What is the legacy you leave in your family?
Everyone wants to leave something behind. We crave for our lives to mean something beyond our own time and place. And a lot of us find that meaning appropriately in our families. In a recent Pew Survey, 99% of Americans said spending time with family was important, with 73% saying it was one of the most important things to them. That compared with only 32% who would say that about practicing their religious faith and about 23% who said that about their careers. We know family is important, but how do we make it important?
We measure a family by its business and its busyness for a short span of years. Are our kids active enough? Are they succeeding in school? Are we respected in our community? How do people talk about us around town? Have we climbed the social ladder? Are we amassing wealth? All of these can seem like a family focus, but all of them are short-lived in comparison to the alternative I want to show. When we talk about meaning and legacy in a family, God sees something longer and larger.
David writes in Psalm 71:17–18, “O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.”
The psalmist thanks God for the legacy of faith that had been handed to him as a child, and he prays to God for enough years to hand off that faith to another generation. Faith is the true and lasting legacy. However, I think you miss a little of the power of this psalm in our English text, and also in the Hebrew text for that matter. The psalms, long before they were English, were written in Hebrew, and then a couple of centuries before the time of Christ, they were translated in a Greek version. In the Greek text of this psalm, the compilers included a very specific inscription: “By David, a Psalm sung by the sons of Jonadab, and the first that were taken captive.” It is not unusual to see a psalm attributed to David, but you will be rewarded for your curiosity if you ask about the sons of Jonadab. Who were these people and why are they famous for singing this psalm? The inscription mentions that they were some of the first to be taken captive, referencing the great exile that took place around 586 BC when the Babylonians sacked Jerusalem.
To understand that inscription, we need to go back in time about fourteen years before that.
The year is about 600 BC …
Jeremiah the prophet is in Judah at this time, and he is trying to express to the people of Judah that God’s judgment has fallen on them at last. They have been faithless, and in the coming years, God will use the Babylonians as his instrument of justice against them. Throughout his ministry, God has given Jeremiah a variety of illustrations and symbols to help explain the situation to Judah, and in chapter 35, he offers a very peculiar object lesson.
“Go to the house of the Rechabites and speak with them and bring them to the house of the Lord, into one of the chambers; then offer them wine to drink” (Jeremiah 35:2). The Rechabites are an obscure nomadic family from Samaria who had been seen in recent days around the lands of Judah. Elsewhere, the Bible tells us that “these are the Kenites who came from Hammath, the father of the house of Rechab” (1 Chronicles 2:55b). That may not mean much to you at this point, but took it away for later. At this time, the nomads had come south to Judah due to the ongoing invasion by the Babylonians that was making their way south. They are not only nomads; they are also refugees. God instructs Jeremiah to invite them into one of the chambers of the temple complex and offer them hospitality, specifically in the form of celebratory wine. Jeremiah doesn’t know where this story is going, but he obeys.
”Then I set before the Rechabites pitchers full of wine, and cups, and I said to them, “Drink wine” (Jeremiah 35:5). To be clear, Jeremiah is not asking the Rechabites to do anything immoral. He is not inviting them to a bar for a drink. A prophet of God by divine command is inviting weary travelers into the temple itself to share win with him. There is nothing sinister in this offer, only hospitality. Any yet, the Rechabites refuse the wine.
But they answered, “We will drink no wine, for Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever.’” (Jeremiah 35:6) Imagine being Jeremiah. You’ve been asked to extend generous hospitality to a group of otherwise unknown refugees in the temple itself, and they have the audacity to refuse.
Why does a nomadic family refuse free hospitality offered to them by a prophet in the temple? They had had a family tradition that was based on an oath taken by their ancestor Jonadab. As part of their tradition, they didn’t drink wine. It turns out, this isn’t even the strangest thing about them. They continue to explain themselves in the following verses. Their ancestor Jonadab had also left them instructions about being nomadic. ‘You shall not build a house; you shall not sow seed; you shall not plant or have a vineyard; but you shall live in tents all your days, that you may live many days in the land where you sojourn’ (Jeremiah 35:7). Turns out their entire nomadic way of life is based on the same principle. Why?
