The
Teaching of the Dirty Linen Girdle
Jeremiah 13:1-16
September 17, 2023
It is amazing to me how that men of the 19th
century (over 200 years ago)
wrote in the Pulpit Commentary about things that
happened in
and
with the evils and needs of our generation, our
culture and our society.
When I think of the word “girdle”
it brings up memories of jokes. But this
is
no laughing matter!
There is an old saying, “If
it don’t fit, don’t force it.” This is a strange topic,
but when it comes to intimacy in this world, this
seems a natural. I am surprised to
be talking about it, but feel led to do
so. May God guide the lines of thinking
in both
the presenter and the hearer or reader.
1 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.
2 So I got a
girdle according to the word of the LORD, and put it on
my loins.
3 And the word
of the LORD came unto me the second time, saying,
4 Take the
girdle that thou hast got, which is upon thy loins, and
arise, go to
5 So I went,
and hid it by
6 And it came
to pass after many days, that the LORD said unto me,
Arise, go to
commanded thee to
hide there.
7 Then I went
to
place where I had
hid it: and, behold, the girdle was marred, it was
profitable for nothing.
8 Then the
word of the LORD came unto me, saying,
9 Thus saith the LORD, After this manner
will I mar the pride of
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.
11 For as the girdle cleaveth to the loins of a man, so have I caused to
cleave unto me 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.
12 Therefore
thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the
LORD God of
they shall say
unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle
shall be filled
with wine?
13 Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith
the LORD, Behold, I
will fill all
the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon
David’s
throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the
inhabitants of
14 And I will
dash them one against another, even the fathers and the
sons together, saith the LORD: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have
mercy, but
destroy them.
15 Hear ye, and give ear; be not proud: for the LORD hath spoken.
16 Give glory
to the LORD your God, before He cause darkness, and
before your feet
stumble upon the dark mountains, and, while ye
look for light,
He turn it into the shadow of death, and make it
gross darkness.
loins - the part of the body on both sides of the spine between the lowest
(false)
ribs and the hipbones. The
region of the privates especially when regarded as
the source of erotic or procreative power.
In ancient times the girdle was a very useful part of many costumes, holding long,
draped garments or short, loose outfits in place. Girdles were also decorative
and
could be a kind of jewelry for the waist. Girdles were often made of cloth
but
were sometimes made of metal, decorated with precious stones and beads.
The
Ruined Girdle! Too Late to Mend? (13:1-12)
The much-needed lesson of this section was taught by means of one of
those acted parables of which we have so many instances both in the Old
Testament and in the New: e.g.:
· Zedekiah’s horns of iron (1 Kings 22:11);
· the strange marriages of Isaiah 8:3, Hosea 1:2;
· the two yokes (Jeremiah 27:2); and
· in the New Testament, our Lord’s standing the little child in the midst
of the disciples; (Mark 9:36)
· the washing the disciples’ feet; (John 13)
· the withering of the fig tree; (Matthew 21:18-22)
· the taking of Paul’s girdle (Acts 21:11),
The present instance seems very strange, and to us it would have
appeared meaningless, uncouth, and simply grotesque. But to Orientals, and
especially to Jews, the dramatic action of the prophet — for we regard
what is here said as having been literally done — would be very impressive.
It
was a strange garb for the prophet to be arrayed in. It would attract
attention, be the subject of much
comment, and, when the prophet
continued to wear it, though soiled and
in much need of washing, this
would cause more comment still, and
would indicate to the people that the
strange garb and conduct of the prophet
had meaning and intent which it
would be well for them to give heed to. Then the taking of the girdle to
then finding it and fetching it back, and no doubt exhibiting it, ruined,
worthless, good for nothing; — all this would rivet the people’s attention,
and deeply impress their minds. Now, one evident, if not the chief, lesson
designed to be taught by this to us curious procedure, was the irreparable
ruin that would come upon the people through the exile and
captivity
which they were by their sin bringing upon themselves. Many, no doubt,
had comforted themselves with the idea — as is the manner of all
transgressors — that if trouble did come to them it would not be so bad as
the prophet made out. They would get over it, and be but little the worse.
This dramatic parable was designed to shatter all such notions, and to show
that
consequence of their exile, “good for nothing.” Note, then:
___________________________________________________________________________---
Self-esteem
I.
THE FIRST PART OF THE PARABLE — THE GIRDLE WORN.
This would encourage their delusion. For the likening of them to a girdle,
especially to a linen girdle — a
priestly and therefore a sacred vestment and
to a chosen and purchased girdle, would vividly declare to
them how
precious they were in God’s sight.
1. For as the
girdle (v. 11) was worn close to the person
of the wearer, it
denoted how very near to
the heart of God they were who by this
similitude were set forth. The known favor of God led them, as it had led
others, to presume that they
could never try God too much. He would be
sure to bear with them and forgive them, do what they might.
2. Then the girdle was a portion of the dress most necessary to the wearer,
and so denoted how necessary His people were to God. Had not God said,
over and over again, in every
variety of way, “How can I give thee
up?
how can I make thee as
the girdle was indispensable to the comfort, the decorousness, the strength
of the wearer, so God taught by this
figure that He could not do without
His people.
Read Exodus 28:6-12
Why is it called the curious girdle? The word in Hebrew
means girdle or ingenious
work, and is taken from a
root meaning to think, plan, esteem, calculate, invent,
make a judgment, imagine,
count. God thought out, planed, imagined this girdle
and gave wisdom to the
artist that made it.
