The Sin That Brought
Destruction
Jeremiah 13: 1-15
What is pride? Pride
is said to be inordinate and unreasonable self-esteem, attended with
insolence and rude treatment of others.
Pride then is sin
because we are to love others as we love ourselves and pride is
looking down on others making yourself to be better and greater than
them.
Pride is the first
sin that occurred because it was Lucifer who committed the first sin
and not Adam! Adam committed the second recorded sin
Eze 28:16 By the
multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with
violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane
out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering
cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire.
Another thing we
should consider in this lesson is , what is the Jewish girdle in the
day of Jeremiah?
In the days of
Jeremiah, the people of Judah wore loose fitting robes and much like
we use a belt, the girdle would keep the robe close to the body.
It is our own
"faith" that serves as our girdle to keep us close to God!
Verse 1
*****Jer 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.
Jer 13:2 So I got a
girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on my loins.
The linen girdle
would be those that were appointed for the priests to wear.
Most others would
wear a girdle of wool with the military wearing a girdle of leather.
We know that John
the Baptist wore a girdle of leather because he symbolized a soldier
in God's Army!
Jeremiah was first
instructed to get a new linen girdle and wear it for some time
without washing it. In fact, Jeremiah was to wear this linen girdle
long enough for the people to notice that he had not washed it and it
became filthy.
God used all His
prophets to teach His people in many ways.
Heb 1:1 God, who at
sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the
fathers by the prophets,
It will be obvious
before we finish this passage that this girdle will symbolize the
character of the people of Judah during this age of Jeremiah.
We must know by now
that God offers us the "free will" to choose based on the
information that we have. By choosing idols instead of the truth of
God they had buried themselves in the ways of a foreign land, so the
Lord would soon place them under the control an evil nation.
They had become so
corrupted that they were good for nothing!
It is these lessons
that we must understand, these are great examples of the way God
deals with the sin of a nation that claims to obey the Lord, such as
we say we do here in America.
*****Jer 13:3 And
the word of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
Jer 13:4 Take the
girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and arise, go to
Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole of the rock.
First, God has made
all those who call upon His name to be very near to Him.
Many debate the
mention of the River Euphrates here but we know that it was Babylon
who captured Judah, so we have no need to question the Word of God,
even though this river was at least 2500 miles from Judah!
Jeremiah was used of
God and Nebuchadnezzar was used of God and this King of Babylon
understood these things.
Jer 39:11 Now
Nebuchadrezzar king of Babylon gave charge concerning Jeremiah to
Nebuzaradan the captain of the guard, saying,
Jer 39:12 Take him,
and look well to him, and do him no harm; but do unto him even as he
shall say unto thee.
The Euphrates River
represented the power of the nations North of the land God gave to
Israel, just as the River Nile represented the power of Egypt.
We could say that
the Prophet Isaiah also prophesied of this time of Judah.
Isa 8:7 Now
therefore, behold, the Lord bringeth up upon them the waters of the
river, strong and many, even the king of Assyria, and all his glory:
and he shall come up over all his channels, and go over all his
banks:
Isa 8:8 And he
shall pass through Judah; he shall overflow and go over, he shall
reach even to the neck; and the stretching out of his wings shall
fill the breadth of thy land, O Immanuel.
The one thing we
should understand is, it did not matter what Judah was doing,
Jeremiah was to trust and obey the Lord!
We must understand,
no matter what is happening in our world, we are to obey the Word of
God at all times. Jehovah was not suggesting for Jeremiah to do these
things. Jeremiah understood these words to be the commands of God!
The Word of God is
not a book of suggestions as many believe. It is a Book of the
Commands of God!
*****Jer 13:5 So I
went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the LORD commanded me.
Jer 13:6 And it
came to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me, Arise, go
to Euphrates, and take the girdle from thence, which I commanded thee
to hide there.
We should understand
that the Jews took great pride in their religious heritage but at
this point in history, they had become useless to Jehovah!
