"Lo, children are an heritage of the LORD: and the fruit of the womb is his reward" Psalm 127:3

Parents, it is a great privilege, yea, a great responsibility to raise your children up in this world.

Its a great reward."Children, obey your parents in the LORD: for this is right. Honor thy father and thy mother; (which is the first commandment with promise;) That it may be well with thee, and thou mayest live long on the earth." Ephesians 6: 1-3

Children, it is a great privilege, yea, a great responsibility to obey your parents in the LORD. Its a great reward. 

God's commandment found in Ephesians chapter six is GOOD for the children. it is RIGHT!

You do believe God? (Yea, my hope and for you is to believe what God has said ... and to DO it.)

Conventional understanding has it that the children need to obey their parents while they are young ... while they are in the home .. and until they grow up. Lets restate it this way.

While the children are children ... the children need to honor and obey their parents in the LORD ... FOR THIS IS RIGHT ... WITH PROMISE.

Now after the children grow up ... and leave their parents home ... they are no longer under the authority of their parents. As adults now they assume the responsibility to navigate the ship of their own lives before God. You would think it would end here.

Yea, the conventional understanding does end here, but now the bizarre begins. What does God's BOOK show? In Jeremiah chapter 35 the wild scene unfolds! Let's consider a message from God to us ... and to our children. What will you do with it?

In this message, "The House Of The Rechabites," is a lost truth. It is a lost truth to this generation, which is "a proud people."

The principles, herein, are no longer practiced in America except by a small remnant of God-fearing people. It is this narrative found in Jeremiah chapter 35 that I wish to dwell on, and pour out my heart over every father and mother in the land concerning your precious children, even all your sons and daughters.

Open a King James Bible and read Jeremiah chapter 35.

This peculiar scene will come into your view! The sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, are shown in "the house of the Lord," verse (2), with "pots full of wine, and cups," being commanded to drink wine.

(Now you might think, that they are being asked to do a wicked thing by drinking this "hooch," but this is not the case. These descendants of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, are sitting at a table being commanded to drink of "the fruit of the vine," not the fermented stuff of Proverbs 23:30-33.

"But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers."

You see; what could be more innocent and honest than sowing seed in a field? What could be more harmless than planting a vineyard? Or better yet, building a house? Is building a house wrong? Is it? God forbid!

Nowhere in the Scripture, could one find that the Lord condemns any one of these activities. Sowing seed, planting a vineyard and building a house are rather to be acknowledged throughout the Scripture as being pure, honest and true endeavors. Therefore, "the wine" sitting before these "sons" is the fresh and pure "fruit of the vine." To accentuate further, the Holy Ghost portrays "these sons" being commanded, verse (5), by Jeremiah … the prophet of God! "Drink ye wine."

Now, at this point almost every son (or daughter) would be willling to depart from the instruction of his or her father. After all, it is the "man of God" who is commanding these sons!

What normal son or daughter would consider obeying a father over that of obeying “the man of God”? 

(At this juncture, I feel need to tell you, not to get upset with me, just be patient. Let the Scripture explain itself and blow the fog out to sea!)

Now back to those sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab. What do you think they did? Verse 6-7.

"But they said, We will drink no wine: for Jonadab the son of Rechab our father commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons for ever: Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers."

These sons of Jonadab, the son of Rechab, declare in verse 8-10, "Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us."

Now, I ask you, who gives the greatest testimony in behalf of these descendants of Jonadab, the son of Rechab? Verse 12-14, "Then came the word of the LORD unto Jeremiah, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel; Go and tell the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith the LORD. The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons not to drink wine, are performed; for unto this day they drink none, but obey their father's commandment: notwithstanding I have spoken unto you, rising early and speaking; but ye hearkened not unto me."

It is God that gives the testimony!

In the verses following, verse (15-17), the Lord God of hosts announces his judgment of his people. For great is his wrath to be revealed. He would use "Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon" to perform the destruction of Jerusalem, verse 11.

Looking forward, in the future, in the book of Revelation, we will see "Jacob's trial" or "The Great Tribulation," a time of terrible judgment on this earth for those who worship the beast [Revelation 14:9-10], "the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God."

In our text, Jeremiah 35, in the face of God's impending judgment on Jerusalem we see the tremendous commendation and testimony given to the sons and the daughters, who hearkened unto their father. The SAME holds true till this very day! God has an established principle. It is timeless!

He has never been revoked the promise to sons and daughters for hearkening to the instruction of the parents that are in the Lord, throughout their lives, (Ephesians 6). (In fact, sons and daughters that do not have either parent "in the LORD" can still honor those "unsaved" parents in those things that will not result in sin.

These will be things that will not place the son or daughter "cross wise" with the word of God.) Those sons and daughters that cast off the instructions and commands of their God-fearing parents will not know or experience "the testimony of Jonadab, the son of Rechab".

Listen to the Scripture! It is Spirit of God showing forth God's revelation to man!

It does not take a rocket scientist to see that God's Holy Scripture is replete with the admonition of the importance in God's eyes of the father's commandments to his children and equally the importance in God's eyes the children's response.

It is wonderful to see children hearkening unto their parent’s instruction concerning God's commandments, i.e. The Ten Commandments to Israel in Exodus 20, or any of God's commands throughout the Book, from Genesis to Revelation. This speaks of a good testimony in the face of the course of this wicked world.

Even more remarkable is God's testimony "flowered" unto sons and daughters who obey their fathers in the things that are of themselves "pure" and "innocent" as the sowing of seed, as the planting of a vineyard, as the building of a house or the drinking of wine (the fruit of the vine).

Hearken! {3:1} My son, forget not my law; but let thine heart keep my commandments: {2} For length of days, and long life, and peace, shall they add to thee. {4:1} Hear, ye children, the instruction of a father, and attend to know understanding. {2} For I give you good doctrine, forsake ye not my law. {3} For I was my father's son, tender and only beloved in the sight of my mother. {4} He taught me also, and said unto me, Let thine heart retain my words: keep my commandments, and live. {5} Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. {6} Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. {7} Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom: and with all thy getting get understanding. {8} Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. {9} She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee. {10} Hear, O my son, and receive my sayings; and the years of thy life shall be many. {11} I have taught thee in the way of wisdom; I have led thee in right paths. {5:1} My son, attend unto my wisdom, and bow thine ear to my understanding: My son, keep my words, and lay up my commandments with thee. {2} Keep my commandments, and live; and my law as the apple of thine eye. {3} Bind them upon thy fingers, write them upon the table of thine heart.”

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