The import of Psalm 50:21-23
God is Sovereign - “But our God is in the heavens: He hath done
whatsoever He hath pleased.”
(Psalm 115:3)
21 These things
hast thou done, and I kept silence; thou thoughtest
that I was
altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee,
and set them in
order before thine eyes.
22
Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest
I tear you in pieces, and
there be none to
deliver.
23 Whoso offereth praise glorifieth me:
and to him that ordereth his
conversation aright will I shew
the salvation of God.
add to this
Jeremiah 8:7-8
7 Why then is
this people of
backsliding? they hold fast deceit, they refuse to return.
8 I hearkened
and heard, but they spake not aright: no man repented
him of his
wickedness, saying, What have I done? every one turned
to his course,
as the horse rusheth into the battle.
3. Moreover, as the girdle was adorned and ornamented, and thus was a
most valuable portion of the
dress, so it showed that His people were to
God a cherished ornament and praise. They were to be to Him “for a
name, and for a praise, and for a glory” (v. 11). And as such God had
worn this girdle and put it on
Him. And His people knew all this, and
presumed upon it. (Are we past this stage? CY - 2023)
II. THE SECOND PART — THE GIRDLE UNCLEANSED. This would
show wherefore their ideas must be a delusion. “Put it not in water” (v. 1).
The prophet was bidden to wear it in this soiled and
foul condition, and
no
doubt he did so. It would provoke the contempt, which adornments
associated with uncleanliness EVER EXCITE!. But its intent in thus being worn
unwashed was to depict the moral state of those to whom the
prophet was
sent. As they would put
away from them a soiled and unclean girdle, so
they were to learn that God, though He might bear long with a
morally
unclean people, would not always do so.
I am tempted to talk for a moment on the rite of
circumcision from a
standpoint of personal hygiene, personal cleanliness and what I perceive
God’s meaning for the Jewish people - leading to its true meaning of
THE CIRCUMCISION OF THE HEART. I should think this is the
true meaning and the most effective way God could get
across to all of us
THE PLIGHT WE ARE IN - WHO WILL MAY
KNOW IT! And:
III.
THE THIRD PART OF THE PARABLE — THE GIRDLE PUT
AWAY. This would show
that their presumptuous ideas were actually a
delusion. The girdle was so spoiled by its burial by
the
was henceforth “good
for nothing.” And all this came true. It
was but a
miserable remnant of the people that came back from
independent nation they have never since regained the position that they
then lost. All their
national glory CAME TO AN END; THE LESSON
OF
THE MARRED GIRDLE WAS LITERALLY FULFILLED!
IV. THE WHOLE A PARABLE THAT HAS MANY APPLICATIONS.
To Churches, to individuals, to all the gifted of God’s grace in time,
talents, opportunities, and, above all, in the presence and help of the Holy
Spirit. They will be tempted to presume, to think they can never forfeit
these things, that God will be ever gracious to them as He has been in the
past. This parable is a word for all such, and should prompt the earnest and
constant putting up of the psalmist’s prayer, “Keep back thy servant…
from presumptuous sins.” (Psalm 19:13)
IN RE TO 13:12
·
CONCLUSION. We all are vessels. We all
shall be filled. But
what with? Pray that it may not be with the wine of the wrath of God, but
“with the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3.).
Be
Not Proud (v.
15)
It is difficult to see what those whom the prophet was addressing had to
proud of; but it is certain that they were proud, and that thereby they were,
more than by aught else, hindered from receiving the word of God. The
inflated shape, the mean material, and the easily destroyed nature of those”
bottles” to which he had likened them, as well as the arrogant boastful talk
of the drunkard, whose doings theirs he predicted should resemble; both
these comparisons show how vividly the prophet discerned in
them this
besetting sin of pride, and the ruin it would be sure to work them. Let us,
therefore, note:
I.
SOME OF THE REASONS FOR THIS EXHORTATION, “Be not proud.”
1. The main
reason which the prophet here urges is its antagonism to the
Word of God. Now, such antagonism cannot but be, for:
(a) The Word
of God despises what men most esteem.
(α) Their own
moral worth. How high men’s estimate of this!
How low that of the Word of God!
(β)
Their own capacities. Man deems
himself capable of
self-support,
self=deliverance, and self-salvation. The Word
of God tells him
he is utterly dependent on God for
all things,
be he who he
may.
(γ)
The world — its maxims, honors,
wealth, etc.
(b) It
esteems what men most despise.
(α)
Such qualities of mind as meekness,
forgiveness of injuries,
humility,
indifference to the world, great regard to the unseen
and the
spiritual.
(β)
Persons who have nothing but moral
excellence to recommend them,
be they poor,
obscure, and despicable in the world’s esteem.
(γ ) Courses of life which may involve “the loss of all things,” so
only as we “may be accepted of Him.” (Philippians
3:8;
II Corinthians 5:9)
2. Its other terrible fruits. Some of these are given in the verses following.
It will not suffer men to give glory to God; it leads men into deadly peril
(v. 16). It causes deep distress to those who care for their souls; it will
end in their utter ruin (v. 17).
