Adam Clarke's Bible Commentary Verse 2. The house of the Rechabites] The Rechabites were not descendants of Jacob; they were Kenites, 1 Chron. ii. 55, a people originally settled in that part of Arabia Petraea, called the land of Midian; and most probably the descendants of Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses.
Compare Num. x. 29-32, with Judg. i. 16; iv. 11.
Those mentioned here seem to have been a tribe of Nomades or Scenite Arabs, who fed their flockss in the deserts of Judea; they preserved the simple manners of their ancestors, considering the life of the inhabitants of cities and large towns as the death of liberty; believing that they would dishonour themselves by using that sort of food that would oblige them to live a sedentary life. Jonadab, one of their ancestors, had required his children and descendants to abide faithful to the customs of their forefathers; to continue to live in tents, and to nourish themselves on the produce of their flocks; to abstain from the cultivation of the ground, and from that particularly of the vine and its produce. His descendants religiously observed this rule, till the time when the armies of the Chaldeans had entered Judea; when, to preserve their lives, they retired within the walls of Jerusalem. But even there we find, from the account in this chapter, they did not quit their frugal manner of life: but most scrupulously observed the law of Jonadab their ancestor, and probably of this family.
When the children of Hobab, or Jethro, the father-in-law of Moses, were invited by him to accompany them in their journeying to the Promised Land, it is very likely that they continued their ancient usages, and lived a patriarchal life. Their property, consisting in nothing but their cattle and tents, was easily removable from place to place; and their manner of living was not likely to excite the envy or jealousy of those who had learnt to relish the luxuries of life; and therefore we may naturally conclude that as they were enemies to none, so they had no enemies themselves. Nature has few wants. Most of those which we feel are factitious; and howsoever what we call civilization may furnish us with the conveniences and comforts of life, let us not deceive ourselves by supposing that these very things do not create the very wants which they are called in to supply; and most certainly do not contribute to the comfort of life, when the term of life is considerably abridged by their use. But it is time to return to the case of the Rechabites before us.
Matthew Henry Commentary
- Zedekiah's death at Babylon foretold. (Jer. 34:1-7) The Jews reprove for compelling their poor brethren to return to unlawful bondage. (Jer 34:8-22)
Jer. 34:1-7 Zedekiah is told that the city shall be taken, and that he shall die a captive, but he shall die a natural death. It is better to live and die penitent in a prison, than to live and die impenitent in palace.
Jer. 34:8-22 A Jew should not be held in servitude above seven years This law they and their fathers had broken. And when there was some hope that the siege was raised, they forced the servants they ha released into their services again. Those who think to cheat God be dissembled repentance and partial reformation, put the greatest chea upon their own souls. This shows that liberty to sin, is really onl liberty to have the sorest judgments. It is just with God to disappoin expectations of mercy, when we disappoint the expectations of duty. An when reformation springs only from terror, it is seldom lasting. Solem vows thus entered into, profane the ordinances of God; and the mos forward to bind themselves by appeals to God, are commonly most read to break them. Let us look to our hearts, that our repentance may be real, and take care that the law of God regulates our conduct _________________________________________________
Original Hebrew הלוך1980 אל413 בית1004 הרכבים7397 ודברת1696 אותם853 והבאותם935 בית1004 יהוה3068 אל413 אחת259 הלשׁכות3957 והשׁקית8248 אותם853 יין׃3196