“We have obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab, our father, in all that he commanded us, to drink no wine all our days, ourselves, our wives, our sons, or our daughters, and not to build houses to dwell in. We have no vineyard or field or seed, but we have lived in tents and have obeyed and done all that Jonadab our father commanded us” (Jeremiah 35:8-10). The Rechabites were following the tradition of their forefather, Jonadab, who had sworn some kind of oath or vow and left behind a set of instructions that his family had kept. As a result, they consider being faithful to this command more important than putting down roots or amassing wealth. Why? How did this come about? By the time Jeremiah meets these people, the answer is at least two hundred years old.
The year is about 840 BC …
The wicked dynasty of King Ahab in Israel and his cruel wife Jezebel is about to meet its end. God sends a prophet to a young military commander named Jehu, the son of Jehoshaphat, son of Nimshi. The prophet approaches Jehu with these words:
“Thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, I anoint you king over the people of the Lord, over Israel. And you shall strike down the house of Ahab your master, so that I may avenge on Jezebel the blood of my servants the prophets, and the blood of all the servants of the Lord” (2 Kings 9:6–7). Jehu given the task of driving out all the worshippers of Baal, including the priests, the king, the queen, their children, and all their armies. It’s a big job, and the young man is going to need some help from people of a great faith and courage. As he travels through Samaria, he most finds enemies rather than allies, until he stumbles upon one peculiar man.
“And when he departed from there, he met Jehonadab the son of Rechab coming to meet him. And he greeted him and said to him, “Is your heart true to my heart as mine is to yours?” And Jehonadab answered, “It is.” Jehu said, “If it is, give me your hand.” So he gave him his hand. And Jehu took him up with him into the chariot” (2 Kings 10:15). Jehu meets a random stranger on a random road and asks him if he wants to be friends. Jehonadab says, sure! And what has he signed up for exactly?
And he said, “Come with me, and see my zeal for the Lord.” So he had him ride in his chariot. And when he came to Samaria, he struck down all who remained to Ahab in Samaria, till he had wiped them out, according to the word of the Lord that he spoke to Elijah” (2 Kings 10:16–17). Johanadab got wrapped up in Jehu’s war against the pagans by being a decent person wandering around Samaria. We get no further details, but apparently, Johanadab pledges his family’s loyalty to the cause. They became zealots. They took a vow of purity that prohibited wine and refused to be part of the culture. They roamed the hills as nomads for the next 200 years.
This of course raises another question. Why is a guy like Johanadab wandering around Samaria? What is he doing there? Why is he willing to support Jehu so quickly? Where does he come from. By the time Johanadab got into Jehu’s chariot, the answer is at least three hundred years old.
The year is about 1200 BC …
For twenty long years, the people of Israel had been oppressed by King Jabin of Canaan. Jabin’s armies crushed all opposition. They were led by a brilliant general named Sisera who fielded 900 chariots of iron. God summoned the prophetess Deborah to guide Barak against Sisera and free the people of Israel. A battle was fought at the base of Mount Tabor, and God routed the forces of Sisera. The general himself fled. The text reads, “And Barak pursued the chariots and the army to Harosheth-hagoyim, and all the army of Sisera fell by the edge of the sword; not a man was left. But Sisera fled away on foot to the tent of Jael, the wife of Heber the Kenite, for there was peace between Jabin the king of Hazor and the house of Heber the Kenite” (Judges 4:16–17).
And so, believing himself to be safe in the tent of an allied family, Sisera accepts the hospitality of the Kenites and takes a nap. What he doesn’t know is that these aren’t regular Kenites. This family of Kenites had separated themselves from the others. The text reads, ”Now Heber the Kenite had separated from the Kenites, the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses, and had pitched his tent as far away as the oak in Zaanannim, which is near Kedesh” (Judges 4:11). This family of Kenites is different from the rest. These Kenites remember their heritage. They still think of themselves as the descendants of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses. While some of the Kenites made peace with the Canaanite oppressors, this family could not. They separated themselves out and lived a nomadic life separate from the others. When Sisera arrives at their tent, he thinks he has found allies, but he has found the opposite. Jael the wife of Heber the Kenite the descendant of Hobab the father-in-law of Moses killed Sisera in his sleep and handed his body over to Deborah and Barak.
But why is this family of nomads living in this region to begin with? Why does it matter to them that they are Kenites and the descendants of Hobab. By the time that Jael drives a tent peg through the temple of Sisera, the answer is about one hundred and fifty years old.
