Jeremiah 35:1-8
The Extent Of Disobedience
Outline:
I. \\#Jer 1:1-19\\ Jeremiah’s Calling
II. \\#2:1-37\\ God’s Case Against Judah
III. \\#3:1-25\\ Israel’s Three Time Zones
IV. \\#4:1-6:30\\ Sins and Judgments
V. \\#7:1-\\ Some Specific Messages
A. \\#Jer 7:1-34\\ A Message to the Religious
B. \\#Jer 8:1-22\\ A Message to the Continuous Backslider
C. \\#Jer 9:1-10:25\\ A Message to the Believer
D. \\#Jer 11:1-12:6\\ A Message About Jeremiah
E. \\#Jer 12:7-17\\ A Message to the Pastors
1. \\#Jer 12:7-9\\ An Astonishing Statement
2. \\#Jer 12:10-13\\ A Horrendous Failure
3. \\#Jer 12:14-17\\ A Strange Invitation
F. \\#Jer 13:1-7\\ A Message of Ruin
G. \\#Jer 15:15-21\\ Message to Self - Feet of Clay
H. \\#Jer 21:1-7\\ A Message to Zedekiah - The News
I. \\#Jer 22:1-2, Jer 24:1-3\\ A Message to the People -
Don’t Miss the Ride Out
J. \\#Jeremiah 25:1-3\\ A Message about Nebuchadnezzer -
The King Is Coming
H. \\#Jer 27:1-7\\ A Message to the Nations - Bad to Worse
I. \\#Jer 29:1-7\\ A Message of the Future - God's Not
Finished
J. \\#Jer 32:1-15\\ A Message of Hope - The End for the Jews
K. \\#Jer 35:1-8\\ A Message of Example - The Extent of
Disobedience
The theme throughout the book of Jeremiah is judgment and throughout
the book, Jeremiah has spoke of the nation’s sins. For the next few
chapters, I see a slight change in Jeremiah’s emphasis. It seems to
me that he is grouping messages and events to emphasize Israel’s lack
of obedience. In that, it seems as though they were incapable of
obeying. Let’s look at it together.
I. Chapter 35 - The Rechabites Obedience
A. \\#Jer 35:1\\ This event takes place during the reign of
Jehoiakim.
1. From chapters 29-34, we were looking at things that
happened during Zedekiah’s reign, the last king of
Judah.
2. Now, we have backed up may 15 to 20 years.
3. I am not certain why Jeremiah’s book is arranged the
way it is. I would speculate that the events are
arranged more by topic than by chronological order.
B. The Rechabites was a family that dwelt together.
1. At this time, they had moved into Jerusalem because of
Nebuchadnezzar \\#Jer 35:10-11\\.
2. While there, God used them as an object lesson to
Israel.
3. \\#Jer 35:4-7\\ Jeremiah brought them into one of the
homes of the temple and offered them wine to drink.
4. They refuse—and I am certain that everyone knew that
they would refuse, because for a long time, they had
been under a command from one of their progenitors.
C. Concerning this situation, please notice:
1. \\#Jer 35:6-7\\ This family served under an inferior
command.
a. They were commanded…
(1) To have no houses.
(2) To plant no gardens.
(3) To drink no wine.
b. Outside of the staying pure and detached from the
world (which must have been the father’s goal),
this command really offered nothing important.
c. There was nothing directly spiritual or righteous
about obeying these commands. They were simply
the desire of an ancestor.
d. Lesson - Being obedient is not about the quality
of the command.
(1) The quality of the command is leadership.
(2) Obedience is about the determination of the
submissive.
(3) I can imagine every child born after this
command was given asking, "Why are we doing
this?"
(4) And in my imagination, I never see a parent
try to explain how good the command is.
(5) What I see is each parent saying, "We do it
because our father told us to do it and we
want to honor and obey them."
(6) Unless we learn the importance of obedience
for obedience’s sake, we will always be at
disadvantage with every authority -
especially God.
