Jeremiah

Jeremiah 13:1-11

Jeremiah is instructed to take part in this symbolic action, an living illustration to make a point.  He was to buy a linen belt.  Linen was he cloth used by priests and the belt was a girdle type garment, or sash used to hold other garments in place.  The word is also used to refer to an undergarment but this seems to be externally visible. 

This was to be put on and worn by Jeremiah and it was not allowed to touch water.  It isn't clear what this means.  It may just be to remove any thought or other influence on the belt, as its condition will be used to show a contrast.   He was then to take the belt to Perath, the name for the Euphrates river, 350 miles away.  This creates a dilemma.  Was this a literal act of Jeremiah, or was symbolic.  This illustration would take months to play out.  It may be a play on words of a city much nearer.  Perah was close by and may have served for the symbolism.  The long trip wasn't necessary for the lesson to be effective. 

• Refused to listen
• Followed their own stubbornness
• Go after other gods

Because of this, they would be like the belt; completely useless.  Like the belt is worn to be seen, the Lord binds Judah to Himself that He would be seen by them, bringing Him honor and glory. 

But…. They had not listened.  They were useless instead of bringing glory and honor to Him.

Jeremiah 13:12-14

This is an oracle of judgment.  This appears to have been a proverb among the people, "Every wineskin should be filled with wine."  It was likely a promise of continued prosperity.  We might think of it like a campaign promise.  We can imagine the expected response, "Everybody knows that!"  Jeremiah takes what they knew and uses it to show them their state.  They would be like the wine jars, they would be filled with the wine of God's wrath.  In the end they would be smashed against each other and ruined.  There would not be any mercy or compassion shown.

Everyone knew the promises of the time, the sayings and rhetoric.  They knew prosperity and parties and how to enjoy life.  But they forgot their responsibilities.  They forgot who had blessed them and given this life to them.  They forgot their God in the midst of their good life.  This sounds so familiar. 

Jeremiah 13:15-17

The text shifts to Jeremiah speaking; as if it said, 'and then I said to the people'.  They were instructed to pay attention but it seems Jeremiah knew they wouldn't.  Their pride had blinded them and stopped their ears.  The phrase, "Give glory to the Lord your God" is an idiom meaning to confess your sins (Joshua 7:19; John 9:24).  The warning is clear; the light is salvation, joy and peace with the Lord.  But darkness loomed in their pride and sin.  It was the opposite of light; it was darkness, gloom, despair and distress. 

To listen was to repent, confess and have a basis for the hope of light and salvation.  To remain in their pride and hope for a good outcome was foolish; there was no basis for their hope.  Their failure to listen broke the heart of Jeremiah

Jeremiah 13:18-23

The king and queen (King Jehoiachin and his mother, Queen Nehushta) was taken captive in 597_B.C. The nation would go to captivity, there would be no royalty on the throne, they would be either dead or in exile.  The idea of all the cities being closed up is poetic hyperbole.  The point was that their pride and failure to confess their sin would lead to the fall of Jerusalem and the nation. 

The king was to look to the north and see the invasion coming, it was Babylon on the horizon.  The king was like a shepherd and the people like a flock.  He was about to lose the throne and lose his flock as they were led away in captivity.  A shepherd that loses his flock is no longer shepherding and may indicate he never was.  Over time Israel had courted Egypt, Assyria, Babylon and then back to Egypt.  Instead of stranding strong in the Lord and being set apart as a nation, they set themselves into submission of other nations in hopes of courting friends to stand strong against enemies.  They sold out their sovereignty and this was done in disobedience to the Lord.

The shepherd is now portrayed as an unfaithful woman.  Her complaint is that her punishment isn't fair or deserved in any way.  Again, it is hope and emotion and not anything of substance coming from facts or truth.  The Lord answers the bogus complaint by pointing once again to their sins they've ignored.  It is shame and humiliation that her skirts were stripped away, exposing her publicly.  

Judah is portrayed as being so habitually unfaithful and rebellious that it is assumed this is like an unchangeable physical attribute. 

Jeremiah 13:24-27

The scattering is the judgment that would come to them as exile, like chaff on the desert wind, they would be blown away by the winnowing process.  The Lord was once their portion and lot; their identity and existence was defined by Him.  Apart from Him, they were as nothing.  They would not have been a nation.  Now, they've given their loyalty to false gods; as they identify and trust them, their lot and portion is changed.  The fruit of idolatry is captivity, exile, darkness, gloom and distress.  The Lord would bring them to public shame and all the world would see what their actions brought them.

How long?  This shows that there is still time to repent.  The Lord has not closed the door.  Jeremiah holds out hope of repentance, even through judgment was coming. 

©2018 Doug Ford