←Jeremiah 13→BSB

In This Chapter 4 people 12 places 49 terms

People

Israel 4 David 2 Jacob (Patriarch) Jeshurun (Israel)

Places

    Key Terms

    Word of the Lord 11 Transgression 3 Lot (Object) 3 Detested Thing 3 Serve 2 Deal With 2 Trust 2 Pure (State) 2 Force to Serve Enslave Hold in Bondage Gain Control Over Glory (Presence of God) Glory (Splendor) Greatness Praise (Glorify) Praise (Respect) Peace Appoint To Sin Sin Guilt (State) Sin (Act) Sin (Incur Guilt) Guilty (Responsible) Guilt (Consequence) Guiltiness Trespass (Sin) Sinful Sin (Offense) To Stand Guilty Sin (Guilty) Sin (Wrongdoing) Guilty Considered Guilty Guilty Of Sin Previously Sin Against Woe (Grief) Pure Purity (Ceremonial) Pure (No Defect) Purification To Purify Purity Pure (Sincere) Pure (Genuine) Purge Out Pure (No Evil)

    The Linen Loincloth

    ⓘ The Lord instructed Jeremiah to perform a parable...

    The Lord instructed Jeremiah to perform a parable (see also Jeremiah 18, 19, 27; see “Prophetic Sign Acts” Theme Note). This parable combined actions with words to highlight key aspects of the Lord’s response to Judah’s rebellion. Jeremiah struggled to fully understand the severe consequences of rejecting the Lord’s command for the people to worship him as the one true God. The direct relationship between Jeremiah and the Lord provided the basis for this event.
    ⓘ God told Jeremiah to keep a linen loincloth...

    God told Jeremiah to keep a linen loincloth unwashed to represent Judah's unrighteousness (compare Isaiah 64:5; Revelation 19:8). This garment is similar to modern-day underwear.

    1This is what the LORD said to me: “Go and buy yourself a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.”

    2So I bought a loincloth in accordance with the word of the LORD, and I put it around my waist.

    ⓘ The Euphrates River is 300 miles north of...

    The Euphrates River is 300 miles north of Jerusalem. Jeremiah likely joined a merchant caravan for safety during the 600-mile round trip. Although Jeremiah did not know why he was going, he followed God's instructions.

    3Then the word of the LORD came to me a second time: 4“Take the loincloth that you bought and are wearing, and go at once to Perath† and hide it there in a crevice of the rocks.”

    5So I went and hid it at Perath, as the LORD had commanded me.

    ⓘ The safest time to travel was during the...

    • The safest time to travel was during the dry season, from June to September. Cloth was most likely to rot during the wet season, from October to May.

    • Many days later was likely between six and ten months.

    6Many days later the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to Perath, and get the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7So I went to Perath and dug up the loincloth, and I took it from the place where I had hidden it. But now it was ruined—of no use at all.

    ⓘ The parable showed how terrible the pride of...

    The parable showed how terrible the pride of Judah and Jerusalem had become. It explained how God allowed the consequences of sin to happen.

    8Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9“This is what the LORD says: In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem.

    ⓘ The rotten loincloth symbolized the people of Judah...

    • The rotten loincloth symbolized the people of Judah and Israel. Their wicked rebellion had corrupted them and made them worthless.

    • clings: The same Hebrew word can mean “joins” and describes marital faithfulness (Genesis 2:24).

    • My people for My renown: See also Exodus 19:5, 6; Deuteronomy 32:10–12; Ephesians 2:7; 3:10.

    10These evil people, who refuse to listen to My words, who follow the stubbornness of their own hearts, and who go after other gods to serve and worship them, they will be like this loincloth—of no use at all.

    11For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I have made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to Me, declares the LORD, so that they might be My people for My renown and praise and glory. But they did not listen.

    The Wineskins

    ⓘ Don’t we surely know: The people believed that...

    Don’t we surely know: The people believed that the Lord would keep blessing them as he had before (Psalm 104:15; Proverbs 9:2–5). However, the wine was not a symbol of blessing; here, drunkenness represented God’s anger (compare Revelation 14:10).

    12Therefore you are to tell them that this is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: ‘Every wineskin shall be filled with wine.’

    And when they reply, ‘Don’t we surely know that every wineskin should be filled with wine?’ 13then you are to tell them that this is what the LORD says: ‘I am going to fill with drunkenness all who live in this land—the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the people of Jerusalem. 14I will smash them against one another, fathers and sons alike, declares the LORD. I will allow no mercy or pity or compassion to keep Me from destroying them.’”

    Captivity Threatened

    ⓘ Jeremiah urged the people to listen and not...

    Jeremiah urged the people to listen and not be proud, but to change their attitude. If they refused to recognize the Lord as the one true God of Israel, a terrible darkness would come over the nation.
    15Listen and give heed. Do not be arrogant,for the LORD has spoken.16Give glory to the LORD your Godbefore He brings darkness,before your feet stumbleon the dusky mountains.You wait for light,but He turns it into deep gloom and thick darkness.17But if you do not listen,I will weep in secret because of your pride.My eyes will overflow with tears,because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
    ⓘ The king was likely Jehoiakim's son, Jehoiachin, who...

    The king was likely Jehoiakim's son, Jehoiachin, who became king in 597 BC after his father's death. His mother was Nehushta (see 2 Kings 24:1–9). Jehoiachin was eighteen years old and ruled for only three months. This message was probably given during his brief reign. The Babylonians would soon take his crowns (see 2 Kings 24:11–16). They would also seize the treasures of the Temple and palace. The royalty and elite of Judah would be taken into exile. Meanwhile, Judah's southern neighbors would capture the towns of the Negev, the desert area from Beersheba to the Gulf of Aqaba.
    18Say to the kingand to the queen mother:“Take a lowly seat,for your glorious crowns have fallen from your heads.”
    19The cities of the Negev have been shut tight,and no one can open them.All Judah has been carried into exile,wholly taken captive.
    ⓘ King Jehoiachin did not care about the well-being...

    King Jehoiachin did not care about the well-being of his people, the beautiful flock of Judah. Because of the king's many sins, Judah suffered abuse from its supposed allies.
    20Lift up your eyes and seethose coming from the north.Where is the flock entrusted to you,the sheep that were your pride?
    21What will you say when He sets over youclose allies whom you yourself trained?Will not pangs of anguish grip you,as they do a woman in labor?22And if you ask yourself,“Why has this happened to me?”It is because of the magnitude of your iniquitythat your skirts have been stripped offand your body has been exposed.†23Can the Ethiopian† change his skin,or the leopard his spots?Neither are you able to do good—you who are accustomed to doing evil.
    ⓘ The divine Judge declared a guilty verdict.

    The divine Judge declared a guilty verdict.
    24“I will scatter you like chaffdriven by the desert wind.25This is your lot,the portion I have measured to you,”declares the LORD,“because you have forgotten Meand trusted in falsehood.26So I will pull your skirts up over your face,that your shame may be seen.27Your adulteries and lustful neighings,your shameless prostitutionon the hills and in the fields—I have seen your detestable acts.Woe to you, O Jerusalem!How long will you remain unclean?”