Take the girdle that thou hast bought, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
God tells Jeremiah to hide the loincloth — the belt he is wearing — in a crack of the rock by the Euphrates. Why hide a good garment, and why hide it so far from home?
The belt's own story is the message. What it went through says something about the Lord's dealings with Judah.
The belt worn and kept safely, then completely ruined, set out what the Lord had been to Judah and what He would be.
The errand is long, and it ends with nothing useful in his hands. Jeremiah goes anyway.
One day he must buy a linen belt and wear it without washing it (Jer. 13). Then God ordered him to go and hide it in a rock crevice near the Euphrates River. Jeremiah undertakes this punishing journey without arguing about it. After a long time he must return to the Euphrates and dig it up, only to find that the belt was "spoiled … good for nothing" (v. 7).
Commentators differ here. One writer weighs the objections to the trip. Another looks for a river with a similar name near the prophet's hometown.
Some think it very unlikely that Jeremiah was told to go from Jerusalem to the Euphrates to hide the belt, and then to fetch it back again. Some judge it to have been a vision only, and others that Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem) is meant instead of the Euphrates. Jeremiah may however have gone only once, and it would have been a striking lesson in obedience to the Lord to go such a long distance on such an errand.
Was this only a vision, or did the prophet actually make the long journey to the Euphrates and then repeat it after many days? Making that journey twice is quite improbable, and the command cannot be called a vision. So which river is meant? The Hebrew word for Euphrates is "Perath," and the word "river" is usually added to it. Here that word is missing. Three miles north of Anathoth there was a small river by the name of "Parah" (Joshua 18:23). This is probably the place the prophet was told to go.
Before the ruin comes the honour. A belt is worn close to the body, and the order not to wash it belongs to that picture.
THE BELT, or linen loin cloth (Jer. 13:1-11), first of all shows that the Lord had given the nation of Israel a near and intimate place in connection with Himself. Great indeed was their place of honour! They were to the Lord for "a people, a name, a praise, and a glory" (v. 11)! This was the glorious belt — Israel placed so close to the Lord. He was enough for them. That is why the prophet is told first, "Do not put it in water."
The belt also points to one particular role in Israel's worship.
A belt belonged to the priest. Israel was called to be the priestly nation. As a belt clings to the waist of a man, so the Lord had chosen Israel to cling to Him, "that they might be for Me a people," and a name and a glory.
The place named in this verse matters. Where the belt was hidden points to where the nation would go.
In one of Jeremiah's symbolic actions he hid his belt by the Euphrates, then found it spoiled and useless. So the pride of Judah and Jerusalem would be ruined (Jer. 13:4-11). It is a picture of the carrying away to Babylon of those who should have clung to the Lord for His praise, as a belt to the waist of a man.
The belt came off the man and lay by foreign waters. The nation's heart had made that move first.
Careless of their high honour, Israel constantly turned to other "waters" (see Jer. 2:18) and so became idolatrous. They forsook the Lord who was among them as a man is inside the belt he wears. So He would make the waters of Babylon their destruction, and ruin their "great pride." See in this first the Lord's thought about Israel's national distinction for His own glory, and then their terrible folly and pride. It ought to make us diligent in soul now, so that we are found clinging to the Lord in humility of mind.
- Cling — the gift. The Lord chose Israel to cling to Him as a belt clings to a man's waist, and gave them a name, a praise and a glory.
- Cling — the calling. The garment was a priest's; the nation was meant to be a priestly nation held close to God.
- Cling — unwashed. "Do not put it in water" says He was enough for them; they turned instead to other waters.
- Cling — broken. Hidden by the Euphrates, the belt pictures the removal to Babylon and the ruin of Judah's pride.
- Cling — now. Jeremiah obeyed a long, unexplained errand without arguing. The call now is the same: cling to the Lord in humility of mind.
So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as Jehovah had commanded me.
God gives Jeremiah an errand that looks pointless: take the linen loincloth he has been wearing, carry it to the Euphrates, and bury it in a crack in the rock. Verse 5 records no protest and no explanation. He went and did it. Two questions follow: where did he go, and what was God saying through the buried cloth?
