Israel Compared to the Recabites

Who are these people and what do they pop up now in the narrative? It seems clear that their purpose was to highlight the stark contrast between people of obedience (themselves) and people of disobedience (israel). It was an obvious set-up, as God carefully constructed a situation in which the Recabites would have to turn down cups of wine offerred to them in the temple. The Recabites had been living lives that eschewed worldly gain, living in tents and refusing to plant crops or vineyards. Because they had nothing invested in the things of the world, they were always available to move as the Lord directed. But the point was not to encourage the Jews to emulate their lifestyle per se, but to show them how far off the mark they were in terms of simple obedience. Whether or not they drank or built houses does not seem important.

So who were these people? They were a conservative sect of Israelites that banded together during the time of Jehu, king of Israel in the 9th century BC. Jehonadab (also Jonadab) was the son of Recab (also Rechab), who was a zealous antagonist against Baal worship. Theirs was the kind of faithfulness that God desired and he promised that "Jehonadab son of Recab will always have descendants who serve me". Interestingly, there was recently found a bedouin tribe living near the Dead Sea who professes to be descendants of the Recabites. Another tribe living in Arabia in 1839 was discovered, who claimed the same heritage. Being that the tribes of Israel no longer have any identity, I thought it was interesting that, if true, the Lord would honor these faithful ancestors with a lineage.

Tomorrow's reading: Jer. 49, 2 Kings 24:5-9, 2 Chron. 36:6-9, Jer. 22:24-23:32