________________________________________________________________________

The temperatures were in the high 90s and 100s this past week and it's obvious that it's going to be a scorcher this year. It's June and it already feels like August. I hope you have air condition and the money to pay to run it because you are going to need some relief from the summer of 2005.

Everybody has their favorite summer stories. I fondly remember the summer of 1999 because that was when I began to date my wife. I also remember the summer of 2000 because I was away from my fiancée and already in San Antonio for the entire summer. You've probably got a favorite summer memory. My father recalls with fondness the summer of ?? because that's the first and only summer that he ever saw snow in August! He was living in Alaska at the time and the temperature dropped suddenly and went from barbecue weather to a blizzard in a few hours! We could use one of those days right now here in San Antonio!

Here on this hot summer day, I want to preach to you about the events of another summer day that happened a long time ago. I want to go all the way back to the summer of 606 B.C. which would be 2,671 years ago. It was an eventful summer and in our text there was a lesson recorded that needs to be learned today. Over two and a half centuries have passed, but God wants the events of that year to challenge us today! God wants us today to hear a lesson from the summer of 606.

________________________________________________________________________

In that summer, God's primary prophet to Israel was a man named Jeremiah. Things were vastly different in this time of Israel's history than they had ever been before, and that was not a good thing. Jeremiah is known as the "weeping prophet" because it fell his lot to minister in one of the darkest hours of Israel's past.

In 606 B.C., God had already punished the northern ten tribes of Israel by allowing Assyria to come and carry them away. Because of kings like Hezekiah listening to prophets like Isaiah, the two southern tribes of Judah and Benjamin had survived, but because of the people's idolatry and some evil kings, God had allowed the world power of the Babylonians to conquer Israel and forcing them to pay heavy taxes to Babylon. As we come into the story, God would not help His people because King Jehoiakim had led the people into gross idol worship and promiscuity. The past two years had been rough, because God had allowed the surrounding nations of the Ammonites, Moabites, Chaldeans, and Arameans -- nations that once cowered in fear at the mighty nation of Israel -- to come in and take revenge upon the now weakened state of Israel. Their continual raids and destruction of homes and towns made the two remaining tribes of Israel a very fearful and unstable place to live in the summer of 606 B.C. To make matters worse, King Jehoiakim then decided to rebel with the Egyptians against the mighty Babylonian empire and decided to stop paying taxes and tribute to them. As we read our text, word had just come that King Nebuchadnezzar was on his way to pay a visit to Jerusalem and was bringing the mighty Babylonian army that has conquered the entire known world with Him! As the word that Nebuchadnezzar was coming spread throughout the region, many of the small families that exist on their own in the desert, gathered around the only walled city available, Jerusalem, for protection.

It is in this setting that God spoke to the prophet Jeremiah and makes what seems to be a strange request. In verse 2 of our text, God commands Jeremiah to go outside the city to where the Gentile family of the Rechabites have camped, and to bring them into the temple and set wine before them and command them to drink it!

To realize how strange and wild this is, you must understand that the Rechabites were not just your average Gentile nomads wandering around the deserts. The Rechabites were the descendants of Moses’ Father-in -law, Jethro. When the Children of Israel had conquered the Promised Land, Jethro had separated his family and chosen to live in the wilderness areas of Judea (Judges 1:16). One of Jethro’s descendants was a man named Rechab, thus the name “the Rechabites.” Rechab had a son who became the most famous Rechabite of all and his name was Jonadab. Jonadab is mentioned only one other time in scripture besides our text and that is in the 10th chapter of 2 Kings:

We find that, despite being Gentile, Jonadab (Jehonadab) zealously worshiped Jehovah God of the Israelites and even voluntarily helped Jehu tear down the idols and groves of Baal worship back in the time of Elijah and King Ahab. Jonadab knew that Jehovah God was the one true God, but he was so concerned that his family would settle around the Israelites and be drawn back into idol worship that, before he died, he made some strange guidelines for his descendants to follow. He said, first, they must drink no wine, forever. An essential part of Baal worship was to throw wild parties where the wine flowed freely. By making his descendants vow not to drink wine, Jonadab ensured that his descendants would be unable to worship the false God Baal. Also, if they drank no wine, there was no possibility of a Rechabite accidentally getting drunk and worshipping any other idol! Such was Jonadab’s love for Jehovah God.