One writer notes how costly the trip was, and how little Jeremiah made of the cost:
One day he must buy a linen belt and wear it without washing it (Jer. 13). Then God ordered him to go and hide it in a rock crevice near the Euphrates River. Jeremiah undertakes this harrowing journey without arguing about it. After a long time he must return to the Euphrates and dig it up, only to find that the belt was "spoiled … good for nothing" (v.7).
Commentators differ over what "the Euphrates" means here and whether Jeremiah made the trip twice. One view treats the distance itself as part of the message:
Some objectors consider it very improbable that Jeremiah would be told to go from Jerusalem to the Euphrates to hide the belt, and then again to fetch it back. Some judge it to have been a vision only, and others that Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem) is meant instead of the Euphrates. Jeremiah may however have gone but once, and it would have been a striking lesson of obedience to Jehovah to go such a long distance on such an errand.
Another writer points to a nearby place with an almost identical name:
Was this only a vision, or did the prophet really make the long journey to the Euphrates and then repeat it after many days? The second is quite improbable, and the command cannot be called a vision either. So which river is meant — the Euphrates, or another river with a similar name? The Hebrew word for Euphrates is "Perath," and the word river is generally added to this word. In the text here it is missing. Now, three miles north of Anathoth there was a small river by the name of "Parah" (Joshua 18:23). It probably means this place to which the prophet was commanded to go. Both words in the Hebrew spring from the same root.
Jeremiah wore the cloth before he buried it. Closeness is the point of the sign:
THE BELT, or loin cloth of linen (Jer. 13:1-11), first of all shows that the Lord had given the nation of Israel a near and intimate place in connection with Himself. Great indeed was their place of honour! They were to the Lord "a people, a name, a praise, and a glory" (v. 11)! This was the glorious belt—Israel placed thus near to the Lord. He was enough for them. Therefore it is said to the prophet first, "Put it not in water."
The choice of clothing carries its own meaning, tied to Israel's calling among the nations:
A belt belonged to the priest. Israel was called to be the priestly nation. As a belt clings to the waist of a man, so the Lord had chosen Israel to cling to Him, "that they might be for Me a people," a name and a glory. And as the belt had become ruined and good for nothing, so even would their pride, that in which they gloried as the chosen people, be ruined.
Hiding the cloth at a distant riverbank pictured what was coming to the nation itself:
In one of Jeremiah's symbolic actions he hid his belt by the Euphrates, and then found it spoiled and useless. In the same way the pride of Judah and Jerusalem would be ruined (Jer. 13:4-11). This was a figure of the carrying away to Babylon of those who should have clung to the Lord for His praise, as a belt clings to the waist of a man.
The same writer explains how a nation set that close to God came to ruin — and turns the sign on the reader:
Heedless of their high honour, Israel constantly turned to other "waters" (see Jer. 2:18) and, consequently, became idolatrous. They forsook the Lord who was in their midst as a man is in the midst of his belt. He therefore would cause the waters of Babylon to be their destruction, and so ruin their "great pride." See this first as the Lord's thought for Israel's national honour, meant for His own glory. Then see their awful folly and pride. It ought to make us earnest now to cling to the Lord in humility of mind.
- Clinging. The loincloth is worn tight against the body — the picture of a people God made cling to Him, to be for Him "a people, a name, a praise, and a glory."
- Carrying. Jeremiah carries that picture on a long, thankless walk and buries it, obeying without arguing about the point of the errand.
- Corrupting. Buried by a foreign river, the cloth comes back ruined; Israel turned to other waters and met the same ruin.
- Captivity. The burial spot spells out the sentence: exile to Babylon, by those same waters.
- Caution. The sign still reads today as a call to cling to the Lord in humility rather than glory in a favoured position.
And it came to pass at the end of many days, that Jehovah said unto me, Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence which I commanded thee to hide there.
Jeremiah had already worn a linen belt and hidden it in a rock crevice by the Euphrates. Now, after many days, God sends him back for it, and the sign raises three questions: why that river, why the wait, and what the ruined cloth said to Judah.
This is the third command in a chain, and Jeremiah had already obeyed the first two without asking why. One writer traces the whole sequence and its end.
To impress the Lord's message on the people more deeply, Jeremiah is led to use different pictures. One day he must buy a linen belt and wear it without washing it (Jer. 13). Then God ordered him to go and hide it in a rock crevice near the Euphrates River. Jeremiah sets out on this exhausting journey without arguing about it. After a long time he must return to the Euphrates and dig it up, only to find that the belt was "ruined ... profitable for nothing" (v.7).
