Jeremiah 13 - ESV - Bible Reading / Study Notes

Jeremiah 13

The Ruined Loincloth

13:1 Thus says the LORD to me, “Go and buy a linen loincloth and put it around your waist, and do not dip it in water.” 2 So I bought a loincloth according to the word of the LORD, and put it around my waist. 3 And the word of the LORD came to me a second time, 4 “Take the loincloth that you have bought, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates and hide it there in a cleft of the rock.” 5 So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me. 6 And after many days the LORD said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the loincloth that I commanded you to hide there.” 7 Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing.

8 Then the word of the LORD came to me: 9 “Thus says the LORD: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. 10 This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing. 11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen.

The Jars Filled with Wine

12 “You shall speak to them this word: ‘Thus says the LORD, the God of Israel, “Every jar shall be filled with wine.”’ And they will say to you, ‘Do we not indeed know that every jar will be filled with wine?’ 13 Then you shall say to them, ‘Thus says the LORD: Behold, I will fill with drunkenness all the inhabitants of this land: the kings who sit on David’s throne, the priests, the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem. 14 And I will dash them one against another, fathers and sons together, declares the LORD. I will not pity or spare or have compassion, that I should not destroy them.’”

Exile Threatened

15   Hear and give ear; be not proud,
    for the LORD has spoken.
16   Give glory to the LORD your God
    before he brings darkness,
  before your feet stumble
    on the twilight mountains,
  and while you look for light
    he turns it into gloom
    and makes it deep darkness.
17   But if you will not listen,
    my soul will weep in secret for your pride;
  my eyes will weep bitterly and run down with tears,
    because the LORD’s flock has been taken captive.
18   Say to the king and the queen mother:
    “Take a lowly seat,
  for your beautiful crown
    has come down from your head.”
19   The cities of the Negeb are shut up,
    with none to open them;
  all Judah is taken into exile,
    wholly taken into exile.
20   “Lift up your eyes and see
    those who come from the north.
  Where is the flock that was given you,
    your beautiful flock?
21   What will you say when they set as head over you
    those whom you yourself have taught to be friends to you?
  Will not pangs take hold of you
    like those of a woman in labor?
22   And if you say in your heart,
    ‘Why have these things come upon me?’
  it is for the greatness of your iniquity
    that your skirts are lifted up
    and you suffer violence.
23   Can the Ethiopian change his skin
    or the leopard his spots?
  Then also you can do good
    who are accustomed to do evil.
24   I will scatter you¹ like chaff
    driven by the wind from the desert.
25   This is your lot,
    the portion I have measured out to you, declares the LORD,
  because you have forgotten me
    and trusted in lies.
26   I myself will lift up your skirts over your face,
    and your shame will be seen.
27   I have seen your abominations,
    your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings,
    on the hills in the field.
  Woe to you, O Jerusalem!
    How long will it be before you are made clean?”

Footnotes

[1] 13:24 Hebrew them

Commentary

v1-2: Lessons from objects; as in 1.11-12, the almond tree; 1.13, the boiling pot; 18.1-10, the marred pot. Elsewhere the illustration is verbal, as in 3.1. Jeremiah used various means to bring the word of God to the people. The work of the prophet was not restricted to using words, but it often visual.

v3-7: The linen belt was hidden in the Euphrates river (Perath). After "many days" it became spoiled. The link with the Euphrates points towards the captivity in Babylon.

v8: Then, when the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the lesson of the belt was explained.

v9: The pride of Judah and Jerusalem would be ruined, their dependence upon themselves, and their idols, was being demolished, and they would be disgraced. The people would be delivered into the hands of the Babylonians for "many days."

v10: Completely useless! For they had forsaken the Lord, and had pursued wicked ways.

v11: The Lord had a blessing for the people, that they be bound to Him, but they had not listened, and had forfeited the blessing. The people of Israel and Judah bore the wrath of God against them.

v12-14: The illustration of the wine skins, again teaching the Lord's judgment upon the people. They would be filled with drunkenness, smashed against each other, and receive no pity nor mercy nor compassion.

v15-17: The people's pride had kept them from hearing God's word, and had kept them from repentance. These words may have been Jeremiah's, as he expressed his sorrow, and pleaded with the people to turn to the Lord. The command is clear, “Hear and pay attention … give glory of the Lord your God;” here is a challenge to repentance, a decisive change of ways.

v18-19: A message to the king, and the queen mother, to shake them out of their complacency. They had remained aloof on their thrones. They were commanded to come down, to show some concern for their people. In any case, God would bring them down.

v20: The flock of beautiful sheep entrusted to them; they had been badly led, and would be destroyed by the advancing army.

v21: The Gentiles showed treachery. Israel and Judah had both made covenants with Gentile nations, but those same nations turned and destroyed them.

v22: Their shame, because of their "many sins." The coming of the Babylonians would mean the people were ill-treated. These words were not mere empty threats, nor exaggeration.

v23: The clear object lesson, of the black Ethiopian (African), the leopard, neither of whom could change their appearance. Judah's condition was more serious, since she had become accustomed to doing evil. Was there any possibility of repentance?

v24-27: Again, judgment through being scattered among the nations. The reason, blatant sins and idolatry.