Jeremiah 35 explained: A Family That Kept Its Word

Wine set before guests (vv. 1-5)

Late in King Jehoiakim's reign, God tells Jeremiah to bring the whole Rekabite clan into a side room of the temple and offer them wine. Jeremiah says "drink" in his own words, not as a command from God, so many read this as a deliberate test meant to become a lesson.

The ancestor's rules (vv. 6-10)

The family refuses because their forefather Jehonadab, who lived more than two centuries earlier in the time of King Jehu, told them never to drink wine, build houses, farm or plant vineyards, but to live in tents. The text does not say why, though many think he wanted to keep the family's old herding way of life and guard them from settled comforts.

Why they are in Jerusalem (v. 11)

They explain that they are living in the city only because the armies of Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon and of Aram invaded the land. Having no houses or fields made it easy for them to move, and sheltering in a walled city was a practical exception made under threat.

A lesson for Judah (vv. 12-17)

God draws the contrast: this family has kept a human ancestor's rules for generations, yet Judah ignores God, who sent prophets again and again urging them to turn from wrongdoing and from worshiping other gods. Because they would not listen, the disasters already announced will come.

A promise to the Rekabites (vv. 18-19)

God promises that Jehonadab's family will never lack a descendant to serve him. Scholars are unsure whether this means a special role in worship or simply that the family will survive and stay faithful.

Key verse: Jeremiah 35:14

Something to think about

The Rekabites kept a family rule for generations, even when it cost them. What makes a promise or tradition worth keeping long after the person who made it is gone?