Jeremiah 35:8
Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters; Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab the son of Rechab our father in all that he hath charged us, to drink no wine all our days, we, our wives, our sons, nor our daughters;
The Rechabites obeyed the voice and charge of Jonadab the son of Rechab their father, keeping his special instruction under parental authority to drink no wine all their days, they with their wives, their sons and their daughters. Their obedience extended beyond abstinence from wine to building no houses and having no vineyard, field or seed, but dwelling in tents. This course teaches frugality and temperance in all things and simplicity of manner as a far better portion in this life than the ways of the world, which God commended.
Their faithful obedience to their father's instruction stands as the Lord's contrast to the disobedience of Judah and the Jews, who refused to heed God despite special light and privileges and His words and warnings. The contrast shows that for years God had used varied means to guard His people against evils that would make it difficult and even impossible to carry on the work He had specified for them to do.