The year is about 1350 BC …
The long years of the conquest are coming to an end with just a few remaining loose ends to wrap up. The great general Joshua, successor to Moses himself, has died, but a few lands remain to be claimed as part of the promises of God. In particular, the southlands are still under the control of the pagans. A Canaanite fortress city named sat on a defensible hill. The people there were named the Jebusites, and the city named Jebu. In years to come, this mighty city would have another name – Jerusalem.
The text of Judges begins, After the death of Joshua, the people of Israel inquired of the Lord, “Who shall go up first for us against the Canaanites, to fight against them?” The Lord said, “Judah shall go up; behold, I have given the land into his hand” (Judges 1:1–2). The tribe of Judah would go to war, but they would not go alone. They looked for allies, just as King Jehu would so many years latter, and not surprisingly, they found the same family of nomads to be willing allies.
”And the descendants of the Kenite, Moses’ father-in-law, went up with the people of Judah from the city of palms into the wilderness of Judah, which lies in the Negeb near Arad, and they went and settled with the people” (Judges 1:16). While others waivered, the Kenites volunteer their assistance to Judah in their war. The war doesn’t go particularly well, but the Kenites did their part. It would be many years before Jerusalem finally comes under full control, but much of the land becomes inhabited by Judah and their new nomadic friends the Kenites.
Why are the Kenites traveling around with the Hebrews anyway? Why are the willing to volunteer in someone else’s war? Before Judah ever marched against the Jebusites, the story of the Kenites is already another hundred years old.
The year is about 1450 BC …
The ten plagues are over and the Red Sea crossing is a fresh memory. Israel has come to Sinai to meet their God. Moses returned from the mountaintop with the Law and instructions for their next journey. On this day, the former slaves known as the Hebrews are packing up and preparing to leave, beginning a long journey to Canaan. Moses takes time out of his preparations to speak to one family in particular.
And Moses said to Hobab the son of Reuel the Midianite, Moses’ father-in-law, “We are setting out for the place of which the Lord said, ‘I will give it to you.’ Come with us, and we will do good to you, for the Lord has promised good to Israel.” (Numbers 10:29) The Midianites are not actually part of the family of the Hebrew people, but they are part of the family that Moses created in his travels, and he does not want them left behind. However, Reuel is uncertain about this offer.
But he said to him, “I will not go. I will depart to my own land and to my kindred.” (Numbers 10:30). Reuel knows who his family is and where he belongs. In his mind, his legacy is right here. This whole story of Moses, the Hebrews, and the Egyptians has just been an interruption of his family story. Moses has other ideas.
And he said, “Please do not leave us, for you know where we should camp in the wilderness, and you will serve as eyes for us. And if you do go with us, whatever good the Lord will do to us, the same will we do to you.” (Numbers 10:29–32)
Moses knows that God has something great planned for the Hebrews, and he does not want Hobab to miss out. He wants to connect Hobab’s story to the story of Israel, and he won’t take no for an answer. Why does Moses insist that the Midianite descendants of his father-in-law travel with them away from Sinai? The answer is about thirty years old.
The year is about 1480 BC …
A Hebrew baby had been adopted into the family of Pharaoh in Egypt, but he had never stopped caring for his people, the Hebrew slaves. One day he saw a slave being mistreated and fought the man doing it. An Egyptian had died that day, and Moses was to blame. Pharaoh put a death sentence on Moses, and so Moses fled out into the desert of Midian. Alone and despondent, he say down next to a well. An unlikely event happened at the well, recorded in Exodus.
“Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock. The shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and saved them, and watered their flock” (Exodus 2:16–17). Moses is a hero by nature it seems and he just can’t help himself. He rescues some damsels in distress, and those women go home and report to their father, Reuel. Reuel responds with hospitality.
When they came home to their father Reuel, he said, “How is it that you have come home so soon today?” They said, “An Egyptian delivered us out of the hand of the shepherds and even drew water for us and watered the flock.” He said to his daughters, “Then where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.” And Moses was content to dwell with the man, and he gave Moses his daughter Zipporah. She gave birth to a son, and he called his name Gershom, for he said, “I have been a sojourner in a foreign land.” (Exodus 2:18–22) The hero of the well was welcomed into the family of Reuel and their stories became intertwined that day, never to be separated.
