Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying. Or the word of prophecy from before the Lord, as the Targum; and now follows the application of this sign to the thing signified, and the whole intention of it is opened. read more
The entire people of the Jews is like a good-for-nothing apron. read more
The spoiled girdle. I. GOD 'S PEOPLE ARE LIKE A GIRDLE TO GOD . 1. They are his peculiar property . The girdle is a private personal possession. It belongs solely to the wearer. When all ordinary property is taken from him he retains the clothes on his body. Even the bankrupt has a right to these. 2. They are near to God. This girdle—really an under-garment—is close to the person of the wearer. God does not simply hold his people as an absentee landlord holds his... read more
The marred girdle. This and the following emblem are intended to symbolize the characters and punishment of pride in spiritual and carnal men respectively. The "girdle" of linen cloth worn by the priest represents the close relation of Judah and Jerusalem to Jehovah. He had chosen them, and taken them into closest fellowship. They were as his cincture to declare his character and glory to men. But they had abused his confidence. For them, therefore, the fate was reserved which is described... read more
The marred girdle. I. THE SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GIRDLE . This is set before us clearly in Jeremiah 13:11 . God chose something which should illustrate the close connection between Israel and himself, and yet which should illustrate at the same time how easily that connection could be severed. The girdle was, of course, a familiar part of an Israelite's apparel. Not exactly a necessity, for a man could perhaps do without it; and yet a necessity in this sense, that habit had made... read more
The ruined girdle; or, it may be too late to mend. The much-needed lesson of this section was taught by means of one of those acted parables of which we have so many instances both in the Old Testament and in the New: e.g. Zedekiah's horns of iron ( 1 Kings 22:11 ); the strange marriages of Isaiah 8:1 , Hosea 1:2 ; the two yokes ( Jeremiah 27:2 ); and in the New Testament, our Lord's standing the little child in the midst of the disciples; the washing the disciples' feet; the... read more
Explanation of the symbol. Could there be a greater humiliation for Judah and Jerusalem than to be compared to a rotting linen apron? The hard things said of this evil people in Jeremiah 13:10 must of course be understood with the limitations indicated in the note on Jeremiah 9:15 , Jeremiah 9:16 . Imagination should (as usual) be stubbornness . The explanation in Jeremiah 9:11 is a strong argument for the rendering "apron" (see above, on Jeremiah 9:1 ). read more
A nation useless and disgraced (13:1-27)In an effort to emphasize God’s warnings to Judah more forcefully, Jeremiah gave them an illustration that they could all see. He took a piece of clean new cloth, put it around his waist, then walked to a distant river where he buried the cloth in the river bank. Some time later he returned to the river and brought back the cloth for all to see. It was now rotten and useless (13:1-7). The meaning is that Judah, the nation that was supposed to be morally... read more
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Matthew Henry's Complete Commentary - Jeremiah 13:1-11
Here is, I. A sign, the marring of a girdle, which the prophet had worn for some time, by hiding it in a hole of a rock near the river Euphrates. It was usual with the prophets to teach by signs, that a stupid unthinking people might be brought to consider, and believe, and be affected with what was thus set before them. 1. He was to wear a linen girdle for some time, Jer. 13:1, 2. Some think he wore it under his clothes, because it was linen, and it is said to cleave to his loins, Jer. 13:11.... read more