Peter Pett's Commentary on the Bible
Jeremiah 35:12-19
YHWH Uses The Loyalty Of The Rechabites To Their ‘Father' As A Contrast With The Behaviour Of Judah Towards Their ‘Father' (Jeremiah 35:12).
The Rechabites had proved their loyalty to their ‘father' (their forefather) by their maintenance of the requirements that he had laid down, and they had done it over a long period of time. This was in total contrast to Judah's attitude towards YHWH's requirements. They had rather ignored YHWH's requirements for a very long time.
‘Then the word of YHWH came to Jeremiah, saying,'
Once again the direct word of YHWH came to Jeremiah. YHWH was very much involved in the situation
“Thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, Go, and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, ‘Will you not receive instruction to listen to my words? The word of YHWH,' ”
YHWH's challenge (under His full title) towards the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem was that they had not been willing to receive instruction or to listen to His words, a fact which was to be seen as solemnly declared by the prophetic word of YHWH. In other words they had totally and blatantly ignored His requirements.
“The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are carried out, and to this day they drink none, for they obey their father's commandment, but I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking, and you have not listened to me.”
And He wanted them to note that this was in total contrast with the Rechabites who had obeyed their father's commandments to abstain from wine, something which they had observed ‘to this day'. And this in spite of the effort that YHWH had put in to bringing home His word to the men of Judah. They had simply refused to listen. Note the Jeremaic ‘I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking'.
“I have also sent to you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, ‘Return you now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and you will dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers, but you have not inclined your ear, nor listened to me.”
Not only so, but He had also put great effort into sending the prophets to them, calling on them to return from their evil ways, to set right their behaviour, and not to go after other gods to worship and serve them. And He had promised that if they would do so He would ensure that they continued to dwell in their own land which He had given to them and their fathers. But they had refused to listen. (Thus annulling their rights in the promises given to the fathers).
“Forasmuch as the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have carried out the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people have not listened to me.”
So because the sons of Jonadab had obeyed the commandments of their father, whilst the men of Judah had refused to listen to the commands of their Father, He would reward the one and punish the other.
“Therefore thus says YHWH, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, Behold, I will bring on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil which I have pronounced against them, because I have spoken to them, but they have not heard, and I have called to them, but they have not answered.”
On Judah and Jerusalem, He, ‘YHWH the God of hosts, the God of Israel', would bring ‘all the evil which He had pronounced against them'. He would make them desolate through the activities of the Babylonians, by sword and famine and pestilence, (the usual large-scale disasters that they often faced) and would carry them into exile far away. And He would do this because when He had spoken to them they had not heard, and when He had called on them they had not answered.
‘And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done in accordance with all that he commanded you, therefore thus says YHWH of hosts, the God of Israel, Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.”
In contrast to the misery coming on Jerusalem and Judah His promise to the Rechabites was that He would preserve their name and their inheritance. Because they had proved their worth by their obedience to their father's commandments and precepts, He would ensure their survival so that their group did not die out. There would ever be a ‘son of Jonadab' to stand before Him. The group would never be wholly wiped out.
See for example in this regard Nehemiah 3:14 where ‘a son of Rechab' was ruler of a district. Hegesippus also speaks of Rechabites who were priests in the Apostolic age, who stood by sympathising with James our Lord's brother in his martyrdom. And according to the Mishnah 'the children of Jonadab son of Rechab' had a fixed day in each year for bringing wood for the altar of the temple. Even as late as the 12th century AD Benjamin of Tudela could speak of a group of Jews who were named Rechabites and who were governed by a prince of the house of David.
‘To stand before me' was a technical term indicating that they would in some way serve YHWH in connection with the Sanctuary. They were to have special privileges.