Treasures From God’s Word for the Week of September 14-20, 2026

Theme: Jehovah Rewards Faithful Obedience

It is relatively easy to obey when doing so benefits us right away. The real test comes when obedience costs us something, when no one seems to be watching, or when we think we could disobey without suffering any consequences.

In Jeremiah’s day, there were two very different ways of responding to authority. On the one hand were many Jews, who obeyed Jehovah only when they desperately needed his help. On the other were the Rechabites, who remained faithful for generations to an instruction they had received from their forefather. The contrast teaches us what kind of obedience Jehovah values.

The first point is that many Jews obeyed Jehovah only when they needed his help.

Jeremiah 34:8-11

“The word that came to Jeremiah from Jehovah after King Zedekiah had made a covenant with all the people in Jerusalem to proclaim liberty to them, that everyone should free his Hebrew slaves, male and female, so that no one would keep a fellow Jew as his slave. So all the princes and all the people obeyed. They had entered into the covenant that everyone should free his male and female slaves and not keep them as slaves any longer. They obeyed and let them go. However, they later brought back the male and female slaves whom they had freed, and they again forced them back into slavery.”

Why did they change their attitude so quickly?

Jerusalem was under siege by the Babylonians. Zedekiah had rebelled against Babylon despite the counsel Jehovah had given through Jeremiah, and now the situation was desperate. The king and the princes knew that the Law required Hebrew slaves to be freed. Suddenly, when they urgently needed Jehovah’s help, they decided to obey.

They freed their slaves and seemed to have corrected their conduct.

But then something happened that exposed what was really in their hearts. The Egyptian armies headed toward Jerusalem, and the Babylonians temporarily lifted the siege. The danger seemed to have disappeared.

And what did the Jews do? They recaptured the very people they had just freed and forced them back into slavery.

Their obedience lasted exactly as long as their fear did.

They had not truly understood the spirit of the Law or developed a sincere desire to please Jehovah. They had obeyed because they needed something from him. When they thought they no longer needed his help, they went back to doing what they wanted.

This invites us to examine ourselves. Could something similar happen to us?

When we go through a serious problem, we may pray much more, study intensely, never miss meetings, and carefully analyze every decision. But when the problem disappears, do we continue to show the same determination?

True obedience does not depend on whether we are going through a crisis. Nor does it mean doing what is right only because we fear the consequences. We obey Jehovah because we love him and are convinced that his standards are always good for us.

The second point presents a striking contrast: the Rechabites adhered closely to Jehonadab’s command.

Jeremiah 35:5, 6

“Then I put cups and goblets full of wine before the men of the house of the Rechabites and said to them: ‘Drink wine.’ But they said: ‘We will not drink wine, because Jehonadab the son of Rechab, our forefather, gave us this command, “Neither you nor your sons must ever drink wine.”’”

Jehonadab had died more than two centuries earlier. Yet his descendants continued to respect his instructions.

Jehovah used that situation as a test. Jeremiah took the Rechabites to a dining room in the temple, put wine before them, and told them to drink.

Think of how they could have justified themselves. They could have said: “Jehonadab died a very long time ago.” Or: “We are inside the temple, and Jeremiah himself is offering us the wine.” They might even have thought: “It will only be this once.”

But they did not look for excuses.

Their answer was simple and firm: “We will not drink wine.”

Why is their example so impressive? Because they obeyed even when they could have found arguments for doing something else. They did not need constant supervision or an immediate threat. They had decided to respect the command they had received.

And Jehovah used their example to shame, so to speak, the Jews. If the Rechabites could remain faithful for generations to the instructions of a human forefather, how much more should Israel obey the living God, who constantly spoke to them and cared for them?

That also makes us think. Jehovah gives us instructions through his Word and through the Bible-based guidance we receive. Some fit easily with what we want to do; others may require sacrifices.

The question is: Do we look for reasons to obey or excuses not to?

Perhaps no one would find out about a certain decision. Maybe we think we could cross a moral line, consume certain entertainment, or act in a certain way without any visible consequences.

The obedience of the Rechabites reminds us that the main question is not, “Will I get caught?” but, “What does Jehovah want me to do?”

This brings us to the third point: Jehovah rewarded the Rechabites for their faithful obedience.

Jeremiah 35:18, 19

“And Jeremiah said to the household of the Rechabites: ‘This is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, says, “Because you have obeyed the order of your forefather Jehonadab and you continue to observe all his orders, doing exactly what he ordered you, this is what Jehovah of armies, the God of Israel, says: ‘There will never fail to be a descendant of Jehonadab the son of Rechab to serve in my presence.’”’”

Notice what Jehovah emphasized: “you have obeyed,” “you continue to observe,” and they were “doing exactly” what they had been commanded.

It was not an isolated act of obedience. They had shown constant faithfulness.

And Jehovah saw it.

Perhaps other people considered their way of life strange. Maybe no one expected that continuing to obey such an old instruction would bring any special reward. But Jehovah greatly valued their faithfulness.

He promised that there would always be a descendant of Jehonadab serving in his presence. And there are indications that the Rechabites survived the destruction and that their descendants were present after the exile.

This assures us of something: Jehovah never overlooks faithful obedience.

We may give up something we like because we know it would not please Jehovah. We may turn down an economic opportunity because it would seriously interfere with our service. We may uphold a Bible standard even though those around us do not understand our decision.

No one may congratulate us for it. But Jehovah sees it.

And his rewards are always greater than any temporary advantage we might gain by disobeying.

That is why the final question for this week deserves to be taken very seriously:

“Am I resolved to obey Jehovah, even if at times I feel I could avoid the consequences of disobedience?”

The Jews in Jerusalem obeyed when they were afraid, but they changed as soon as they thought the danger had passed. The Rechabites did exactly the opposite: they obeyed year after year, even though it might have seemed that they could do otherwise.

We want to imitate the Rechabites in that faithfulness. We do not want to obey only when we need something, when others are watching us, or when we fear punishment.

Let us obey because we love Jehovah, because we trust his way of doing things, and because we know that he always sees our faithfulness.

If we develop that kind of consistent obedience, we can be completely sure of one thing: Jehovah rewards faithful obedience.