Sunday I continued in our series, "The Remnant." This week I spoke about the Recabites in Jeremiah 35. If you look carefully in the Scriptures you can follow the Recabite family for almost 500 years!
You can read about Recab in 2 Samuel 4. Then you can read about Jonadab, Recab's descendant who made his children keep three vows in 2 Kings 10. Jonadab was a zealous fighter with King Jehu who abolished Baal worship and destroyed the family of wicked King Ahab and his wicked queen Jezabel. To keep his descendants from the wicked materialism, greed, jealousy, and party scene in Israel he made them keep three promises: to live in tents, never grow crops, and drink no wine. Two hundred and fifty four years later in Jeremiah's day they still kept the command of Jonadab.
The principals we glean are these:
First, the remnant must be counter-cultural.
Second, the remnant does not hide from the community.
Third, the remnant withstands the test of time.
Fourth, the remnant is protected by God.
Sorry it was a long sermon, but this is a story that is seldom if ever preached. The context of it spans over 500 years of Bible history. Its implications are profound and worthy of a little extra thought.
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