Text:       Jeremiah 35: 1-10

By:          ODAFE OBUS

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BACKGROUND

We are living in a changing world and in a concurring generation. The world is changing very fast, and, in the process, it opened up many issues which question established moral standards.  As a result of these facts, the foundations and fabrics of our Christian morality are in serious jeopardy.

Moral matters are of utmost importance. But looking at our world today, the state of morality seems to be in limbo (neglected/forgotten) because of our changing and concurring world. Therefore, we need to be morally conscious as children of God.

KEY DEFINITIONS.

1. MORALITY: Conduct that conforms to an accepted standard of right and wrong. These conducts guide individual or group of persons how to behave themselves in a family, place or society.
2. CONSCIOUSNESS: A person’s awareness, knowledge or perception of something. The state of being aware of something within oneself.
3. MORAL CONSCIOUSNESS: Moral Consciousness therefore is about knowledge of what is right/wrong or good/bad. The state of being aware of what is right and wrong in human behavior, or codes of conducts.

TEXT: Jeremiah 35: 1-10

OBEDIENCE OF THE RECHABITES

1 The word which came to Jeremiah from the Lord in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying,

2 “Go to the house of the Rechabites, speak to them, and bring them into the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink.”

3 Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, his brothers and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites,

4 and I brought them into the house of the Lord, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, a man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the [a]door.

5 Then I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said to them, “Drink wine.”

6 But they said, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, ‘You shall drink no wine, you nor your sons, forever.

7 You shall not build a house, sow seed, plant a vineyard, nor have any of these; but all your days you shall dwell in tents, that you may live many days in the land where you are sojourners.’

8 Thus we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters,

9 nor to build ourselves houses to dwell in; nor do we have vineyard, field, or seed.

10 But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

WHO ARE THE RECHABITES?

The Rechabites were descendants of Jonadab through Hobab, Moses’ father in-law. They belonged to the Kenites who accompanied the children of Israel into the holy land, and dwelt among them  (Num. 10:29-32, Judges 1:16)

Also, Jonadab was an ally of Jehu (King of Israel) in the elimination of the house of Ahab and in suppressing worship of Baal throughout Samaria (II Kings. 10:15-16)

HIGHLIGHTS

1. Jonadab, father of the Rechabites, established rules for his descendants on how to conduct themselves.
2. The Rechabites where conscious and obeyed their father’s rules.
3. The Rechabites stood firm against assimilating into the culture of the time.
4. They were commended by God for their faithfulness
5. These rules separated the Rechabites from disobedient Israelite society and, it is said, preserved them for generations.
6. The people of Judah and Jerusalem would not obey to their God.

The story highlights that parent should make and enforce rules that will ensure moral and spiritual well-being of their children. The Rechabites were men of one standard throughout. Their standard was unaverred no matter what. They were not kind of people who could be easily moved by what others are running after.  They rejected being unequally yoked with the unbecoming practices of the day which is against their father’s instruction.

MORAL CONSCIOUSNESS IS A REQUIREMENT FOR EVERY CHRISTIAN.

We live in a world where we are exposed to all kinds of competing ideas and value-systems. Christians are tempted under pressure to embrace the morality of the gods of this age.

This is a major challenge which Christians must deal with. Moral consciousness is a control tool every believer needs to deal with this challenge. Therefore, it is imperative to know that irrespective of our various social life, culture, ethnicity and background, Christians are required to demonstrate, obedience to God’s instructions, moral values, ethical values, proper etiquette, manners, civility, acceptable courtesy and respect for one another and in the society in general.

We must not allow ungodly values and standards to infiltrate and influence our Christian life and value-system.

We need to be morally conscious against assimilating into the culture of change that will impact our faith negatively.

The Rechabites stood firm by not allowing any change values/standards to influence their believe and value-system. We need to put on characters that glorifies God.

As we go about our day to life activities let us be morally conscious of the following.

• Our Faith and goal
• Our social life
• Our utterances
• The company we keep
• Places we visit
• Our dressing
• Our habits

EASE OF MORAL CONSCIOUSNESS

1. Moral consciousness helps to control and resist temptation.
2. It gives us confidence/boldness to defend our faith and the truth.
3. It will caution us from wrongdoing.
4. It will guide our attitude in public/social places.
5. If we are moral conscious, our decision/action will be well guided.
6. A moral conscious person will not compromise.
7. A moral conscious person is subject to humility.
8. A moral conscious person does not bow to social pressure.
9. It lead to obedience, uprightness and honesty

CONCLUSION

Let us, then, learn from the Rechabites to be morally conscious of our faith and goal. Lack of moral consciousness will expose us to so many dangers that will impede our faith and separate us from God.

(Prov. 25:28) Whoever has no rule over his own spirit Is like a city broken down, without walls.

May God bless and strengthen us to be morally conscious of our faith in Jesus’ name Amen

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