Stand before Me forever

In the book of Jeremiah, there is a remarkable verse of scripture:

[Jeremiah 35:18-19 NKJV] 18 And Jeremiah said to the house of the Rechabites, “Thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: ‘Because you have obeyed the commandment of Jonadab your father, and kept all his precepts and done according to all that he commanded you, 19 ‘therefore thus says the LORD of hosts, the God of Israel: “Jonadab the son of Rechab shall not lack a man to stand before Me forever.” ‘ ”

The Lord said that Jonadab, son of Rechab, shall not lack a man to stand before Him forever! Praise God! This family obeyed their patriarch when Israel and Judah would not obey God; they refused to heed His voice. They were so far gone, He called to them and they would not even answer! They wouldn’t answer the Lord of all creation!

So, no famous exploits, no tremendous battles or no demonstration of exceptional bravery – yet, God said this family would not lack a man to stand before him forever; simply because they were obedient to their natural father. How important is obedience?

The word tells us:

[1 Samuel 15:22 NKJV] 22 So Samuel said: “Has the LORD [as great] delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices, As in obeying the voice of the LORD? Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, [And] to heed than the fat of rams.

This verse also reminds me of another amazing verse:

[Genesis 15:6 NKJV] 6 And he believed in the LORD, and He accounted it to him for righteousness.

Abraham was declared righteous because he believed the Lord! The Lord has made this so easy for us. yet we continue to stumble over the simplest of his commands. We are supposed to believe and obey – then, all the blessings of God become available to us.

Believe and Obey!

Father, we thank you for your Holy Word. We thank you for Jesus, the Holy Anointed One! We thank you for your Holy Spirit! We praise you that you made all this plain and simple so might understand and lay hold of your promises. You are magnificent, awesome and glorious beyond our ability to perceive it; and, we adore you Lord. Open our eyes to see and our ears to hear what the Spirit is doing and saying and then help us to lay hold of that Father and obey in love and humility. I pray in Jesus’ mighty, matchless name. Amen!