Sermons were not enough; God gave His people something to watch. Such acted signs run through the prophets, and one writer places this journey alongside them.
All these were actions emblematically or typically fitted to give intimation of coming events.
Critics ask why the prophet had to travel so far. One writer answers that the Euphrates was the one place Jeremiah had every reason to visit.
Some people raise petty, childish criticisms. They question the earlier sign of the belt and the fact that Jeremiah went twice to the Euphrates. No wonder they fail to understand the sign. But if there is one place above all others that Jeremiah had many reasons to visit, it is this very one. The judgments he kept foretelling were to come from there, and the people he loved and worked for were to be prisoners there.
The ruined belt also pictured what would happen to the nation itself.
In one of Jeremiah's symbolic actions he hid his belt by the Euphrates and then found it spoiled and useless. In the same way the pride of Judah and Jerusalem would be ruined (Jer. 13:4-11). It pictures the carrying away to Babylon of people who should have clung to the Lord for His praise, as a belt clings to a man's waist.
Commentators differ on whether Jeremiah made the trip twice. Some think the distance and the repeat point to a nearer river.
Was this only a vision, or did the prophet really make the long journey to the Euphrates and then make it again after many days? The second is very unlikely, and the command cannot be called a vision either. The question is what river is meant, the river Euphrates or another river by a similar name? The Hebrew word for Euphrates is "Perath," and the word "river" is usually added to it. Here in the text that word is missing. Now, three miles north of Anathoth there was a small river by the name of "Parah" (Joshua 18:23). This is probably the place God told the prophet to go to.
Another writer allows one journey and finds the lesson in the effort itself.
Some objectors think it very unlikely that God would tell Jeremiah to go from Jerusalem to the Euphrates to hide the belt, and then send him again to fetch it back... But Jeremiah may have gone only once, and to travel such a long way on such an errand would have been a striking lesson in obedience to the Lord.
The object mattered because of where it had been worn. A belt sits closer to a man than any other garment, and that was the point.
The belt, a linen loincloth (Jer. 13:1-11), first of all shows that the Lord had given the nation of Israel a close and intimate place with Himself. Their place of honour was great indeed! They were to the Lord "a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory" (v. 11)! This was the glorious belt — Israel placed that near to the Lord. He was enough for them. That is why the prophet is told first, "Do not put it in water."
The choice of garment says more than nearness.
A belt belonged to the priest. Israel was called to be the priestly nation.
Cloth left in damp earth by a foreign river decays — and the choice of river was itself the charge against the nation.
Ignoring their high honour, Israel kept turning to other "waters" (see Jer. 2:18) and so became idolatrous. They left the Lord, who was in the middle of them as a man is in the middle of his belt. So He would make the waters of Babylon their destruction, and ruin their "great pride." ... how it ought to stir us up now to be found clinging to the Lord with a humble mind.
- Worn: the belt pictures the place God gave Israel — a people, a name, a praise, a glory — as close to Him as a belt to a man's waist.
- Hidden: God sent it to the Euphrates — the place judgment would come from, and the place the people would be carried to.
- Waited: only after many days is it dug up, and only then does the spoiled cloth speak.
- Dug up: Jeremiah obeys a long, hard errand without arguing, and the journey itself is a lesson in obedience.
- Marred: what was near to God, then left for other waters, becomes good for nothing. So cling to Him in humility.
And I went to the Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it; and behold, the girdle was spoiled, it was good for nothing.
The loincloth here is a linen belt, worn tight against the body. Jeremiah buried it by the Euphrates, and now digs it up rotted and good for nothing — a message God told him to act out rather than only speak.
The wearing and the ruin together tell Judah's story with God.
The girdle worn and kept safely, then utterly marred, set forth what Jehovah had been and what He would be to Judah.
God did not choose this object at random. A belt clings closer to a man than any other garment. It also had a place in the priesthood.
The passage explains the meaning of this symbolic action. A girdle belonged to the priest. God called Israel to be the priestly nation. A girdle clings to a man's waist. In the same way, the Lord had chosen Israel to cling to Him, "that they might be for Me a people," and a name and a glory. The girdle had become ruined and good for nothing. So too would their pride be ruined — the thing they gloried in as the chosen people.
