QT 27/05/2025 Tue. Jeremiah 13. The Soiled Waistband and The Call To Cling To God. 弄脏的腰带和紧靠上帝的呼召.

QT 27/05/2025 Tue. Jeremiah 13. The Soiled Waistband and The Call To Cling To God.
READ http://www.esv.org/jer13

We strive to wear clean and suitably fitting cloths. Troubles brew when our clothings are dirty, unhygienic or not suitably sized. God spoke to His people through Jeremiah and the motif of the soiled loincloth/waistband.

Jeremiah 13:11 For as the loincloth clings to the waist of a man, so I made the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah cling to me, declares the LORD, that they might be for me a people, a name, a praise, and a glory, but they would not listen. (ESV)

🎯 Devotional Thoughts

Jeremiah 13 begins with a strange command from God: the prophet is told to buy a linen belt, wear it without washing it, then bury it in a crevice near the Euphrates. Later, God tells him to retrieve it—now ruined and useless.

What's going on here? This vivid object lesson isn't just an ancient parable. It's a message from a loving, grieving God whose people have forgotten what they were made for.

The linen belt—a symbol of intimacy and closeness—was meant to "cling" to the waist. Just as that belt was meant to be close to the prophet, God says Israel was meant to cling to Him. Not from a distance. Not loosely. But closely—tightly—intimately.

But sin ruined that relationship. Pride, idolatry, and spiritual adultery made God’s people like the ruined belt: once useful and beautiful, now useless and discarded.

✝️ Reflection
This passage speaks deeply to our own walk with God. We were created to cling to Him. Not casually, not occasionally, but with desperation and love. Yet how often do we, like Israel, drift away—chasing idols of comfort, control, approval, or pleasure?

Jesus came to restore what was ruined. Where Israel failed to cling, Christ clung perfectly to the Father, even to the cross. Now, through Him, we are invited back into that closeness, made clean by grace, called to be His treasured possession.

🚶🏼‍♂️Personal Application
(1) Am I clinging to God or clinging to something else? Ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart. What "idols" or distractions might be loosening your grip on God?

(2) What spiritual disciplines help me stay close to God? Consider practices like Scripture meditation, prayer, fasting, and confession—not as rituals, but as lifelines.

(3) How can I reflect God’s glory today? God designed you for His renown, praise, and glory (v.11). Even ordinary tasks can shine with His presence when done in surrender.

🛐 Prayer
Father, I was made to cling to You. Forgive me for the times I’ve wandered or tried to hold onto other things. Cleanse me. Draw me near. Help me to walk each day in close fellowship with You, reflecting Your glory to the world. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.

QT 27/05/2025 星期二. 耶利米书 13 弄脏的腰带和紧靠上帝的呼召
阅读 http://m.bbintl.org/bible/ncv/Jer/13/

我们努力穿着干净、合身的衣服。当我们的衣服不干净、不卫生或尺寸不合适时，就会产生麻烦。上帝通过耶利米书和弄脏的腰布/腰带的图案对祂的子民说话。

耶利米书 13:11 因为腰带怎样紧贴着人的腰，我也曾怎样使以色列全家和犹大全家紧贴着我，好使他们作我的子民，叫我得名声，得赞美，得荣耀；可是他们却不听从。’”这是耶和华的宣告。

✝️ 灵修感想

耶利米书第 13 章以上帝的一个不寻常的命令开始：先知被告知要买一条亚麻腰带，不洗就系上，然后把它埋在幼发拉底河附近的缝隙里。后来，上帝又让他把它找回来--现在它已经毁坏了，毫无用处。

这是怎么回事呢？这堂生动的实物课不仅仅是一个古老的寓言。这是一位慈爱、悲痛的上帝发出的信息，祂的子民已经忘记了他们的初衷。

亚麻腰带--亲密无间的象征--本应 “紧贴” 腰部。就像腰带是为了紧贴先知一样，上帝说以色列人也是为了紧贴祂。不是远远地。不是松松垮垮的。而是紧紧地，亲密地。

但罪恶破坏了这种关系。骄傲、偶像崇拜和属灵的奸淫让上帝的子民就像那条被毁坏的腰带：曾经有用、美丽，现在却无用、被丢弃。

✝️ 思考
这段话深深地道出了我们与神同行的心声。我们生来就是要紧紧依靠祂。不是随随便便，不是偶尔，而是带着绝望和爱。然而，我们又有多少次像以色列人一样渐行渐远--追逐安慰、控制、认可或享乐的偶像？

耶稣来了，祂要恢复被毁坏的一切。以色列人未能紧紧抓住的，基督却完美地紧紧抓住了天父，甚至紧紧抓住了十字架。现在，通过祂，我们被邀请回到这种亲密关系中，因恩典而洁净，蒙召成为祂的宝贝。

🚶🏼‍♂️个人应用
(1) 我是紧紧抓住神，还是紧紧抓住其他东西？求圣灵搜索你的心。哪些 “偶像” 或分心的事可能会让你放松对神的控制？

(2) 哪些属灵训练能帮助我与神保持亲密？考虑像默想经文、祷告、禁食和忏悔这样的练习--不是作为仪式，而是作为生命线。

(3) 今天我怎样才能体现神的荣耀？神设计你是为了祂的尊贵、赞美和荣耀（第 11 节）。只要顺服神，即使是普通的工作也能闪耀神的同在。

🛐 祷告
天父，我生来就紧紧依靠你。原谅我曾经的迷失或试图抓住其他东西。洁净我。吸引我靠近你。帮助我每天与你亲密同行，向世人反映你的荣耀。奉耶稣的名祷告，阿门。