Jeremiah 35:18-19 - Exposition

A promise to the Rechabites (perhaps removed from its original connection). The form of the promise is remarkable; it runs, Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me forever. The phrase is, as Dr. Plumptre remarks, "all but essentially liturgical. It is used of the Levites ( Deuteronomy 10:8 ; Deuteronomy 18:5 , Deuteronomy 18:7 ), of the worship of the patriarchs ( Genesis 19:27 ), of the priests ( 1 Kings 8:11 ; 2 Chronicles 29:11 ; Nehemiah 7:65 ), of prophets ( 1 Kings 18:15 ), of priests and Levites together ( Psalms 134:1 ; Psalms 135:2 )." It is, however, rash, perhaps, to maintain, with the same acute scholar, that the Rechabites were adopted into the tribe of Levi. The phrase may be simply chosen to indicate the singular favour with which Jehovah regarded the Rechabites—a favour only to be compared to that accorded to his most honoured servants among the Israelites—the patriarchs, the priests, and the prophets.