The second request of Jonadab for the Rechabite offspring was that they were not to settle in one place, and could not build or buy houses, plant seed, or plant vineyards, but were to live in tents moving from place to place all of their lives. This ensured that they would not permanently settle in an idolatry-filled nation and thus be corrupted by the false worship around them!

And let me say this. Father's Day is around the corner and thank God for a father who loved his God and his children enough to set some guidelines and rules that would protect them from the world! I’m sure that many of the great-grandchildren did not exactly understand why they always wandered around and never settled down. I’m sure that the Rechabite lifestyle sometimes became taxing and they sometimes grew weary continually moving! I’m sure that some of the children did not understand why they could not drink wine or plant vineyards, but there was no question: to be a Rechabite, this was the way you lived, whether you understood or not!

I had a father who was a spiritual Jonadab. Growing up, I did not always understand the reasoning behind my father’s rules, but I’m glad that he stuck to them! There were some things that he did not want me doing because he knew that it would lead me away from a total devotion to God! Likewise, our heavenly Father has given us His Word for us to follow! Sometimes you may not understand exactly why God requires something, but remember He is protecting us from idolatry, and He is guarding us from the things that will pull us away from worshipping only Him. God is a jealous God and he seeks for true worshippers to worship Him and Him alone! That is why His Word lays down guidelines that affect our everyday life. If it is in God’s Word, you can be assured that following it will keep you from idolatry and worldliness!

________________________________________________________________________

And so we come to our text in Jeremiah chapter 35. It has now been three hundred years since the death of Jonadab, and we find that the Rechabites are still living according to his commandments! And it is about the Rechabites that God speaks to Jeremiah and commands him to bring the Rechabites into the temple and put wine before them and command them to drink! Think about it: God has commanded the Man of God to tell them to rebel against the principles that their fore fathers had commanded of them to keep them from worshipping idols! Now you understand why I said that this is a remarkable and strange request in the scriptures!

The prophet Jeremiah does not understand, but he obeys God and goes outside the city and greets the Rechabites and brings them into the outer courts of the temple where the priests live. He sets them down and places pots full of wine in front of them and gives them cups to dip out the wine with and then commands them: “Thus saith the Lord, Jehovah God of Israel: drink the wine.”

Place yourselves in the Rechabites’ side of the table for a moment: they have come to Jerusalem because the long, dry summer has caused water to be very scarce. Grape juice and wine is the only drink of the day that could be stored for long periods of time without ruining. They cannot plant vineyards so they have no drinks stored to quench their thirst. They also have come to Jerusalem seeking protection from the wrath of an angry King Nebuchadnezzar who is about to be upon them and it does not make sense whatsoever to antagonize their hosts the Jews by not obeying them. If the Jews get mad, and send them away the Rechabites will have to face the Babylonian army all by themselves.

In addition, they are in the temple of the Almighty God whom they worship and they are in His temple for their very first time, and a preacher -- someone that they know to be the prophet of Almighty God -- is telling them that God said for them to drink the wine! With all of this in mind, most people would have given in, and sipped a little wine. Most people would say something like “I'll just drink a little; not enough to get drunk, but just enough that we do not antagonize our hosts, the Jews, whom we need for protection.” Or, “Let’s just pretend to sip the wine, and just act like we fit in, and then everything will be okay.” But not the Rechabites, I want you to notice their response to Jeremiah in verse 6:

