End Times Witnessing: The faithful ones (revised September 29, 2012)
When the watchman was asked to wake shortly after he had fallen asleep after an overnight prayer meeting he knew the Lord had word for him. So he obeyed. But he could not hear anything so he read Isaiah and Jeremiah and prayed and interceded as the Lord’s Spirit led him. By the time he knew he just had to sleep a while as it was almost dawn, he asked the Lord whether there was a message for him. He also asked the Lord about finding a church now that the former church’s time was up. Then the Lord led him to read Jeremiah 35 -The Obedient Rechabites. “7 And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long, good lives in the land.’ 8 So we have obeyed him in all these things. 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Recab will always have descendants who serve me.’”It is certainly reassuring to be told by the Lord what He considered and that faithfulness to Him is of great value in His eyes! The Recab are a small household of no fame or fortune or power in the eyes of Men. But the the Lord made sure they were recognized and recorded in the Bible as an example of “faithfulness”!
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originally blogged on 9-8-2010
THE FAITHFUL RECABITES (The watchman heard, “What makes you think you are the faithful one? I will show you the truly faithful in My eyes!”)
1 This is the message the Lord gave Jeremiah
when Jehoiakim son of Josiah was king of Judah: 2 “Go to the settlement
where the families of the Recabites live, and invite them to the Lord’s
Temple. Take them into one of the inner rooms, and offer them some
wine.”
3 So I went to see Jaazaniah son of Jeremiah and
grandson of Habazziniah and all his brothers and sons—representing all
the Recabite families. 4 I took them to the Temple, and we went into the
room assigned to the sons of Hanan son of Igdaliah, a man of God. This
room was located next to the one used by the Temple officials, directly
above the room of Maaseiah son of Shallum, the Temple gatekeeper.
5 I set cups and jugs of wine before them and invited them to have a drink, 6 but they refused. “No,”
they said, “we don’t drink wine, because our ancestor Jehonadab[a] son
of Recab gave us this command: ‘You and your descendants must never
drink wine. 7 And do not build houses or plant crops or vineyards, but
always live in tents. If you follow these commands, you will live long,
good lives in the land.’ 8 So we have obeyed him in all these things. We
have never had a drink of wine to this day, nor have our wives, our
sons, or our daughters. 9 We haven’t built houses or owned vineyards or
farms or planted crops. 10 We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed
all the commands of Jehonadab, our ancestor. 11 But when King
Nebuchadnezzar[b] of Babylon attacked this country, we were afraid of
the Babylonian and Syrian[c] armies. So we decided to move to Jerusalem.
That is why we are here.”
12 Then the Lord gave this message to Jeremiah: 13 “This
is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: Go and
say to the people in Judah and Jerusalem, ‘Come and learn a lesson about
how to obey me. 14 The Recabites do not drink
wine to this day because their ancestor Jehonadab told them not to. But
I have spoken to you again and again, and you refuse to obey me.
15 Time after time I sent you prophets, who told you, “Turn from your
wicked ways, and start doing things right. Stop worshiping other gods so
that you might live in peace here in the land I have given to you and
your ancestors.” But you would not listen to me or obey me. 16 The descendants of Jehonadab son of Recab have obeyed their ancestor completely, but you have refused to listen to me.’
17 “Therefore, this is what the Lord God of Heaven’s
Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Because you refuse to listen or
answer when I call, I will send upon Judah and Jerusalem all the
disasters I have threatened.’”
18 Then Jeremiah turned to the Recabites and
said, “This is what the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel,
says: ‘You have obeyed your ancestor Jehonadab in every respect,
following all his instructions.’ 19 Therefore, this is what the Lord of
Heaven’s Armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘Jehonadab son of Recab will
always have descendants who serve me.’”
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WHO ARE THE FAITHFUL ONES?
Faith in God results in faith in action. No action, no faith. No faith, no justification. No justification, no salvation. O, Christians, examine your faith. The hourglass is ticking fast. (The watchman shudders).
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Faith takes time and longsuffering to build and establish. Fear of
the Lord (rather than fear of men) is a number one priority for those
who want to emulate the Recabites.
The following is excerpt quoted for information only (something more about the Recabites):
____________”Over the centuries, pockets of Rechabites have turned
up in remote locations. Benjamin of Tudela (1160) found descendants
“twenty-one day’s journey from Babylon, through the desert of Sheba, or
Al-Yemen, from which Mesopotamia lies in a northerly direction, are
abodes of the Jews who are called the Rechabites.” He described them as
an independent tribe that lived in large, fortified cities. Rechabite
Jews were discovered in China in the 1500s. Isaiah 49:12 confirms that
Israelites were dispersed to the land of Sinim, which is China. In the
1800s English missionary Dr. Joseph Wolff located about 60,000
Rechabites living in Arabia. They spoke Arabic and some Hebrew. Wolff
noted that they did not drink wine, lived in tents and remembered the
word of Jonadab the son of Rechab. Dwelling with them were children of
the Israelite tribe of Dan, who along with the Rechabites expected “the
speedy arrival of the Messiah in the clouds of heaven.” A Bedouin tribe
recently was found near the Dead Sea that claimed to be descendants of
Jehonadab.” (Jeff King)
