The Story of the Linen Sash and Truth

 

"Thus the Lord said to me: “Go and get yourself a linen sash, and put
it around your waist, but do not put it in water.” So I got a sash according
to the word of the Lord, and put it around my waist.

And the word of the Lord came to me the second time, saying, “Take the sash that you acquired, which is around your waist, and arise, go to the Euphrates, and hide it there in a hole in the rock.” So I went and hid it by the Euphrates, as the Lord commanded me.

Now it came to pass after many days that the Lord said to me, “Arise, go to the Euphrates, and take from there the sash which I commanded you to hide there.”

Then I went to the Euphrates and dug, and I took the sash from the place where I had hidden it; and there was the sash, ruined. It was profitable for nothing.

Then the word of the Lord came to me, saying, “Thus says the Lord: ‘In this manner I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear My words, who follow the dictates of their hearts, and walk after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be just like this sash which is profitable for nothing.” – Jeremiah 13:1-10

Every one of us who has had linen to wash knows three things about it:  It wrinkles easy, so use fabric softener; if you let it get wet and dry on its own, it’ll shrink; and lastly, never put it in the dryer or the hot sun! 

I saw the destruction of the sash coming after having ruined a few linen pieces in my  life.  But the words “It was profitable for nothing” came at me!  We wouldn’t think of linen being “profitable”.  But God was comparing its value to that of Judah and Jerusalem.  The people had turned to idols and worshipping them and had forgotten God. 

Days after I had read this, it came to me that something was to be placed around the waist when the “Full Armor of God” is given in Ephesians 6:10-20.  When I looked it up, I saw the full message of God regarding the sash.  

Ephesians 6:14 says, “Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth”.  It was truth that the people had rejected.  These were the same nations that God blessed by freeing them from Egypt in the day of Moses, the same people that He fed Manna to in the wilderness, the same people that built the Tabernacle tent.  Yet, at this point they were worshipping idols.  They had left their faith and their God for things of wood and stone that couldn’t do anything for them.

Friends, never let go of what is true, God’s word and stand up for it as the real TRUTH whenever if is dishonored.  Our God deserves our worship and our praise.