Jeremiah 35:18-19 (ESV Strong's)
But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.”
Tag: God Honors Those Who Honor Authority
The above verses are taken from the last lines of a story about the family known as the Rachabites. The Rachabites are a family God is using as an example for the rest of the nation of Israel. The father of the Rachabites, Jonadab, had taken a “Nazarite” vow. The Nazarite vow was a vow taken to abstain from wine and other things in a pledge to live for God in a separated manner. The word Nazarite meant separation or consecration. The vow would indicate you were abstaining from wine, wine ginger, grapes, raisins, intoxication and eating or drinking anything that came from grapes. It meant that you were separated from others and consecrated to God. The entire family of the Rachabites had decided to follow and obey the vow of the father, Jonadab. The example for God was that these Rachabites were willing to obey the command of “their” father in something like a Nazarite Vow, but you, Israel and Judah, will not obey the command of “your” father, God the Father. This is the premium that God puts on obeying authority in general and Him in particular ... as THE Authority of mankind. As we can see from the above passage that God gave a special honor to the Rachabites’ family by telling them they would always have someone from their family walking with God. That is quite a legacy. God is honoring their obedience to their father. God will honor anyone who respects authority. God will, specially, honor those who obey Him. God sets up authority and He wants us to honor that authority structure. Why? Because it is ultimately a sign that we live by faith and trust how He has placed us in this world. We honor God by honoring authority. When we do, God honors us.
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