Commentary - Jeremiah 35:12-17

Bird's-eye view

In this passage, Yahweh brings a formal covenant lawsuit against the people of Judah, and He does so by means of a stunning and convicting contrast. The entire chapter revolves around a live-action parable involving the Rechabites, a clan who had for centuries faithfully obeyed the ascetic commands of their ancestor, Jonadab. God uses their dogged, generational faithfulness to a human father to throw into sharp relief Judah's persistent, flagrant unfaithfulness to their heavenly Father. The argument is simple and devastating: if these men can obey a mere man for hundreds of years, why can you not obey the living God who has spoken to you repeatedly? The passage is a formal indictment that lays out the charge (refusal to listen), presents the evidence (the Rechabites' obedience versus Judah's disobedience), and pronounces the sentence (the coming disaster of the Babylonian exile). It is a powerful lesson on the nature of true hearing and the certainty of covenantal consequences.

The core issue is a refusal to be taught, a stubborn deafness. God has not been silent or distant. He has spoken consistently, urgently, and clearly through His prophets. But Judah has refused to even "incline their ear." Their disobedience is not a matter of ignorance but of willful rebellion. The faithfulness of the Rechabites acts as a mirror, showing Judah the ugliness of their own spiritual adultery. Consequently, the judgment that is coming is not an arbitrary act of anger, but the just and promised outcome for a people who have broken covenant and treated their God with contempt.

Outline

Context In Jeremiah

This section is set in the reign of Jehoiakim, one of Judah's last and most wicked kings. The Babylonian storm clouds are gathering on the horizon, and Jeremiah's ministry is one of final, urgent warning. The prophet has already announced the coming 70-year exile (Jeremiah 25). The event with the Rechabites, detailed in the first half of the chapter, is not just an interesting historical anecdote; it is a prophetic sign-act orchestrated by God. Jeremiah brings the Rechabites into a chamber of the temple and offers them wine, which they refuse, citing the ancient command of their forefather. This public test of their obedience sets the stage for the divine sermon that follows in our text. God is using a real-life example of steadfast loyalty to shame a nation characterized by spiritual infidelity. This is one of God's last legal arguments with His people before the judgment He has long promised finally arrives.

Key Issues

The Obedience that Condemns

There is a kind of obedience that saves, and there is a kind of obedience that condemns. The obedience that saves is the perfect obedience of the Lord Jesus Christ, imputed to us by faith. But the obedience that condemns is the obedience of another man, held up as an example, which we in our rebellion have refused to emulate. This is what is happening here. God is not commending the specific ascetic practices of the Rechabites as a universal standard. He is commending the principle of their obedience. Their steadfast loyalty to their earthly father becomes the standard by which Judah's disloyalty to their heavenly Father is judged and condemned. This is a courtroom scene, and the Rechabites are the star witness for the prosecution. Their simple faithfulness is all the evidence God needs to demonstrate the guilt of His people.

Verse by Verse Commentary

12 Then the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah, saying, 13 “Thus says Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Go and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, “Will you not receive discipline by listening to My words?” declares Yahweh.

The proceedings begin with solemn formality. This is not Jeremiah's personal observation; this is a direct word from God, and He identifies Himself with His full title: Yahweh of hosts, the God of Israel. He is the commander of heaven's armies and the covenant God of this specific people. The message is to be delivered to everyone, from the common man to the city dweller. The central question is a rhetorical one that expects the answer, "No, we will not." The issue is a failure to receive discipline or instruction. And how does this instruction come? By listening to My words. Their fundamental sin is a refusal to be taught. They have closed their ears. God’s Word is intended to shape, correct, and guide His people, but they have refused to submit to it. They have become unteachable, which is the most dangerous spiritual condition possible.

14 “The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, which he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are established. So they do not drink wine to this day, for they have listened to their father’s command. But I have spoken to you, rising up early and speaking; yet you have not listened to Me.

