Jeremiah 13:1-11

What are Israel’s biggest issues thus far according to Jeremiah?

What does God require of them?

In Jeremiah 13, Jeremiah uses a symbolic act to describe the purpose and the means of the judgement of God:

The Symbolic Act:

Read the passage and have them fill in the blanks

1st command: Buy and Wear (v.1-2)

2nd command: Remove and Hide (v.3-5)

3rd command: Recover and Find Useless (v.6-7)

1st Interpretation: Israel is Worthless (v.9)

2nd Interpretation: Israel refuses Yahweh (v.10)

3rd Interpretation: Cling to Yahweh (v.11)

Reread the passage with commentary.

v.1a - “Go and buy a linen belt...”

An expensive and priestly garment

v.1b - “...do not let it touch water...”

Knowing what you know about the interpretation of Jeremiah’s actions, why does God ask him to not let the garment touch water?

Judah refused to be cleansed. They did not want to be purified or washed.

v.2 - “So I bought a belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist.”

God wants Jeremiah to embody the role of God. He wants him to feel the nearness to which God wishes to cling to the people of Judah.

v.7 - “...but now it was ruined and completely useless.”

What does this say about Judah?

How can our disobedience and deafness cause us to be useless?

v.10 - “These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them”

Here we see God’s concern with Judah’s deafness

What does this verse say about our hearts?

v.11 - For as a belt is bound around the waist, so I bound all the people of Israel and all the people of Judah to me,’ declares the Lord, ‘to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.’

bound = dbq (da-vak)

to cleave, stick, cling

Gen 2:24 - “That is why a man leaves his father and mother and is united to his wife, and they become one flesh” (NIV)

What does this say about what is required of us?

What does this say is our job?

What you cling (dbq) to is where you identify. Where you identify is where you find purpose. [Cling ➡️Identity ➡️ Purpose]

Our dbq, identity, and our purpose are bound together

Our identity is found in God and our purpose is to praise and honor Him

When our identity and our purpose are mismatched…we too are useless and ruined.

When we cleave ourselves to the wrong things, we lose our identity.

How do we ensure our dbq, identity, and purpose are in line with God?

What has Jeremiah been saying?

Listen and Obey