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:
18. And Jeremiah said Rechabites ] The LXX, doubtless rightly, omit these words (see on Jer 35:12), and seem to have preserved the original form, “Therefore thus saith the Lord, Inasmuch as the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have obeyed the commandment of their father to do as their father commanded them,” while the MT. has been compelled by the insertion to change the 3rd person into the 2nd.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites,…. To the family of them, to those that were with him in the temple, and while they were there; and what he said to them, which is as follows, was by the order and direction of the Lord:
thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; he uses the same titles, when speaking to them, as to the Jews, expressive of his sovereignty, power, and grace:
because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father; that particular command concerning not drinking wine:
and kept all his precepts, and done according to all that he hath commanded you; all the rest, as well as that; though they were many, they took notice of them, and observed them; they kept them in their minds and memory, and made them the rule of their actions, and conformed to them in all respects.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
The declaration concerning the Rechabites is introduced by the formula, “And to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said;” thereby, too, it is shown that the statement does not form an integral portion of the preceding address, but was uttered by Jeremiah perhaps at the close of his transactions with them (Jer 35:11). But it is not given till now, in order to signify to the people of Judah that even fidelity to paternal commands has its own rewards, to make the threat uttered against Judah all the more impressive. On the promise Jer 35:19, cf. Jer 33:18. Since denotes the standing of a servant before his master, and in Jer 7:10 is used of the appearance of the people before the Lord in the temple, seems here also to express not merely the permanence of the family, but in addition, their continuance in the service of the Lord, without, of course, involving sacerdotal service; cf. on the other hand, Jer 33:18, where this service is more exactly described. The acknowledgment of the Lord on the part of the Rechabites is a necessary result of their connection with Israel.
(Note: According to the account of the Jewish missionary Wolff, there are still some Rechabites in Asia, in Mesopotamia and Yemen, who affirm that they are descended from Hobab the brother-in-law [A.V. “father-in-law;” but see Smith’s Bible Dictionary, vol. i. Hobab ] of Moses. Wolff points out that part of the desert of Yemen near Senaa as the special locality where these Rechabites live. Cf. Dr. Joseph Wolff, ein Wanderleben, von Dr. Sengelmann, Hamburg 1863, S. 65 u 196.)
Fuente: Keil & Delitzsch Commentary on the Old Testament
Here the Prophet, that he might affect the Jews more deeply, promises a reward to the sons of Jonadab, because they obeyed their father; and he promises them a blessing from God. Nor is it to be wondered at, for this commandment, as Paul says, is the first to which a promise is annexed. (Eph 6:2) God promises generally a reward to all who keep the Law, for every command has in general connected with it the hope of reward; but this is in a special manner added to the Fifth Commandment: “Honor thy father and thy mother, that thou mayest prolong thy life,” etc. It is, then, nothing strange that God promised a reward to the Rechabites, because they followed the command of their father, for he had promised that in the Law.
But what the Papists allege, that the obedience rendered to the Church is on the same account pleasing to God, may, as we have said, be easily confuted; for if the Rechabites had followed the command of their father in a thing unlawfill, they would have been worthy of punishment; but as this precept, as we have shewn, was not inconsistent with God’s Law, God approved of their obedience. But the laws which are made for the purpose of setting up fictitious modes of worship are altogether impious, for they introduce idolatry. God has prescribed how he would have us to worship him; whatever, therefore, men bring in of themselves is wholly impious, for it adulterates the pure worship of God; and further, when necessity is laid on consciences, it is, as we have said, a tyrannical bondage. Such was not the object of Jonadab; for what he commanded his posterity was useful, and referred only to things of this life; and it did not bind their consciences; for when it was necessary they moved to Jerusalem and dwelt as others in houses; for they did not erect tents at Jerusalem, but lived in hired dwellings; and yet they obeyed their father’s command, for his purpose in ordering them to dwell in tents, was, that they might remain unincumbered, so that they might be always ready to move. We hence see how foolishly the Papists pervert this passage in order to support their tyrannical laws.
And thus this truth may stand, that the obedience of the Rechabites pleased God, because nature itself requires that children should obey their parents; and we also know that God often rewards the shadows of virtues in order to shew that virtues themselves are pleasing to him. (100) But there is no doubt but that this promise, as I have before said, was designedly given, in order to stimulate the Jews, according to what is said in the Song of Moses,
“
I will provoke them by a foolish nation, because they have provoked me by those who are no gods; and I will take vengeance on them, for I will bring forth nations which were not before.” (Deu 32:21)
(100) We see an instance of this in Ahab, 1Kg 21:27. — Ed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(18) Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father.The words decide nothing as to the obligation of the commandment referred to upon others. The law which Jeremiah received as given by God laid down no such rule of life. A righteous life was possible without it (Jer. 22:15; Mat. 11:19). What he was taught to praise was the steadfastness and loyalty with which they adhered to a merely human precept, not at variance with the letter of any divine law, and designed, like the Nazarite vow, to carry the spirit of that lawthe idea of a life-long consecrationto its highest point. The temper of faithfulness to any rule of life sanctioned by prescription, whether it be that of a school, a college, a guild, or a religious order, is in itself praiseworthy as compared with that of individual self-assertion and self-will.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
Jer 35:18 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:
Ver. 18. Because ye have obeyed the commandment. ] Obedience to parents hath an ample recompense of reward, as that which is good and acceptable before God and men. 1Ti 5:4
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
NASB (UPDATED) TEXT: Jer 35:18-19
18Then Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, kept all his commands and done according to all that he commanded you; 19therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel, Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me always.’
Jer 35:19 YHWH’s promise is not that this family group will be a priest in the temple, but that they will continue to be a family through time (including this crisis).
Fuente: You Can Understand the Bible: Study Guide Commentary Series by Bob Utley
Because: Exo 20:12, Deu 5:16, Eph 6:1-3
Reciprocal: Eph 6:2 – General
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Jer 35:18-19. Stress Is laid by Jeremiah on the fact of obedience on the part of the Rechabites. The reward promised for this good conduct was to be an honor for their father. Not leant a men means that the family would be perpetuated. That was just what their father hoped to accomplish by his instructions to the family, for he said (verse 7) that ye may line many days in the Land.
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Jer 35:18-19. Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, &c. Mercy is here promised to the family of the Rechabites for their steady and unanimous adherence to the laws of their house. Though it was only for the shaming of Israel that their constancy was tried, yet, being unshaken, God takes occasion from it to tell them that he had blessings in reserve for them. Jonadab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever The meaning of this promise, says Blaney, in its full extent, seems to be, not only that the race of Jonadab should never fail or be extinct, but that some of the family should ever be found among the worshippers of the true God. For to stand in the presence of a prince, implies an attendance, in some degree, upon his person and service. So the queen of Sheba, speaking of Solomons court, says, Happy are thy men, happy are these thy servants, which stand continually before thee, 1Ki 10:8; and therefore, to stand before God, must denote at least the privilege of treading his courts, and of worshipping him among the train of his chosen servants and people.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
The promise to the Rechabites 35:18-19
Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)
Jeremiah then took a promise from the Lord back to the Rechabites. The Lord praised them for their tenacity in clinging to what they believed to be right.