The Obedience of the Rechabites

“And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he hath commanded you: Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.”

— Jeremiah 35:18-19

The letter of the law reveals the commandment with promise: Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee.[1]The Spirit of the letter hearkens forward, marveling, Verily I say unto you, I have not found so great faith, no not in Israel[2].

Throughout Israel’s history there were found gentile converts to the true religion, who proved their faith to be more sure than the natural-born Israelites. Matthew Henry’s commentary explains that the nomadic Rechabites were most likely Kenites, a nation that was historically friendly to Israel, but not technically of the seed of Abraham (Gen 15:19). Jonadab appears to have been called Jehonadab in 2nd Kings 10, who accompanied Jehu in his purging of Baal worship from Israel. He instructed his children to drink no wine whatsoever, and to live a nomadic life in tents rather than purchase land and build homes and plant gardens. Generations later, his commandments were still obeyed while Judah has apostatized.

Like their spiritual father Abraham and the patriarchs, the Rechabites were pilgrims and strangers in the lands they dwelled in. Their nomadic lifestyle kept them separated from the world, and by forsaking luxurious living (which wine represents in scripture) and material wealth they appear to have been able to escape the apostasy that had taken root in their surrounding society. Whoredom and wine and new wine take away the heart[3].

Contrast this with God’s assessment of Israel: The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father’s commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, [Israel] rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings….but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me[4].

If we cannot be faithful to our earthly parents, we cannot expect ourselves to be faithful to our Heavenly Father, whose providence gave them to us.

A son honoureth his father, and a servant his master: if then I be a father, where is mine honour? And if I be a master, where is my fear[5]?

With God there is dignity in small things. For the ways of man are before the eyes of the LORD, and he pondereth all his goings[6]. No act of faith will go unnoticed, neither will any act of wickedness. Our last two mites and the sacrifice of a broken and contrite heart before God are acceptable to Him. But the key is to first trust the Lord, loving Him with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength, and then to love neighbor as oneself[7].

If I have told you earthly things, and ye believed not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things? — John 3:12

Scriptures: [1] Ex 20:12 [2] Mat 8:10 [3] Hos 4:11 [4] Jer 35:14 [5] Mal 1:6 [6] Prov 5:21 [7] Mar 12:29-31

Are People Generally Good or Bad?

Psalm 53:3 states, “…there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” This concept is known as man's "total depravity."

Every human being is plagued with corruption, which sounds extreme, but when compared to the perfection that is God’s standard, then we have to accept this.

This doesn’t mean all people behave like wanton criminals 100% of the time. It does not mean that unsaved people do not desire a "good" life. However, when we are seeking good we are doing so for selfish motivations. The only "good" reason to do anything is for the glory of God, and an unbeliever is never at any time doing anything for God's glory and heartfelt gratitude. They are doing it to enjoy their own life more or to avoid pain and undesirable outcomes.

Genesis 1:31 states, “And God saw every thing that he had made, and, behold, it was very good.”

God's act of creation is by definition good because it was done for His glory. What is the chief end of man? To glorify God, and enjoy him forever.

What God has created is good; human beings, life on earth, the earth, the sea and all that in them is, it is all good according to God the creator. Life is precious for no other reason than because it is a gift of God and because God deemed it GOOD.

Your heathen neighbor with all of his heathen ways is a creature made in the image of God and put here by God. He might lack faith and "proper" Christian morals, but he, like you, has an innate desire to live a peaceable and quiet life (definitions based on culture).

Romans 2:12-15 states, “For as many as have sinned without law shall also perish without law: and as many as have sinned in the law shall be judged by the law; (For not the hearers of the law are just before God, but the doers of the law shall be justified. For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;).”

Both heathens and Christ’s disciples are capable of showing the work of the law written in their hearts, but they are not necessarily acting out of holy pure and righteous motivations. That is why all of our righteousnesses are as filthy rags.

The difference between a believing sinner and a lost sinner is that our sins are forgiven. This glorious truth is not to be construed as a license to sin, but a gift granted to us by God himself for His glory alone. There is no other way to atone for transgressions.

Having obtained God’s mercy, we are then to show mercy to the rest of His creation, including heathen, while proclaiming the name of Jesus Christ. However, being merciful to all doesn’t mean tolerance of all things. It means assuming responsibility as a disciple of Jesus Christ, by denying ourselves and carrying our cross DAILY and following after Him (Luke 9:23). It is a great responsibility that we have considering that we have both the knowledge of God's law and the fullness of his Grace, and that we hear it preached every Lord's day. It means judging righteous judgement, proven by Scripture (John 7:24).

So yes, humans are generally “good” in that we all want “good” things and that God created us, but we are also generally “bad” in that we are all irredeemably sinful and unable to please God without Christ as mediator. A disciple of Christ realizes this, but a heathen will attempt to build a resume of good works in order to make up for his life’s shortcomings.

Of course, the church has it’s sworn enemies, those imposters who exist simply to oppose the church of Jesus Christ. We must search the scriptures carefully to know who they are and remember that God put them here for a purpose also. Nevertheless, we remain faithful and merciful.

When We Inquire Into Other Men's Matters

“Peter seeing him saith to Jesus, Lord, and what shall this man do? Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me.”

— John 21:21-22

It is easy to be like Peter and start inquiring into other people’s matters rather than focus on God’s clear and revealed will for our own lives. The Bible tells us to examine ourselves, whether we are in the faith, not other people[1]. When it comes to other Christians, we should give the benefit of the doubt that they are in Christ and following Him as best they are able at that moment and not appoint ourselves fruit inspectors. Who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth.[2]

Jesus says to each of us: Follow thou me. Whatever others may do or not do is not in our control. He will render to each of us according to our works.[3]

Instead of demand an explanation of what God is doing in the lives of others, we are to love, encourage, and provoke one another to good works[4], trusting that He is able to keep us from falling.[5]

Scriptures: [1] 2nd Cor 13:5 [2] Rom 14:4 [3] Job 34:11, Ps 62:12, Ecc 12:14, Rom 2:5-10, etc. etc. [4] Heb 10:24 [5] Jude:24