The “Seven Promises of a Promise Keeper” were popular among Christian men in the 1990s. Gathered in large stadiums across the United States, enthusiastic brothers in Christ promised to honor the Lord, practice sexual purity, love their wives, nurture their children, pray for their pastors, confront racial prejudice, and reach the lost. Those were life-changing days for many. The “PK” movement could have featured the “Rechabites” of Jeremiah 35 on their promotional materials, because these were some of the most faithful promise keepers ever. The “Rechabites” were a tribe of nomads who sojourned throughout northern Israel in the days of the divided Kingdom. When roving bands of Babylonians started pillaging the Middle East, the Rechabites wisely fled to Jerusalem for safety (v 11). At God’s direction, Jeremiah reached out to them, inviting their whole community to a party at the temple. It was a thoughtful gesture, no doubt making them feel welcome in their new neighborhood. But when the guests of honor arrived at the reception, things got rather awkward in a hurry. Apparently the invitations didn’t mention that this was going to be a cocktail hour. Jeremiah didn’t serve a tasty dessert or a meat and cheese tray. Just wine, and lots of it. Placing full pitchers before them, the prophet turned out to be a rather direct host. “Drink wine,” he said (v 1-5). But the Rechabites were just as direct in their reply. “We will drink no wine,” they said, “for Jonadab, the son of Rechab, our father, commanded us, ‘You shall not drink wine, neither you nor your sons forever’” (v 6). Like Jews who took the Nazirite vow (Num 6:1-3), and like John the Baptist who was never to take wine (Luke 1:15), the Rechabites are some of the Bible’s most famous teetotalers. But that's not all. These radical folks also shunned the settled life of farms and vineyards for the simplicities of tents and flocks (v 6-10). The amazing thing is that the Rechabites had kept their promises for so long. Jonadab was a devoted follower of the LORD during the days of Elijah (2 Kings 10:15-17). Yet out of respect for his word, the descendants of Jonadab were still meticulously maintaining the family traditions, 250 years after his death! Alcoholic beverages are not forbidden in Scripture, though drunkenness is sin, and there may be good reasons for some Christians to not drink at all. But what God applauds about the Rechabites is their listening skills. “Why do My sons and daughters pay no attention to My commands, or obey Me, though I speak to them nearly every day?” That’s what God wants to know (v 12-19). For further meditation: