Rev. Don Campbell
Jeremiah 35-37
THOUGHT FOR TODAY, August 17, 2019
“NOT ALL TRADITIONS ARE BAD”
The events in chapters 35-36 took place several years prior to the siege of Jerusalem. The purpose was to contrast the faithfulness of the Rechabites to the instructions of their ancestor with the unfaithfulness of Israel to God: “Then the word of the LORD came to Jeremiah, saying: ‘This is what the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: Go and tell the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, “Will you not learn a lesson and obey my words?’ declares the LORD. “Jehonadab son of Rekab ordered his descendants not to drink wine and this command has been kept. To this day they do not drink wine, because they obey their forefather’s command. But I have spoken to you again and again, yet you have not obeyed me. Again and again I sent all my servants the prophets to you. They said, “Each of you must turn from your wicked ways and reform your actions; do not follow other gods to serve them. Then you will live in the land I have given to you and your ancestors.” But you have not paid attention or listened to me. The descendants of Jehonadab son of Rekab have carried out the command their forefather gave them, but these people have not obeyed me’” (Jeremiah 35:12-16, NLT).
This is not a prooftext for total abstinence. In Jeremiah’s telling how he had, at God’s direction, set wine before the Rechabites who refused to drink it, they said: “We do not drink wine, because 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).
There was nothing in the practice of the Rechabites that was contrary to the word of God. Neither they nor God tried to bind their practice on all others. If this is a prooftext for not drinking wine, it is also a prooftext demanding that we become nomads, living in tents. That which proves too much proves nothing. Personally, I follow the practice of total abstinence from alcohol and advise others to do so. However, there is a difference in my advice and the word of God. I should never confuse the two. The lesson was clear: Some people are more faithful to ancestral traditions than others are to God. As in the case of the Rechabites, not all tradition is bad.
The Pharisees were more faithful to their ancestral traditions than they were to God: “Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition?” (Matthew 15:1-3). Their concern was not with hygiene, but ritual. In the ensuing debate, Jesus established three things about traditions: Traditions are wrong when they invalidate the word of God (Matthew 15:6). Traditions are wrong when they enslave God’s people to the inferences of another (Matthew 15:8-9). Traditions are wrong when they externalize righteousness (Matthew 15:15-20).
In closing, I offer my adaptation of the serenity prayer: “God grant us the courage to abandon traditions that hinder, the resolve to keep the traditions that need help, and the wisdom to know the difference.”
CONNECTIONS
1. Must we stop doing what we have traditionally done to prove that we are not tradition-bound legalists?
2. Must we keep doing what we have traditionally done to prove that we are not nefarious change agents?