II. HOW OBEDIENCE MAY BE RENDERED TO IT. Probably there is
nothing but that threefold work of the Holy Spirit of which our
Lord
speaks which will ensure such obedience. Pride is too deeply rooted in the
hearts of men to yield to any lesser force but:
1. The conviction of sin — destroying all man’s self-complacency.
2. Of righteousness — filling him at the same time with admiration of the
righteousness of Christ, with despair of attainment of it, but with joy that,
though he cannot have it in
himself, he
yet has it by virtue of his faith in
Christ.
3. Of judgment — destroying the supremacy of the world over his mind,
and so delivering him from the temptation to its pride. This work of the
Holy Spirit lays the axe at the root of the tree, and ere long hews it down.
Let, then, this Holy Spirit be sought in all sincerity, and let his
guidance be
ever followed; so shall “the mind of Christ” be
increasingly formed in us,
and we shall learn of him who was “meek and lowly in heart,” and so find
rest in our Souls.
Vain is it to pile up the gold, vain is it
to awaken the clarion trump of fame, vain is
it to gather learning or to master eloquence,
eminence, rank, wealth, power
— -all
these things are too little to satisfy the insatiable craving of an
immortal soul. YOU MUST HAVE GOD OR YOU WILL NEVER HAVE
ENOUGH! YOU MUST BE
RECONCILED TO HIM OR YOU CAN NEVER
BE AT PEACE WITH YOURSELF! Man must enter
into covenant of peace
with his God, or all the creatures
of God shall conspire against him. Pilgrim of
earth, thy way must be towards holiness and God,
or in vain shalt thou expect the
dawning: TO
THE SINNER IS RESERVED THE BLACKNESS OF DARKNESS
FOR EVER and even now his way is hard and his path is
darkened with fear and
disquietude. I thought,
however, this morning of addressing myself, through the words
of the text, to another class of individuals
— persons who are sincerely
seeking better things, desirous of obtaining the
true and heavenly light,
who have waited hoping to receive it, but
instead of obtaining it are in a
worse, at least in a sadder, state than they
were, and they are almost driven
today into the dark foreboding that for them no
light will ever come, they
shall be prisoners chained for ever in the
valley of the shadow of death.
A
Demand for the Timely Giving of What is Due to Jehovah
(vs. 15-16)
It will be observed that the previous verses of this chapter set forth the
doom of Jehovah’s apostate people by two very expressive figures. There
is the figure of the girdle, marred and become good for nothing by lying so
long in the damp recess of the rock. There is also the figure of the
inhabitants of
people, every one of them become as it were a living wine-skin, filled with
drunken fury, destroying one another and being destroyed. This figure,
bordering on the grotesque, presents as impending a very terrible
scene.
But with the verses now to be considered there returns what we may call
an evangelical interval. Though in these prophecies of Jeremiah gloom of
necessity predominates, yet there are equally necessary intervals of light,
intervals where the mercy of
Jehovah is clearly revealed, and His never-falling
desire that his people
should return to Him. There is, of course,
practically, no hope for these people so far as their present social
state is
concerned. They will go on their own way; but to the last God will also
make His appeal. Notice now the things which God asks for here.
I. ATTENTION. “Hear ye, and give ear.” These people have never really
attended to the import of the prophetic messages. Either they have been
totally indifferent or they have been irritated by some word they
did not
like, and so the complete message has fallen uncomprehended
upon their
ears. For instance, the why and wherefore of the prophet’s extraordinary
journey to the
it is plain from v. 12 how entirely they missed the meaning of the
prophet’s saying respecting the bottles being filled with wine. The
parabolic sentence was to them nothing more than mere commonplace.
And of course, so long as attention was lacking, truth was of no use. There
is an analogy between the receiving of truth and the receiving of bodily
food. As food must be properly
introduced into the physical system, so
truth must be properly introduced into the mind, brought before
the
understanding of the individual, firmly grasped by him in its reality,
so that
it may become a real and beneficial element in the life.
II. HUMILITY. There must be submission to the prophet as a proved
messenger from God. Pride is going to be the ruin of these people. The
prophet himself was humbly obedient to all commandments of God; why,
then, should his audience be proud? The grandees (persons of high rank or
eminence) of
rustic from Anathoth. The elders resent remonstrances from a man comparatively
young. Those whose boast it perhaps was that they had never been in bondage to
any man, do not like to hear
of conquest and captivity. There is no getting
at truth
and right without humility. Because truth means,
not only the reception of that
which is true, but the casting out of the old and the loved and the often
boasted of. It is very hard
for a man to cut himself off from the past and
show by a very different future how he feels the errors and
follies of which
he has been guilty. It is hard for the διδάσκαλος - didaskalos - teacher - like
Nicodemus to go down from his chair and become a μαθητής - mathataes -
disciple - stumbling among the rudimentary principles of the kingdom of heaven.
III.
THE
GIVING OF GLORY TO JEHOVAH. “Give glory to Jehovah
your God.” These people had been giving elsewhere what they reckoned to
be glory, but which, so far from being glory, was indeed their own deepest
shame. Glory of a certain sort they had plenty of, but they came short of
the glory of God.