The order not to wash the cloth belongs to the same picture.
The girdle, or linen loincloth (Jer. 13:1-11), shows first of all what the Lord had done. He had given the nation of Israel a near and intimate place with Himself. Great indeed was their place of honour! To the Lord they were "a people, a name, a praise, and a glory" (v. 11)! This was the glorious girdle — Israel set so near to the Lord. He was enough for them. So God tells the prophet first, "do not dip it in water."
A belt only spoils away from its owner. The same writer traces Israel's ruin to what they went looking for elsewhere.
Ignoring their high honour, Israel constantly turned to other "waters" (see Jer. 2:18) and so became idolatrous. They forsook the Lord, who was among them as a man is wrapped inside his girdle. So He would make the waters of Babylon their destruction, and mar their "great pride." See in this first the Lord's thought about Israel's national distinction for His own glory, and then their awful folly and pride. How it ought to stir us now to cling to the Lord in humility of mind!
The hiding place matters as much as the ruin. Jeremiah buried the cloth by the river of the empire that would soon carry his nation away.
In one of Jeremiah's symbolic actions he hid his girdle by the Euphrates, then found it spoiled and useless. So would the pride of Judah and Jerusalem be ruined (Jer. 13:4-11). It is a figure of the carrying away to Babylon of those who should have clung to the Lord for His praise, as a girdle clings to a man's waist.
Commentators differ over the journey itself. Some hold that the prophet made the long trip, and that the effort was part of the message. Others suggest a vision, or a different place with a similar name.
Some objectors think it very unlikely that God would send Jeremiah from Jerusalem to the Euphrates to hide the girdle, and then send him back again to fetch it. Some judge it to have been a vision only. Others say Ephrath (that is, Bethlehem) is meant instead of the Euphrates. Jeremiah may however have gone only once. To travel such a long distance on such an errand would have been a striking lesson of obedience to Jehovah.
One proposal rests on the Hebrew wording.
The Hebrew word for Euphrates is "Perath," and Hebrew usually adds the word "river" to it. Here that word is missing. Now, three miles north of Anathoth there was a small river named "Parah" (Joshua 18:23). It probably means this place, where God commanded the prophet to go.
- Cling. God chose the girdle because it clings to a man's body — the picture of how He had caused Israel and Judah to cling to Him.
- Honour. Their closeness was their glory: a people, a name, a praise. The command not to wash the cloth says He was enough for them.
- Drift. They turned to other waters and became idolatrous, forsaking the Lord they had clung to.
- Ruin. Away from its owner, the cloth came back good for nothing. So Judah was carried off to Babylon, its pride marred.
- Warning. The sign is aimed at us too: to be found clinging to the Lord in humility of mind, not repeating Israel's folly.
And the word of Jehovah came unto me, saying,
The word in verse 8 arrives after a strange errand: Jeremiah wore a linen belt, buried it, dug it up, and found it ruined. Nothing in the action explains itself — the sign waits for God to speak, and His words turn it into a verdict on a nation.
One writer sets out the pattern: the prophet performs the lesson, then God's own voice supplies the meaning.
And the word of Jehovah then explains this sign. "Thus says Jehovah: this is how I will ruin the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people refuse to hear My words. They follow the thoughts of their own hearts, and go after other gods to serve and worship them. They shall be like this belt, which is good for nothing."
The choice of object was not random. A belt is the one garment that holds tight to a man.
The meaning of this acted sign is explained. A belt belonged to the priest. Israel was called to be the priestly nation. As a belt clings around a man's waist, so the Lord had chosen Israel to cling to Him, "that they might be to Me for a people," and for a name and for a glory. And as the belt had become spoiled and good for nothing, so their pride — the very thing they gloried in as the chosen people — would be spoiled too.
Before it is a warning, the picture is a compliment. A man wears a belt; he does not store it away. It says something about how close God had brought this people.
THE BELT, or linen loincloth (Jer. 13:1-11), first shows that the Lord had given the nation of Israel a near and intimate place with Himself. Great indeed was their place of honour! They were to the Lord for "a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory" (v. 11)! This was the glorious belt — Israel placed so near to the Lord. He was enough for them.