2. This family served under an inferior command giver.
a. The family is called the Rechabites
\\#Jer 35:3,5\\, but the command actually came
from one of Rechab’s sons, Jonadab.
b. Most likely, this is the Je-ho-na-dab who is
mentioned in 2Kings.
2Kings 10:15 And when he was departed thence, he
(Jehu) lighted on Jehonadab the son of Rechab
coming to meet him: and he saluted him, and said
to him, Is thine heart right, as my heart is
with thy heart? And Jehonadab answered, It is.
If it be, give me thine hand. And he gave him his
hand; and he took him up to him into the chariot.
c. Jehu had been a general in King Ahab’s army, but
God had sent to anoint him king, so Jehu was
busy that day killing Ahab, his sons, and the
prophet’s of Baal.
d. Once Jehu picks up Jehonadab, he goes on to
slay all of the prophets of Baal.
e. IF this is the same man…
(1) We would think he must have been of some
importance, either to the kingdom or to God,
for Jehu to have wanted him to see first
hand the death of the false prophets.
(2) His descendents would have been keeping their
command for around 250 years.
f. We do not know the importance of Jonadab, but no
matter who he was, he was merely a man.
g. Compared to God, Jonadab was nothing.
3. Yet this family obeyed their father while Israel did
not obey God.
a. This was the point God was making through
Jeremiah.
b. As important as obedience to earthly authority is,
it pales compared to obedience to heavenly
authority.
D. Notice the reward God gave to the Rechabites.
Jeremiah 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:
19 Therefore thus saith the LORD of hosts, the
God of Israel; Jonadab the son of Rechab shall
not want a man to stand before me for ever.
1. Some where on this earth, Jonadab still has a descent
alive and doing well.
2. It is my hope that his descendents are still serving
the Lord.
II. Chapter 36 - King Jehoiakim’s Disobedience
A. \\Jer 36:1-3\\ God told Jeremiah to write all of his
messages in a book.
1. The is probably a little over half way through his
ministry.
2. Although we have read references to Jeremiah writing
messages before \\#Jer 29:1, 30:2\\, this is likely
the first time that command was given.
B. Then God told Jeremiah to have the words read at the
temple.
1. \\#Jer 36:5-6\\ Jeremiah was in prison.
2. Baruch went for him.
C. \\#Jer 36:10-19\\ The leaders of the temple and the city
all respond well to the sermons. They want to get the
book to King Jehoiakim.
D. Notice how that went.
Jer 36:20 And they went in to the king into
the court, but they laid up the roll in the
chamber of Elishama the scribe, and told all
the words in the ears of the king.
21 So the king sent Jehudi to fetch the roll:
and he took it out of Elishama the scribe’s
chamber. And Jehudi read it in the ears of the
king, and in the ears of all the princes which
stood beside the king.
22 Now the king sat in the winterhouse in the
ninth month: and there was a fire on the hearth
burning before him.
23 And it came to pass, that when Jehudi had
read three or four leaves, he cut it with the
penknife, and cast it into the fire that was
on the hearth, until all the roll was consumed
in the fire that was on the hearth.
24 Yet they were not afraid, nor rent their
garments, neither the king, nor any of his
servants that heard all these words.
E. Notice \\#Jer 36:24\\ They were not afraid.
1. Here is where disobedience begins.
2. Men like to pretend that we do what we do because of
other reasons, i.e. we want to, we think its best to,
or a myriad of other reasons.
3. The number one reason we do right is because we are
afraid of God if we do not.
4. The only emotion that will ever out do fear of God is
love for God.
5. There is a reason this generation does so much evil.
Pr 3:7 Be not wise in thine own eyes: fear the
LORD, and depart from evil.
Ec 12:13 Let us hear the conclusion of the
whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of
man.
1Pe 2:17 Honour all men. Love the brotherhood.
Fear God. Honour the king.
III. Chapter 34 - King Zedekiah’s Disobedience
A. \\#Jer 34:1\\ This is during the reign of Zedekiah, the
last king of Judah.
1. This is during the Nebuchadnezzar’s siege on
Jerusalem.
