Jeremiah 13:11
11 For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’
The book of Jeremiah is known for God’s judgement on His people. Several times in Jeremiah, the Lord points to the pride of Judah as a big reason that He needs to judge them. In Chapter 13, the Lord instructs Jeremiah to buy and wear a sash. Then Jeremiah buries it. Finally, the Lord instructs him to unearth the ruined linen sash. These three acts form a vivid picture of the Lord’s relationship to Israel. The Lord’s choosing of Israel and Judah was like someone buying a fine belt. God had committed Himself to the Israelites, but rather than clinging to the Lord, the people chose to worship idols. They became as useless to God as Jeremiahs’ rotten linen sash was to him.
In vs 11, we see God’s heart. He pictures His people as a sash that clings to Him. He intends for them to be close to Him and like Jeremiah was to not remove his belt even to wash it – so the Lord wanted His people to be near to Him always. This is the same God we worship today. We are not Israelites but WE ARE the Church. God’s desire for constant closeness is no different for us than it was for Israel.
We’re commanded in the New Testament to draw near to God and we’re promised that in return He will draw near to us.
James 4:8 8 Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.
Jesus is right now preparing a place for us for all eternity so that where He is there we may be also.
John 14:3 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Because of Judah’s stubborn and persistent sins against the Lord, the wicked people would not hear God’s words choosing instead to walk in the perverseness of their hearts, going after strange gods. Such actions rob God of His intentions. Because of their stubborn and persistent sins against the LORD, Judah did not fulfill the noble and beautiful destiny God planned for them. They became useless and ruined like the buried sash.
God wants His people close to Him. And yet for Israel and Judah – they wouldn’t have it. They didn’t want to be close to this God. And so, He lets them have their own way.
Are you clinging to God or to your own understanding? Do you worship God or false idols? We see in this verse that God gives us the freedom to choose our own destiny. Are you choosing wisely?
Jeremiah is an example for us in his unquestioning obedience even when what God told him to do didn’t make immediate sense to him. The act of buying of the belt and what followed certainly wasn’t understood by Jeremiah, but the Lord revealed to him the meaning behind the activity. We, too, need to obey the Lord even when it doesn’t make sense. Amen!
God has a plan for all of us; from the beginning of time to the very present time. God’s plan is to make His people a decoration of His own presence and work. Just as the sash expressed beauty, so God wanted His people to be examples of His greatness to all the world. If we turn from the noble calling, we become useless for His purpose and our own. But if we cling to Him, we will be His people, for renown, for praise, and for glory. Amen!
Spiritual decay may not be as obvious as the damage of moisture to buried cloth, but the results are even worse. Rejecting God carries eternal consequences. Jeremiah’s ruined sash still paints a vivid picture of our ruined condition.
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