Jehonadab
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December 10, 2001 - 09:49
Jehonadab
The Greatest Dad in the Bible...
As we consider the important and absolutely necessary role of
fathers, it is incumbent upon us to consider successful dads in
the Scriptures. We find many models for consideration as well
as some poor examples among the men of the Bible. David, the sweet
song writer of Israel, described as "a man after God's own
heart," was a successful king and military leader but not
the best father. Abraham, noted as the friend of God, was a faithful
dad, but this was not his most notable achievement. Others, like
Jacob, had mixed success as fathers. Some of the stronger dads
in the Bible seem also to have been obscure and minor characters
on the pages of Scripture. Others were obedient to God in their
own times but did not always pass on their faith to their families.
A friend brought to my attention an obscure Bible character, one
I had nearly forgotten. A more than casual study of all the texts
about him suggests that Jehonadab may be "the greatest dad
in the Bible."
Jehonadab cracked the code, so to speak, on how to perpetuate
faith in his family down through the generations. As today, there
are some men who love the Lord with all their heart, mind and
soul, yet they seem to founder as fathers. What can we learn from
Jehonadab to challenge us in our role as fathers? Four primary
qualities in the life of Jehonadab that make him "the greatest
dad in the Bible."
I. Jehonadab had great zeal for the holiness of God. (2 Kings
10:15-31)
In Jehonadab we see a man who was consumed with zeal for God's
holiness among God's people. He assisted in the great reformation
begun under Elijah and concluded under Jehu. While the proper
worship of God was not completely restored, nevertheless the worship
of Baal from the Northern Kingdom was permanently purged. This
was truly a remarkable event, and Jehonadab was the principal
aid to Jehu in this endeavor. While their actions may seem extreme
by New Testament standards, Jehu and Jehonadab model the attitude
we should have toward false doctrine and religious practices that
diminishes the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Some Christians
today have become "religious inclusivists," willing
to tolerate many of the proliferating new gods and cults so long
as they may worship God freely. They say, "Let Jesus take
his place among the gods and religions of our culture just so
long as he gets equal time and respect." If Jehonadab were
here today, he would make us uncomfortable. He would not agree
with the tolerance and syncretism that is such a blight on the
modem church.
In a similar theme, Paul talked of "casting down arguments
and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge
of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience
of Christ" 2 Corinthians 10:5. We cannot learn too much from
our text (2 Kings 10) about how Jehonadab conducted his family
life, but he surely didn't have any Baal music groups on the local
radio station, nor any Baal dolls around the house. Jehonadab
and Baal didn't see eye-to-eye, and he would have opposed Baalism
seeping into his family life through the various cultural means
of his day. His children learned that old Dad didn't like the
god Baal, and his children didn't either.
II. Jehonadab believed the Word of the Lord through the prophets
(1 Kings 14:15-16; 19:15-18; 21:17-24) Jehonadab would have been
a thorough Bible student for his day. Several prophets starting
with Abijah had spoken earlier predicting the destruction of the
Northern Kingdom. Then a few years later, Elijah predicted the
complete destruction of the family of Ahab and Jezebel. Perhaps
Jehonadab was a little boy at the gathering on Mt. Carmel when
Elijah challenged the prophets of Baal in direct battle and won.
Perhaps he saw the fire of God descend and the entire gathering
fall on their faces and cry out, "The Lord, He is God!"
He would need to see such a miracle only once to know that Baal
was a defeated god Jehonadab would later finish what Elijah had
begun that day. Elijah had also prophesied that Jehu would be
king of Israel. Jehonadab was willing to risk a confrontation
with the family of Ahab and to assist Jehu because he knew the
promises of God would be fulfilled. Many people today say they
believe the word of the Lord but do not live and act accordingly.
Many Christians today live as if this world were our final destiny.
It seems that we do not take seriously biblical prophecies or
the words of our Lord Jesus when he tells us that we should "not
lay up for ourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy
and where thieves break in and steal" Matthew 6:19. Jehonadab's
obedience to God enabled his family to be equipped to survive
in difficult times.
III. Jehonadab ordered his family life around God's word. (Jeremiah
35:1-19) Jehonadab set house rules, and his family obeyed him.
He must have been a consistent and faithful worshipper of the
God of Israel. We know from Luke 6:40 that faith is more caught
than taught when it tells us, "A pupil when he has been fully
trained will be like his teacher." When we want to see how
well we are living the Christian life, take a look at our children
and grandchildren. Our personal and direct influence can extend
to the third generation by reaching and influencing our grandchildren
for Christ, but we will need a lot of gravitas to reach six generations
with the power of our faith. Our memory and testimony would have
to be strong.
So it was with Jehonadab. His children were still talking about
him 240 years later. The events of 2 Kings 10 took place around
840 BC, and the descendants of Jehonadab were awaiting the fall
of Jerusalem around 603 BC. The obedience of six generations was
based on one man's faithfulness. Those old house rules were still
in effect. God sent Jeremiah to test obedience one more time by
putting wine before them and they all refused. They were crusty,
old curmudgeons like their great-great-grandad, Jehonadab. Christians
ought to re the proper use of the word "no" before we
are all swept away by the next wave of modernity and compromise
which will surely confront us.
