Quite alright Sasa.
Now then, continuing on with my body of work.
Jeremiah 13:8 Then the word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
God is going to explain this illustration Himself. You know, there's a lot of people, or some people at least, who say that God's Word is hard to understand or that the truth is hidden. There are different levels of truth in the Word and sometimes yes one has to dig or search for it. But He will always, ALWAYS share it with one who honestly cares and seeks it out. So what does He have to say about the girdle?
"Thus saith the LORD, After this manner will I mar the pride of Judah, and the great pride of Jerusalem.
Now why would God do this to His people? Well first of all, having your balloon deflated a bit when it comes to pride isn't necessarily the worst thing in the world. Pride is what did Satan in. Now, it is fine to be proud of accomplishments that are rightly earned and blessings received from God. But when you're off into a bunch of falsehood and doing things that God does not approve of and are proud of it, you're probably in for a pretty harsh correcting. That is, if you are one of His and if He does have a purpose for you. Or even if you did receive some blessings and did get built up by God and start saying, "Look at what I did, or look how great I am." That was the downfall and the correction of Nebuchadnezzar in Daniel Chapter 4. I mean he was warned by Daniel that God would take his kingdom away from him for a period of time and he would be driven mad like an animal. Then Nebuchadnezzar one day about a year later was walking around his palace and kingdom and said (paraphrasing), "Man, look at my great kingdom that I built for myself." Then just like that, in that instant he lost it all for a period of 7 times... which some say was a period of months, some say 7 years... but it happened as God said it would. Then at the end of that time, Nebuchadnezzar praised God and got everything back. But what does God have against Judah and Jerusalem here?
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.
Friend, that still applies today. Let's break it down a little and do a little self inventory. Do you refuse to hear His words? Well, I'll ask do you read and seek wisdom and understanding from this Word? If you do, then you're okay. If you ignore it, or would rather listen to some man, then things may not go so well for you. Do you pay more mind to fleshly things and desires and focus more on what you want than what God wants? Hey, we're all human and there's none of us perfect. But spiritual maturity comes when one reaches the point where they can honestly say, "If God doesn't want me to have it, I don't want to have it." Walking after other gods to serve and worship- well back then that was literal in the sense that they were following and accepting heathen gods and forms of worship. It still can be today. But it also can be again, what do I spend my time with. What takes precedence in my life? Is it God? Is it something else?
Friend, if you come up on the negative side of that equation or those questions, then God pretty much considers you good for nothing. That's a hard truth to swallow. But guess what? The beautiful thing about Christianity is there is repentance and there is forgiveness. You can't fool Him, and He might not trust you right away even after you repent. But in time when one works at it, one of those "good for nothings" just might wind up amounting to something. Hey, I honestly believe that. If I didn't, I sure wouldn't say it, and I wouldn't be much of a Christian. But one has to work at it for sure.
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.
Now there's actually a lot of tenderness and a lot of love in that. What you have to realize is that God has feelings. He took all of Jacob, all 12 tribes, the house of Israel and the house of Judah, as His people. His special children whom He loved. It's the same way with the Christian body today. If you call yourself Christian, then you should stand up as one. You should represent Christ and your Father with a good name, and give Him praise and glory not only from you to Him but in what you do, showing that nature and that character to everyone around you. Hey, we all fall short. I certainly wouldn't want anyone to judge God or Christianity by following me around 24/7. But He loves you... and when you're in His family, you're something special. So, ACT LIKE IT. Not in a prideful way, other than being proud of what God has done for you. But live for him and be an example unto other people, as best you can.
Jason