Metaphysical Bible Interpretation of Jeremiah Chapter 35
Metaphysically Interpreting Jeremiah 35:1-19
35:1The word which came unto Jeremiah from Jehovah in the days of Jehoiakim the son of Josiah, king of Judah, saying, 35:2Go unto the house of the Rechabites, and speak unto them, and bring them into the house of Jehovah, into one of the chambers, and give them wine to drink. 35:3Then I took Jaazaniah the son of Jeremiah, the son of Habazziniah, and his brethren, and all his sons, and the whole house of the Rechabites; 35:4and I brought them into the house of Jehovah, into the chamber of the sons of Hanan the son of Igdaliah, the man of God, which was by the chamber of the princes, which was above the chamber of Maaseiah the son of Shallum, the keeper of the threshold. 35:5And I set before the sons of the house of the Rechabites bowls full of wine, and cups; and I said unto them, Drink ye wine. 35:6But they said, We will drink no wine; for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons, for ever: 35:7neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land wherein ye sojourn.35:8And we have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, or our daughters; 35:9nor to build houses for us to dwell in; neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed: 35:10but we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us. 35:11But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians; so we dwell at Jerusalem.
35:12Then came the word of Jehovah unto Jeremiah, saying, 35:13Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Go, and say to the men of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will ye not receive instruction to hearken to my words? saith Jehovah. 35:14The words of Jonadab the son of Rechab, that he commanded his sons, not to drink wine, are performed; and unto this day they drink none, for they obey their father's commandment: but I have spoken unto you, rising up early and speaking; and ye have not hearkened unto me. 35:15I have sent also unto you all my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them, saying, Return ye now every man from his evil way, and amend your doings, and go not after other gods to serve them, and ye shall dwell in the land which I have given to you and to your fathers: but ye have not inclined your ear, nor hearkened unto me. 35:16Forasmuch as the sons of Jonadab the son of Rechab have performed the commandment of their father which he commanded them, but this people hath not hearkened unto me; 35:17therefore thus saith Jehovah, the God of hosts, the God of Israel: Behold, I will bring upon Judah and upon all the inhabitants of Jerusalem all the evil that I have pronounced against them; because I have spoken unto them, but they have not heard; and I have called unto them, but they have not answered.
35:18And Jeremiah said unto the house of the Rechabites, Thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Because ye have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts, and done according unto all that he commanded you; 35:19therefore thus saith Jehovah of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not want a man to stand before me for ever.
November 2, 1919: Jeremiah 35:1-8
What is the meaning of “Jeremiah”? “Jeremiah” signifies “exalted praise,” that in man which delights to give thanks, to make merry, and to bask in the warmth of spiritual sunshine.
Define “the Rechabites.” The “Rechabites” symbolizes that in consciousness which stands for logical reasoning, level-headedness, good judgment.
Why did Jehovah cause Jeremiah to tempt the Rechabties? Jehovah counted the Rechabites (logical reasoning) worthy of a test. It is through trying our spiritual strength that our real worth is established. Sometimes when one is in a high, exalted state of consciousness, he will, for the time being, lay aside his better judgment and do that (in a spirit of jollification), which he would not do otherwise. Hence, the need of being tested.
What was the answer of the Rechabites (logical reasoning), to Jeremiah (exalted praise)? “We will drink no wine for Jonadab ... our father ([Jonadab means] God-impelled) commanded us, saying, Ye shall drink no wine, neither ye, nor your sons, for ever.”
Explain further the sayings of Jonadab (God-impelled), “Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any; but all your days ye shall dwell in tents.” This was Jehovah's way of working to keep these thoughts of logical reasoning from settling down into a crystallized, fixed state of consciousness. It was Jehovah’s way of keeping these thoughts of level-headedness in a quickened, alert, energizing state of activity, where they would move about from place to place in the soul consciousness, and yet retain their “substantialness and reliableness.”
November 2, 1919: Jeremiah 35:12-14
Tests are often looked upon as temptations, but to the one who is established in Divine Ideals they are not temptations, but opportunities to prove one's strength. It is in the face of such tests that strength and stability are developed.
