772_What will speak long after you’re gone ? (Jeremiah 35)
Jeremiah 35:12-16 Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: 13 “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. 14 The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. 15 I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them, and then you shall dwell in the land that I gave to you and your fathers.’ But you did not incline your ear or listen to me. 16 The sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have kept the command that their father gave them, but this people has not obeyed me.
A person’s voice can continue to be heard long after that person is gone. We may come across an old letter, hear a mother’s favorite phrase, or remember a father’s habit. Years later, we find ourselves repeating the same words, making the same choices, or following the same principles—not because someone is there to remind us, but because of the indelible marks people left.
Jeremiah 35 speaks of a family known as the Rechabites, who came to the prophet’s notice precisely because of the way they honored an ancient tradition.Their story raises a searching question for every generation: What will be your enduring legacy?
To understand Jeremiah 35, we need to go back several generations. In 2 Kings 10, during the reign of Jehu, the king who overthrew the house of Ahab, we meet a man named Jehonadab, the son of Rechab. As Jehu was carrying out his fatal work of judgment, he met Jehonadab, and asked him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to your heart?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Together they acted to end Baal worship from Israel.
But Jehonadab’s influence did not end there. He carefully instructed his descendants as to how they should live. Unlike the rest of the Israelites, they were not to drink wine, build houses, sow seed, or plant vineyards. Theirs was to be a nomadic existence. The reason for this commandment remains a mystery. However, his descendants took his instructions seriously.
About two centuries later, the political landscape had changed. Israel had been carried into exile by the Assyrians, Judah had become spiritually unfaithful to her God. The Babylonian army was at the gate. And because of the Babylonian armies, the Rechabites had been forced to leave their tents and stay inside Jerusalem for a time.
Yet, despite their changed circumstances, their convictions had not.
And so the Lord instructed Jeremiah to bring them into one of the chambers of the temple and offer them wine. Jeremiah placed cups and bowls before them and said, “Drink wine.” But they refused: “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever.’”
Jehonadab had died generations ago. Jeremiah was a prophet of the Lord. The wine was placed before them in the temple. Their normal circumstances had already been disrupted. Yet they still held fast by their way of life, faithful to the words of their forefather.
And the Lord turns their obedience into a stinging rebuke of his people. Jeremiah 35:14 says, “The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave his sons, that they should not drink wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me.”
Jehonadab spoke once; Judah heard God repeatedly. Jehonadab’s descendants obeyed; God’s covenant people refused. Jehonadab’s command was remembered for generations; the words of the living God were being ignored by the very people who heard them.
Jeremiah 35:15 says, “I have sent to you all my servants the prophets, sending them persistently, saying, ‘Turn now every one of you from his evil way, and amend your deeds, and do not go after other gods to serve them.’” Yet Judah would not listen.
And so the Rechabites became an illustration of obedience. They may not have been perfect or even worthy of high esteem. We do not know. But their obedience exposed Judah’s disobedience.
We often speak about leaving something behind for the next generation. We aim to ensure they enjoy education, financial security, property, honorable family traditions, and opportunities. But Jeremiah 35 exposes the importance of the spiritual legacy we leave for our families once our voice is silenced by death.
Our children and grandchildren will remember many things about us. They may remember what we gave them, where we took them, and what we taught them. But will they see our love for God through the way we lived?
Unless we regularly read God’s Word and make it the basis of our daily attitudes and actions, they will never see that it was important to us. If they do not see us pray from the heart, they will fail to recognize that prayer is real. If we do not forgive, they will not see forgiveness in practice. Unless we do the right thing always, in the fear of God, they cannot understand integrity.
If we do not keep the command of our Lord in everything we believe and do, they will not know that following Christ was not merely something we talked about on Sundays.
Because a godly heritage is not transmitted simply in word. It is embodied in our hearts and our lives.
And yet this incident should never be treated as a guarantee that we will have faithful children by being faithful parents. Every person must respond personally to God. Faith cannot be inherited like property. It is therefore our great privilege and responsibility to teach our children to believe in God and obey his gospel with all diligence, and love, and patience, and prayer.
God Himself acknowledges the faithfulness of the Rechabites. In Jeremiah 35:18–19, the Lord says, “Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.”
One day, every one of us will leave this world. Our possessions and positions will pass into other hands. Our accomplishments will become memories. But we may continue to speak through the people we have taught to fear God and follow the Lord.
What will speak after you are gone? Let us strive to leave behind words of faith that convey the truth that God is to be trusted. Let our children remember that we valued scripture and shaped our lives by God’s will. Let them remember finding us in prayer whenever we were perplexed rather than automatically seeking human aid.
Let us ask ourselves first how well we are reflecting the wishes and commands of our heavenly Father, compared to these humble Rechabites.
God is no dead ancestor. He is the living God who still speaks through His Word. Hebrews 3:15 says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.”
So let us begin there. Let us obey God while we still live. Let us build a legacy not of reputation, wealth, or achievement, but of faithfulness to God.
And then we will leave behind something invaluable: an instruction to live a life that trusts God, listens to His Word, and faithfully walks in His ways. God bless.
As we close, take a moment to reflect on these questions.
What spiritual values or convictions have you received from those who went before you, and how are you preserving and expressing them in your own life?
How does your daily life demonstrate to the people around you that God’s Word is trustworthy and worthy of obedience?
What do you hope your children, grandchildren, or those you influence will remember about your relationship with God when you are no longer there to tell them?
And finally, what is God speaking to you today that you need to listen to and put into practice?
Let us pray
Heavenly Father, enlighten my heart to understand the truths You have taught me through Your Word. Help me to recognize the importance of the spiritual legacy I am building through my words, choices, and example. Give me strength to believe Your voice, to obey what You have spoken, and to remain faithful even when circumstances change around me. May my life point those who come after me toward You, so that the faithfulness they see in me may encourage them to know, love, trust, and obey You. In Lord Jesus’ name. Amen
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