Scripture: Jeremiah 13: 1,4,5,7

Thus saith the Lord unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. Take the girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to Eu-phra’-tes, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. So I went, and hid it by Eu-phra’-tes, and digged, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing.

Scripture Commentary: What is the lesson of the linen girdle?

The linen girdle was the garment worn closest to the person and it represented how close the people were to be to God. When God told Jeremiah to remove and hide it, that represented how we distance ourselves from God.  The marred linen girdle, which has no value, represented how a people guided by their own earthly interests are useless to God.

God gave us life so that we may worship him and create his kingdom on earth. He placed us here for a purpose.  There are those among us who ignore that purpose. If we go about our lives living for ourselves then we are living in denial of God’s gift. What good are you without that gift? Without that purpose?

Pride clouds your eyes to the truth

What Jeremiah is conveying in the passage above still applies today. The people had once been close to God, but their pride made them useless. Pride will not let you see the truth; that God placed us on this earth for him and not for ourselves.

Proud people may look important on the outside, but their pride rots their hearts and decreases their value to God. In this chapter, the threat of captivity didn’t even move the people to repent. The lesson of the linen belt illustrates the destiny of Judea.

What is your destiny?  Are you living for God or for yourself?

Read the entire chapter:
Jeremiah Chapter 13

Other Posts on the Book of Jeremiah
God’s Compassion Never Fails
We Must Acknowledge Our Wickedness and Change Our Ways
Woe To Leaders Who Scatter God’s Flock