The plant that grows in a hothouse may be very beautiful, but it is always frail and incapable of meeting the activity of Nature's elements. Plants and men developed in carefully protected environments easily succumb to adversity. Compare the hothouse plant with the great forest trees that have spent their entire existence out in the open, in the face of the forces of nature. Strong winds have but caused them to send their roots deeper into the earth; cold has but caused them to be more hardy and rugged, while the weight of much snow and ice has but strengthened them, until they have developed into giants of the forest.
This is the great underlying reason for the teaching that we should be in the world, but not of it. Man was given dominion over the fowls of the air (thoughts in the mind) and over the beasts of the field (thoughts in the body).
It is generally known that we become more and more dependent on the things upon which we rely. Through the use of false stimulants we become dependent upon them, and fail to receive the full benefit of the quickening forces of the inner life energy. The reaction of a false stimulant is retarded action, and the effect is to ultimately crystallize and preserve old states of consciousness. However, the one who realizes the power of the Spirit does not refrain from false stimulants through compulsion or fear, but from choice. He values the quickening influences of his own inner forces, just as a strong man values the power of his own strong muscles, and refrains from anything that in any way weakens them. The quickening which comes of the Spirit enlivens the whole man, renews mind and body, and instead of living in a crystallized body man lives in a body that is being constantly renewed.
– UNITY magazine.
November 2, 1919: Jeremiah 35:18-19
What is the Divine Edict sent forth by Jehovah, as the final word in regard to the Rechabites? “Jonadab (God-impelled) ... shall not want a man to stand before me forever.” Jehovah always rewards faithfulness to the Divine Law. Through obedience to the things of Spirit, new strength, new power, new courage are added. Logical reasoning stands the test, and from henceforth operates from that eternal spiritual plane of consciousness, the kingdom of heaven within.
June 3, 1923: Jeremiah 35:5-14
What does Jeremiah the prophet represent? Jeremiah the prophet represents spiritual faith demanding that all religious thoughts shall be true in the observance of the divine law.
What do the Rechabites represent? The Rechabites represent the faithfulness of the intellect to ancestral laws and habits of thought.
What does history say about the Rechabites? History says that the Rechabites were a religious order in ancient Israel, whose rule in some respects was like that of the Nazirites to which John the Baptist belonged. Like the Nazirites, they were bound by vow to abstain from the use of wine. They lived in tents, and refused to plant vineyards or sow seed. Their ideal was the nomad patriarchal life amid their flocks.
What was the objective of the Rechabites in their abstinence from drinking wine, of their not living in houses or cultivating the land? The objective of these rules of life laid down by the ancestors of the Rechabites was to prevent them from becoming attached to things of sense.
Why did Jeremiah refer to the Rechabites as an example of faithfulness and obedience? Jeremiah was appealing to the children of Israel (who represent our spiritual thoughts, or our understanding of reality) that they should be as faithful and obedient in following the commands of Jehovah as the Rechabites had been in following their father, Jonadab.
In what respect are we disobedient to the commands of Jehovah? Jehovah God is our Father, but we do not always recognize the divine law which governs the spiritual life within us.
June 3, 1923: Jeremiah 35:18-19
Where do we find an example of mans obedience to divine law? Jesus Christ is the great example of the Son of God made manifest in the earth through obedience to divine law. He taught and demonstrated the fatherhood of God and the unity of all men. His command was: “Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
June 9, 1929: Jeremiah 35:5-11
In this lesson what does Jeremiah, the prophet, represent? In this lesson Jeremiah the prophet represents spiritual faith demanding that all religious thoughts shall be true in the observance of the divine law.
What do the Rechabites represent? The Rechabites represent the faithfulness of the intellect to ancestral laws and habits of thought.
