But they replied, "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.' – Jeremiah 35:6

Today's Scripture Reading (July 17, 2023): Jeremiah 35

American poet Maya Angelou argued, "Courage is the most important of all the virtues because without courage, you can't practice any other virtue consistently." We all must possess the courage to live our lives according to what we believe is important.

And one example of this might be the behavior of Peter on the night that Jesus was betrayed and arrested. I have often argued that we need to give Peter a bit of a break for his denial of Jesus during the trials that night. While the rest of the apostles ran and hid after Jesus's arrest, Peter and John dared to be where Jesus was as the events of the evening progressed toward the cross. Peter, more than John, was clearly out of his element. It seems clear that John was a known commodity on that night, but Peter was not. The High Priest's courtyard was a place where Peter was uncomfortable, which had much to do with his denial of Jesus. But Peter's behavior could also be blamed on his lack of courage to act as he believed, even when he was in a strange place with people who were not like him. Although, I still maintain that Peter had much more courage than those disciples who scattered and hid on that fateful night.

Jeremiah introduces us here to the Rekabites. The Rekabites were a nomadic tribe instructed by their forefather Jehonadab to live a humble and simple life. They lived in tents, not houses, and moved from place to place, much as the early Israelites had when they left Egypt as enslaved people.

But as Babylon began to take over the countryside of the nation, the Rekabites ran to Jerusalem in an effort to find safety. They were out of their element; they were a nomadic people who found themselves out of necessity living in a major city. They would have been uncomfortable in their unfamiliar surroundings. And then God instructs Jeremiah to bring them into a side room of the Temple and offer them some wine. Drinking wine was a practice that Jehonadab had firmly forbidden for his descendants. The question seems to be, in this unfamiliar environment, will the Rekabites have the courage to follow the commands of their forefather?

The Rekabites pass the test. Even in these unfamiliar surroundings and in the impressive embrace of Solomon's Temple, they have the courage to refuse the request to drink the wine. And God wants Jeremiah to use them as an example. The Rekabites were willing to follow the commands of their ancestor even though they were out of their element. And yet Israel refused to follow what God had instructed them to do. Israel needed to gain the courage of the Rekabites somehow if they were going to survive. In a relatively short time, the nation would find itself in a foreign land, trying to live out its faith in an unfamiliar environment. And if they were unwilling to follow God while they were in familiar surroundings, what would they do when their surroundings became unfamiliar?

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 36