Jeremiah 35:14

The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab.

Jonadab, or Jehonadab, for thus the name is elsewhere written, was. contemporary of the prophet Elijah and. most remarkable character. Though not of Hebrew stock, he belonged to. branch of the Kenites who had followed the fortunes of Israel, and were faithful worshipers of Jehovah. He was the son, or descendant, of Rechab of whom we know nothing, and seems to have retained many of the traits of his Bedouin kinsmen. At the time of the overthrow of the family of Ahab by Jehu, he suddenly appears in the historical narrative (2 Kings 10:15) and joined King Jehu as he rode along in his chariot. His stern hatred of idolatry and austere character must have been known, for Jehu it once recognized him as an ally. The king lifted him into the chariot and gave to him the first intimation that he proposed to destroy the worship of Baal. In the religious revolution that followed Jehonadab was the most trusted helper of the king.

He commanded his sons not to drink wine.

His command was given to his son, and his tribe near two hundred and fifty years before the date that we have, now reached. He not only forbade, that they should drink wine, but that they should form luxurious habits of any kind. The drunkenness, license and corruption of his times seem to have alarmed and disgusted him and he commanded his tribe to abstain from wine, to refuse to dwell in cities, to have no fixed habitations, and not to live by agriculture. They were pledged to continue in the simple, nomadic tent life of their Arabian ancestors. This pledge created the society of the Rechabites and was required in order to Preserve them from the evils of the times. At this time, they had been driven from their tents in the wilderness by the Assyrians who had spread over the land like locusts and compelled them to seek. refuge behind the walls of Jerusalem.

Unto this day they drink none.

This feature of their pledge was the one that struck Jeremiah with the greatest force. They had been forced from their tents and compelled to live in. mansion of Jerusalem, but they were still faithful to their pledge not to drink wine, which was the main command to which the others were subsidiary. The Lord, knowing the fidelity of this people, chose to try them hi this way, in order that he might, by their conscientious observance of the command of their forefathers, rebuke the Jews for their disregard of the word of the Lord.