They did not, in the conduct of their life, show a
proper
response to the wisdom by which God had created them as men and
separated them as a people. By their present doings they were exposing the
Name of Jehovah to insult and scorn from all round about. This asking for
glory to be given was a request reasonable in itself. If a master is a good
master, it is not right that his servant should act so as to make the master’s
reputation suffer. If a father is a
good father, it is not right for his
child to
act as if he had been deprived of all beneficial influences in
the way of
teaching and training. What is thought of a man who basely forgets his
nationality and laughs at the feelings that gather around the idea of
fatherland? And hence the
Name of Jehovah was a name to be magnified in
word and deed and every outcome of life on the part of His
people. We
ourselves must labor to praise God with our whole hearts. And more
than
that, we must live as those who show the power of God, saving
us and
lifting us into an altogether higher life.
IV.
THE GIVING OF THIS GLORY PROMPTLY ON ACCOUNT OF
PERIL TO THOSE WHO REFUSE TO GIVE. The figure employed is
that of a traveler on a journey. He gets into the wrong road, gets indeed
altogether out of any proper road; but he persists in mere wandering,
refuses to be warned, will not accept guidance back to the proper .path. He
sees dangers, many dangers; but because it is daylight he manages to
escape them. And now, as the darkness momentarily
increases, the
warnings also increase in urgency. When the darkness is fully come, where
will he be. On the mountains, not able to take one confident step in any
direction, lest it be over the precipice. Furthermore, in the case of a
traveler, he has always this resort, that if darkness comes amid such
dangers he can stand still till the return of the dawn. But here is the
contrast in that the expected dawn will never come. This rebellious, God-
dishonoring generation is
virtually walking into captivity of its own accord.
As far as it is concerned, it will look in vain for restoration. The restoration
will belong, not to it, nor even to its children, but rather to its children’s
children. Those who wander from
God wander into a state where they are
self destroyed, because the resources of which they boasted
themselves
have come to nothing. Glorify God, willingly, in the light, or you will end
by glorifying Him unwillingly, in the darkness. Think of what came to
Herod because he did not give the glory to God. (Acts 12)
Moral
Helplessness: How Induced (Jeremiah 13:23)
I. THE EXTENT TO WHICH IT MAY GO. The metaphors employed are
intended to illustrate the difficulty of getting rid of that which has become a
part of one’s self, or which has become natural to one. It is evident that
superficial means would never produce the effect supposed, because that
which seems to be superficial has really its root in the nature,
and would be
reproduced similarly in place of that which was removed. The doctrine is
that there are certain evils into which men fall which may appear to be
external, matters of custom and observance, but which
have really their
origin in the depravity of the heart. Any merely external reform, like that of
Josiah,
would fail to effect a permanent change, because the
source of the
errors and transgressions which were corrected was deeper than the
remedy could reach. And this is the case with the sins
of men. To cease to
do evil we have not only to stay the hand but to purify the heart. To cease
to do evil we must cease to think it, to feel it, and to conceive it. So
helpless is the sinner when he stands face to face with the problem of
reformation. Effort after effort is made and fails. It is bound to fail because
the source of the wrong-doing has not been rectified.
To change himself —
who is capable of this feat?
II. CAUSES OF IT, REAL AND UNREAL. Excuses readily suggest
themselves to the sinner who would avoid the humiliation
of repentance.
He may ask the question, as if it were a mystery, “Wherefore come these
things upon me?” Or, ignoring the witness of conscience, he may attribute
his weakness to circumstances and external influences. This is the error
which the prophet refutes. With great skill he shows the terrible power of
habit: how men continue to do that which they have been doing
simply
because they have been doing it. The feet acquire a fatal facility in
transgression, and the, hands a skill in working evil. They almost act
automatically when things forbidden are suggested. But when the
commandments of God are concerned they are unfamiliar with the duties
enjoined, and the will is not resolute enough to persevere in them.
III. ITS GREAT REMEDY. Seeing that in himself the sinner is without
strength, it would appear at first as if he could only despair. But this is not
the teaching of the prophet. He
has already counseled vigorous effort, and
implied that a commencement and continuance in well-doing were
possible.
But the change could only begin at a spiritual point,
viz. repentance. And
this, as Scripture abundantly shows, though within the power of every one,
is a supernatural grace. A
true sorrow for sin may be induced in answer to
prayer, by the study of Scripture, and the contemplation of
Christ; BUT IT IS
ALWAYS THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT! When that grace, however,
has once been attained, it is open to the sinner to reverse the process by which he
has been enslaved. After conversion evil habit will assert
itself, and
can
only be met by
constant dependence upon Divine grace and constant effort
after holiness. “But
as many as received Him, to them gave He power to
become the sons of God.” (John 1:12) The good habit formed by repeated
and regular actions according to the Law of God is the best antidote to the evil one.
Lost
Upon the
“Give glory to the Lord!”
I.
THE SCENE PORTRAYED. It is
that of unhappy travelers overtaken
by night, when crossing some of the perilous mountain
tracks of
A traveler overtaken as these seem to have been by a
night storm, is in
imminent danger of falling over precipices and perishing
miserably. Even
by day the way is perilous: the paths are easily lost, or
are strewn with
rocks, or they lead along steep and slippery slopes, or by
overhanging
cliffs, where a single foot slip may plunge the heedless
passenger headlong
to a frightful death in the far depths below. But how much more dangerous
such journey must be when night overtakes the travelers, is evident. The
fading light has gone, but the journey has still to be pursued. And now
comes that stumbling upon the dark mountains, which is so terrible and
inevitable. There is the anxious looking for the fitful light of moon or stars,
and occasionally hope arises that the clouds will break and some glimmer
appear. But this hope has been speedily quenched by the clouds gathering
over again, and with the added darkness of the rain-storm, so that the
darkness is “gross,” like unto that of the shadow of death. Every step,
therefore, is fraught with frightful peril, and not a few thus benighted amid
such mountain passes perish miserably ere the morning dawn. Such is the
scene portrayed.
