Jonadab, an Honorable Father with Honorable Children

Text:  Jeremiah 35:6-10

Proposition: How can we honor our father?

Introduction

Sometimes I wonder what it will be like for my children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren.  What will the world be situation be like for them?  What kind of people will they be?  Will I be able to teach my children so that they will teach their children what is truly important in life?  Jonadad thought ahead.  He wanted his children and their children to be able to survive in any world condition and to remember nothing is permanent.  They were just strangers in a land of other people.

Who are these people, the Rechabites, and their father Jonadab?  They were descendants of the Kenites, I Chronicles 2:55.  The Kenites were people Israel conquered when they came into the land of Canaan, Numbers 24:21.  They were not Israelites.  Moses father-in-law was a Kenite and his descendants lived among the Israilites Judges 1:16.  They continued to live peaceably among the sons of Israel.  Jonadab lived during the reign of Jehu,  II Kings 10:15-16.  This is about 300 years before the time of Jeremiah. Jonadab was able to do what most men cannot.  His children kept his commands for several generations.  Most men do well to have just their own children keep their commands and the grandkids depart completely from their commands.  Eli’s sons were adulterers.  Samuel’s sons were dishonest and perverted justice.  Solomon’s son Rheoboam was a fool.  Jonadab was a rare man.  The Rechabites had come to Jerusalem to get away from Nebuchadnezzar and the Assyrians.  Jonadab gave them three commands they were to keep forever.

I. Drink no wine

II. Build no house

III. Sow no seed or plant a vineyard.

I. Drink no wine  (Why drink no wine?)

A. Today priests, pastors, and religious leaders bring children into the church and they say drink wine.  Catholics, Lutherans, and others use wine for communion.  Many get their first taste of wine at church, not at a party with their buddies.  They bring the children in and say drink wine.  They learned from religious leaders it is okay.  (Mariana’s brother’s funeral.  He died from a drinking party.  The boys were drinking and got in the car.  They were killed in a car wreck.  I think 2 died and 2 lived.  The driver lived and was going to be charged with manslaughter.  They served wine at the funeral during Mass.  Many children drinking wine.  That was a sad funeral.  His sister was crying at the casket.  She was sobbing and hugging his dead body.  His mother was crying at the casket.  One of his relatives was so upset she had a hard time standing up.  She had to be helped over to her seat.)

B. It brings no honor to a father

1. Proverbs 23:20 and 29-35

2. A son who is a drunk brings no honor to his father.  It is shameful.

C. It brings many other sins with it.

1. Drunks many times beat their wives.

a. Josh McDowell’s (author of Lord, Liar, or Lunatic and Evidence that Demands a Verdict) father beat his mother while he was drunk.

b. He forgave his father.  He said what I am today is because I had a drunk father and a fat mother.  His sister and his brother are no good.  He used his experiences to make him a stronger man.  It would have brought no honor to his father to follow in his footsteps and be a drunk.

c. I Peter 4:1-3, Drunkenness causes more immorality.

d. Drunkenness causes fights.  Many men who seem to be kind friendly men when they get drunk they want to fight.  One man I worked with, his name was Joa, was kind, quiet, and even a little shy, but when he was drunk he wanted to fight everybody.  He was a big man.  He was about 6’ 4” and probably 260 lbs. he would pick a fight with other big men or little guys.  I was never around him when he was drunk I just knew other men who drank at the same bar he did. 

e. It is a waste of time and money. 

D. There is no benefit in it.

1. Some doctors say and others say, “It is good for your heart.  Wine is full of antioxidants.”  This is true.  It is good for your heart it does have antioxidants, but it is bad for your liver, brain, reasoning ability and judgment

2. Grape juice will do the same thing for your heart and Larry King says it is full of antioxidants in his Welch’s Grape Juice advertisement on the radio.

