Every century or so, there’s a major generational, philosophical shift in how we view life, God, and relationships. As a pastor, one of the most significant shifts I’ve seen is the way young adults view their parents and the ground rules they have for relating to their parents. It catches so many families off-guard, because older parents think the way they viewed their parents and treated their parents is how their children should view and treat them. But in this regard, everything has changed. To facilitate modern family life, we need to at least understand what is going on and learn how to proceed accordingly.
As longtime paid subscribers will know, this is an excerpt from my book-in-progress When Christian Parents Hurt, so your comments and reactions are most welcome.
In the time of Jeremiah, God instructed the prophet to invite members of the Rekabite family to have a drink. Their ancestor Jehonadab was a spiritual giant; two hundred fifty years prior, he worked with King Jehu to confront Baal worship. Following that, he laid down some pretty strict rules:
“Our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab gave us this command: ‘Neither you nor your descendants must ever drink wine. Also you must never build houses, sow seed or plant vineyards; you must never have any of these things, but must always live in tents. Then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.’ We have obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab son of Rekab commanded us. Neither we nor our wives nor our sons and daughters have ever drunk wine or built houses to live in or had vineyards, fields or crops. We have lived in tents and have fully obeyed everything our forefather Jehonadab commanded us” (Jeremiah 35:6-10).
Because of this, they refused Jeremiah’s offer of wine.
I want you to imagine any family, of any generation, that reveres and obeys a patriarch’s strict command so faithfully for two hundred and fifty years. Jehonadab asked more of his descendants than God did, but they still fully obeyed out of respect for his authority.
God tells Jeremiah to use the example of the Rekabites to challenge the remnants of Judah who had failed to obey Him and His commands, just as the Rekabites obeyed and continue to obey Jehonadab.
I think it’s safe to say that that kind of reverence for a patriarch’s authority is long gone (if it ever existed beyond the Rekabites). The sooner we realize this, the better.
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