Dedication Matters

“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: 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.” (Jer 35:18-19 AV)

The Rechabites were a family of the tribe of Judah.  Apparently, their forefather instructed them to be nomads, refraining from any product made from the vine.  This would have been a Nazarite type vow but going to the extreme of owning no land, tilling no fields, and building no houses.  None of these things were required.  There is evidence they kept this vow to at least three generations.  Earlier in the chapter, the LORD instructs Jeremiah to set before the Rechabites vats of wine with cups from which to drink.  To a ‘t’, they declined.  Expressing the seriousness of the vow, they would not go so far as to touch the wine.  It was this loyalty that the LORD recognized and promised there would be a descendant of the Rechabites who would always have an audience with God.

The factory in which I was employed had safety and procedure manuals which we were required to read and abide by.  These safety and procedure manuals covered most of what the worker would encounter on any given day.  What they did not cover was work ethic or organizational skills.  These manuals did not cover interpersonal skills.  They did not cover volunteer overtime.  There were a lot of things these manuals did not cover.  There were written and unwritten rules.  These rules were for the benefit of the individual as well as the team.  Rules like the safest manner in which to stage material for your line while not obstructing the ability of a neighboring line to function.  When review time came around, the first criteria for raises or promotions were to measurable criteria.  Attendance, zero safety violations, line output, and quality control.  Then the manager would look at the next tier of criteria.  Things like promptness, use of resources and time, and interpersonal skills.  Lastly, he or she may look at some of those intangibles.  A disciplined work ethic or a willingness to stay dedicated to the company in ways the company may not have (at least in writing) required of the employee.  Such as, coming in on one’s own time to be trained in skills not required for the job.

In our text, Judah is on the verge of falling to the Babylonians.  The Rechabites are gathering in Jerusalem for fear of the Chaldeans.  Jeremiah sets before them a test of their dedication to obedience and loyalty.  Now that they reside in the city, perhaps they will let down their guard.  Thinking they may be meeting their end, why not relax the vow.  They are going to die anyway.  But they didn’t.  They held fast to their vow even though the LORD never required it of them.  It was this level of discipline and integrity the LORD recognized and rewarded.  We are conditioned to do the bare minimum.  Only that which is required of us.  We are motivated by circumstances.  As long as we don’t suffer for evil choices and are blessed for good choices, that is enough.  The vast majority of us think that way.  But there is the rare Rechabite who is willing to go above and beyond was is required.  He or she is willing to stay on point and do what others are not motivated enough to do.  These Rechabites never went into captivity.  They were allowed to stay behind and care for the land.  Dedication, discipline, and integrity gave liberty where others lost theirs.