II. THAT WHICH IT REPRESENTS.
1. The
temporal calamities which God sends — as to the Jews — in
punishment for their sins. All earthly distress has the sad tendency to
unhinge the mind, to fill with foreboding fear, and greatly to perplex and
overwhelm; but when to the natural effects of such earthly distress
there is
added the consciousness of guilt and of having deserved what
God has
sent, then the dismay, distress, and despair which are suggested by the
prophetic picture are miserably increased.
2. The hardened sinner’s despair of God’s mercy. The vision of judgment
and wrath has come upon him, but the remembrance of his sins crushes
hope of mercy (compare Judas “going out and hanging himself”).
(Matthew 27:5)
3. The entanglements of sin. It is a great mistake to imagine that those who
are enslaved by any sin are happy in it. Not a few of them endure a very
hell in their frantic but futile endeavors to break the chain which long
indulgence has forged and fastened around them. The bitter repentance, the
unavailing remorse, every gleam of hope of deliverance so soon quenched,
the recklessness of despair, the groaning as of the prisoner appointed to
death, — all these are
realities known to the slaves of sin, and should make
every soul shudder
lest the like should come upon him.
4. The
procrastinator’s death-bed. He who
has been convinced over and
over again that he ought to seek the Lord, but has ever put it
off, — his
feet are likely to “stumble upon the dark mountains “when
the night of the
shadow of death draws upon him.
III. HOW SUCH MISERY MAY BE AVOIDED. It was very near: the
prophet’s words imply that the’ oft-threatened doom was at their very
doors. And so the like doom may
be near to many now. But yet it may be
avoided. Giving heed to God’s Word (v. 15). We have much hope when
we see an earnest heeding of that Word, a really serious attention paid to
it. But that by itself is not enough. There must
be the actual “giving glory
to God;”
· by confession of sin,
· acknowledging the wrong done;
· by casting the soul on God for forgiveness in lowly trust;
· by forsaking the evil that has roused the just anger of God.
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:
though your sins be as
scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though
they be red like crimson, they
shall be as wool.” (Isaiah 1:18)
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the
unrighteous man his thoughts:
and let him return unto the Lord, and He will
have mercy upon him, and
to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” (ch. 55:7).
“......behold now is the day of
salvation.” (II Corinthians
6:2)
IV.
THE GREAT REASON FOR FEAR THAT THIS
MISERY WILL
NOT BE AVOIDED AFTER ALL. It was and it ever is the accursed pride
(vs. 15, 17) that will
not allow of such giving heed to the Divine Word
and such giving glory to
him. All
the instincts of the unrenewed heart are
up in arms against such self-abasement. Any sacrifice will be brought
rather
than that of the broken and contrite heart.
V.
THE UTTERLY HOPELESS CONDITION OF THOSE
THUS
LOST. (v. 17.) See the prophet’s piteous tears. He can do nothing —
every resource has been tried and failed, and he can but “weep sore in
secret places” for the “pride” that has ruined those he would fain have
saved. Oh then, sinful heart,
down, down before thy God, and
“give glory
to Him,” as He would have thee do, as it is so right and reasonable and good
for thee to do, as the ministers of God entreat thee to do.
The
Neglected Trust Demanded (13:20) summarize
“Where is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?” This word is
addressed to the rulers of
whom they ruled, were God’s flock, His “beautiful flock.” That flock had been
entrusted to the rulers’ care. The influence of those in power was very
great. As were the leaders of the people — especially the king — so were
the people themselves. They could be led like a flock, and were so.
Tremendous, therefore, was the responsibility of those in power, to whom
was entrusted this flock of the Lord. But they had used their great
authority and power badly. Ruin had come or was about to come upon the
flock (compare vs. 18-19); they were to be scattered, scattered wholly, and
the greater portion of them lost. To these careless and guilty shepherds the
Lord
now comes, and asks for the flock He had placed in their hands. “Give
an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest no longer be steward.”
(Luke
16:2), was said to those who were to be no
longer stewards because
of their faithlessness. Now, this question, “Where is the flock,” etc.? is one which
should be often heard sounding in the ears of many others besides those to whom
it was first addressed, e.g.
flock, His “beautiful
flock.” Its members are very dear to Him, “purchased
with his own blood.” The Church is given, entrusted, to pastors. When
Christ ascended up on high He gave some “pastors.” This method of
ordering His Church is the one He has willed. His blessing has evidently
rested on it. What does not the
But
whatever their character they cannot but have
great influence. They are
trusted by the people. They have received special gifts for
their work in the
form of mental and moral endowments. They are much prayed for. They
are specially set apart for the
charge of the
every inducement to fidelity. Faithful, the love of their charge will gather
round them; the fear of God will dwell within them; the crown of life
awaits them. And these mighty motives, acting upon hearts already
prepared by God’s grace and devoted to this high office, have for the most
part secured a great degree of fidelity in it. Hence a character and
reputation have become associated with the office, which cannot but invest
with much influence,
as it does with much responsibility,
all those who
occupy it. But in spite of all this
there may be, as there has been at times,
great unfaithfulness. Hence the flock
has been scattered. The Church has
suffered in numbers, in purity of doctrine,
in consistency of life, in
spirituality of character. Its enjoyment in
all holy service goes; its power
for good in the neighborhood where
it dwells goes; its regard for all that
marks vigorous life in a Church all
goes; and ere long its “candlestick is
removed out of its place.” Perhaps its numbers may not greatly diminish.
