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Theme: God Does Not Forsake His People
Text: “But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters.” – Jeremiah 35:6-8.
Comment: While the children of Israel were in the wilderness, Moses assured Hobab that God Almighty had promised abundant blessings to the nation of Israel and that if he followed them, the blessing would certainly reach him also. Though Hobab was not inclined to go at first, Moses encouraged him to go, telling him, “…And it shall be, if thou go with us, yea, it shall be, that what goodness the LORD shall do unto us, the same will we do unto thee.” (Numbers 10:29-32) When the Jews got to the promised land the descendants of Hobab were given territory to dwell in. (Judges 1:16; 4:11) That they continued in the true way is shown by the fact that the descendants of Hobab, the Rechabites are spoken of in Jeremiah 35. After accompanying the children of Israel to Palestine, they dwelt among them. (Judges 1:16) It was a measure of their strong belief in God Almighty that they kept to the instruction of their father not to drink wine or to live in cities, so that material concerns will not distract them from the way of righteousness.
We should be contented with what we have and not be in a haste to become rich. St. Paul warned: “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee…” – Hebrews 13:5, 6. See also 1 Timothy 6:6-12.