The downfall of
Judah had not happened over night because this is not the way Satan
works. Satan will draw you away from the Lord one little step at a
time until he has you within his grasp.
Even today we know
that Satan cannot take us out of the hands of the Lord, but he can
sure ruin a good testimony!
The nation of Judah
had become worthless to the Lord. The Lord expects us all to be
witnesses of the Gospel and Judah was also to be a witness for the
truth of God, but they had rejected that truth again at this time.
Without this nation
repenting of their wrong, they had bound the hands of God to come to
their defense because the Lord cannot defend evil nor cause a blemish
to His Sinless Name!
We cannot live in
any manner we want to and expect the Lord to come to our defense, it
simply will not happen!
When we bind the
hands of God to do good, then we must realize that God must chastise
us to get us back on track!
We must never stray
from the truth of God, to become of no more use than a rotten belt
which can no longer do what it was intended to do!
What lesson did
Jeremiah learn, and Judah would soon learn?
*****Jer 13:7 Then
I went to Euphrates, and digged, and took the girdle from the place
where I had hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was
profitable for nothing.
We must understand
that when we invite the Lord Jesus Christ into our heart and He then
fills us with His Holy Spirit, so we can worship Him in Spirit and in
truth but then He gives us all a job to do.
Mat 28:19 Go ye
therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the
Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost:
Mat 28:20 Teaching
them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo,
I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
When we can no
longer do that job because of our sin, we have become marred and
useless in this work God has given us to do!
It had to be
humiliating to Judah when Jeremiah preached this lesson comparing
Judah to a rotten girdle!
*****Jer 13:8 Then
the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
Jer 13:9 Thus saith
the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the
great pride of Jerusalem.
1) When we accept
the Lord Jesus into our heart then we have mended that broken
relationship caused by the sin of Adam.
We must realize that
the sin of Eve came from a lack of knowledge, but Adam's sin was
intentional, and he had broken his relationship with the Lord God
Jehovah. God will wear His children as a girdle but also as a badge
to show the world how proud He is of His children.
2) Jeremiah wore a
linen girdle which meant that he was a priest who was bound to God.
As Christians we are also to be priests.
1Pe_2:5 Ye also, as
lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to
offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.
3) Just as those in
the day of Jeremiah would gird up their loins so they could work,
then we are to gird up the loins of our mind to be of use to our
Master.
1Pe_1:13 Wherefore
gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the
grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus
Christ;
4) Again, the girdle
of a priest was worn as an ornament or a badge and we are to wear the
badge of Christ, unashamedly!
Rom_13:14 But put
ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to
fulfil the lusts thereof.
Gal_3:27 For as
many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ.
We must never be
ashamed of the Lord and we must never claim the Lord and then
intentionally sin!
*****Jer 13:10 This
evil people, which refuse to hear my words, which walk in the
imagination of their heart, and walk after other gods, to serve them,
and to worship them, shall even be as this girdle, which is good for
nothing.
These Jews of Judah
had now become firmly attached to man-made idols and they stubbornly
refused to admit that they were wrong.
To the Lord they had
become worthless in the work of the Lord and the Lord said that they
were an evil people.
The Scriptures teach
us that there is a sin unto death and I believe that this sin can
become real when we destroy our fellowship with the Living God,
Jehovah, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Heb 12:25 See that
ye refuse not him that speaketh. For if they escaped not who refused
him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn
away from him that speaketh from heaven:
Heb 12:26 Whose
voice then shook the earth: but now he hath promised, saying, Yet
once more I shake not the earth only, but also heaven.
When we have refused
to have fellowship with the True God of all Creation, we have placed
ourselves on treacherous ground from which we will never recover!
Eph 4:17 This I say
therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as
other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind,
Eph 4:18 Having the
understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through
the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their
heart:
Eph 4:19 Who being
past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work
all uncleanness with greediness.
Eph 4:20 But ye
have not so learned Christ;
Eph 4:21 If so be
that ye have heard him, and have been taught by him, as the truth is
in Jesus:
These Jews had begun
to walk as the Gentiles walked, in the vanity of their mind.
