“Pressured to Conform”

Jeremiah 35

Quest for Best - resisting the pressure to conform


INTRODUCTION:

A blue-blooded lady of the local Garden Club had done some studies on her family tree. She was horrified to discover a distant relative had been a cattle thief - caught & hanged; she was also distressed because another relative out of her past was a murderer - captured, tried, electrocuted. Being a lady of prestige and social standing, she couldn’t admit to having unsavory characters like that in her background. She became creative in her Garden Club presentation. When she came to the account of the cattle thief, she simply said, “this relative died during a public ceremony when the platform on which he was standing gave way!” When she came to the murderer, she said, “he occupied the chair of applied electricity at one of the great public institutions of our land - he died in the harness.”

Another lady also comes to mind - Sidney Biddle Barrows. Her autobiography is titled Mayflower Madam, and in it she described herself as a lady of quality, an elite entrepreneur. I'm reluctant to use the term that really describes her life. Both of these accounts illustrate tremendous pressure people feel to conform - to fit in with social/cultural norms.

WE have all felt this kind of pressure - clothes, cars, homes, work performance, social activities, etc. This pressure to conform is not new, it is as old as humanity. Jeremiah deals with a dramatic parable along these lines because he knows that God knows we could never achieve our best if we were conditioned to conform with what is current with the crowd. Living at our best will mean resisting the pressure to conform to the world.

In communicating his dramatic parable, Jeremiah introduces us to some people. These people become the acted-out parable. We want to understand the pressure they feel and come to grips with the point of the parable.

Our outline - 1) people 2) parable a) pressure b) point

I. People - Recabites
1) descendants of Jonadab (period of Jehu - 2Kings 10 Elijah and King Ahab) Baal worshippers massacred 250 years previous.
2)nomadic people - metal smiths - nature of their work - traveled from area to area - ore & fuel - fix your javelin/chariot - natural resources expired/moved - trade required skill & practice - had a monopoly of sorts.
3) vs. 11 Now is Jerusalem because not safe any longer in country side. Babylonian invasion/Palestine - marauding enemies. Recabites sought refuge in Jerusalem!
4) different way of life - they were stared at, gawked at, gossiped about - perfect candidates for dramatic parable.

II. Parable
1) begins at God’s direction vs. 1-2
2) Jeremiah makes all the preparations vs. 3-5
a. gathers family of Recabites
b. takes them to temple
c. room of sons of Hanan open to all spectators
d. pours wine and offers/commands them to drink
3) what are Recabites to do??
open view of many people
famous man of God, Jeremiah, has shown great hospitality (their host has tremendous spiritual prestige)
how can they refuse without seeming impolite? food and drink becoming a pressure.
may have already felt some guilt about coming into Jerusalem.


III. Pressure is very strong
for you see, the Recabites don’t/didn’t drink wine
1) nature of their work - secrets of their trade needed to be protected. Anyone intoxicated - telling their secrets could jeopardize entire clan! Therefore, Jonadab - ancestor - commanded “you must never drink wine”
Therefore, these descendants - 250 years later - must refuse even the famous Jeremiah.
Their devotion to their ancestor makes them distinctive - lived not on basis of what was common/natural/characteristic of their day, but rather on basis of an ancient command!
Neither the hospitality of Jeremiah nor the customs of a city providing sanctuary could distract them from the fact that they were a commanded people - a disciplined people. Jonadab’s 250 year old command carried more weight than Jeremiah’s present friendship!! So they refused to drink the wine.

Thus far - peculiar people participating in a parable - feeling great pressure along the way brings us to the point.


IV. The Point of the Acted Parable
Living a Life of Distinction is possible - even in our world!
Recabites were not afraid to not conform.
Recabites were not afraid of being different.
They lived on the basis of personal command, not what was the current trend/fad.
They lived persistently a distinctive way of life.

You’ve known people like this - some of us are even this way!

Matt Lux - Drexel, Burnham, Lambert - tops in his Dallas office - 2 years in a row - Chevy/BMW - in Dallas - Distinctive! Parking garage, lived distinctively

Ken Jordan - electrical engineer -patent - became millionaire - house, cars, plane (Waco for dinner) lost it all. Unemployed for 3 years. Broken by God - one of the most godly men I know. Has learned/demonstrates it is important to inquire of God about decisions to be made.

John and Melanie Kittrel - Joseph Bailey Psalms of My Life their son Wink - Huntsville - Texas Prison System - couldn’t just say no to drugs. Couldn’t resist the pressure to conform. Caught - came to the Lord in prison, making a difference there.

How do we live distinctly? uniquely?

1) Return to the simple things that have made people godly thru the centuries -
regular worship, faithful prayer, tithing, concern for the poor,
morality, Truth
We have added to our incomes, rooms to our houses, activities to our schedule, appointments to our calendars and the quality of our life diminishes with each addition.

2) Evaluate carefully propaganda coming our way
Best part of waking up is Folgers in our cup?
Heartbeat of America really Chivvy truck?
Fat people are losers? Minorities are inferior?
Elderly dispensable? Single people incomplete? Disabled not whole?
Let God and His Word determine our values - let Him shape our behavior. Let Him direct our life.

The Recabites lived distinctively among the average of their day. How would God lead you this week in living less average and more distinctively for Him?


DISCLAIMER: These messages are offered for your personal enrichment. There is no legal copyright on this material. You have my full permission to use any of this material as long as you cite the source for any substantial amount used. Enjoy!