Jeremiah 35 – OBEDIENCE EXPRESSES LOVE FOR GOD: In this account, God told Jeremiah to go to the “House of the Rechabites”, bring them into the house of the Lord, and give them wine to drink. God was not tempting them because He knew exactly how they would react. It was simply that He wanted to use their obedience as an illustration to a disobedient nation. So, Jeremiah obeys the Word of God and brings the Rechabites in, having bowls filled with wine he encourages them to drink up. But they explained, 300 years earlier, Jonadab, our father, commanded us saying we shall drink no wine, neither we, nor our sons forever. Now, it is amazing discipline to be able to look back over 300 years and say, “we are not breaking our obedience today!” The Rechabites were determined to keep the commands of their father. What God is saying to us from this Word is, there ought to be a place in our lives where a commitment is made for us to value His Word. We’re not talking about sinless perfection because we all falter, struggle and fail. What we’re talking about is getting back up when we fall. It is written: a righteous man will fall seven times, but he will get back up again by the grace of God. This is what God says is the illustration (verses 12-19), this group of men obeyed the voice of their earthly father for 300 years. Yet, Israel’s Heavenly Father came morning and night, over and over and over, but this people refused to yield to Him and they did not walk in obedience. But, there is a blessing in obedience; there is a blessing when we do things God’s way. Obedience to God is much more than mechanical service; it is a relationship with Him through faith. It is all about listening and surrendering to the authority of The Most High. In other words, obedience to God is the hearts recognition of His Lordship: of His right to command and our duty to comply. Through obedience to God we can rid our souls of sin, guilt, or other defilement (1 Peter 1:21). Through obedience we obtain the ear of God (1 John 3:22). Through obedience to God we can discover ways of peace (Proverbs 3:17) and through obedience, at the right time, we will reap the reward of blessings!
Posted on: Fri, 09 Jan 2015 23:03:13 +0000