What does history say about the Rechabites? History says that the Rechabites were a religious order in ancient Israel, whose rule in some respects was like that of the Nazarites, the class to which John the Baptist belonged. Like the Nazarites, the Rechabites were bound by vow to abstain from the use of wine. They lived in tents and refused to plant vineyards or to sow seed. Their ideal was a patriarchal, nomadic life amid their flocks.
Does Spirit ever test us along the lines that we are demonstrating? The divine law of right relation in all things visible and invisible must be demonstrated by man. The Rechabites (nature children) were tempted by the pleasures of appetite to imbibe false stimulants. Jesus was tempted in the wilderness of sense by the Adversary (sensual ego). He was made strong by overcoming the adverse sensation, as were the Rechabites. Tests are often looked on as temptations, but one who is established in divine ideals does not consider tests as temptations, but as opportunities to prove one's strength. In the face of such tests strength and stability are developed.
What was the objective of the Rechabites in their abstinence from drinking wine and in their not living in houses or cultivating the land? The objective of these rules of life laid down by the ancestors of the Rechabites was to prevent the Rechabites from becoming attached to worldly things. “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon the earth, where moth and rust consume, and where moth and rust consume, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth consume, and where thieves do not break through nor steal.”
Why did Jeremiah refer to the Rechabites as an example of faithfulness and obedience? Jeremiah was appealing to the children of Israel (who represent our spiritual thoughts, or our understanding of reality) to be as faithful and obedient in following the commands of Jehovah as the Rechabites had been in following the commands of their father, Jonadab.
Does spiritual progress require that we be free from fixed or rigid ideas? Yes, spiritual progress is more easily made when a man is free from fixed or rigid ideas. This does not mean that he is to have an unstable consciousness. He is stable because he is established in the one infinite Principle, and his determination is that his life shall be a constant progression toward higher, spiritual standards. He is always at home in the consciousness of ever-present Spirit, which continually unfolds in him with new ideals of expression.
In what respect are we disobedient to the commands of Jehovah? Jehovah God is our Father, but we do not always recognize the divine law which governs the spiritual life within us.
In whom do we find an example of man's obedience to divine law? Jesus Christ is the great example of the Son of God made manifest in the earth through obedience to divine law. He taught and demonstrated the fatherhood of God and the unity of all men. His command was, “Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
May 21, 1939: Jeremiah 35:5-10
What phase of consciousness do the Rechabites symbolize? They symbolize level-headedness, logical reasoning, faithfulness, and good judgment. Rechab means “rider,” “driver,” and refers to the power to control or direct.
Why are logical reasoning, level-headedness, faithfulness, and good judgment essential to the abstemious life? These qualities fit man to exercise dominion over himself and his appetites. They are of the essence of abstinence.
Is abstinence, because one has been told to abstain, the highest type of sobriety? Not when the authority is merely personal, but when God speaks to man through man's faithfulness and good judgment, there can be no higher type of abstinence.
What do the injunctions not to build houses or sow seed symbolize? These imply unswerving faithfulness, since obedience in these matters involves no element of inherent advantage to man. To refrain from building houses or sowing seed shows implicit trust in the higher will and in the wisdom that surpasses the ordinary understanding of man.
What does dwelling in tents signify? Living in a tent is symbolical of the temporary, transitory state of mind which makes a perishable body.
May 11, 1941: Jeremiah 35:5-10
How is the drink habit overcome? By filling both mind and heart with thoughts of Truth, so that no room is left for even a subconscious desire for intoxicants or other false stimulants.
Are testings desirable? They are when they keep one alert, level-headed, and energized in a state of activity in which one remains obedient to the divine impulse regardless of one's surroundings or circumstances.
What lesson is found in the statement that the Rechabites dwelt in tents and had neither vineyard nor field nor seed? The lesson that complete devotion to Truth calls for a dedication of all a person's interests and energies to the thought that he desires above all else to express. Everything else is transitory compared with that.
August 6, 1944: Jeremiah 35:5-10
To what is abstinence conducive? It is conducive to long life, whether the abstinence in question is from intoxicants or from intemperate thinking and acting in general.
Transcribed by Lloyd Kinder on 01-30-2014