So why did the belt rot? It lay far from its owner, by a foreign river — and that is what the people had done with themselves.
Israel ignored their high honour. They constantly turned to other "waters" (see Jer. 2:18) and, as a result, became idolatrous. They abandoned the Lord who was among them, as a man is inside his belt. So He would make the waters of Babylon their destruction, and ruin their "great pride."
Notice the order of events. Jeremiah carried out every step before God told him what any of it meant. The explanation in verse 8 came only after he finished the errand.
One day he must buy a linen belt and wear it without washing it (Jer. 13). Then God ordered him to go and hide it in a rock crevice near the Euphrates River. Jeremiah undertakes this harrowing journey without arguing about it. After a long time he must return to the Euphrates and dig it up. He finds the belt "ruined … good for nothing" (v. 7).
Commentators differ on the location. Some hold that Jeremiah made the long trip to the great river itself. Others point to a nearby stream with a similar name.
The Hebrew word for Euphrates is "Perath," and the word river is usually added to it. Here that word is missing. Now, three miles north of Anathoth there was a small river by the name of "Parah" (Joshua 18:23). This is probably the place God commanded the prophet to go to. Both words in the Hebrew spring from the same root.
The message delivered here did not stay a picture. What God spoke through the ruined cloth, history carried out.
Such striking signs as the belt (Jer. 13) were fulfilled exactly. Jehovah had taken up Israel for His honour. But they sought their own honour with "great pride" (v. 9), so they would be destroyed as a nation.
- Cling. The belt's whole point is closeness: as it clings to a man's waist, God had chosen Israel to cling to Him.
- Chosen. That closeness was an honour — a priestly nation, kept for His name, praise and glory.
- Corrupted. They turned to other waters, became idolatrous, and abandoned the God who was among them.
- Crushed. So God spoiled the honour they had turned into pride, and the waters of Babylon became their ruin.
- Confirmed. The sign was not theatre; the word of verse 8 explained it, and events fulfilled it exactly.
Thus saith Jehovah After this manner will I spoil the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
God tells Jeremiah to bury a linen belt by the river and then dig it up ruined. He now says He will do the same to the pride of Judah and Jerusalem — so what was that pride, and what had He given them to spoil?
The verse points back to an acted sign: what God will do to their pride is what happened to the cloth. The place chosen for the burial names the coming disaster.
In one of Jeremiah's acted signs he hid his belt by the Euphrates and then found it spoiled and useless; so the pride of Judah and Jerusalem would be marred (Jer. 13:4-11) — a picture of the carrying away to Babylon of those who should have clung to the Lord for His praise, as a belt clings to the waist of a man.
Before it was a picture of ruin, the belt was a picture of honour.
THE BELT, or linen cloth worn at the waist (Jer. 13:1-11), shows first of all that the Lord had given the nation of Israel a near and intimate place in connection with Himself. Great indeed was their place of honour! They were to the Lord "a people, a name, a praise, and a glory" (v. 11)! This was the glorious belt — Israel set so near to the Lord. He was enough for them. That is why the prophet's first instruction is, "do not dip it in water."
That nearness came with a calling.
A belt belonged to the priest. Israel was called to be the priestly nation. As a belt clings to the waist of a man, so the Lord had chosen Israel to cling to Him, "that they might be for Me a people," a name, and a glory. And as the belt had become marred and good for nothing, so even would their pride, that in which they gloried as the chosen people, be marred.
The pride here is stolen honour. God took up Israel for His own name, and they used it for theirs.
Such striking signs as the belt (Jer. 13) were exactly fulfilled. The Lord had taken up Israel for His honour; but having sought their own honour with "great pride" (v. 9), they were to be destroyed as a nation.
A belt only spoils once it leaves the waist and lies by the river. Israel made the same move.
Careless of their high honour, Israel constantly turned to other "waters" (see Jer. 2:18) and so became idolatrous. They forsook the Lord who was among them as a man is surrounded by the belt he wears. He therefore would make the waters of Babylon their destruction, and so mar their "great pride." Suppose we see in this first of all the Lord's thought about Israel's national distinction for His own glory, and then their terrible folly and pride. How it ought to make us diligent in soul now, clinging to the Lord in humility of mind!
The chapter does not stop at the verdict. The ruin it announces becomes the ground of an appeal, and the prophet who delivers it grieves over the people he warns.