There shall be the observance of the sabbath, its services, its sermons, its
sacraments — orderly, regular, frequent. Many things may conduce to this.
Its name may live, but it is dead. Oh, the awfulness of this! And if it have
been through the negligence and unfaithfulness of the pastor, who shall
deliver him from the charge of blood-guiltiness which will lie at his door?
What will he answer when the question is addressed to him, as one day it
surely will be, “Where
is the flock that was given thee, thy beautiful flock?”
Let every pastor of Christ’s Church consider this and pray:
“Chief Shepherd of thy chosen sheep,
From death and sin set free,
Let
every under-shepherd keep
His eye
intent on thee.”
II.
TO ALL PARENTS. Our children are the Lord’s flock, His
“beautiful
flock.” They are very dear to Him. He puts His arm round every
one of
them; He takes them all up
in His arms and blesses them. He declares by His
Word and by their
baptism that they are of His kingdom, and He both
promises vast reward to those
that receive them in His Name, and threatens
with dreadful doom all those who “offend” them. But parents have
unspeakable influence over them. They mold and fashion them, not in
outward form and habits alone, but in inward character. For a long time
they are as God to their children, who know no higher authority, no higher
help. Hence they trust their parents utterly. And to guard against the abuse
of this tremendous trust, God has implanted the instincts of parental
love,
and given every
motive to parents to guard and keep well those He has
entrusted to their care.
Now, if through parental unfaithfulness those
children become renegades from God, He will surely ask this question,
“Where is the flock, thy beautiful flock?” Let remembrance of this lead to
earnest prayer and diligent heed so
that each parent at last may have
the
unspeakable joy — as he may have — of standing at last before God,
and saying, with glad thankfulness, “Behold, here am I, and the children,
thou hast given me.” (Isaiah 8:18)
III.
TO EVERY INDIVIDUAL SOUL. For the sum of all the
faculties,
opportunities, talents, the whole
of the varied gifts and capacities which
together form our spiritual
nature — judgment, affection, conscience,
intellect, will, — all these are the
flock of God which is entrusted to every
individual man; and by due care
and cultivation of them he can preserve
and develop them into an offering of
worship and consecration which God
will ever accept and
bless.
Every man
has the making of his own life by the
help of God. There is scarce any
degree of honor and joy which he may not
win by faithfulness in
the use of that which God has entrusted to him.
Concerning them all God says, “Occupy till I come.” (Luke 19:13-14;
contrast Psalm 81:11-16))
And how vast and varied is the help God
gives to us in
this great work! What means of grace are provided! What
recompense even
here and now is given! Victory over self; a mind at peace;
blessed influence
over others; the love and esteem of the good; free communion
and fellowship
with God Himself; the consciousness of the Divine love; the bright and
blessed
hope of the eternal life hereafter. So
that even now “in keeping of God’s
commandments there is great reward.” (Psalm
19:11) But if we
be unfaithful here
and
waste all our goods — these high
gifts, faculties, and opportunities — sowing
to the flesh when we should be
sowing to the Spirit, then this question
will be heard
concerning all these things, “Where is the flock, thy beautiful flock?” And then we
search in vain for any answer to the next question “What will thou say when He
shall punish thee?” (v. 21), Therefore let us each keep continually before
our minds such truths as those that are taught in the well-known hymn:
“A charge to keep I have,
A God to glorify,
A never-dying soul to save
And fit it for the sky.
“Help me to watch and pray,
And on thyself
rely;
Assured if I my trust betray
I
shall forever die.”
An Awful Condition Indeed (13:23)
“Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? Then may ye
also do good, that are accustomed to do evil.” This verse tells
of one who as
brought himself to such a pass that he cannot cease from sin.
IT IS AN
AWFUL CONDITION INDEED! Note:
in re:
the role of the will in past lessons
The prostration of his will. He is continually making resolves, but they
are frail as cobwebs, they are broken through by the slightest temptation
now. The power to firmly and steadfastly resolve seems gone from him. He
has resolved so often, but in vain, that his will now refuses to rise to the
endeavor.
A
Natural Impossibility
(v. 23)
I. THE NATURAL IMPOSSIBILITY HERE PRESENTED. It is a
profound and momentous truth, God Himself being the witness — the
heart-searching God — that man who is accustomed to do evil cannot turn
to good. This truth is not baldly stated here, but is illustrated in such a way
that there can be no possible doubt as to God’s meaning. Observe that the
impossibility referred to is a natural one. It is not said that under no
circumstances whatever can a man accustomed to do evil be enabled to do
good. The thing affirmed is that the power of habit and custom is so strong
that he cannot turn himself. If we are inclined to doubt this, and indulge in
that glorification of human nature which is at once so easy and so perilous,
we have only to think of the illustrations here employed. It is vain to
discuss with a man who is determined to magnify the power of the natural
man towards that which is right and good. The better plan is to assure
one’s own heart of the truth which God would make plain by these
illustrations of His own giving. If any one asserted that an Ethiopian could
change his skin or a leopard his spots, he would be reckoned a fool past
arguing with. But there are
multitudes who think it is very good advice to
tell the poor slave of worldliness and passion to be a man and
exert the
strength of his will and turn away from evil. Now, what God says here by
his prophet is that every such attempt must end in disappointment. No
doubt there are certain times and stages in life when it is hard to accept
such a view. It is a humbling and limiting view, one which exhibits in such
an uncompromising way our weakness. But the sooner we come to take
such a view — to take it practically and not in a mere speculative manner
— to feel that the way of
self-recovery and self-perfecting is closed against
us, the better it will be for us.