They refused to drink the wine. If ever in the three hundred years of their vow, they had ever had reason to break it, it was now! If they make the Jews mad, then they are probably going to be killed by Nebuchadnezzar, they are in Jehovah’s temple and one of His true prophets is telling them to drink! Keep in mind that the Rechabites had no idea that this was a test or an object lesson. As far as they knew, God was commanding them to drink, but their loyalty was such that even though Jonadab had been dead for 300 years, they refused to drink the wine! Listen to what they then said:

It's been three hundred years, and not only did the Rechabites know that they were not supposed to drink the wine, but they were able to quote exactly what their forefather Jonadab had commanded word for word! And as the Jewish leaders and priests are looking on marveling at the faithfulness of this clan of Rechabites to their dead father's commandment, God speaks again to the prophet Jeremiah and says:

God said "I have spoken time and time again to you Israelites, and yet you refused to listen to my words, and yet Jonadab, an earthly father had spoken only once to the Rechabites, but 300 years later, they still faithfully obeyed their Father’s Word. God was saying, “Israel, what is your excuse?” The Rechabites did not have their commandments written down, and yet they still knew them and obeyed them flawlessly, and so God was saying “Israel what is your excuse?” "I have written my words down flawlessly and given you copies to read and study and sent messenger after messenger to remind you of them! Jonadab did not leave any financial blessing, or inheritance, or land to his descendants besides this strange command, and yet they still obeyed his voice. On the other hand, God had given Israel houses, land, vineyards, and prosperity and yet they had still served idols. God was once again saying “Israel what is your excuse for not obeying my word?” "Look at this group of gentiles and their faithfulness to their earthly father's commandment -- what is your excuse?"

Today, the lesson of the summer of 606 B.C. still rings loudly through the pages of the Word of God. We are looking at the Rechabites faithfulness and God is saying to us: “Church, what is your excuse?” Like the Israelites, we live lives that are filled with our pleasures and desires. We always have time to worry or gossip, but seldom have time to pray. We run to the house of God when we have a problem, but frown when the Preacher preaches anything out of God’s Word that might cause a change in our lifestyle or walk.

And yet our Father is not a dead Jonadab who has no idea whether or not we will obey His commandments, but is alive and watches every move that we make. We do not have to struggle to remember what He has commanded but have it written down for us to read and study. God has sent us preacher after preacher to remind us of the path that we

should go, but many still find ourselves choosing a path of least resistance, of going through the motions of Christianity but never completely giving ourselves over to God’s Word. The cry of God from the summer of 606 B.C. is sounding today again and again: “consider the Rechabites, Church and then what is your excuse?” The Recabites were that faithful to an earthly father’s vow that brought them nothing in the way of inheritance. What is our reasoning for not obeying the words of our heavenly Father who has promised us riches and happiness beyond our wildest dreams? 2671 years later, God is once again crying through this Man of God, “Church what is your excuse?” Look at the Rechabites and our excuses for not obeying God's commandments look flimsy indeed!

If we do not want to obey God’s Word, then we can find every excuse and justification available. If you want to believe a lie, you can find a so called “minister” and a church somewhere that will preach you your own brand of theology. We have so many churches out there that preach so many different things, and many people have been fooled into believing that it does not matter what or how you worship God, or what you believe, but remember something: God’s Word is the Straight and Narrow, and if God said it, it does not matter whether or not a preacher has the guts or not to preach it, it’s still God’s Word! If God’s Word says it, it does not matter what society or our culture claims is acceptable, it is still necessary. The day and age we live in of “drive-through religion" is just a fulfillment of the prophetic words of Paul:

Religion cannot save you, but the Word of God can! If a church violates the Word of God, does it really matter what you feel like when you go there? If a church leaves parts of God’s Word out, does it really matter what size they run, or how much money they take in? If a church has 10,000 members and yet does not preach the Whole Word of God that is needed to get to heaven, is it really a success in God’s eyes? God is looking at this generation, and reminding us to remember the lesson of the Rechabites, even when a “man of God” told them that it was okay to drink wine, they still refused because of their father’s Word. I don’t care what a preacher tells you, you better make sure it lines up with our Father’s Word. I don’t care if every other church in the World says that it’s okay, God is looking for some people to be like the Rechabites and say “no, our Father said that we shouldn’t drink wine, so we will drink no wine!” “My Father’s Word means more to me than fitting in!”

