Jeremiah 35:10 is the Rechabites’ own report of how they have lived. They have not built houses, planted vineyards, or grown crops, and they have kept to the tent life their ancestor Jonadab required, and they state that they have done so faithfully. The verse is spoken by the Rechabite men, a family of nomads, as they answer the prophet Jeremiah in the temple courts of Jerusalem.
But we have lived in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.
Jeremiah 35:10 (WEB)
What Jeremiah 35:10 Means
The verse begins with “but we have lived in tents,” which is a plain description of daily life. The Rechabites rejected settled farming and town dwelling, choosing a portable way of living that kept them moving and dependent on flocks and simple means. Their identity was shaped by a rule given generations earlier, and the tent was the visible sign of that rule.
The phrase “and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us” carries the heart of the statement. Obedience here is not a one-time act but a long pattern handed down through a family. The Rechabites are emphasizing that they have not picked and chosen; they have kept the whole command, including the refusal of wine and houses.
The verse does not promise anything to the reader. It is a testimony, not a guarantee. It shows what faithfulness to a family rule looked like for these people, and it sets up the contrast the prophet is about to draw with the people of Judah, who had not listened to God’s words.
The Context of Jeremiah 35:10
The book of Jeremiah is traditionally attributed to the prophet Jeremiah, who ministered in Jerusalem in the years before the Babylonian exile, roughly the late seventh and early sixth centuries before Christ. This chapter records an event set during the reign of Jehoiakim. The Rechabites had come into Jerusalem because of the Babylonian army, and God instructed Jeremiah to bring them into a chamber of the temple and offer them wine. They refused, and their refusal is the setting for verse 10.
Just before the verse, the Rechabites recall Jonadab’s command in full (verses 7 to 9), and just after, they explain why they have come to Jerusalem (verse 11). The verse therefore sits at the center of their defense of their way of life. Read with its surroundings, it shows that their faithfulness was consistent and public, which is exactly why God uses them to rebuke a people who would not listen.
Key Phrases in Jeremiah 35:10
Deuteronomy 6:6-7
6 These words, which I command you today, shall be on your heart; 7 and you shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise up.
(WEB)
These verses describe God’s words being kept in the heart and passed on to children through daily life. They show the same pattern of inherited faithfulness that the Rechabites display in Jeremiah 35:10.
Ephesians 6:1-3
1 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. 2 “Honor your father and mother,” which is the first commandment with a promise: 3 “that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth.”
(WEB)
Paul calls children to honor their parents, which lines up with the Rechabites’ respect for Jonadab’s command. The passage treats family instruction as something worth keeping and reminds the reader that obedience within a household reflects God’s own order.
A Short Prayer From Jeremiah 35:10
Lord, you see how easily I start well and then drift when the cost grows. Thank you for the examples of people who kept their word across years, even when others did not understand them. Help me to take seriously the commitments I have made to you and to those who taught me the way of faith. Where I have been careless, forgive me, and where I have been steady, let that steadiness come from your strength rather than my own. Teach me to be faithful in the ordinary days as well as the visible ones. Amen.
