Jeremiah 13:1

Thus saith the LORD unto me, Go and get thee a linen girdle, and put it upon thy loins, and put it not in water. Many of these figurative acts being either not possible or not probable or decorous seem to have existed only in the mind of the prophet as part of his inward vision (so Calvin). The world he moved in was not the sensible, but the spiritual world. Inward acts were, however, when it was possible and proper, materialized by outward performance; but not always and necessarily so. The internal act made a naked statement more impressive, and presented the subject, when extending over long portions of space and time, more concentrated. The interruption of Jeremiah's official duty by a journey of more than 200 miles twice is not likely to have literally taken place. PUT IT UPON THY LOINS ... - expressing the close intimacy wherewith Yahweh had joined Israel and Judah to Him ...

I have said that there is here a new prophecy; for the Prophet is said to buy for himself a girdle or a belt, or, according to some, a truss or breeches; and as mention is made of linen, this opinion may be probable; but אזור, _asur_, means not only the breeches which they then wore, but also a girdle or belt, according to what Isaiah says, when, speaking figuratively of Christ’s kingdom, that faithfulness would be the girdle of his loins. (Isaiah 11:5) It, may here, however, be taken for breeches as well as for a girdle. (70) As to the matter in hand, it makes no great difference. The Prophet then is bidden to buy for himself a linen girdle or a linen breeches, and he is also bidden to go to Euphrates, and to hide the girdle in a hole. He is again bidden to go the second time to Euphrates, and to draw the girdle from the hole, and he found it

1-11 It was usual with the prophets to teach by signs. And we have the explanation, ver. Jeremiah 13:9. The people of Israel had been to God as this girdle. He caused them to cleave to him by the law he gave them, the prophets he sent among them, and the favours he showed them. They had by their idolatries and sins buried themselves in foreign earth, mingled among the nations, and were so corrupted that they were good for nothing. If we are proud of learning, power, and outward privileges, it is just with God to wither them. The minds of men should be awakened to a sense of their guilt and danger; yet nothing will be effectual without the influences of the Spirit....

CHAPTER XIII _This chapter contains an entire prophecy. The symbol of the_ _linen girdle, left to rot for a considerable time, was a type_ _of the manner in which the glory of the Jews should be marred_ _during the course of their long captivity_, 1-11. _The scene of hiding the girdle being laid near the Euphrates,_ _intimated that the scene of the nation's distress should be_ _Chaldea, which that river waters. The next three verses, by_ _another emblem frequently used to represent the judgments of_ _God, are designed to show that the calamities threatened should_

A LINEN GIRDLE - The appointed dress of the priestly order (Leviticus 16:4, ...). PUT IT NOT IN WATER - i. e., do not wash it, and so let it represent the deep-grained pollution of the people....

EXPOSITION The chapter falls into two parts—the one describing a divinely commanded action of the prophet, symbolical of the approaching rejection of the Jewish people, the other announcing in literal language the ruin especially of the king and the queen-mother, and emphasizing the inveterate corruption which rendered such a blow necessary. The mention of the queen-mother (see Jeremiah 13:18) renders it probable that Jehoiachin is the king under whom the prophecy was composed. It is true that other kings besides Jehoiachin ascended the throne in the lifetime of their mother; but the express and repeated mention of the queen-mother in the account of Jehoiachin (2 Kings 24:12, 2 Kings 24:15; comp....

THUS SAITH THE LORD UNTO ME,.... In a vision, and by the spirit of prophecy: when this was said is not certain, very likely in the reign of Jehoiakim; the prophet gives an account of what had been done, the present tense is put for the past. GO AND GET THEE A LINEN GIRDLE; or, "a girdle of linens" l; a girdle made of flax or fine linen, which the prophet had not used to wear; and having none, is bid to go, perhaps from Anathoth to Jerusalem, to "get" one, or "buy" one: this girdle represents the people of the Jews in their more pure and less corrupted state, when they were a people near unto the Lord, and greatly regarded by him, and had a share in his affections; when they cleaved unto him, and served him, and were to his praise and glory: "and put it upon thy loins"; near the reins, the seat of affection and desire, and that it might be visible and ornamental; denoting what has been b...

CHAPTER 13 Signs, Warnings, and Exhortations _ 1. The linen girdle and the filled bottles (Jeremiah 13:1) _ 2. Hear and give glory (Jeremiah 13:15) 3. The justice of the judgment (Jeremiah 13:22) Jeremiah 13:1. The prophet enacts a sign, that of the linen girdle. After he had put on the girdle, he was told to hide it in a hole of the rock of the Euphrates. After many days, he was commanded to dig for the girdle. It was found marred and profitable for nothing. Was this only a vision, or did the prophet actually make the long journey to the Euphrates and then repeat it after many

THE SYMBOL OF THE WAIST-CLOTH, its removal signifying the rejection and ruin of Judah, as a consequence of her disobedience. The prophet buys and wears a linen waist-cloth, not yet put in water, as a declaration of Yahweh's adoption of His people into closest intimacy. The prophet then removes it, and buries it in a rocky cleft where it is spoilt by damp, the removal being a sign that Yahweh puts His people from Him into the ruin of exile. Such symbolism as this, so frequent on the part of Hebrew prophets (for Jeremiah, _cf._ Jeremiah 16:5 ff., Jeremiah 27:2 ff; Jeremiah 28:10 ff., Jeremiah 32:6 ff.,...

THE LORD. Hebrew. _Jehovah_. App-14 a linen girdle. Soft girdles, made of silk or linen, still worn by upper classes. Compare Ezekiel 16:10. Some embroidered (Daniel 10:5.Revelation 1:13; Revelation 15:6). NOT IN WATER. So that the cause of its marring be not mistaken....