Last Updated on June 26, 2018 by OCF Communications

by Maj Dean A. Millard, USMC (Ret.)

At the home office of Officers’ Christian Fellowship, we have daily devotions where we read and discuss a portion of the Bible and then share concerns and prayer requests for ourselves and for the membership.

We recently completed the Book of Jeremiah. Most of it was pretty depressing as we saw the judgment that was to befall the people of God because of their disobedience and their disregard for His commands.

In the midst of all this bad news, in chapter 35 the Lord told Jeremiah to seek out the Recabites, a group of Jewish nomads who fled to Jerusalem to escape the Babylonian and Aramean armies. Jeremiah was told to offer them some wine to drink.

However, their forefather Jonadab son of Recab had commanded them never to drink wine, build houses, sow seed, or plant vineyards so that they would continue to be nomads and maintain their cultural heritage.

Because of this, they refused to drink the wine Jeremiah had offered them.

While drinking wine, building houses, sowing and planting vineyards are not in themselves either good or bad, the Lord commended the Recabites to Jeremiah and the people of Judah as an example of people who were faithful and obedient to what they were told.

Had the people of Judah been as faithful as the Recabites, they would have listened to the Lord and the Lord would not have had to remove them for seventy years from the land of Israel.

Remaining Faithful

To further emphasize the importance of remaining faithful and obeying the commands of the Lord, the Lord said in verse 19 of chapter 35 that Jonadab son of Recab would never fail to have a man to serve the Lord. Such a promise!

Such a legacy! I was taught in the Marine Corps to be “Always Faithful.” But I must admit that I never learned in the Marine Corps the depth of faithfulness displayed by the Recabites. I want to be that faithful!

As the Director of Finance, I am aware of my responsibility to be a proper steward of the finances God entrusts to Officers’ Christian Fellowship. Pray for me and for others in OCF who handle the finances.

Only with your faithful prayers will we continue with the Lord’s help to guard against the wiles of the Devil and be able to effectively and efficiently manage the funds the Lord entrusts to our care.