbibe in alcoholic beverages, just not to the point of drunkenness, which God condemns. Whether or not Recab knew that even a small amount of alcohol can impair one's judgment, he decided to err on the side of caution and avoid alcohol completely.13Jer 35:12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem, 'Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?' declares the LORD. 14 'Jonadab son of Recab ordered his sons not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather's command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, "Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your fathers." But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16 The descendants of Jonadab son of Recab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.'
It is important for God's people to represent Him well, and they do that better with mental clarity all the time (God's perfect will) than with mental clarity most of the time (God's permissive will).14 Recab may have realized this difference without God's explicitly stating it. For Racab, total abstention focused on what God prefers (habitual sobriety) rather than merely serving as a fence for what He permits (occasional sobriety). This distinction may account for the commendation.
B. The Lord rewards the Recabites' loyalty to their father (Jer 35:17-19).
The loyalty Recab's family members displayed kept them from experiencing the detrimental affects of alcoholism but may not have protected them from the devastating affects of the Babylonian invasion. Nevertheless, it did preserve them from extinction as a family16 and enabled their continued service to God.Jer 35:17 "Therefore, this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer." 18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Recabites, "This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: 'You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.' 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."'15
While it is important that we remain faithful to God, our relationship to Him is not the only indication of our loyalty. Among His many commands, He says: "Honor your father and your mother" (Exod 20:12a). In fact, if repetition is any gauge of importance, this command (which appears numerous times) is one of the most important commands in scripture.17 Its significance in this context is magnified because, as Paul notes, it is one of the few commands that comes with a promise for obedience: "so that you may live long in the land the LORD your God is giving you" (v. 12b).18
It is uncertain if Babylonian forces took away Recab's family. Members of that clan do not appear on the list of deportees or returnees. Perhaps their nomadic way of life enabled them to avoid capture and exile. If they managed to remain in the land after the destruction of Jerusalem, it may have been because of God's promise. Either way, God's commendation of Recab's decision and of his descendants' respect for that decision illustrate the importance of this command to honor one's parents, even for grown children. It also illustrates how a child's relationship with parents changes as that child becomes an adult: It is less about obeying them but should still involve honoring them.
Recab, the patriarch of his family, told his descendants to adopt a lifestyle different from their fellow Judeans, including not drinking wine.19 It was more than God explicitly required from most people, but it pleased Him that Recab would make refraining from alcohol incumbent on his progeny. It was A Fence of Abstinence that would enable them to avoid the pitfalls of intoxication and serve God with mental clarity. The same clarity is available today for those (including you) who avoid imbibing in what would impair communication with or service for our great God.
For a pdf including Bibliography, see here.
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