The Loincloth

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.  So I got a girdle according to the word of the Lord, and put it on my loins.  And the word of the Lord came unto me the second time, saying,   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.  So I went, and hid it by Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.   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. 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.  Then the word of the Lord came unto me, saying,  Thus saith the Lord, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem. 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.   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. - Jeremiah 13:1-11

Jeremiah was to get a linen girdle, wear it, then hide it in a hole of the rock.  Jeremiah not only listened to the Word of the Lord, but he obeyed Him as well even though the request may have seemed very odd.  

The Lord was trying to teach Israel a lesson.  They had discarded the Lord and their relationship with Him. 

Often times we end up burying our relationship with the Lord also, whether it be through work, activities, money, other relationships, etc.  Over time it takes a toll on our relationship with the Lord.  It becomes marred and useless.  Others cannot even recognize that we have Christ living in us and we cannot be used of God as He wants us to be.

And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment.  Mark 12:30

​The Lord wants a relationship with us and Jeremiah is a perfect example of how close we should be with the Lord, listening always, and doing His will.

But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.  James 1:22

​Are we going to mess up?  Yes.

But hopefully we won't discard our relationship with the Lord as Israel had done.  We should strive to keep our relationship with the Lord first and foremost in our minds and hearts.