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The fact that these men remained unnamed in Scripture suggests that work for the Lord is more important than the recognition of men. Paul acknowledged that this is a good principle to govern how we serve the Lord: “And whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through Him” (Col. 3:17 NKJV). Being heavenly minded ensures our earthly good.
There are eight other men who are specifically identified as men of God in the Old Testament:
Each of these men was completely faithful to the Lord in fulfilling their divine callings, hence they were called men of God. Such was Igdaliah, who probably met his death when Nebuchadnezzar executed all the doorkeepers and high-ranking temple officials after the fall of Jerusalem (Jer. 52:24-27).
The Jeremiah 35 Lesson
In Jeremiah 35 the Lord combined the testimony of Igdaliah with the faithful Rechabites to deliver an important message to His covenant people, a lesson that we too would benefit from heeding. Jehoiakim, the son of Josiah, was king, which dates Jeremiah’s message in this chapter between 609 and 605 BC. Jeremiah was commanded to go to the Rechabites and to request that they accompany him to one of the side rooms of the temple (Jer. 35:2). These rooms were used for storage, to conduct meetings and as living quarters for the priests (1 Ki. 6:5; 2 Chr. 31:11; Neh. 13:7-9). Like Abraham, the nomadic Rechabites lived in tents. They were descendants of the Kenites (1 Chr. 2:54-55) and normally resided in the wilderness of Negev (1 Sam. 15:6), but they were forced to move to Jerusalem after Nebuchadnezzar threatened the region in 598 BC.
Key men from the clan followed Jeremiah to the temple (Jer. 35:3) and into the chamber of the sons of Hanan, who was the son of Igdaliah. This particular room was a place of prominence (v.4). It was situated next to the chamber of the temple officials and over the room of Maaseiah, who was one of the three temple doorkeepers. The Jews would view this room with the kind of awe that one today might associate with the Oval Office in the White House or the State Apartments in Buckingham Palace. The social clash of nomadic herdsmen standing in the presence of well-dressed and high-ranking civil officials would have been quite apparent, but this was to be part of Jeremiah’s illustration.
Jeremiah put pots of wine and cups before the Rechabites and told them to drink, but they refused (vv.5-6). Why? It was because their forefather Jonadab, the son of Rechab, had instructed them centuries earlier not to drink wine, nor build houses, nor plant fields or vineyards (vv.6-10). Scripture reveals that Jonadab, who assisted Jehu in removing Baal-worship from Israel (2 Ki. 10:15-27), was a godly man.
The Rechabites were numbered with the children of Judah: “These are the Kenites that came of Hemath, the father of the house of Rechab” (1 Chr. 2:55). It was through Jehonadab, the valiant son of Rechab, that they gained special prominence. Jehonadab had gone out to meet King Jehu after he destroyed the vile house of Ahab. The king was riding towards Samaria when “he greeted [Jehonadab] and said to him, ‘Is your heart right, as my heart is toward your heart?’ And Jehonadab answered, ‘It is.’ Jehu said, ‘If it is, give me your hand.’ So he gave him his hand, and he took him up to him into the chariot. Then he said, ‘Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord’” (2 Ki. 10:15-16). Harry Ironside explains what the dialogue between King Jehu and Jehonadab reveals to us:
The conclusion is irresistible that Jehu already knew Jehonadab well as a man devoted to the worship of Jehovah and an abhorrer of idolatry. The piety of his father Rechab is expressed in the name given to his son, the meaning of which is “Jehovah freely gave.” In company with the zealous but cruel king, Jehonadab is found commanding the search to see that no servants of Jehovah were mingled with the worshippers of Baal in the temple of Samaria, prior to their massacre at the order of Jehu. He is not again mentioned until Jeremiah 35.*
Rechab had taught Jehonadab to fear the LORD and respect authority, and this heritage had been passed down from generation to generation in their clan. So if Jeremiah knew the Rechabites would not drink wine, what was his purpose in setting it before them? It was to demonstrate that, unlike the inhabitants of Judah, the Rechabites pleased the LORD because they respected God-ordained authority (Jer. 35:13-14). God honors those who are in a right relationship with His authority, teaching submission to Him through His various earthly authority structures. The Rechabites had obeyed the directions of their forefather Jonadab, therefore God promised to bless them. Notice that Jeremiah was not affirming that Jonadab’s prohibition of drinking wine and dwelling in houses was correct. Rather, he was commending Jonadab’s descendants for their submission to his command.
God was also pleased with the sojourning attitude that the Rechabites held towards life. The Rechabites did not invest or settle into a world condemned by God. Instead, they lived as if they were just passing through it. This is a good example for God’s people to follow. The Rechabites were true Hebrews, meaning a “passing through” people, and God was pleased with them. Based on their testimony they could be referred to as “a clan of God.” Their testimony of faithfulness provided a strong contrast to the unfaithfulness of Judah and is likely the reason they are mentioned in this chapter. It is interesting that, of all the temple rooms, Jeremiah led the Rechabites into the chamber of the sons of Hanan. The grandsons of the man of God, Igdaliah, and the faithful Rechabites were divinely brought together at God’s house to compose a cooperative message to His rebellious people.
A Consistent Testimony
So what made Igdaliah a man of God? First, he had served the LORD faithfully in the temple. Second, he left a godly heritage: Igdaliah’s grandsons were going on for the LORD – they, like their grandfather, worked in the temple (Jer. 35:4). Igdaliah’s example stands in stark contrast to Eli and Samuel whose own children were wicked – so much so that Eli’s sons were slain by God and Samuel’s were rejected by the Israelites. Igdaliah was known as a man of God, and the conduct of his grandchildren testified to that fact.
The presence of the Rechabites in one of the most prominent rooms of God’s house provided a visual rebuke to the disobedience of Judah. In contrast to the Rechabites, the Jews would not listen to God’s prophets; they would not turn from their evil ways or repent of their idolatry (Jer. 35:15-17). Outwardly speaking, the Jews looked good, but they were rebels at heart and consequently deserved God’s judgment. The Rechabites on the other hand had obeyed all the precepts of their forefather Jonadab. Because they had done so, God honored and blessed them. They were given this promise: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever” (Jer. 35:19). This not only meant that the Rechabites would survive the Babylonian invasion, but there would also be some descendants of Rechab who would serve the LORD and be in communion with Him.
Both Igdaliah and the Rechabites shared a common testimony: They reared up their children to fear God, respect authority and follow the Lord whole-heartedly. May we too, as men and women of God, endeavor to pass along such a godly heritage to our children!
END NOTE
* H. A. Ironside, An Ironside Expository Commentary: Jeremiah and Lamentations (Shiloh Christian Library), p.184
By Warren Henderson