The Power of a Godly Life - Jeremiah 35:1-19
Posted by Calvary Chapel Fremont at 10/19/2011 9:28 PM 
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Pastor Tim Brown Calvary Chapel Fremont Power Godly Life Jeremiah
Categories: uncategorized
Tags: Pastor Tim Brown Calvary Chapel Fremont Power Godly Life Jeremiah
Pastor Tim Brown, Calvary Chapel Fremont, Wednesday October 19, 2011
The Power of a Godly Life
Jeremiah 35:1-19
1-11
WHEN The event recorded here happened about 17 years before the previous chapters - after the 1st time Neb. came to Jer. – 4 years after Jehoiakim began his reign.
WHY This C is not in chronological order, but it is in proper logical order. J wants to make a very strong statement about the spiritual condition of Judah and is using this incident w/ the Rechabites to make his point.
WHO According to 1 Chr. 2:55, the Rechabites were descendants of the father-in-law of Moses who had gone to Canaan with the Israelites, and lived among them, partly in the wilderness on the southern frontier of the tribe of Judah, partly at Kadesh in Naphtali. The father of the tribe was Rechab, the father of Jonadab. K-D
300 years after Jonadab commanded his children not to drink wine/ sow seed/plant a vineyard/build a house they are still walking in his command. 300 years after he died the power of his life is seen in his descendants. He had a tremendous influence over his family for generations. Influence = to flow in. 300 years later, his life is still flowing into his descendants. I want to discover the secret of his influence. I want to learn how I can affect and impact not only those around me, but those yet unborn.
2K10:11-29
Jonadab is in agreement w/ Jehu’s desire to remove Baal worship.
He is a man of godly desires. He was grieved by the idolatry in the land. Baal= husband/master/lord. What the Bible says that God gives us, they credited to Baal. They substituted the creation for the Creator. Incense was burned/sacrifices were made/babies were burned for Baal/self-cutting was the custom of their worship. He was the sun god who guaranteed crops/prosperity. Jonadab was deeply impressed that God had raised up a man to combat the abomination of Baal.
The impact he was to have on his descendants was in direct proportion to the impact that God had upon his life. The power of a godly life is in direct proportion to the power of God in that life. He allowed God to shape his values/desires and give direction to his life. What grieved the heart of God grieved his heart. A person who impacts others for God has been impacted by God. You cannot be a mediocre Christian and be a godly example at the same time. Jonadab’s life had power! And Jonadab’s life had power because there was a spiritual purity about his life. Be influenced by Christ.
He had heard, no doubt, that Jehu had been anointed under the auspices of Elisha. Jehu had then killed King Joram of Israel, and he had killed King Ahaziah of Judah. From there he proceeded to kill Jezebel, the queen mother – the one who had introduced Baal worship into Israel. Jonadab wasn’t jealous that God used another – He is a humble man. He is not positioning himself for the limelight/ applause. His life is about God, not himself.
He went to meet Jehu and Jehu wanted to know if they both had the same heart and Jonadab assured him that his heart was as his heart. And Jonadab’s heart was w/ Jehu because (in this thing) Jehu’s heart was w/ God’s heart. Jonadab didn’t care about power, he cared about truth/godliness. He is a man of God. He is not a man of man, but a man of God. He wasn’t trying to curry the favor of the king – he was seeking to serve God. No doubt, there were those who were ‘yes men’ to the King, but not Jonadab.
Jonadab had gone to meet King Jehu. He wants to participate in the removal of Baal worship in the land. He is a man of action. He wasn’t content to let someone else fight a battle he should be a part of. He wasn’t content to have godly desires and leave it at that. The faith he had worked. He wasn’t an armchair believer. He wasn’t a fan of the Lord – he was a player.
You can’t be just a fan of Jesus and have a powerful life. The fans have little impact on the outcome of the game. Fans come to watch the game – Jonadab came to play the game. He was suited up. He just didn’t have his favorite player’s jersey on – he had his helmet and pads on.
Jonadab is in agreement w/ Jehu’s method to remove Baal worship.
