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;
Ver. 8. Thus have we obeyed the voice of Jonadab.] Obedience to parents, in things not unlawful, is very commendable. Aristotle saith, a It is not good for a man to dissent from the gods, from his father, and from his teacher. We read of a king of Poland who carried the picture of his father in a plate of gold about his neck, and when he was going about any great business, he would kiss that picture and say, God grant I may observe my father's charge, and do nothing unworthy of him, &c.
We, our wives, our sons, and our daughters.] As themselves were obedient to their father, so had they their children obedient to them, whereas ill children are punished in their posterity. One complained that never father had so undutiful a child as he had. Yes, said his son, with less grace than truth, my grandfather had. b
a Mη καλον κρινειν εναντια τοις θεοις, πατρι και διδασκαλω. - Ar. Rhet.
b Fuller's Holy State.