The Lord explains
these things very well in verse 11.
*****Jer 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.
When we reject the
Lord Jesus Christ, as these Jews have rejected Jehovah(both are one
and the same) they had destroyed their only reason for living.
God had preserved
this nation of Israel to preserve and bring the Word of God into the
future and this would certainly happen, but these people were not a
part of this very important job!
Nothing we do can
hinder the work of God! When we reject Him we either lose rewards
that we could have had, or we will spend eternity in a Burning Hell.
Yes, Hell does exist!
Only a righteous
life can bring triumph over the trials and temptations of this world!
Just so we know the truth, we have no righteousness ourselves we live
or die by having the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ!
Isa 11:4 But with
righteousness shall he judge the poor, and reprove with equity for
the meek of the earth: and he shall smite the earth with the rod of
his mouth, and with the breath of his lips shall he slay the wicked.
Isa 11:5 And
righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the
girdle of his reins.
Next, we see that
word therefore.
*****Jer 13:12
Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the LORD
God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall
say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be
filled with wine?
Jer 13:13 Then
shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the LORD, Behold, I will fill
all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon
David's throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the
inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
To understand this
passage, we must understand from verses 1-11 that the people of Judah
had become worthless to the Lord.
Now a wineskin has
only one purpose and can be used only one time. Their purpose was to
be filled with wine (or grape juice)!
God had forbidden
drunkenness for the children of Israel and they knew this thing.
Isa 5:11 Woe unto
them that rise up early in the morning, that they may follow strong
drink; that continue until night, till wine inflame them!
Isa 5:12 And the
harp, and the viol, the tabret, and pipe, and wine, are in their
feasts: but they regard not the work of the LORD, neither consider
the operation of his hands.
Isa 5:13 Therefore
my people are gone into captivity, because they have no knowledge:
and their honourable men are famished, and their multitude dried up
with thirst.
Isa 5:14 Therefore
hell hath enlarged herself, and opened her mouth without measure: and
their glory, and their multitude, and their pomp, and he that
rejoiceth, shall descend into it.
These children of
Judah were not only represented by that worthless linen girdle, but
they were also represented by these wineskins which were to be filled
with the abominations of this world that were forbidden for the Jews
and for the Christians.
We are to be filled
with the righteousness of the Lord and nothing from this world!
1Jn_2:16 For all
that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the
eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the
world.
These are the things
that had filled the children of Judah. These are the things that fill
every sinner!
Jas_1:15 Then when
lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is
finished, bringeth forth death.
This is the formula
for becoming worthless in the army of God, in fact, a traitor and
deserter!
How did Christ Jesus
put it?
Luk 21:34 And take
heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with
surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day
come upon you unawares.
Luk 21:35 For as a
snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole
earth.
These things will
always be true in this world!
What is the truth of
what the Lord is saying?
*****Jer 13:14 And
I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and the sons
together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy,
but destroy them.
Jer 13:15 Hear ye,
and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
The most important
thing we can do as Christians is to pay attention to what the Lord is
saying and then obey Him!
We already
understand that the Lord does not ever change. The Lord will be just
as true in His wrath as He is in His Mercy!
It is the will of
God that everyone be saved but He promises His wrath to those who
reject His love!
We live in a world
where it seems that love and natural affection have disappeared, but
the Lord has and endless supply of Love, mercy, and Grace and these
are the things that we better hear.
The Word of God is
very clear, we are to be filled with the God the Holy Spirit who will
lead us to God the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ!
Sin enslaves the
flesh just as all alcoholic beverages do, along with all drugs. Those
who are slaves to these abominations of this world, will never know
just how wonderful it is to be in the family of God!
1Co 6:9 Know ye not
that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not
deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor
effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1Co 6:10 Nor
thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners,
shall inherit the kingdom of God.
Come to Jesus Christ
who has paid the price of our freedom!
Without Jesus Christ
we are just stumbling around in this dark world!
Amen
Let’s Pray!
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