I know this sermon violates the message of 98% of churches today, but I do not care, because today you are not listening to the philosophizing of a man, but are hearing the Word of God! I know that there is not another church in Castroville that does not preach the message that we preach: that it takes more than just believing in God to be saved, that it takes obeying Jesus when he said that you must be born of the water and the Spirit to enter into the kingdom of God. That you’ve got to do more than just talk about the parts of the Bible that please us, but take the whole council of God. I know that we are in the minority in number, but you listen to this preacher: God is the one who wrote His Word, and the lesson of the Rechabites has taken away every excuse that they have for not obeying all of God’s Word! God is saying today “what is your excuse?”

The Rechabites were so committed to their father's cause that God brought them into the temple and pointed them out. The Rechabites' faithfulness to their cause shamed the lukewarm Jews. And God said "their actions judge yours!" God was saying "you will not even be as faithful to me as they will to an earthly commandment."

There are no modern day Rechabites today, but consider this:

Mormon parents begin two savings accounts when they have a child: a college fund, and a missionary fund to fully pay for a two year mission that their child must go on before finding acceptance in their church. And they do it for a man-made doctrine that will not bring redemption and salvation for their souls. Yet some Pentecostals who have the truth, and are filled with God’s Spirit and baptized in His name, have trouble when God’s Word tells them that they are to pay tithes and financially support the church and have all sorts of excuses of why they can't try to witness and reach somebody for God!

The Jehovah Witnesses, despite a 99.9% failure rate, faithfully volunteer to climb upon their bicycles and get out into the public and spread material that is damning people to Hell because it does not follow the words of Jesus, and yet some Christians who have truth that can save the lost and bring them eternal life and that have God’s Spirit have trouble finding time to come to church services regularly in their cars, nevertheless get on a bicycle for God!

The Hare-Krishnas shave their head except for one small pony tail sticking out of the tops of their heads because they believe a foolish religion that states that their God will grab them all by the hair of the head and yank them into Heaven! Yet some Christians immediately get offended and find the smallest excuse when the Word of our heavenly Father gives guidelines that would cause us to change our physical appearance or lifestyle!

The Islamic stop working, stop playing, stop socializing, stop living for a minimum of five times a day in order to get down on their knees and pray facing the city of Mecca which they think is important to a Moon God that hasn’t even died for them, and yet some Christians who have plenty of time to talk on the phone, watch television and movies, read the newspaper, and have fun, never seem to never have time to pray and read God’s Word in their daily routine, even though the God of glory Himself paid an awful price on Calvary to bring them the freedom to do so!

These false religions stand along side the Rechabites today and scream for our attention: WHAT IS OUR EXCUSE FOR NOT OBEYING ALL OF OUR FATHER’S WORD?

Why is it such a struggle for some of us to pray? Why is it such a drudgery to some to give of their finances and time? Why is it such a shame to us to live a holy lifestyle demanded by a holy God? Somebody needs to realize the lesson of the Rechabites today! If they can be faithful to a commandment by a father that has been long dead, even in the most trying of circumstances, then surely we can be faithful to the words of our heavenly Father, who loves us and who wants to be a part of our life everyday!

Our excuses are gobbled up by the lesson of the summer of 606 B.C. Too many Christians are looking for an excuse to not learn the Word of God or to not hold to it's words, but the Rechabites were faithful! Too many Christians' convictions only run with what a preacher said to do, but the Rechabites stood on their father's word even when a preacher told them do otherwise! To many Christians give in to peer pressure and quickly drop obedience to the commandments of God if someone ridicules them or looks strangely at them for doing so, but the Rechabites said "we'd rather face the entire army of Nebuchadnezzar on our own knowing that we had been faithful to our father's commandments, than compromise and fit in around here!" What a lesson for God's people!