What is the point of all this?! Reuel took in a lost young man wandering in the desert, and he made Moses part of his family. About thirty years later, that same wanderer was the leader of a great people and the prophet of God. Moses returns the favor to Reuel by inviting his people to follow along with God’s story for the Hebrews. A century after that, the family of Reuel, called the Kenites, is there to be an ally when Judah goes to war against the Canaanites. Then 150 years after that, the same clan of families is there to help deliver the people of Israel from Sisera. Over 300 years later, the descendants of that same family is roaming around Samaria when King Jehu is looking for allies against the wickedness of Ahab and Jezebel. Johanadab steps up into Jehu’s chariot and once more is a faithful part of the story. And two hundred years after that, the same family is sitting in a chamber of the temple, refusing a prophets wine because partaking of wine wasn’t what their forefathers had taught them. God points to this family, and says to Jeremiah, “That is what I mean by faithfulness. That is what a legacy looks like.”
Then the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah: “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Go and say to the people of Judah and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, Will you not receive instruction and listen to my words? declares the Lord. The command that Jonadab the son of Rechab gave to his sons, to drink no wine, has been kept, and they drink none to this day, for they have obeyed their father’s command. I have spoken to you persistently, but you have not listened to me. (Jeremiah 35:12–14)
God is using this family’s story as a model of faithfulness. The families of Judah had been prosperous, but the family of Jonadab had been faithful. Their family was a living testament to long reaching effects of faith, loyalty, and even kindness. God promises doom to Judah because of its faithless ways, but he has a different promise to the family of Jonadab the Rechabite.
But to the house of the Rechabites Jeremiah said, “Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Because you have obeyed the command of Jonadab your father and kept all his precepts and done all that he commanded you, therefore thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: Jonadab the son of Rechab shall never lack a man to stand before me.” (Jeremiah 35:18–19)
The story of faithlessness was coming to an end, but God promises that the story of faith would never be over. And the story didn’t end there. The Rechabites – unprotected nomads – were some of the first people captured and exiled by the Babylonians just thirty years later. But their story wasn’t over. It picks up again, after 150 years.
The year is 445 BC …
By the providential hand of God, the people of Judah are permitted to return to Jerusalem. Nehemiah begins a rebuilding project.
Then I said to them, “You see the trouble we are in, how Jerusalem lies in ruins with its gates burned. Come, let us build the wall of Jerusalem, that we may no longer suffer derision.” (Nehemiah 2:17)
Nehemiah records that there were many who opposed the project. At one point, the text says they had to build with one hand while they fought with the other just to build the wall around Jerusalem. But who would you guess was there, again, taking their place faithfully in that story?
Malchijah the son of Rechab, ruler of the district of Beth-haccherem, repaired the Dung Gate. He rebuilt it and set its doors, its bolts, and its bars. (Nehemiah 3:14)
The Rechabites were there again, doing their part, filling a small role in a big story like they had been doing for one thousand years.
What is the legacy you leave in your family? We want to leave something that will last, but all the options we choose are so small and so fleeting. Faith lasts. While Nehemiah was building the walls, scribes like Ezra were compiling the Psalms. In those psalms, we see devotion to a true legacy. Walls and cities would come and go, but faith could endure through it all.
”O God, from my youth you have taught me, and I still proclaim your wondrous deeds. So even to old age and gray hairs, O God, do not forsake me, until I proclaim your might to another generation, your power to all those to come.” (Psalm 71:17–18).
May I ask you to travel through time one more time with me?
The year is about 250 BC …
It has been twelve hundred year’s since Hobab’s family followed Moses to Canaan. It’s been eleven hundred years since they helped Judah settle around Jerusalem. It’s been a thousand years since Jael the Kenite killed Sisera. It’s been six hundred years since Jonadab the Kenite got into Jehu’s chariot. It’s been three hundred and fifty years since Jonadab’s descendants refused Jeremiah’s wine. It’s been over three hundred years since they went into captivity, and it’s been two hundred years since the sons of Jonadab helped Nehemiah rebuild the wall.
The Jewish people are for the moment flourishing and relatively safe. They have been commissioned to translate their holy scriptures from Hebrew into Greek so that the larger world and culture can read them. A scribe sets down and translates Psalm 71, a psalm about sharing faith from one generation to another. He thinks to himself, “I remember who used to sing that song.” And so he pens a simple inscription: “By David, a Psalm sung by the sons of Jonadab, and the first that were taken captive.”
That is what a legacy looks like. It doesn’t come from business or busyness. It comes from playing a small part in God’s long story, a long obedience in the same direction.
Let faith be your legacy.