Jeremiah 13 recalls how God had bound Israel to His heart. It announces the terrible judgment that will leave the people, as it were, drunk. On the ground of this judgment, it calls them to repentance. He tells of their hopeless evil, and of the prophet's genuine grief at their stubbornness. Compare Luke 19:41. Here is zeal for the Lord's glory against the evil and against the people who dishonoured Him. With it goes tender affection for them as the Lord's people. That mix is everywhere a striking mark of the working of the Spirit of Christ.
The marred pride is not the last word. What they grasped at and lost, God will yet give them.
The Lord will clothe Himself with His people, and display them as the chief glory of His manifested beauty, as the God of the whole earth. As a belt of majesty the tribes of His inheritance will be to Him in the day when the thoughts of His heart about them are fulfilled (Jer. 13:11). The pride of Judah will no longer be the trap that destroys him. They will be a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. The united family of Israel will remain in the unity of acceptable worship — a praise and a treasured possession to the Lord.
- Near — the belt pictures the close place God gave Israel — a people for His name, praise and glory, worn as a man wears a belt.
- Priestly — that nearness came with a calling — Israel was to be the priestly nation.
- Proud — honour redirected — God took Israel up for His honour, they sought their own, and what they gloried in is what He will spoil.
- Spoiled — they turned to other waters and forsook the Lord who was among them. The waters of Babylon became their ruin.
- Restored — the judgment calls them to repentance, and in the end the tribes become a belt of majesty to Him, with pride no longer the trap that destroys.
This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who walk in the stubbornness of their heart, and go after other gods, to serve them and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle which is good for nothing.
God has Jeremiah bury a linen sash by the river and dig it up again, ruined; then He names the people it pictures. How could a nation held that close to God become "good for nothing" to Him?
Before the ruin, the picture is one of honour. Commentators point to what a sash worn on the body says about the place God had given Israel.
First, the sash, or linen loincloth (Jer. 13:1-11), shows that the Lord had given Israel a near and close place with Himself. Great indeed was their place of honour! They were to the Lord for "a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory" (v. 11)! This was the glorious sash — Israel standing this close to the Lord. He was enough for them.
That nearness came with a calling. And what God says He will ruin is their pride.
A sash belonged to the priest. God called Israel to be the priestly nation. A sash clings to the waist of a man. In the same way, the Lord had chosen Israel to cling to Him, "that they might be to Me for a people," and for a name and for a glory. The sash had become spoiled and good for nothing. So too God would ruin their pride — the very thing they gloried in as the chosen people.
The verse names two things at once: they refuse to hear, and they follow their own stubborn heart. One writer, looking at a later scene in the same book, traces that refusal to self-will.
The self-will that was determined to take a certain course deceived them. Nothing will so warp the understanding, and hinder the grasp of the truth, as self-will. It will not see what it does not want to see. And, as always, behind the self-will there was pride that would not admit they were wrong.
Israel did not stop at refusing God's word. Jeremiah buried the sash by a foreign river, and one writer ties those waters to their idolatry.
Heedless of their high honour, Israel constantly turned to other "waters" (see Jer. 2:18) and so became idolatrous. They abandoned the Lord, who was among them as a man is inside the sash wrapped around him. So He would make the waters of Babylon their destruction. In this way He would ruin their "great pride."
The sash is not lost or stolen. It comes up from the ground worthless, and God says the people will be like it. Both halves of the sign matter: the wearing and the spoiling.
The sash worn and kept safely, then completely ruined, set out what Jehovah had been and what He would be to Judah.
The sentence in this verse is not the end of the chapter. What follows is an appeal, and the prophet who delivers it is not detached from the people he warns.
Jeremiah 13 recalls how God had bound Israel to His heart. It announces the terrible judgment that will leave the people like drunken men. On the ground of that judgment, it calls them to repentance. He tells of their hopeless evil, and the genuine grief of the prophet at their stubbornness. Compare Luke 19:41. Here is zeal for Jehovah's glory against the evil and against the people who dishonoured Him. Here too is tender affection towards them as Jehovah's people. Everywhere this is a striking mark of the working of the Spirit of Christ.
If the people God chose proved good for nothing, what happens to His aim for them? One writer answers that the aim never depended on Israel.