Wine or Welch's? Grape juice provides health benefits without alcohol

March 31, 2000

Web posted at: 1:47 PM EST (1847 GMT)

By Peter Jaret

(WebMD) -- Even the most heartening news about the health benefits of wine wasn't enough to convince Susan Sanford to imbibe. "I've just never liked the taste of alcohol," says Sanford, 42, a film sound engineer in Northern California. "Still, with all the headlines, you can't help wondering whether you're missing out on something that might lower your risk of heart disease."

Well, Susan Sanford, worry no more. If you don't like wine, the latest studies show you can get almost all the same benefits from grape juice. The reason: Purple grape juice contains the same powerful disease-fighting antioxidants, called flavonoids, that are believed to give wine many of its heart-friendly benefits.

What'll it be: Wine or Welch's?

The flavonoids in grape juice, like those in wine, have been shown to prevent the oxidation of so-called bad cholesterol (LDLs, or low-density lipoproteins) that leads to formation of plaque in artery walls.

In a study published in 1999 in the journal Circulation, researchers at the University of Wisconsin Medical School in Madison asked 15 patients who already showed clinical signs of cardiovascular disease -- including plaque-constricted arteries -- to drink a tall glass of grape juice daily. After 14 days, blood tests revealed that LDL oxidation in these patients was significantly reduced. And ultrasound images showed changes in the artery walls, indicating that their blood was flowing more freely.

Grape juice can also lower the risk of developing the blood clots that lead to heart attacks, according to unpublished findings from Georgetown University researcher Jane Freedman, M.D. So can red wine, but in this case grape juice is the more practical way to go: "Wine only prevents blood from clotting (when it's consumed) at levels high enough to declare someone legally drunk," says University of Wisconsin researcher John Folts, Ph.D. "With grape juice, you can drink enough to get the benefit without worrying about becoming intoxicated."

What's more, alcoholic drinks don't seem to improve the function of cells in blood vessel linings the way grape juice does. And alcohol generates free radicals -- unstable oxygen molecules that can actually cause damage to blood vessel tissues -- dampening any of the benefits that red wine's antioxidants may offer.

Longer-lasting protection

Even better news, for Sanford and other teetotalers, is that the antioxidants in grape juice appear to linger in the body longer than do those in wine.

At the University of California, Davis, researchers took a 1996 cabernet sauvignon, removed all the alcohol, and asked a group of nine volunteers to alternate between drinking the nonalcoholic wine one day and an alcoholic version the next. In their findings, reported in the January 2000 issue of the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a key antioxidant called catechin remained in the blood for more than 4 hours after the volunteers drank the nonalcoholic wine, compared to only 3.2 hours for the full-strength cabernet. Apparently, alcohol hastens the breakdown of the antioxidant in the blood, speeding its elimination from the body.

But wine may provide at least one benefit grape juice doesn't: Alcohol has been shown to increase levels of HDL, the so-called good cholesterol, in the blood.

Even so, if you're a non-drinker, grape juice is a terrific way to get many of wine's potential health benefits, Folts says. If you do go for the juice, choose the purple kind, which is far richer in antioxidant flavonoids than red or white. Surprisingly, eating red table grapes won't provide as much protection. That's because the juice is made by crushing not just the skin and flesh but the seeds, too, which are especially rich in flavonoids. White grapes and grape juice won't do either, because they don't contain the flavonoids that purple or red grapes do.

Sanford can now rest assured. With a glass of purple grape juice with breakfast or for an afternoon snack, her heart can realize the same benefits as those of her wine-drinking friends. And if you don't want wine at dinner, uncork one of the fine nonalcoholic reds on the market. They're loaded with antioxidants as well as great flavor -- and you can drink all you like without worrying about driving home.

© 2000 Healtheon/WebMD. All rights reserved.

http://archives.cnn.com/2000/HEALTH/alternative/03/31/wine.heart.wmd/index.html#0

II. Build no House  (Why not build a house?)

A. Why did Jonadab not want his children to build a house and live in a tent?  Most fathers want their children to buy a house and have lots of money and possessions, but not Jonadab.