IV.Jehonadab set standards to preserve his family spiritually.
(Jeremiah 35:1-19) The practical application is difficult to implement,
but he set up strict guidelines. He wanted to assure that his
family could survive the changes in Israel that would inevitably
come when the nation was destroyed. He took measures thatwould
permanently set them apart. They were to live differently than
those around them. They were to maintain moral purity; hence no
wine, and they were to remain a nomadic people, building no houses
and planting no vineyards. We would say today that he was old
fashioned and behind his times. In reality, he was ahead of his
times, preparing his family for the tragedy to come upon their
nation in a few short years. Many other families didn't survive
because they had been living the "good life." Jehonadab's
clan did survive and moved on because they believed the word of
the Lord through the prophets and made necessary plans. These
were practical plans with a spiritual goal. The key ingredient
was Jehonadab 's setting his family a spiritually and morally.
He wanted them to be separated believers. What should the modern
Christian do to follow his example? When we blend in with the
culture of the world, testimony for Christ may disappear altogether.
Home schooling and Christian schooling would fit the example.
Demanding a pure and moral life for our children would be like
Jehonadab, as would teaching them to avoid worldly influences
and preferring a simple life.
We would encourage them to make their closest friends among their
families and the Body of Christ. We can tell our children that
"brothers and sisters are permanent friends" when they
are feeling lonely and wondering if their peer groups will accept
them. Personally teaching them a trade or profession insure that
they will be able to support themselves and the work of the Lord,
showing them how to stay out of debt, instructing them in the
necessary disciplines of godliness - Bible study, prayer, family
worship-would practically protect and prepare them if the culture
and society crash, as well they might, our children will be like
the children of Jehonadab, safe in tli walls of Jerusalem when
others have failed or fallen.
CONCLUSION. In Jeremiah 35:19, we see one of the most extraordinary
promises given to a father and his family in the entire Bible.
It is this text and promise that has earned Jehonadab his title
of "the greatest dad in the Bible." The text says that
the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah and rewarded the faithfulness
and obedience of Jehonadab and his descendants, saying, Jehonadab,
the son of Rechab, shall not lack a man to stand before me forever."
The new Contemporary English version says, "So I promise
that your clan will be my servants and will never die out."
This must mean that the descendants of Jehonadab still survive
and serve the Lord somewhere in our world today. Can God preserve
a family like this for such a long time? Does God bless and honor
Jehonadab's type of faith and obedience today? A little known
but classic example may be seen in the life of the Christian family
leader, Dr. James Dobson. His granddad, a godly pastor, carried
an unusually strong burden for his earthy family and spent weeks
in prayer and fasting for them. When he emerged from this time
with God, he announced that God had promised him that every one
of his children and grandchildren would faithfully serve the Lord
in full-time Christian work. He said that God had promised this
to him. Among his own children, this proved to be true. Everyone
became a pastor or missionary or married a pastor or missionary.
And so it was with the dozen grandchildren of the third generation,
all except one--James Dobson. James did not feel led into full-time
Christian work, nor did he want to become an ordained minister.
He wanted only to be a child psychologist and write books on the
family, but he, too, has not been able to escape from the faith
and obedience of his godly grandfather. It is not a remarkable
blessing how God has used this dedicated Christian layman to minister
to all the families of America and the world?
When Dr. Dobson's grandfather had a burden for his own earthly
family, God turned his concern into a blessing for many other
families. "Now unto him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly
above all we ask or think to him be the glory in the Church by
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end. Amen"
Ephesians 3:20-21.
But what about the descendants of "the greatest dad if Bible,"
Jehonadab? What ever happened to them? Well, really don't know
very much about them after the fall of Jerusalem in 586 BC. We
have only the sure promise of Jeremiah 35:19 that "Jehonadab..
.shall not lack a man to stand be me forever." Since the
Bible is true, we could speculate some of the sons of Jehonadab
returned from Babylon' Nehemiah and rebuilt the walls of Jerusalem.
Later, surely a son of Jehonadab sat on the hillside in Galilee
when Jesus fed the 5,000. Later, one of Jehonadab's descendants
gathered in the upper room when the Holy Spirit came in power
on Pentecost. We may even wonder if a son of Jehonadab worked
with St. Augustine when he wrote his great works, Confessions
The City of God. One may even have trained at Geneva with Calvin
or served John Knox in Scotland during the Reformation.
Might we not see a son of Jehonadab coming ashore , the Pilgrims
at Plymouth Rock in 1620 and 260 years later passing out the hymnbooks
at a D. L. Moody crusade in 1880? We really don't know where they
are today, but we know on authority of God's Word that there are
sons and daughters of Jehonadab, the greatest dad in the Bible,
somewhere in world, loving, worshipping and serving the Lord Jesus
Christ. What a promise! What a dad! And most of all, what a great
God and Savior!
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