Who Were the Rechabites (Rekabites)?

Something similar happens in the Bible. A group of people is contemporary to the author and receivers of a letter or book of the Bible. Because of this, they can simply throw around a name, place, or people group, and the readers understand the reference. But that proves difficult for us today.

The Rechabites, mentioned in Jeremiah 35, are one of these people groups. Thankfully, we have a little bit of information on them provided in Scripture. They also serve as an illustration for Jeremiah to his contemporaries. And their dedication can be a lesson for us today as well.

Who Were the Rechabites (Rekabites)?

The Rechabites are only mentioned by name in Jeremiah 35. There is, however, a couple of mentions of a Rechab in the Old Testament. The first is mentioned in 2 Samuel 4 as one of the captains of a raiding band. But this Rechab was a “son of Rimmon” who was a Benjamite. This doesn’t fit the description of the Rechab we are looking for.

The second mention is in 1 Chronicles 2:55. This Rechab was a Kenite, a band of people who joined the Israelites during the wilderness wanderings, and became part of the tribe of Judah. In 2 Kings 10:15, we read of a man named “Jehonadab the son of Rechab” who joined with Jehu in an attempt to wipe Baal worship out of the house of Ahab.

Britannica gives a helpful summary of the Rechabites:

The Rechabites were separatists who refused to participate in agricultural pursuits, drink wine, or engage in other practices associated with the Canaanites. Believing that the semi-nomadic way of life was a religious obligation, they herded their flocks over much of Israel and Judah. They were fervent followers of Yahweh, the God of Israel, and are best known for their connection with the slaughter of the worshippers of Baal during the revolt led by Jehu. According to later Jewish tradition, the Rechabites intermarried with the Levites, the priestly class.

It is this religious obligation which plays a prominent role in Jeremiah 35.

What Role Do They Play in Jeremiah?

Jeremiah 34-36 is like a flashback, where Jeremiah tells stories in reverse chronological order to explain how they got themselves in such a perilous situation. In Jeremiah 35 he uses the Rechabites as an illustration. Jeremiah called them into the temple area and set before them a lavish feast with “bowls full of wine”. It’s one thing to resist something when it’s far away—it’s quite another to resist it if its close at hand.

But they refused to drink. They explained,

“We do not drink wine, because our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. ⁷ Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ 

They obeyed the words of Jehonadab to the letter. Jeremiah knew this. It’s why he brought them into the temple area for this illustration. Here is a group of people generations removed from the commands of their forefather and they are still obeying him. This provided a sharp contrast to the disobedient Israelites. God spoke to the Israelites “again and again,” yet they had not obeyed Him.

They should learn the lesson of the Rechabites. God also honored these obedient sons. God gave them a promise that, “Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.” How this promise has been fulfilled is up for debate. Some point to Nehemiah 3:14 and the presence of Malkijah as pointing to a fulfillment of this promise. Mackay gives a few more options for fulfillment:

There are also Jewish traditions that by marrying into priestly families the Rechabites later were given the function of bringing wood for the altar. Some early travellers in the East reported that they had found people claiming to be descendants of the Rechabites, but these reports have not been substantiated (309).

But perhaps this is fulfilled through Christ as Albert Barnes hypothesizes:

"...and some suppose that the Essenes, in our Lord’s time, were literally their descendants, and that these were they who followed our Lord particularly, and became the first converts to the Gospel. If so, the prophecy is literally fulfilled: they shall never want a man to stand before God, to proclaim his salvation, and minister to the edification and salvation of others, as long as the earth shall endure."

What Can the Rechabites Teach Us Today?

We learn from the Rechabites the importance of faithfulness and dedication. They were exemplary in sticking to the tradition of the fathers. They were people of integrity and character. And God rewarded this.

But there could be a way in which this “tradition of the fathers” stands in our way of Christ. Jesus accuses the Pharisees in Mark 7:7-9 of ignoring God’s law and replacing it with their own tradition. They were lifting their own tradition above the commandments of God. It is always a danger for certain traditions to become sacrosanct—as if they were handed down from God Himself.

The point that Jeremiah was making is an argument from greater to lesser. The reason the Rechabites were commended is that the commandments of Jehonadab were adiaphora. That means they were neither commanded nor forbidden in the Bible. They were Jehonadab’s rules. But if at any point they had conflicted with Scripture, then they would need to abandon the rules of their Father and follow the Lord.

Imagine that your family has a tradition where you always take off your shoes when entering a home. There is nothing either commanded or forbidden in Scripture on this matter. It’s perfectly fine for you to obey this family rule. But it’s also not at the level of Scripture. On one hand, you could be commended for your steadfastness to a rule and for honoring your family tradition.

But what happens if God calls you to a mission field with entirely different traditions? What happens if this culture views it as an insult for you to take off your shoes in their home. To do this would close the door to the gospel? In such an instance, you ought to put gospel proclamation above your family tradition.

We should also learn the lesson of the Rechabites. Perhaps we could look at our own traditions, which we slavishly obey, and compare them to our own dedication to the obedience of the Lord. Can we look at the dedication of some modern groups who are a bit like the Rechabites as a means to consider our own level of obedience to the Lord? Does their obedience to a man-made commandment shame our obedience to the living Word of God?

Sources:
John L. Mackay, Jeremiah: An Introduction and Commentary: Chapters 21–52, vol. 2, Mentor Commentaries (Fearn, Ross-shire, Scotland: Mentor, 2004), 309.

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