It should be evident by now that these prophecies are not organised in chronological order. The last four kings of Judah were Jehoahaz (also called Shallum; he only ruled for 3 months), Jehoiakim (ruled for 10 years), Jehoiachin (also ruled for only 3 months) and Zedekiah (ruled for 10 years until 586BC). Here we step back into the reign of Jehoiakim. God tells Jeremiah to test the Recabites, a family committed to perpetuating the nomadic form of life and who refrained from drinking wine. They did this for religious reasons to express their distaste for the kind of idolatrous and complacent settled life that Israel was living in the land. Jeremiah offers them wine but they refuse. He then commends their obedience publicly as an indictment upon the people of Jerusalem. It is good to do things to deliberately help yourself remain distinct. We should not do this to make a moral display of ourselves to others. Jesus does not want us to be high-horse moral crusaders. But we are called to be an example of what a godly life looks like. There may be many activities which, for the sake of our spiritual health, we would be better off refraining from or limiting. In this we can express our determination to obey God. For example, you might put limits on how much media you consume and the sorts of things you choose to watch. Whatever it is, if you commit to a disciplined life in this way, you will demonstrate before God that you are serious about your commitment to him.
Think about what needs to be curbed in your life.
Read Jeremiah 35
