A Divine Scavenger Hunt

Rev. Tim Koch, pastor at Emanuel Lutheran Church in Milbank, SD, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Jeremiah 13:1-14.

The LORD gives Jeremiah an enacted prophecy through the prophet’s purchase of a linen loincloth. At the LORD’s command, Jeremiah noticeably wears it for a time in front of the people of Judah before burying it for a time. When the LORD tells Jeremiah to take his loincloth again after many days, the loincloth is completely ruined. The LORD then tells Jeremiah how to preach this reality. The pride of Judah and Jerusalem, the temple, will be ruined and taken away beyond the Euphrates River. Although the LORD had made His people to cling to Him as a loincloth clings to a person, Judah had already spoiled themselves by their idolatry. As jars are filled with wine, the LORD would fill them with drunkenness. Jesus is the Savior who drinks the cup of God’s wrath in place of His people in order to restore them from their idolatrous ruin.

“A Time to Destroy and a Time to Build” is a mini-series on Sharper Iron that goes through the book of Jeremiah. The prophet calls the people of Judah and Jerusalem to repent of their faithless idolatry and warns them of the destruction that is coming in the Babylonian exile. Yet Jeremiah does not leave us without hope in the midst of such dark days. Jeremiah and all who believe the Word of God he preached survive because of hope that is found in the righteous Branch from the line of David, Jesus Christ.