II.
THE CONSEQUENT NEED OF A GRACIOUS
INTERVENTION.
This is not stated here, but we know that it is meant to be remembered. In
all such emphatic assertions of human inability there lies the suggestion that
we may look confidently
and ought to look promptly for abundance of
Divine help. God puts His hand on our mouths to stop all proud words, but
at the same time He would lead us to lay
hold of His promises and be filled
with His strength. A clear vision of our own inability
means a clear vision of
the need of Divine
intervention, and a clear vision of the need of Divine
intervention may be expected to
prepare for an equally clear vision of the
reality of that intervention. That which measures the impossibilities in the
corrupted natural man helps to measure the reasonable purposes and
expectations of the man who is renewed by the Spirit of God.
When we
have got the life that is hid with Christ in God, we have
something within
us which defies the corruptions so powerful before. The Christian, full of
the Divine Spirit, is found able to utter all sorts of paradoxes. Though he
cannot, of himself, make one hair white or black, he can be “suffering, yet
always rejoicing; poor, yet making many rich.” (II Corinthians 6:10) There is a
way, then, by which those accustomed to do evil can be brought to do good.
There are resources which more than make up for the greatest lack of natural
strength. If we only seek for those resources in the right place, we cannot
fail to find them.
III.
THE TEACHING TO BE DERIVED FROM THE EMPLOYMENT
OF THESE PECULIAR ILLUSTRATIONS. Thousands of images were
available to show natural impossibilities, but these two are employed. It will
be observed that they relate to the alteration of external appearance. God
could change the skin of the Ethiopian, could change the spots of the
leopard; but He leaves them as they are, because no good purpose could be
served by the alteration. Where an alteration is really wanted, He can make
it, with results that are profitable now and promise a far greater profit in
eternity. So far as the merely agreeable is concerned, it would certainly
have been pleasanter for the Negro if those features which make him an
object of ridicule to the ignorant, the proud, and the meticulous (careful and
precise), were taken away. But
it is God’s principle to interfere with nature
only where sin has made
the interference necessary. Many Negroes
— God
be
thanked — have found the better part, the one
thing needful; and, compared
with this, what is the most disturbing of surface discomforts? Continual comfort at
the heart, a comfort which cannot be taken from him, makes him forget all
these. There would be no object in changing the spots of the
leopard; let us
rather rejoice that God takes away from men the leopard-ferocity
which
makes them as dangerous as any beast of prey. How often we seek vain
and useless things, making ourselves miserable over physical defects and
peculiarities, and continuing
quite indifferent to the washing of the heart
from wickedness. Instead of being anxious after things we cannot change
and
need not change, let us pray and strive after that possible, fundamental,
radical change which will bring in due time perfection of the whole man.
God, working from the
heart, will cause that in due time we shall be
perfect and entire, lacking nothing.
The One Thing Needful (13:27) Glean
“
Wilt thou not be made clean? When shall it once be?”
I. MEN ARE SPIRITUALLY UNCLEAN. Like as the Lord looked down
upon the occupants of the porches at
impotent folk (John 5.); so now, as “His eyes behold, His eyelids try the children
of men.” (Psalm 11:4) He sees a similar though a far more terrible sight —
the mass of mankind spiritually diseased. This is manifestly true of the heathen
world. The abominations and the cruelties that are practiced there show the
virulence (servility or harmfulness) of the soul’s malady amongst them. And if
we look at the mass of those who profess and call themselves Christians, in how
many of these is the profession only, a veneer of religious customs
covering
a corrupt and sinloving heart. And if it be so with the
professing Church, what
must it be with those
who reject all the means of grace which the Christian
Church enjoys?
II.
BUT GOD GREATLY DESIRES THAT MEN SHOULD BE
DELIVERED FROM THIS UNCLEANNESS. “He will
have all men to be
saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” (I Timothy 2:4)
He desires this:
1. From His very nature. He Himself is the most holy God. But all moral
qualities ever strive to reproduce themselves in those around them.
Let a
man be characterized by orderliness, truthfulness, sobriety,
purity, and in
proportion as he is so the contact of those of opposite character will
be
painful to him, and he will endeavor to make them like himself. And so,
because “good and upright is the Lord, therefore
will He teach sinners in
the way.” (Psalm 25:8)
2. His righteousness also. The sense of outrage and wrong which sin must
produce in the heart of God makes Him angry with the wicked every day.
(ibid. ch.
11:7)
3. His compassion. Sin is sorrow. We wonder at the priests of Baal
persisting in cutting and wounding themselves. But is not every sinner just
such a one? And with this added sorrow — that their wounds are
FOR
ETERNITY, and not for the short life
here alone. On the other hand, to be
“made whole” SPIRITUALLY IS TO BE
MADE BLESSED
FOREVERMORE!
