Page 95 - The Remnant Bride

The final step in the progression of the pursuit of pleasure is to build a house next to

the source of one’s enjoyment. Jonadab instructed his sons not to drink wine, not to plant
vineyards, and not to build houses. They were instructed to dwell in tents. Not attached to

houses or lands, they were focused on Yahweh, and they were free to go wherever He led.
The pursuit of pleasure leads to bondage. The need to devote time and resources to

one’s source of pleasure is a form of slavery. We serve that which we love. The demands of
this bondage will reach the point that we become so entangled that we can no longer

separate ourselves from it. It becomes expedient to build a house that we might abide close
to that which claims so much of our time and devotion.

In an age of great idolatry and sensuality, the sons of Jonadab, along with their
families, stood out in great contrast to those they dwelt among. Even so, the Bride of Christ

will find herself standing out from among those who surround her. The things the world
and the worldly Church pursue, she will turn her back on.

Having witnessed the response of the sons of Jonadab, Jeremiah lifts them up before
the people of Judah and Jerusalem. He tells Judah that the Rechabites have found favor

with God because of their commitment. God, through Jeremiah, then chides Judah because

she has not listened to the voice of God and she has spurned the prophets He has sent to
her. The sons of Jonadab’s obedience to their father stands in judgment against the
disobedience of the sons of Israel.

While Judah and Jerusalem are about to find out that their idolatry and slavery to

pleasure will lead to bondage in Babylon, the sons of Jonadab are given a priceless reward
from God.

Jeremiah 35:18-19

Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, "Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the
God of Israel, 'Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept

all his commands, and done according to all that he commanded you; therefore thus
says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, "Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack

a man to stand before Me always.'"

To this day, there is someone from the household of Jonadab who stands faithfully
before God. How moved God must have been to make such a promise. In Ezekiel 44, we