Israel like a sash was to encircle the Lord "for a people and for a Name, and for a praise and for a glory; but they would not hear" (Jer. 13:11). This was God's original intention (see Deut. 26:19), therefore it must be brought to pass. Israel failed in its responsibility, but the Lord will not fail.
Vine turns the lesson on the reader: take pains now to stay close to the Lord, with a humble mind.
- Cling. A sash sits tight against the body. That was the closeness God gave Israel — His people, His name, His praise, His glory.
- Refuse. Clinging ends where hearing ends. Self-will "will not see what it does not want to see," and pride will not admit it was wrong.
- Replace. Israel turned to other waters and became idolaters. In the end the waters of Babylon became their ruin.
- Ruined. The sash comes up whole but worthless — a people still in place, but no longer any use to the Lord.
- Restored. Israel failed in its responsibility. Yet God's original purpose "must be brought to pass," because the Lord will not fail.
For as a girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to cleave unto me the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah, saith Jehovah; that they might be unto me for a people, and for a name, and for a praise, and for a glory but they would not hear.
God told Jeremiah to bury a linen belt by the river until it rotted. The ruined cloth stands for the nation God once held close — a people given the highest honour, and a people who refused to listen.
A man wears his belt against his body. That is the first thing this sign says about Israel's place with God.
The belt, or linen loincloth (Jer. 13:1-11), first shows that the Lord had given the nation of Israel a near and intimate place in connection with Himself. Great indeed was their place of honour! They were to the Lord "a people, a name, a praise, and a glory" (v. 11)! This was the glorious belt — Israel placed so near to the Lord. He was enough for them. Therefore the prophet is first told, "Do not put it in water."
The garment itself was not chosen at random. Who wore a belt in Israel explains what the sign meant.
A belt belonged to the priest. Israel was called to be the priestly nation. As a belt clings to the waist of a man, so the Lord had chosen Israel to cling to Him, "that they might be for Me a people," and a name and a glory. And as the belt had become spoiled and good for nothing, so their pride — the thing they gloried in as the chosen people — would be spoiled too.
The last words of the verse undo everything before them: "but they would not listen." God held them close. They looked elsewhere.
Israel took no notice of their high honour. They kept turning to other "waters" (see Jer. 2:18) and so became idolatrous. They abandoned the Lord, who was among them as a man is inside his belt. So He would make the waters of Babylon their destruction, and would spoil their "great pride."
Their refusal had roots. Pride and a stubborn heart stood behind it.
They were proud. They refused to listen to the words of the prophets. Their idolatrous heart was stubborn. All this could only earn them exile on the banks of the Euphrates.
Judgment was not the whole message. It came with a call to repent, and with real grief in the man who carried it.
Jeremiah 13 reminds us how God had bound Israel to His heart. It announces the terrible judgment that will leave the people as if drunk. On the ground of that judgment, it calls them to repent. It tells of their hopeless evil, and of the prophet's real grief at their stubbornness. Compare Luke 19:41. This zeal for the Lord's glory against the evil and against the people who dishonoured Him, and this tender affection for them as the Lord's people, is everywhere a striking mark of the work of the Spirit of Christ.
God set this purpose long before Jeremiah. Israel's failure did not cancel it.
Israel, like a belt, was to wrap around the Lord as "a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen" (Jer. 13:11). This was God's original intention (see Deut. 26:19), so it must still come to pass. Israel failed in its responsibility, but the Lord will not fail.
The picture does not stay in the past. It leaves a question for the church today.
First we see here the Lord's thought about Israel's national distinction, given for His own glory. Then we see their dreadful folly and pride. How careful this ought to make us now, so that we cling to the Lord with a humble mind, seeking to answer to His far higher thoughts about the church.
- Worn — a belt sits against the body. God gave Israel that near and close place with Himself, and He was enough for them.
- Priestly — a belt belonged to the priest, and God called Israel to be the priestly nation, held close for His name and glory.
- Loosed — they turned to "other waters" and refused to listen to the prophets, so the pride they gloried in was spoiled.
- Buried — the Euphrates, where the belt rotted, became the place of their exile. What they clung to instead of God ruined them.
- Unbroken — God's original purpose (see Deut. 26:19) must still come to pass. Israel failed in its responsibility, but the Lord will not fail.