You’ve noticed by now that the book is not put together in a linear sequence. It is a series of recollections by Jeremiah written up by Baruch. One experience brings to mind another so instead of the book always being a chronological account, the chapters often skip back and forth across history – just like Jeremiah would remember them. While Baruch was faithful in recording them just the way Jeremiah told them, it would have been easier for us if he would have edited the sequence so all the stories around Josiah would be grouped together as well as Jehoiakim, Jehoiakin and Zedekiah. Instead, we are going back and forth as Jeremiah speaks them to Baruch. The themes are consistent but the sequence can be confusing. So, this morning we are looking at two kings – Jehoiakim and Zedekiah – in these chapters but I want to focus on just two chapters and one king. Chapters 35/36 and King Jehoiakim, the grandson of Josiah and the predecessor of Zedekiah.

1 This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the LORD during the reign of Jehoiakim son of Josiah king of Judah: 2 “Go to the Rekabite family and invite them to come to one of the side rooms of the house of the LORD and give them wine to drink.” 3 So I went to get Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brothers and all his sons—the whole family of the Rekabites. 4 I brought them into the house of the LORD, into the room of the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah the man of God. It was next to the room of the officials, which was over that of Maaseiah son of Shallum the doorkeeper. 5 Then I set bowls full of wine and some cups before the Rekabites and said to them, “Drink some wine.” 6 But they replied, “We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab[a] son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. 7 Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ 8 We have obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine 9 or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us. 11 But when Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon invaded this land, we said, ‘Come, we must go to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian[b] and Aramean armies.’ So we have remained in Jerusalem.” 12 Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: 13 “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, ‘Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the LORD. 14 ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. 15 Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me.’ 17 “Therefore this is what the LORD God Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Listen! I am going to bring on Judah and on everyone living in Jerusalem every disaster I pronounced against them. I spoke to them, but they did not listen; I called to them, but they did not answer.’” 18 Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered.’ 19 Therefore this is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.’”

It’s important to understand the history of the Recabites to understand why Jeremiah is doing this. It’s more than an invitation to lunch or a temptation to make them violate their practices.

The origin of the Recabites can be found in 2 Kings 10. Jehu, the commander of the army, has been anointed as the next king by Elisha. He has also been given the assignment to wipe out the family of Ahab and he sets about doing that with great zeal. On his way back from slaughtering members of Ahab’s family he encounters Jehonadab, the son of Recab. They strike an enduring relationship and together commit to completing the task of destroying the family of Ahab. That done, they turn to killing all the prophets of Baal. Jehu and Jehonadab invite all the ministers of Baal to a great assembly to honor them. Once they are there, the doors are closed and the men are cut down. “So Jehu destroyed Baal worship in Israel. However, he did not turn away from the sins of Jereboam son of Nebat, which he had caused Israel to commit – the worship of the golden calves at Bethel and Dan.” What does this mean? What was the sin of Jereboam. Turn back to 1 Kings 12:26-30 and we will read how Jeroboam corrupted the people.

26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.” 28 After seeking advice, the king made two golden calves. He said to the people, “It is too much for you to go up to Jerusalem. Here are your gods, Israel, who brought you up out of Egypt.” 29 One he set up in Bethel, and the other in Dan. 30 And this thing became a sin; the people came to worship the one at Bethel and went as far as Dan to worship the other.

Because Jeroboam was afraid of the people returning to worship in Jerusalem and what that would mean to either divide their loyalties or make them loyal to Rehoboam, he decided to make it convenient for them to worship without going to Jerusalem. He did not set up a pagan religion. He set up an alternative to Jerusalem. He made it more convenient for the people to worship outside Jerusalem. In this way he was able to use religion to unify them but also to keep the division in the kingdom. He gave them a distinct identity and was able to encourage them to stay away from Jerusalem for worship. He was afraid of the power of religion to unify the two kingdoms so he created a religion that was just enough like genuine worship. His corruption was using religion as a political tool and a means of ingratiating himself with the people by giving them a unique identity. I like the way Andrew MacLaren puts it: “Is there no such thing known as a flaming profession of religion, because it is respectable, or opens the way to some good position? Does nobody pose in public, especially about election times, as a liberal supporter of Churches and a devout Church-member, with an eye mainly to votes? Do political parties think it a good thing to get the religious people to go for their ticket? Or, to take less base instances, is there not a whole school who estimate Christianity mainly as valuable as a social force, and, without any deep personal recognition of its loftier aspects, think it well that it should be generally accepted, especially by other persons, as it makes them easier to govern, and cements the social fabric? Christianity is something more than social cement. Jeroboam’s policy was a great success, as policy. It both united his kingdom and definitively separated it from Judah. But it was a success purchased at the price of degrading religion into the lackey of a court.”