He is a man of stern methods – whatever it takes to glorify God and remove unrighteous.
It was this man that commanded his sons. And it is this kind of person who can command and the command is taken seriously. Had Lot commanded his children in this manner they would have laughed at him. Had Saul commanded his children in this manner they would have ignored him. Had Solomon commanded his children in this manner they would wonder what he’s talking about.
6 ‘…Jonadab…commanded us…’ Jonadab laid down the law. It is this kind of man who can lay down the law. It was a patriarchal era and Jonadab utilized this to its fullest. He wasn’t necessarily interested in the prosperity of his descendants, but their godliness.
Jonadab laid on them the obligation to live in a manner designed to keep them in the simplicity of nomad life observed by their fathers, and to preserve them from the corrupting influences connected with a settled life. K-D
Tents were mean dwellings, so that this would teach them to be humble; they were cold dwellings, so that this would teach them to be hardy and not to indulge the body; they were movable dwellings, so that this would teach them not to think of settling or taking root any where in this world. They must dwell in tents all their days. They must accustom themselves to endure hardness… MH
There could have been objections: wine is abundant/free. Cities provide opportunities that aren’t available in the desert. Everybody else has this privilege…We’ll look like fanatics…
Why did Jonadab lead his descendants into this way of life? I never want my children to be on the receiving end of the judgment of God. Could it be that he saw the people of the towns/villages more susceptible to idolatry and desired to preserve his children from lapsing into false worship? Wine impairs judgment and can make you think some crazy things. City living exposes you to much temptation and can impair judgment. He wanted his children to live apart from a people given to idolatry and the destruction that follows idolatrous living. He saw the wine and the settled life of the worshippers and wanted to prevent his descendants from lapsing into idolatry.
12-17 The Lesson of the Rechabites
The Rechabites were impressed w/ the command of Jonadab and J was impressed w/ the obedience of the Rechabites. They had walked in this hard obedience for about 300 years.
Some honor the word of man more than the people of God honor the word of God. God has spoken and He is not obeyed. Jonadab spoke his word once and got obedience. God has spoken repeatedly and He is not obeyed.
18-19 The Reward of the Rechabites
The reward isn’t prosperity or popularity, but ongoing relationship to God.
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The Power of a Godly Life
Jeremiah 35:1-19
1-11
WHEN The event recorded here happened about 17 years before the previous chapters - after the 1st time Neb. came to Jer. – 4 years after Jehoiakim began his reign.
WHY This C is not in chronological order, but it is in proper logical order. J wants to make a very strong statement about the spiritual condition of Judah and is using this incident w/ the Rechabites to make his point.
WHO According to 1 Chr. 2:55, the Rechabites were descendants of the father-in-law of Moses who had gone to Canaan with the Israelites, and lived among them, partly in the wilderness on the southern frontier of the tribe of Judah, partly at Kadesh in Naphtali. The father of the tribe was Rechab, the father of Jonadab. K-D
300 years after Jonadab commanded his children not to drink wine/ sow seed/plant a vineyard/build a house they are still walking in his command. 300 years after he died the power of his life is seen in his descendants. He had a tremendous influence over his family for generations. Influence = to flow in. 300 years later, his life is still flowing into his descendants. I want to discover the secret of his influence. I want to learn how I can affect and impact not only those around me, but those yet unborn.
2K10:11-29
Jonadab is in agreement w/ Jehu’s desire to remove Baal worship.
He is a man of godly desires. He was grieved by the idolatry in the land. Baal= husband/master/lord. What the Bible says that God gives us, they credited to Baal. They substituted the creation for the Creator. Incense was burned/sacrifices were made/babies were burned for Baal/self-cutting was the custom of their worship. He was the sun god who guaranteed crops/prosperity. Jonadab was deeply impressed that God had raised up a man to combat the abomination of Baal.
