CHAPTER 13

(602 B.C.)

THE SIGN OF THE LINEN GIRDLE

¹Thus says the LORD unto me, Go and get you a linen girdle, and put it upon your loins, and put it not in water. (In symbolic language, the Holy Spirit through Jeremiah will describe a Divinely-commanded action indicative of the approaching ruin of the people of Judah. This Message was addressed to King Jehoiachin, who was about 18 years of age, to the Queen Mother Nehushta, and to the Priests and people of Jerusalem. The Speaker is Emmanuel, not Jeremiah; he was a mere instrument.)

²So I got a girdle according to the Word of the LORD, and put it on my loins. (It was a linen girdle and, therefore, meant to be beautiful and ornate.)

³And the Word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying (this, as with the linen girdle and many other instances in the Bible, lets us know that Gods leading is thus by design; such teaches continued faith, leading, leaning, and trust),

⁴Take the girdle that you have got, which is upon your loins, and arise, go to Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock. (Due to the phrase, The second time, in the Third Verse, Jeremiah probably wore the girdle for quite some time. The Holy Spirit evidently meant for the people of Jerusalem to see this girdle on Jeremiah in order that they may ultimately know what it meant. So, Jeremiah makes this long trip of about 400 miles to the Euphrates, which he would have reached first at Carchemish.)

⁵So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. (Even as this time, it seems that Jeremiah still had little knowledge as to what the Lord was going to do with such a symbol; however, he faithfully obeys.)

⁶And it came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded you to hide there. (The many days of this Verse do not tell us of the length of time, but it definitely could refer to several years.)

⁷Then I went to Euphrates, and dug, and took the girdle from the place where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was profitable for nothing. (The original beautiful girdle was used as a touching symbol to teach Israel how Emmanuel had bound her upon His Heart, and worn her as an ornament, the fine linen expressing her purity. Such was His Love for her. But her disobedience compelled the Lord to remove the girdle and bury it at the Euphrates, where it became marred and worthless, showing Judahs present spiritual condition!

This symbolic action foretold the captivity of 70 years in the Euphrates Valley.)

THE APPLICATION TO ALL ISRAEL

⁸Then the Word of the LORD came unto me, saying,

⁹Thus says the LORD, after this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. (The words, After this manner, refer to the girdle and its marred condition. As the girdle had been so beautiful and is now so marred, so will be Judah and Jerusalem. The cause was pride.)

¹⁰This evil people, who refuse to hear My Words, which walk in the imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them, and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for nothing. (The great pride of the previous Verse has produced this evil people.)

¹¹For as the girdle cleaves 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, says the LORD, 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. (Both Israel and Judah lost their glory because of sin and because they would not hear the Word of the Lord.)

THE LESSON FROM THE FILLED BOTTLES; APPLICATION TO JUDAH

¹²Therefore you shall speak unto them this word; Thus says the LORD God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto you, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine? (The bottle was a large wineskin made from a lambs skin or a cowhide. Upon instruction from the Holy Spirit, Jeremiah took several wineskins and hung them up in a straight line. They were then to be filled with wine.)

¹³Then shall you say unto them, Thus says the LORD, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings who sit upon Davids throne, and the Priests, and the Prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness. (The drunkenness spoken of here is symbolic. The people were symbolized by the bottles and the wine symbolized the Wrath of God against them.)

¹⁴And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons together, says the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them. (The words, I will dash them one against another, refer to the Lord allowing them to follow their own imaginations, resulting in utter confusion!)

¹⁵Hear you, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD has spoken. (As is obvious, the Lord admonishes Judah to hear.)

¹⁶Give glory to the LORD your God, before He cause darkness, and before your feet stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while you look for light, He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it gross darkness. (The light that Judah now has, which is the Word of the Lord through the Prophet Jeremiah, will soon give way to darkness, because the Light is the Lord and not Judahs foolish imagination. All of these other gods are darkness and death.)

¹⁷But if you will not hear it, my soul shall weep in secret places for your pride; and my eye shall weep sore, and run down with tears, because the LORDs flock is carried away captive. (As the Lord was speaking in previous Verses, Jeremiah speaks in Verses 15 through 17. The Lord is very clear in dealing with His People; therefore, there are no excuses for misunderstanding. Here, the cause, which is sin, is plainly outlined; the cure, which is Repentance, is plainly given! If they do not hear, it is because they do not want to hear.)

¹⁸Say unto the king and to the queen, Humble yourselves, sit down: for your principalities shall come down, even the crown of your glory. (The fulfillment of this is found in II Ki. 24:15. After a reign of three months, Jehoiachin, who was only 18 years old, and his mother, the reigning Queen named Nehushta, were taken captive by Nebuchadnezzar, along with all Jehoiachins court.)

¹⁹The cities of the south shall be shut up, and none shall open them: Judah shall be carried away captive all of it, it shall be wholly carried away captive. (This was fulfilled about 12 years later. The captivity being still a thing of the future, the Prophet seeks to awaken the conscience of this king and his mother, but to no avail.)

²⁰Lift up your eyes, and behold them who come from the north: where is the flock that was given you, your beautiful flock? (Even though Babylon lay due east, the invasion route was from the north. The flock that was given you refers to the people of Judah. The implication is: if the king and his mother would have led the people in a Spiritual Revival, this beautiful flock possibly would have followed; however, they had no desire for spiritual things, and their people had no desire for this son of David to wholly follow the Lord.)

²¹What will you say when He shall punish you? for you have taught them to be Captains, and as chief over you: shall not sorrows take you, as a woman in travail? (The sense of this Verse is that the military Captains and civil rulers of Nebuchadnezzar will now be chief over you. Judah would not have the Lord be captain and chief; therefore, a heathen monarch with no pity would serve in this capacity.)

²²And if you say in your heart, Wherefore come these things upon me? For the greatness of your iniquity are your skirts discovered, and your heels made bare. (Iniquity, i.e., idolatry, caused this just Judgment. Nakedness and bare feet express slavery. Upon the coming catastrophe, Judah will exclaim, Wherefore come these things upon me? The Holy Spirit tells us the reason. It is the greatness of your iniquity.)

²³Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may you also do good, who are accustomed to do evil. (This Passage refutes any and all ideas that man can change himself. He cannot, yet he keeps trying!)

²⁴Therefore will I scatter them as the stub ble that passes away by the wind of the wilderness. (This refers to the chaff that is separated from the wheat on the threshingfloor. The wind of the wilderness refers to great trouble that was coming upon Judah, which, in fact, would be the scattering process.)

²⁵This is your lot, the portion of your mea sures from Me, says the LORD; because you have forgotten Me, and trusted in falsehood. (What type of falsehood is being spoken of in this Passage? In this case, it pertained to idols; however, in any case, it pertains to false doctrine perpetrated by false apostles, deceitful workers, and Satans ministers [II Cor. 11:13-15].)

²⁶Therefore will I discover your skirts upon your face, that your shame may appear. (The spirit of the Text is that Judah has shamed the Lord, and now He will shame them!)

²⁷I have seen your adulteries, and your neighings, the lewdness of your whoredom, and your abominations on the hills in the fields. Woe unto you, O Jerusalem! will you not be made clean? when shall it once be? (In this Passage, as in many others, Judah is likened to Jehovahs wife. As such, she has committed spiritual adultery. And these whoredoms and abominations have not been slight, but rather as evil as possible!)