Jeremiah and the Linen Belt

The Lord told Jeremiah to buy a linen belt and wear it around his waist. He was not to put it in water. Jeremiah obeyed and put the belt on, just as the Lord had said.

Then the word of the Lord came again. Jeremiah was told to take the belt he had bought and was wearing, go to the Euphrates, and hide it in a cleft of the rock. Jeremiah went and hid it there, as the Lord commanded.

After many days, the Lord told Jeremiah to return to the Euphrates and take the belt from the place where he had hidden it. Jeremiah dug it up, but the belt had been ruined. It was no longer good for anything.

Then God explained the sign. In the same way that the belt was ruined, he would ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This sign showed what had happened to people who refused to hear God's words.

They followed the stubbornness of their own hearts and went after other gods to serve and worship them. God had meant the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to him, like a belt clings at the waist, so they would be his people for praise and honour. But they would not listen. What helps you notice when pride is pulling you away from hearing God's word?