The impact he was to have on his descendants was in direct proportion to the impact that God had upon his life. The power of a godly life is in direct proportion to the power of God in that life. He allowed God to shape his values/desires and give direction to his life. What grieved the heart of God grieved his heart. A person who impacts others for God has been impacted by God. You cannot be a mediocre Christian and be a godly example at the same time. Jonadab’s life had power! And Jonadab’s life had power because there was a spiritual purity about his life. Be influenced by Christ.
He had heard, no doubt, that Jehu had been anointed under the auspices of Elisha. Jehu had then killed King Joram of Israel, and he had killed King Ahaziah of Judah. From there he proceeded to kill Jezebel, the queen mother – the one who had introduced Baal worship into Israel. Jonadab wasn’t jealous that God used another – He is a humble man. He is not positioning himself for the limelight/ applause. His life is about God, not himself.
He went to meet Jehu and Jehu wanted to know if they both had the same heart and Jonadab assured him that his heart was as his heart. And Jonadab’s heart was w/ Jehu because (in this thing) Jehu’s heart was w/ God’s heart. Jonadab didn’t care about power, he cared about truth/godliness. He is a man of God. He is not a man of man, but a man of God. He wasn’t trying to curry the favor of the king – he was seeking to serve God. No doubt, there were those who were ‘yes men’ to the King, but not Jonadab.
Jonadab had gone to meet King Jehu. He wants to participate in the removal of Baal worship in the land. He is a man of action. He wasn’t content to let someone else fight a battle he should be a part of. He wasn’t content to have godly desires and leave it at that. The faith he had worked. He wasn’t an armchair believer. He wasn’t a fan of the Lord – he was a player.
You can’t be just a fan of Jesus and have a powerful life. The fans have little impact on the outcome of the game. Fans come to watch the game – Jonadab came to play the game. He was suited up. He just didn’t have his favorite player’s jersey on – he had his helmet and pads on.
Jonadab is in agreement w/ Jehu’s method to remove Baal worship.
He is a man of stern methods – whatever it takes to glorify God and remove unrighteous.
It was this man that commanded his sons. And it is this kind of person who can command and the command is taken seriously. Had Lot commanded his children in this manner they would have laughed at him. Had Saul commanded his children in this manner they would have ignored him. Had Solomon commanded his children in this manner they would wonder what he’s talking about.
6 ‘…Jonadab…commanded us…’ Jonadab laid down the law. It is this kind of man who can lay down the law. It was a patriarchal era and Jonadab utilized this to its fullest. He wasn’t necessarily interested in the prosperity of his descendants, but their godliness.
Jonadab laid on them the obligation to live in a manner designed to keep them in the simplicity of nomad life observed by their fathers, and to preserve them from the corrupting influences connected with a settled life. K-D
Tents were mean dwellings, so that this would teach them to be humble; they were cold dwellings, so that this would teach them to be hardy and not to indulge the body; they were movable dwellings, so that this would teach them not to think of settling or taking root any where in this world. They must dwell in tents all their days. They must accustom themselves to endure hardness… MH
There could have been objections: wine is abundant/free. Cities provide opportunities that aren’t available in the desert. Everybody else has this privilege…We’ll look like fanatics…
Why did Jonadab lead his descendants into this way of life? I never want my children to be on the receiving end of the judgment of God. Could it be that he saw the people of the towns/villages more susceptible to idolatry and desired to preserve his children from lapsing into false worship? Wine impairs judgment and can make you think some crazy things. City living exposes you to much temptation and can impair judgment. He wanted his children to live apart from a people given to idolatry and the destruction that follows idolatrous living. He saw the wine and the settled life of the worshippers and wanted to prevent his descendants from lapsing into idolatry.
12-17 The Lesson of the Rechabites
The Rechabites were impressed w/ the command of Jonadab and J was impressed w/ the obedience of the Rechabites. They had walked in this hard obedience for about 300 years.
Some honor the word of man more than the people of God honor the word of God. God has spoken and He is not obeyed. Jonadab spoke his word once and got obedience. God has spoken repeatedly and He is not obeyed.
18-19 The Reward of the Rechabites
The reward isn’t prosperity or popularity, but ongoing relationship to God.
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