B. Houses give us a feeling of security.

1. We can lock the door and feel safe inside.  Bears can rip through a tent easily, but not a house.  It is hard for people to get in and harm you or take your possessions. 

2. Proverbs 3:5 and 6, Jonadab wanted his children to trust God for their security.

C. He didn’t want them to live in a city, but in the countryside.

1. They were living in the city in Jeremiah’s day, Jeremiah 35:9-11

2. In most cities people live in houses.

3. He wanted them to stay away from the corruption of cities.

4. Today it doesn’t make much difference where you live.  We can travel fast or watch junk on the T.V. or computer, but towns are still places of corruption.

a. Most little towns have a bar.  They may not have a grocery store or gas, but they have a bar.

b. Even our little town has a place for exotic dancers, if it is still there.

c. Many cities have porno shops, prostitution, drugs, and crime.

d. The Rechabites honored their father by avoiding these things.

5. I Peter 2:11-12, They honored their father by avoiding these things.  They were strangers.  They needed excellent behavior in order to survive among people who were more powerful than them.  They had better behavior than the Israelites.  Even a father that is no good would be honored to have a child that abstained form fleshly lusts.

D. To keep them from accumulating too many possessions.

1. Houses give us the ability to have many possessions.  Americans like stuff.  We have more stuff than we will ever use, but if you live in a tent and are a sojourner you can’t pile up possessions.

2. They could move quickly if they needed too.  If there was an army advancing or a famine they could move quickly to another location.

3. Luke 12:13-21, the Rechabites wouldn’t have this problem.  They planted no seed.  They couldn’t lay up treasure for themselves.  They were rich toward God.

4. The Rechabites wouldn’t have the problem of having to decide who gets what from their parents house.  No auction to sell all the stuff off.

5. The Rechabites would understand how little wealth and many possessions mattered in life.

E. Living in tents would build character.

1. Tents are cold in winter.  No running water, no toilet, no oven or refrigerator.

2. They would make you a person who could endure hardship and make you strong.

3. II Timothy 2:3-13, we need to be able to endure hardship.  If we endure hardship we will receive the rewards of suffering.

F. They would have time to teach their children

1. They wouldn’t be busy working to pay off a new boat, or a house and all the possessions inside to teach their children.

2. Ephesians 6:1-4, it is a father’s responsibility to bring his children up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord.

3. They would have their children with them most of the time. 

4. Deuteronomy 6:2 and 7, we are to teach our children with every opportunity we have.  Teaching your children what your father taught you brings him honor.

III. Sow no seed (Why not sow seed?)

A. Less worry

1. Farmers put a lot of money into planting, fertilizing, and cultivating.  Seymour says it costs about $66.00 an acre for seed and fertilizer.  Most farmers if they want to make enough money need to farm about 2,000 acres.  This comes out to a $132,000 investment that is buried in the ground.  This would worry some people.  Then there is no guarantee you will have a crop.  Lack of rain, too much rain, hail, late frost, disease and insects can cause crop failure. 

2. The Rechabites would have to depend on God to provide enough grass for their livestock.

3. Luke 12:22-31, We are not to be anxious about out food and clothing.  God will take care of us if we put him first and are not lazy.

B. Don’t sow seeds of evil.

1. Galatians 6:7-9

2. Jonadab didn’t plant physical seed, but he did plant seeds of good in his children and his children honored Him.

Conclusion

Proposition:  How can we honor our father?

I. Don’t drink wine

A. Drinking wine brings no honor to a father

B. Drinking wine brings many other sins with it. 

C. There is no benefit in it.

II. Build no house

A. Houses give us a feeling of security.  We are to put our trust in God.

B. He didn’t want them to live in a city.  We are to stay away from sin.

C. To keep them from accumulating possessions.  We are to lay up treasure in heaven.

D. Living in a tent would build character

E. They would have time to teach their children.

III. Sow no seed.

A. Less worry

B. Don’t sow seeds of evil.  Sow seeds of good.