“I see that you have some nice knives,” said a friend to me when he returned from my kitchen where he had gone to wash his hands. “You left them wet by the sink. It would have been better not to wash them at all, than to lave the blades wet.” Sam worked for the firm that manufactured the carving knives I had received as a wedding gift. I thanked hem for his advice, and went to the kitchen to wipe the knives.

Many years later Jack took the knives to be sharpened, and was rewarded with the admiration of the sharpener. He told Jack that he had never seen these by now discontinued knives in such good condition. I couldn’t help remembering Sam and the incentive he had given me to be sure that the knives were always dried.

Then Jeremiah said to the family of the Rekabites, “This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: ‘You have obeyed the command of your forefather Jehonadab and have followed all his instructions and have done everything he ordered. Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel says: Jehonadab son of Rekab will never fail to have a descendant to serve me.”

(Jeremiah 35:18-19)

For more than two centuries, the Rekabites had refrained from drinking wine, living in houses, sowing seed, or planting vineyards, all because their ancestor Jehonadab had said that they should refrain from these things. They were a people who believed in the Hebrew God, but were not descended from Jacob (Israel). God held them in high esteem purely for their faithfulness to their ancestor. It was their perseverance that won them God’s approval and His promise at a time when all of Israel was facing Nebuchadnezzar’s armies. Jehonadab had said to his family, “You must never drink wine. . . . then you will live a long time in the land where you are nomads.” Then Jeremiah offered them wine in the Temple in Jerusalem, and they refused. (Jeremiah 35:6-7) They were not the “Chosen People”, but, unlike the Israelites at that time, they had kept faith, albeit with their ancestor. I believe that the spirit of obedience is precious in the eyes of God. It is a spirit of willing connection with another. The Rekabites followed their ancestor exactly as God desired to be followed by His people.

I was embarrassed to know that I had left wet knives by the sink, and had to be reproved for it by Sam, but it was a joy to remember every time to be sure to wash and dry them thoroughly because they were worth it. I still use those knives and I’m still grateful to Sam.

Love in Him,

Prue