Page 93 - The Remnant Bride

him invite a family of Israel to come and drink wine before him. In the midst of the idolatry

and sensuality of the day, Jeremiah could not have anticipated their response.

Jeremiah 35:6-11
But they said, "We will not drink wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father,

commanded us, saying, 'You shall not drink wine, you or your sons, forever. And you
shall not build a house, and you shall not sow seed, and you shall not plant a

vineyard or own one; but in tents you shall dwell all your days, that you may live
many days in the land where you sojourn.' And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab

the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, not to drink wine all our
days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, nor to build ourselves houses to

dwell in; and we do not have vineyard or field or seed. We have only dwelt in tents,
and have obeyed, and have done according to all that Jonadab our father

commanded us. But it came about, when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon came up
against the land, that we said, 'Come and let us go to Jerusalem before the army of

the Chaldeans and before the army of the Arameans.' So we have dwelt in

Jerusalem."

The sons of Jonadab and their families stood out from among the generation they

lived in. The idolatry, sensuality, and wickedness of Judah indicated that the nation was

focused upon the things the world had to offer. The nation was materially focused, seeking
pleasure and prosperity. This nation, who was called to be a representation of God to the
nations around them, had instead become infected with the wickedness of her neighbors.

Judah and Jerusalem are symbolic of the Church today. They were the people whom

God had selected from among the peoples of the world to bear His name. Indeed, the people
of Judah and Jerusalem were proud of their calling and uniqueness. The temple was a focal

point for the nation. However, along with their identification with Yahweh God, the Jews
also embraced the idols of the nations around them.

Even so, the Church today proclaims Christ while clinging to the things of the world.
God is seeking a people who have rejected the world and who will pursue Him with

singleness of mind and devotion. The sons of Jonadab exhibited such a resolve.
The things that the sons of Jonadab listed that they were to abstain from, represented