Jeremiah 13:1-11
1 This is what the Lord said to me: “Go and buy a linen belt
and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water.” 2 So I bought a
belt, as the Lord directed, and put it around my waist. 3 Then the word of the
Lord came to me a second time: 4 “Take the belt you bought and are wearing
around your waist, and go now to Peratha and hide it there in a crevice in the
rocks.” 5 So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me. 6 Many days
later the Lord said to me, “Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to
hide there.” 7 So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the
place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.
Okay, now stop and read verses 1
– 7 again. Can you see how the Lord is using an illustration to help Jeremiah,
to help us understand better? You know He is getting ready to open our eyes to
Truth, something we need to learn from so we don’t make the same mistake.
Now read on with an open heart, one ready to receive what it is the
Lord wants to speak to you.
8 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 9“This is what the
Lord says: ‘In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great
pride of Jerusalem.
What is pride?
Webster’s
Revised Unabridged Dictionary says – “The quality or state of being proud;
inordinate self-esteem; an unreasonable conceit of one's own superiority in
talents, beauty, wealth, rank, etc., which manifests itself in lofty airs,
distance, reserve, and often in contempt of others.
I believe it
is an attitude of the heart, a choice we make and it takes away God’s glory,
leaves Him out.
Continue reading
to see what happens when we allow pride to come in.
10These 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, will be like this belt—completely useless!
He calls those with
pride – wicked people. They refuse to listen to God’s Word, they think they
know better than God! They are stubborn and go after other gods to serve and
worship them. Do you have ‘other gods’? Are you too stubborn to give up a video
game, tv program, a book you’re reading, the clothes or shoes you are buying
when your closet is already full?? Whatever you put before God’s Word, whatever
you put before your time with God, whatever you put before doing what He has
instructed you to do…..that is your god.
I don’t know
about you but I don’t want to be COMPLETELY useless!
11For 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.’
Ephesians 6:14 says “Stand
firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist”
This is the
first piece of armor we are to put on, it is the belt of truth.
If we are so
full of pride that we will not listen to God, will not do what He has commanded us to do, will
not put him first over the tv, book, game, etc – then we think too highly of
ourselves and not enough of God. We have made ‘gods’ out of our ‘things’. We
are not learning ‘Truth’ from the one that loves us and wants to direct our
steps. We are not wearing our armor which protects us from the schemes of the
devil, (vs 11 Put on the full armor of
God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes) – we haven’t
even put on the first piece mentioned so how can we wear the ‘full’ armor?
He says we
were bound to Him—to be His people for His renown. Renown means - The condition
of being known or talked about by many people.
We are to KNOW
Him and talk about Him. We are to give Him praise and honor.
I looked up ‘praise’
and in Hebrew Strong’s #3034 it is Yadah.
It means ‘thanks, giving praise, or to confess’!!
So, if we know
Him and talk about Him, we should be doing it by confession of who He is,
giving Him thanks and giving Him the praise.
Now what is
honor? “Regard with great respect”
So, let’s put
this last part together……..He bound us to Him, put the belt of Truth on us so
we can KNOW Him, talk about Him, give thanks to Him, praise Him and do this with
great respect.
But we lose
this when we allow pride to come in and put God off on a shelf to collect dust.
I don’t know about you but I’d rather give my time, my honor to a God who loves
me so much that He provides the armor, starting with the belt of Truth, to
overcome the evil one. Pride will not
last, you will fall, and you will become useless.
The good news
is God loves you and He is waiting for you to lay these gods down, to let go of
pride and return to Him. He will put that belt of Truth on you again and you
will begin to wear the armor, giving God all the glory, honor and praise!
When you begin
to see God’s power in your life, when you begin to know it’s Him working in and
through you, when you receive your healing, your protection, etc – you want to
give Him thanks, praise Him and honor Him! You won’t want any other God but Him!!
So lay pride down, get rid of the ‘gods’ you've placed above the Heavenly
Father that loves you so much he sent His Son to die for you.
