Wed.’s Devo - The Example of the Recabites

Jeremiah 35:1-36:32; 1 Timothy 5:1-25; Psalm 89:14-37; Proverbs 25:25-27 God told Jeremiah to go to the settlement of the Recabites and invite their leaders to the Lord’s Temple. They took them into an inner room and offered them wine. They refused to drink the wine because their ancestor Jehonadab had told them that they must never drink wine or build houses or plant crops or vineyards. They were to live in tents. Recab means “rider or charioteers” and they were the riders and charioteers in God’s army. They were to be ready to move and sober at all times. They had kept this promise for generations. God said that these Recabites were faithful to the word of their forefathers and obeyed. Israel was not like them. They had rebelled against God and his plan for their lives. During the fourth year of Jehoiakim king of Judah, God told Jeremiah to write down his message on a scroll. Maybe they would hear the terrible things that God had planned for their city because of their rebellion. They had heard it before, but maybe this time it would cause them to repent. It was the holy Day of Atonement when the priest would pray for the nation. Baruch wrote down everything that Jeremiah told him to and read it to all the people in front of the Temple room of Gemariah. When Gemariah’s son heard it he told his father who told his father, Shaphan and the other officials who were meeting in an inner room in under the Temple. They asked Baruch to come and read the scroll to them. When they heard it they were terrible alarmed. They warned Barach and Jeremiah to hide as they were going to take the scroll and read it to the king. The king sent Jehudi, his official to get the scroll and read it to him. Each time he would finish reading three or four columns, the king would cut it off with his knife and throw it into the fire. His officials begged him not to burn it but his attendants were cold as ice. The king ordered Jeremiah and Baruch arrested but they were not to be found because God hid them. God told Jeremiah to take another scroll and write all the words of the first scrolls and he added much more. In First Timothy, Paul told us to never speak harshly to our elders but to honor them as you would your own father. Talk to younger men as a brother, older women as your mother, and to treat younger women with purity as your own sister. Take care of widows unless they have children of grandchildren. It is their responsibility to take care of them. If they don’t then they are worse than unbelievers. A true widow is a woman who is alone and has placed her hope in God. A widow who lives for pleasure is dead spiritually. The church is not responsible to help dead people. A widow qualifies for being on the list of those being helped by the church if she is at least 60 and was faithful to her husband. She must have a good reputation and have raised her children well. She must have been kind to strangers and served other believers with humility. Younger widows should not be on the list of church help because they can remarry. They are advised to remarry and have children. Responsibility of widows falls first on the family. The elders who teach and preach should be well paid. All our sins will one day be revealed and all our good works will one day be rewarded. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of your throne. Help us to walk in both.