September 18, 2001
"This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says:
Go and tell the men of Judah and the people of Jerusalem,
'Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?' declares the LORD.
Jeremiah 35:13
A very interesting account of God using the faithfulness of the Recabites to teach the people of God an important lesson. The Recabites were a nomadic tribe related to the Amelekites; in an attempt to pull away from the corrupting influence of the Canaanite society their forefathers had made a vow never to drink wine or allow themselves to become a settled community such that they would become complacent and pulled in to the evil they saw around them. God does not uphold their lifestyle or principles what he does honor them for is the fact that for generations they have passed down and obeyed the words of their forefathers... God uses them as an example because that is what he repeatedly asked his people to do. It is a sign of honor and respect to listen and obey Gods words. It is simple yet difficult because we need to die to ourselves, put our own agenda and ways to the side and simply trust and obey! God values, honors, upholds and ultimately blesses this kind of faithfulness in adhering to, obeying his words. It's the heart of God that we become and obedient people, not to take away our ability to think and reason for ourselves but because he has something so much better planned for us... things we can't experience or enjoy until we let go of the reins and let God direct our lives... reminds me of the words to a song... "trust and obey for there's no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey"