13:1 A linen girdle, or loincloth, was one of the more intimate pieces of clothing, clinging close to the body. It was like underwear. Jeremiah’s action showed how God would ruin Judah just as Jeremiah had ruined the linen girdle.
13:1-11 Actions speak louder than words. Jeremiah often used vivid object lessons to arouse the people’s curiosity and get his point across. This lesson of the linen loincloth illustrated Judah’s destiny. Although the people had once been close to God, their pride had made them useless. Proud people may look important, but God says their pride makes them good for nothing, completely useless. Pride rots our hearts until we lose our usefulness to God.
13:15 While it is good to respect our country and our church, our loyalties always carry a hidden danger—arrogance. When is pride harmful? When it causes us to (1) look down on others; (2) be selfish with our resources; (3) force our solutions on others’ problems; (4) think God is blessing us because of our own merits; (5) be content with our plans rather than seeking God’s plans.
13:18 The king was Jehoiachin, and his mother was Nehushta. The king’s father, Jehoiakim, had surrendered to Nebuchadnezzar but later rebelled. During Jehoiachin’s reign, Nebuchadnezzar’s armies besieged Jerusalem, and both Jehoiachin and Nehushta surrendered. Jehoiachin was sent to Babylon and imprisoned (2 Kings 24:1-15). Jeremiah’s prophecy came true.
13:19 The cities of the south were in the Negev region, the dry wasteland stretching south from Beersheba. The towns in this area would be closed to any refugees fleeing the invading army.
13:23 Not even the threat of captivity could move the people to repent. The people had become so accustomed to doing evil that they had lost their ability to change. God never rejects those who sincerely turn to him. God was warning them to repent before it became impossible to change. We must never put off until tomorrow those changes God wants us to make. Our attitudes and patterns for living can become so set that we will lose all desire to change and will no longer fear the consequences.