Sefer Yirmiyahu is taught by Rabbi Harold Sutton, Rabbi of Congregation Hochma U'Mussar; Rosh Yeshivat Magen David Yeshivah; Rabbi at the Sephardic Rabbinical College.
God told Yirmiyahu to go buy a linen belt and to wrap it around his loins (imagine the way a modern athletic supporter is worn). Yirmiyahu was not to wash it. The prophet did as he was instructed. God then told Yirmiyahu to take that sweaty garment to a place called Peras (possibly on the banks of the Euphrates, as Peras is also the name of that river) and to hide the belt in a small cave there. Again the prophet did as instructed. Finally, Yirmiyahu was directed to retrieve the belt. When he did, the prophet discovered that it had rotted and was worthless. At this time, God decided to reveal the meaning behind these strange commands. God said that just as the linen belt was destroyed, this is how He would destroy the arrogance of the nation of Judah and the ego of the residents of Jerusalem. These people, who continue to follow their desires, rather than God’s word, and who serve idols, will be like the belt: no good for anything. And just as the belt is wrapped around the loins, this is how God caused the nation to cling to Him, but they rebelled.
God instructed Yirmiyahu to say the following in His Name: Every jug will be filled with wine. When the people say “We know that every jug is filled with wine,” Yirmiyahu will reply that the jugs are a metaphor; all the people, the kings, the priests and prophets will be full of drunkenness. God will smash them against one another, breaking them like jugs.
The people were encouraged to repent before it was too late. If they do not listen, Yirmiyahu will cry because their arrogance has caused God’s people to be exiled. Tell King Yehoyachin and his royal mother to sit on the ground like mourners, for their greatness has been brought low. The cities are sealed in fear of Nebuchadnez- zar; the nation has been exiled peacefully (meaning either surrender or acceptance of the exile as payment for their sins).
Look north; where is the exiled flock? What can you say when God comes, after you welcomed foreign idols? Won’t you feel pains like a woman in labor? If you think, “Why did this happen?” know that it’s because of the magnitude of the nation’s sins. Can a person change the color of his skin, or a leopard its spots? (This is where the saying comes from, folks!) That’s how likely it is that this sinful nation will change their ways! They will be scattered like straw in the wind. This is payback, says God, for overlooking Him in favor of idols. God shames the nation by metaphorically “lifting the hem of their garment over their face.” (The metaphor is apt because the cheating nation is compared to an adulterous spouse and this would have been a way of shaming a promiscu- ous woman.) God has seen their cheating on every hill and they will not be purified from it.
TanachStudy.com
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