2. While the siege continued, two things happened.
a. \\#Jer 34:1-6\\ Jeremiah prophesied Judah’s fall.
b. \\#Jer 34:7\\ Attacks were also being waged
against the other two last defenced cities of
Judah, Lachish and Azekah.
3. \\#Jer 35:22\\ In fact, the majority of the army must
have either been at those cities or perhaps they left
to fend off Egypt \\#Jer 37:5-8\\ for Jeremiah
prophecies that the Babylonians would return to
Jerusalem to destroy it.
B. \\#Jer 34:8-10\\ In the midst of this, Zedekiah and the
people decided to free the Jewish slaves.
1. The Law said that a Jew could take another Jew as a
slave or servant for debts owed but only for six
years at the most.
2. There was a Year of Jubilee every seven years at which
time all the Jews were to be released and their debts
erased.
3. Israel had not been obeying that command but with
things as bad as they were, they decided to free
the Jews.
a. It is doubtful that this was done to appease God.
b. There is no indication that Jeremiah or any
other prophet was preaching that message.
c. More likely, Zedekiah just decided it would be
better for moral if it were done; that is, it
gave everyone a reason to want to fight rather
than to surrender to the Babylonians.
d. After all, if you are a slave, does it really
matter who your master is?
C. So we might call this "accidental obedience."
1. We all understand the concept and the accountability
for accidental sin. (i.e. Whether we meant to do
wrong or not, if we did wrong, God holds us
accountable for it.)
2. Here, we see that there is such a thing as accidental
obedience.
Ro 2:26 Therefore if the uncircumcision keep
the righteousness of the law, shall not his
uncircumcision be counted for circumcision?
D. Yet, for whatever the reason, after doing what was right,
the people then rescinded the release.
Jer 34:11 But afterward they turned, and caused
the servants and the handmaids, whom they had
let go free, to return, and brought them into
subjection for servants and for handmaids.
E. What does this demonstrate?
1. Neither the King nor Judah had any will or desire to
obey God even when it was to their own advantage to
do so.
2. There seems to be a stage of disobedience against God
which exceeds rebellion.
a. It is defiance.
b. Rebellion is more of not doing something because
you don’t want to—maybe you don’t like it or
perhaps it does not profit you.
c. However, defiance is more refusing to do something
just to be refusing to do it.
d. This is when we do not disobey the Bible for a
reason but when the reason is to disobey the
Bible.
e. Defiance is not to stand FOR anything. It is to
stand AGAINST something.
3. This seems to be where Israel was.
a. I understand to release the servants would have
been an inconvenience and a cost to some, but for
the motivation the act might give it seems to be
worth the cost.
b. If the city stood, there would still be poor
people—probably more than ever before, and it
would not take them long to have plenty of
servants again.
c. But if it fell, it didn’t matter.
d. Their greed and selfishness just made them
defiant.
4. And so it seems to be with America today.
a. People are not evolutionists because they see
over whelming evidence to support it. Most have
never studied the evidence.
b. Most people are not homosexual because they love
someone of the same sex.
c. People are not turning to Allah, Catholicism, or
other cults because they have evidence such gods
exists, or because those religions give them
peace and purpose.
d. No! A good bit of what is going on today is
nothing sort of just defying goodness and God.
e. If a person or thing has the image of being good
or god-like, it is hated, attacked, turned
against.
F. This seems to be described in Psalm 2.
Psalm 2:1 Why do the heathen rage, and the
people imagine a vain thing?
2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take counsel together, against the
LORD, and against his anointed, saying,
3 Let us break their bands asunder, and cast
away their cords from us.
4 He that sitteth in the heavens shall laugh:
the Lord shall have them in derision.
5 Then shall he speak unto them in his wrath,
and vex them in his sore displeasure.
6 Yet have I set my king upon my holy hill of
Zion.
1. \\#Ps 2:1-3\\ The attitude of Defiance
2. \\#Ps 2:4-6\\ God’s response to Defiance
a. God laughs at man’s puny strength.
b. God will put pain and agony upon them.
c. God will establish His will in spite of them.
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