III. YET MEN WILL NOT. The tone of the question, the woe which
precedes it, the comparison of the sinner with the Ethiopian and the
leopard, etc. (v. 23), the half-despairing cry, “When shall it once be?”
(v.
27), — all this shows the prophet’s conviction of man’s
persistent
clinging to his sin. Were the question concerning bodily disease, it would
be unnecessary. Who would not be delivered from that? But when it is
spiritual healing, MEN WILL
NOT! From the consequences of their sin they
are willing to be delivered — the punishment, the remorse, the shame, etc. —
BUT NOT FROM THE SIN ITSELF!!!???? True, at times, in the first keen
pangs of remorse, and under the vivid sense of shame, they
would be willing then
to be rid of the sin itself. But
their return to their sin shows how momentary
and superficial this feeling was. (And it is true of them as of the true proverb,
“.....The dog is turned to his own vomit
again; and the sow that was washed
to her wallowing in the mire.” (II Peter 2:22) And men would be willing,
perhaps, if by some one act the whole cure could be
effected;
if the being made
whole was not so slow, so difficult, so self-denying a process.
And, in fact, they
do hope that by some one act — a death-bed repentance — the
whole
process will be accomplished.
IV.
BUT WITHOUT MAN’S OWN CONSENT HE
CANNOT BE
MADE WHOLE. God does not by a mere act of power make a man
spiritually whole, as He makes one tree an oak, another an
elm. The will
must consent. We have this awful power of compelling Christ to “stand at
the door and knock;” for the
door of our hearts is opened from the inside.
We must undo the bolts and remove the bars. No view of the Holy Spirit s
influence which contradicts this can be a true view. We can, and alas! do,
say “No” to God. But also we can, and He is ever pleading with us to, say
“Yes” to His call.
V.
BUT ONE DAY IT SHALL BE GIVEN.
“My people shall be willing in
the day of my power.” (Psalm 110:3)
Christ wept over
told them that when next He came they should say, “Blessed be he that cometh
in the Name of the Lord; el. also the
predicted repentance of the Jews, “They
also
which pierced Him,” (Revelation 1:7) But oh, what
“everlasting
burnings,” what awful scourgings, has
like the prodigal, she came to herself! Let none abuse this doctrine. If we
will say “Yes” to God now, and come to Christ in loving self-surrender, we
shall find His yoke easy and His burden light; but if we will say “No,” then
we shall have to come to ourselves; and what may not that involve? Truly,
“now is the accepted time” (II Corinthians 6:2)
Jeremiah 13:
I. THE DUTY. “Give glory to your God.” Several distinct elements of
thought and life are involved in this.
1.
A recognition of the sacred and indissoluble relation in which we
stand
towards God.
However we may have forsaken Him, He is still
“the Lord our
God.”
We are still His dependent creatures, His needy children. To please
Him, to serve His purposes, to show forth His glory, must, in the very nature
of things, be the end of our existence. All religious life begins with the
devout acknowledgment of this supreme PERSONAL
RELATIONSHIP!
2. A due sense of the claims God has, on the ground of what He is in
Himself, on our regard. The true glory of the
Divine Being is HIS INFINITE
MORAL PERFECTIONS! When
Moses said, “I beseech thee show me
thy
glory,” God
answered, “I will make all my goodness
pass before thee, and I
will proclaim the Name of the Lord before thee.” (Exodus 33:18-23) We
“give
glory to God” when, gazing upon
the beauty and majesty of His
intrinsic moral excellences,
we yield back to Him a due response of
reverence, and admiration,
and trust, and love.
3. Practical surrender to His service. “Glorify
God in your body and in
your spirit, which are God’s” (1 Corinthians 6:20). The actual homage
of a godly life is indicated here — the consecration of all the powers of our
nature as a “living sacrifice” upon the altar of the Lord. (Romans 12:1-2)
If the Name of the Lord our God is hallowed in our hearts, we shall thus give
ourselves and our all to Him. Practical goodness akin to His own is the best
and most acceptable tribute we
can pay. We honor Him most when we most
strive to be like Him in all holy character and Godlike deed.
II. THE MOTIVE. “Before he cause darkness.” Here is a prospect
that may well awaken fear. Something more than mere external calamity is
suggested. There is internal
distress, mental perplexity and bewilderment; a
condition in which the spirits of the people become a prey to all
kinds of
misleading and deluding influences, wildly groping after a good that is lost
and gone from them forever. Few pictures of imagination could be sadder
than that of men looking and longing for the light, only to find the darkness
growing more and more deep and dense around them. It is often something
like this when men are unfaithful to their real convictions and
negligent el
the acknowledged claims of God. Trifle with truth and conscience, and you
cannot wonder that truth
should become to you a mere mocking shadow,
and conscience a perpetual foe to your peace. Despise the sacred privileges
and obligations of life, and you make them to be sources of heavy
condemnation. Let the light be scorned or abused, and it
turns into “the
shadow of death.” “Walk while ye have the light,
lest darkness come upon
you: for he that walketh
in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth. While ye
have the light, believe in the light, that ye
may be the children of the light.
These things spake Jesus, and departed, and did hide Himself from them.”
(John
12:35-36).