A Linen Belt

Jeremiah 13:1


God told Jeremiah to buy a new linen belt. Since linen is considered a rather fine fabric by today's standards, it must have been very rare and costly in Jeremiah's day.

God was specific that Jeremiah was not to let the belt touch water. The belt is symbolic of God's people, clean, pure, close to God when serving the purpose it was designed for. Had the belt become wet it would have become mishaped and drawn.  If it didnt shrink too much, you could have probably still tied it around you. But it would have lost its ability to function as designed, its beauty and its value.

After a while (the bible doesnt specify how long) Jeremiah is told to remove the belt. He is then told to take it to a distant place and hide it in a crevice in the rocks. Once Jeremiah reached Perath, God told him to place the belt in a crevice in the rocks. After many days God commanded Jeremiah to return and retrieve the belt. The belt was soiled, ruined and worthless.  Although this scripture goes on to declare Gods displeasure and judgement for the nation of Judah, the significance of the belt itself is what stuck with me.

It made me realize that it is too easy to lay aside our purpose. Our intent is never to abandon our path or our calling. But in doing so we find ourselves distanced  like the belt, from the one we serve and end up in dark places where we dont belong. In those places, we spiritually and emotionally decay until we are useless to ourselves, the ones we love and the one we serve. It was and is an unneccessary waste.

Be vigilant of the value in your calling for you have value and purpose in the site of the Lord. Stay close to Him and you will not find yourself in dark places where you dont belong.