________________________________________________________________________

And I'm preaching to some of you who say "well if I have a long lineage of people serving God, then I could be that strong in obeying His Word too." The actions of the Rechabites in the summer of 606 B.C. speak to you too, because we find from other scriptures that the early Rechabites before Jonadab did not live that way:

Rechab was "the ruler of part of Beth-haccerem." "Beth-haccerem" means "house of the vineyard." Before Jonadab, the Rechabites had drank wine and lived in houses and cities and been settled people. But the lesson of the Rechabites sprang from one man, Jonadab, saying I know how my father and grandfather lived, and I've seen how they have repeatedly fallen into idolatry, therefore I'm going to be different! I'm going to start a new thing! I'm going to put some principles in my family that will ensure that my descendants will live for Jehovah God for forever! And so Jonadab started a new trend. He turned over a new leaf for His family and put them on a path that would always take them to the true Jehovah God!

Too many times we look at families of faithfulness like the Rechabites and say "well they have always believe that way and they have a tradition of being that way. But I'm here to remind you that it wasn't always that way even in the Rechabites! But one man stood up and made up his mind that he was going to steer his family to God and stop using what his father and grandfather did or did not do as an excuse! Jonadab said "we're going to do some things differently and we will start a tradition of serving Jehovah God! One person who decides to do things God's way can truly change a family's course for eternity! You can start out being from the house of wine and sin, and end up leading your family into the house of mercy!

_______________________________________________________________________

The story of the Rechabites did not end with just the summer of 606. I want you to notice verse 18-19 of Jeremiah 35. In it, God blesses the Rechabites for their faithfulness and makes them a promise:

God said that the Rechabites would not want for a man to stand before Him forever! In other words, God would bless the family and keep them so that in His house, a Rechabite would always be around to serve Him! When you obey and are commmitted to the Father's commands, He wants you around Him for forever! That's why He invented a way for us to spend eternity with Him! That's why Jesus said "I have gone to prepare a place for you!"

God had made this same commitment to the Levites when they had stood for Him against Idolatry back in the time of Moses (Deuteronomy 10:8). And so Jewish history records that the daughters of some of the Rechabites married some of the Priests of the tribe of Levi. Their children became priests in the house of God despite having some Gentile blood! From the summer of 606 B.C. on, there was a Rechabite in the temple of God.

Jewish tradition teaches us that when James the brother of Jesus was stoned to death by the Pharisees and Saducees, that only one of the Levitical priests protested it: a priest from the lineage of the Rechabites! When God makes a covenant for forever, He keeps it, but I know what some of you are thinking. You are thinking "there is no longer a temple today, but our bodies are the temple of God." That's true, and yet God has said that there would be a Rechabite to stand before Him forever! Even today? Yes! You become a spiritual Rechabite, when you too decide to stand and obey your heavenly Father's commandments no matter what others might say! When you are faithful to your heavenly Father's wishes, once again -- even in the summer of 2005 -- a Rechabite stands serving God! When the church assembles at the marriage supper of the Lamb after the Rapture of the church, there will be two types of Rechabites there: literal, physical descendants of Jonadab, and spiritual descendants of the latter day church who made up in their mind that they would obey their Father’s Words no matter what man said was correct!

And I close with this:

In the original Hebrew, there is a title to the seventy-first psalm which indicates to us that the Rechabites helped King David write the song. We read two verses of that song as our other text. In it, the Rechabites say this:

They prayed that they would be able to show God's power and strength to every generation! God has granted their prayer because the story of their lineage is preaching today to this generation and doubtlessly it will continue preaching although they are dead and gone. May we be as faithful and as honoring of our Heavenly Father's wishes, as they were to their earthly Father's! May the events of the summer of 606 B.C. change the way we live for as many summers as God allows us to live!