THE RECHABITES : A story of true obedience

Picture a scenario where your pastor summons you to the church office after a great Sunday service with bottles of different brands of beer on his desk. You may be bewildered as to why there are bottles of liquor on the desk of a supposed man of God's office. Then to your amazing surprise your pastor now says he was directly instructed by the LORD to give you beer to drink. You may feel either that you entered the wrong office, you are dreaming and God is trying to reveal to you that your pastor has been a charlatan, or you may be like some who would say "since its pastor, he knows better, he says it was God's instruction, I will drink". Hmmm well,  this was the same position the children of the Rechabites were in in Jeremiah chapter 35.

The Lord God instructed prophet Jeremiah to summon the children of the Rechabites and set wine before them. When these people were summoned by the prophet to the house of God and given such instruction, one would think that these guys will ponder on the instruction of Jeremiah a great prophet of the Lord. However these guys bluntly refused the instructions of the prophet as their father Jonadab commanded them not to drink wine, nor build houses and so on. They held their father's instructions with high esteem. They obeyed their father's commandments even when they had the opportunity to disobey 

Meanwhile, God used this occurrence to pass a message to the people of Judah because of their rebellion and disobedience. He commended the obedience of the Rechabites and condemned the Jews for their rebellion because at that time they had gone into whoredom and there was an impending punishment awaiting them. 

The message that being passed in this write up is our willingness to say no to the instruction and demands of our pastors, church leaders, and superiors when such instruction or demand goes contrary to or deviates from the word of God. You may have heard of instances where a pastor who has fallen from grace or has never been converted asks the church accountant to falsify figures so as to divert church money into personal use. Or where young ladies and desperate barren women are deceived by fake pastors that except he sleeps with them first they won't conceive for their husbands or won't attract God's blessings. 

Many people have fallen prey to the hands of wrong instructors who have succeeded in beguiling them to do certain things that are contrary to the word of God. Peoples' destinies have been mortgaged, their future jeopardised, and their hopes dashed just because they hearkened to the deceitful words and sinful demands of their pastors against God's words. 

It is true the scripture says we should obey them that have the rule over us. However, when instructions or demands goes contrary to the word of God, we as Christians are to refute such instruction or demands with humility as they are still God's delegated authority even if they are in disobedience. Let God deal with them by Himself.