I think this is what Jehonadab saw in Jehu. I think he was such a true believer and a purist that he could not stomach the practical politics of Jehu. He had no interest in the compromises Jehu thought were necessary to govern and keep the people from divided loyalties. He had no interest in the sins of Jeroboam. So what did he do? He created a counterculture that lasted 300 years. He created a tribe that focused on mobility, simplicity and sobriety. They never put down roots. They never got caught up or entangled by accumulating things like houses. They never planted vineyards and so were always sober and alert. They were not gypsies or rebellious or a cult. They were simply a tribe with their identity shaped around core values and obedience – not expedience. In “Run With The Horses” Eugene Peterson writes: “Crowds lie. The more people, the less truth. Integrity is not strengthened by multiplication. We can test this observation easily. Which promise is most likely to be kept: the promise spoken by a politician to a crowd of ten thousand or the promise exchanged between two friends? Since we all have everyday experience of the unreliability of crowds to discern and reflect the truth, it is puzzling that the appeal to numbers continues to carry so much weight with us….In crowds the truth is flattened to fit a slogan. The Recabites lived life not on the basis of what was current with the crowd but on the basis of what had been commanded by their ancestor. Their way of life was not formed out of historical conditions but out of centuries of devotion. The ancient command, not the current headline, gave them their identity…Any part of our lives that is turned over to the crowd makes it and us worse. The larger the crowd, the smaller our lives. Pliny the Elder once said that the Romans, when they couldn’t make a building beautiful, made it big. The practice continues to be popular…and the quality of life diminishes with each addition. On the other hand, every time that we retrieve a part of our life from the crowd and respond to God’s call to us, we are that much more ourselves, more human. Every time we reject the habits of the crowd and practice the disciplines of faith, we become a little more alive.”

The Recabites were an object lesson for Jehoiakim because he, like Jeroboam and Jehu, also wanted to use a show of religion for political purposes. As Chapter 36 opens, God has instructed Jeremiah to have Baruch write what Jeremiah dictates. What he is dictating is the message of 33 years of ministry. Until now, he has written nothing down but God has directed him to write it down. I’m starting to write up 30 years of Bible teaching and I know how big a task that is! After he is finished, he sends Baruch to the Temple to read the scroll to the people. As it turns out, the king has proclaimed a national day of prayer and fasting. Why? The city is surrounded by the Babylonian army and there is every reason to expect they will be captured soon. They need a miracle. People have come not only from Jerusalem but from all over the nation to pray and fast. Oddly enough, the king and his counselors have chosen not to attend but he has sent some lower level officials to represent him. That alone should be a signal of his motivations in calling for a day of prayer. He is not serious about it. It’s a show. In fact, when he is read the scroll he and cuts it up in pieces and throws it into the fire. In his mind, the Lord was supposed to hear the prayers and deliver them one more time because they had convened a crowd to fast and pray. Instead of what he heard from Jeremiah about God’s judgment on him and Jerusalem, he wanted to hear, “I have heard your prayers and will save you.” Instead, he heard God’s verdict on the nation. They prayed and fasted but their behavior did not change. They wanted confession without change. God wanted change and obedience. Jehoiakim wanted to be a spiritual hero but he had no fear of God. His grandfather, Josiah, repented when he heard the word read to him. His grandson had nothing but disdain. He wanted to use God because he had no fear of Him. His heart was dead to God but he understood the use of religion as a political tool. Ray Stedman writes: “These men had lost the fear of God. And when a nation or a people or an individual loses the fear of God, they are on their way to destruction. For the fear of God is based upon the sovereign power which he exercises in life. These men were shown to be stupid and senseless men who had lost their sense of reality entirely, because they had lost the fear of God.”

All this to say, be careful when politicians look to use crowds and religion, prayer and fasting for their own purposes. Be careful of those who use religion as a way of ingratiating themselves with groups and attempting to use God to make themselves look like heroes. Be careful of convenient religion or religion that does not stress true repentance and change. In many ways, the Christian message has become therapeutic in order to merely encourage people but not to challenge them. We have come to see God as the one who is there to meet all our needs instead of the one who calls us to a holy life for His glory.