Here is the central contrast. The command of a man, Jonadab, given centuries earlier, is established. It has been kept. The proof is their present obedience: "they do not drink wine to this day." Why? "For they have listened to their father's command." Their obedience is rooted in hearing and respecting the authority of their father. Then comes the devastating turn: "But I have spoken to you..." The one speaking now is not a dead ancestor, but the living God. And He has not spoken just once, long ago. He has spoken persistently, diligently. The phrase rising up early and speaking is a Hebrew idiom that conveys earnestness and constancy. God has been the eager, pleading Father. And the result? "Yet you have not listened to Me." The simple, consistent obedience of the Rechabites to a man shames the flagrant, persistent disobedience of Judah to God.

15 Also I have sent to you all My slaves the prophets, rising up early and sending, saying: ‘Turn now every man from his evil way and make good your deeds, and do not walk after other gods to serve them. Then you will inhabit the land which I have given to you and to your fathers; but you have not inclined your ear or listened to Me.

God has not only spoken Himself, but He has also used every possible means to get through to them. He sent a multitude of messengers, "all My slaves the prophets," and He sent them with the same diligence, "rising up early and sending." The message they brought was not complicated. It was a basic call to repentance and faith. First, turn from your evil way. Second, make your deeds good. Third, worship God alone. This is the essence of covenant faithfulness. And the promise attached was glorious: covenant security in the land. This was the deal they had agreed to. But their response was utter contempt. You have not inclined your ear or listened to Me. They would not even tilt their head to hear. It is a picture of deliberate, high-handed rejection. They did not hear and disagree; they refused to hear at all.

16 Indeed, the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have established the command of their father which he commanded them, but this people has not listened to Me.’ ” ’

God now summarizes the argument for the jury, as it were. He states the matter plainly, as a point of fact. On the one hand, the sons of Jonadab kept the command of their human father. On the other hand, "this people", spoken with a tone of alienation and judgment, has not listened to their divine Father. The case is closed. The evidence is overwhelming. The contrast is absolute. The guilt of Judah is established beyond any doubt, not by a complex legal argument, but by a simple comparison of loyalties.

17 Therefore thus says Yahweh, the God of hosts, the God of Israel, ‘Behold, I am bringing on Judah and on all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the harmful evil that I have spoken against them because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer.’ ”

Because the argument is settled, the sentence must follow. The word Therefore connects the verdict directly to the evidence. Again, God uses His full covenant name, emphasizing His authority to judge. The sentence is the implementation of "all the harmful evil that I have spoken against them." This is not some new, vindictive punishment. This is the enforcement of the covenant curses they had agreed to from the beginning (Deuteronomy 28). This is what God had always said would happen if they broke faith with Him. And the reason for the sentence is repeated one last time, like the blows of a hammer. "Because I spoke to them but they did not listen, and I have called them but they did not answer." God spoke, and they refused to hear. God called, and they refused to respond. Their judgment is a direct consequence of their contemptuous silence.

Application

It is a dangerous thing to get used to the voice of God. The people of Judah had the prophets. They had the Scriptures. They had the temple. They heard the Word of the Lord so often that it became background noise. They honored their traditions and their national identity, but they did not listen to the God who gave them that identity. The modern church is in precisely the same danger. We have more Bibles, more sermons, more books, and more podcasts than any generation in history. And because of this, we are tempted to think that familiarity with the Word is the same thing as obedience to the Word.

This passage calls us to examine our own hearts. Are there areas where we, like Judah, have refused to "incline our ear"? Are we more faithful to the traditions of our denominational fathers than we are to the plain commands of our heavenly Father? God is still speaking through His Word. He is still calling us to turn from our evil ways, to make our deeds good, and to worship Him alone. The promise of inhabiting the land is still ours, not a physical plot in Palestine, but the promise of a secure inheritance in the new heavens and the new earth.

The bad news is that we are all like Judah, naturally deaf and rebellious. But the good news of the gospel is that God has provided a Son who listened perfectly. Jesus Christ inclined His ear to the Father in all things, even to the point of death on a cross. Through faith in Him, our rebellious deafness is forgiven, and we are given new hearts and new ears by the Holy Spirit. True Christian faith is not just agreeing that the Bible is true; it is receiving discipline by listening to God's words and, by His grace, joyfully obeying them.