“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.”
– Jeremiah 35:14
So, the picture here in Jeremiah 35:14 is an example. The Rechabites obeyed the voice of their father and in this case, it was not to drink any wine. And so, they obeyed their father’s command. And then God says but you … “I have spoken to you persistently.” God is talking to His people. He says, “You have not listened to me, have not listened to my commands.” In this picture, we are reminded and the stuff that we see in all the greater ways in the New Testament. This is the picture we see in more glorious ways in the New Testament, but God is indeed our Father.
By God’s grace we are His children. Let us see His commands as good for us that we may trust and obey Him.
So picture a relationship with Him like a child and a dad, and just as you see children obeying their dad and how good and right this is, think about how healthy it is, and how good it is when a dad says to his child in the yard, “Don’t run out in the street. There are cars that are coming. Don’t run out in the street. Just stay in the yard.” The child does that. We think, “That’s good. That’s a good dad and that’s a good child. This is the way it’s supposed to be.”
Then you see the child run out in the street when a car is coming, he’s saying, “No, no, no, no.” Just think if the dad hadn’t warned the child, that would be horrible about the dad. And then if the child was just directly disobeying the dad. Then you would think, “Oh, that’s not good and that is distracted. That is so bad for that child that’s going to lead to danger.”
Jeremiah 35:14 Teaches Us To Follow God’s Instruction As Children Of A Loving Father
So now picture your relationship with God. He’s given us His word. He has given us commands all throughout 66 books in His word. He’s our dad in this sense. He’s saying, “Don’t go out here. Live like this. This will be good for you.” And so, why would we run out in the street then? Why would we not listened to His voice, do what He says? So, see the love of God as our Father, and how bad it is, how wrong it is when we as His children in so many ways, not just wrong because we’re violating His law, yes, that, but because we’re not trusting His goodness, and His grace, and His love for us. So, God, we pray for a good healthy, right relationship with You as our Father. Help us to see Your commands as good for us.
As a result, help us to listen to them and obey them. Oh, God, as Your children, please help us to hear and obey You, to do what You call us to do, not to treat Your commands flippantly as if You don’t care for us, as if You are not good in Your desires for us. God, we know You are the perfect Father. We confess, we are imperfect children and so we pray, help us to listen to and obey our Father’s command, Your commands to us today. Help us to see our relationship with You as a child with a dad today. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.
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David Platt serves as a pastor in metro Washington, D.C. He is the founder of Radical.
David received his Ph.D. from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary and is the author of Don’t Hold Back, Radical, Follow Me, Counter Culture, Something Needs to Change, Before You Vote, as well as the multiple volumes of the Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary series.
Along with his wife and children, he lives in the Washington, D.C. metro area.
