Neville Goddard on Jeremiah 35:7-11 - Mystical Bible Interpretation

Read Jeremiah 35 in context

Scripture Focus

7Neither shall ye build house, nor sow seed, nor plant vineyard, nor have any: but all your days ye shall dwell in tents; that ye may live many days in the land where ye be strangers.

8Thus 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;

9Nor to build houses for us to dwell in: neither have we vineyard, nor field, nor seed:

10But we have dwelt in tents, and have obeyed, and done according to all that Jonadab our father commanded us.

11But it came to pass, when Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon came up into the land, that we said, Come, and let us go to Jerusalem for fear of the army of the Chaldeans, and for fear of the army of the Syrians: so we dwell at Jerusalem.

Jeremiah 35:7-11

Biblical Context

Jeremiah 35:7-11 contrasts Jonadab's vow to live in tents with obedience to his commands and the later fear-driven move to Jerusalem; the passage highlights remaining faithful to an inner order despite changing outward conditions.

Neville's Inner Vision

Picture the Jonadab vow as the inner directive of your I AM— a deliberate decision to dwell in a tent of awareness rather than to plant in the external garden of appearances. The people’s obedience to not drink wine or build houses is not a ritual; it is a discipline of mental allegiance— you keep your attention free from the seductions of fixed identity and external security, staying mobile in consciousness. When Nebuchadrezzar’s army arises, the mind fears and runs to a city of thought—Jerusalem as a symbol of settled security. Yet the true city is inner and unshaken, a present tense I AM that does not depend on outer circumstances. The exile lasts only as long as you resist the conviction that you must abandon the tent; your return is the moment you remember you are always dwelling in the land where you are strangers, yet perfectly at home in awareness. Stay faithful to the inner vow, and the outward upheaval becomes a signpost pointing you inward, where real permanence resides.

Practice This Now

Imaginative Act: Sit, calm, and affirm, 'I am the I AM, dwelling in the tent of awareness, unchanged by outward appearances.' Feel the truth by imagining you already reside in your inner Jerusalem, safe and faithful to your inner vow for a full minute.