Jeremiah 13:11

For as the girdle cleaveth 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, saith 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. THAT THEY MIGHT BE UNTO ME FOR A PEOPLE, AND FOR A NAME, AND FOR A PRAISE, AND FOR A GLORY - (; , "If ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people"). GLORY - an ornament to glory in....

He confirms what we noticed yesterday, — that the Jews entertained a foolish confidence, and promised themselves perpetual happiness, because God had chosen them as his people. This indeed would have been a perpetual glory to them, had they not violated their pledged faith; but their defection rendered void God’s covenant as far as they were concerned: for though God never suffered his faithfulness to fail, however false and perfidious they were, yet the adoption from which they had departed availed them nothing. But as they thought it an unalienable defense, the Prophet again repeats that they had been indeed adorned with singular gifts, but that, as they had not remained faithful, they would be deprived of them. He indeed says, by way of concession, _As a belt cleaves to the loins of man, so also have I joined to myself the house of Israel; _for given to them is what they claimed. But...

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....

The reason why the girdle was chosen as the symbol. Similarly, Israel was the people chosen and set apart that in and by them the Holy Spirit might work for the salvation of mankind....

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....

FOR AS THE GIRDLE CLEAVETH TO THE LOINS OF A MAN,.... Being girt tight unto him: SO HAVE I CAUSED TO CLEAVE UNTO ME THE WHOLE HOUSE OF ISRAEL, AND THE WHOLE HOUSE OF JUDAH; whom he chose above all people, and caused to approach unto him, and dwell in his courts; whom he favoured with his presence, and encouraged them to follow after him, and cleave to him in faith and affection, and with full purpose of heart; so that they were a people near unto him as a man's girdle is to his loins: and the end of this was, and would have been, had they continued so, THAT THEY MIGHT BE UNTO ME FOR A PEOPLE; his own people, a special and peculiar people above all others, peculiarly favoured and blessed by him, and continue so, and in the enjoyment of all good things: AND FOR A NAME, AND FOR A PRAISE, AND FOR A GLORY; for a famous and renowned people, that should be to the praise and glory of God, and...

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.,...

HOUSE OF ISRAEL. See note on Jeremiah 2:4. HOUSE OF JUDAH. See note on Jeremiah 3:18. SAITH THE LORD. [is] Jehovah's oracle. THAT THEY MIGHT BE UNTO ME FOR. PEOPLE. Reference to Pentateuch (Exodus 19:5). App-92....

Jeremiah 13:1-11. The acted symbol of the linen girdle This ch. consists of five sections, quite independent of one another. The first two are in poetic prose, and the remaining in Ḳinah metre. Three questions arise in respect to this first section: (i) Does it relate a real transaction or a vision? (ii) What is the application of the symbol? (iii) To what date may we refer it? As regards (i) we may state that Du. rejects with scorn the passage, as non-Jeremianic, considering it as childish, and as a later insertion. Most commentators, however, refuse to accept this view. If we accept the view that the transaction was real, where was it carried out? Some think that the Heb. _Pěrath_, rendered elsewhere Euphrates (though generally "the river" is prefixed to it), may have here meant Parah (Jo