Good Afternoon!
There is a group of Nomadic people living throughout Israel today. I was interested to know more about these people when I took my first trip several years ago from Israel to Jericho. There were hundreds of people living in tents in the hills along the road. The soil there is sandy and the terrain is extremely rocky. These people are called "Bedouins". They are scattered throughout many nations in the Middle East. But, in Israel, they are located mostly in the Negev...located in the southern region of Israel.
I introduce this to you because Jeremiah was told to go to a group of people who were living in Israel that were Nomadic. They lived in tents and lived off the land. They had some strict rules and traditions that had been handed down to them through the generations and they were committed to following those traditions. They are found in the Bible...Jeremiah 35. They are called the Rechabites. Their roots come from the Kenites from Jethro the father-in-law to Moses. They lived in the wilderness of Judah and south into the Negev...a desert land.
In this chapter, Jeremiah was told to go to the Rechabites and perform a certain duty. Read in chapter 35:
"This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah:
'Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them,
and bring them to one of the chambers of the temple of the Lord
and offer them a drink of wine'...
I set jars filled with wine and some cups before the sons of the house of the Rechabites and said to them, 'Drink wine!'...
But they replied, 'We do not drink wine, for Jonadab, son of our ancestor Rechab, commanded:
'You and your sons must never drink wine. You must not build a house or sow seed or plant a vineyard.
Those things are not for you. Rather, you must live in tents your whole life,
so you may live a long time on the soil where you stay as a temporary resident.'
We have obeyed...in all he commanded us.
So we haven't drunk wine our whole life--we, our wives, our sons, and our daughters...'" 35:1-8
As the Bedouins today, the Rechabites did not live in the city nor did they participate in the ways of the people who live in the cities. Jeremiah's task was NOT to tempt them to drink wine. He set them up with a great temptation by meeting them in the temple. But, the lesson was for Jeremiah. God was showing Jeremiah how these people, the Rechabites, were loyal to the teachings of their fathers. Then Jeremiah was told by God that the comparison to the children of Israel they were much different. The Rechabites were obedient to their call while the Israelites were disobedient to their call. God told Jeremiah that the sons of Rechab did as their father told them...kept his commands...but the sons of God "have NOT obeyed, and I have called them, but they would NOT answer." 35:17
In my previous email, I spoke about listening to God. Give God the time to speak to you. His speaking to you is much more important than all the speaking you do to Him. Yet, today, I am concerned that people are not only being disobedient to God but, they are not giving God the time in their lives to listen to what He is saying! How can we do God's will when we don't know God's will because we are not listening to Him?
You and I have been given commands by God. We have been told what is good and what is NOT good.
You have been told to "hide His word in our hearts..." Are you studying His word to know what's in it?
You have been told to "Pray without ceasing..." Are you spending enough time with God to know Him intimately and to know His plan for your life?
You have been told that "God has a plan for your life..." Are you seeking Him to find out what that plan is? Do you have a desire to live that plan?
You have been told to "Not build your treasures here, but, rather in heaven..." Are earthly treasures more important to you than heavenly treasures?
God has given His commands and we need to know them and follow them for the rest of our lives. We aren't physical Nomads, but, we are spiritual Nomads committed to our Father in heaven!
May God Bless You!
Don Betts
DBEA/campus320
DBEAWINNING.COM
TO GOD BE ALL GLORY!