Becky Austin

Clean Underwear is Important (Jeremiah 13-16)

3:15 AM



In the Bible, God uses many common items that we can relate to for the purpose of having better understanding of His truths.  He used many farming and fishing analogies in the New Testament which we can still relate to today. In Jeremiah, however, He utilizes something that spans all generations....undergarments.   After all, who can’t relate to the importance of clean underwear?

 The Parable of the Loincloth
Jeremiah is told to put on a linen loincloth. In my research, I came across these symbolic meanings:
"Linen girdle ..." (Jeremiah 13:1). Why linen? This was a mark of the priesthood; and because this garment was given as a representation of Israel, it had to be linen in order properly to symbolize that nation of "priests unto God" which Israel was intended to be.
"Put it upon thy loins ..." (Jeremiah 13:1). "This was not an outer girdle, but a covering worn next to the skin."[1] This very intimate and personal garment symbolized the intimate relationship between God and Israel during the long centuries of the nation's development.  

 Jeremiah is told not to wash it even though he wears it for enough time that it should be in need of washing.  He is also told to take this dirty underwear off and go bury it.  The soiled underwear is indicative of Israel having a marred relationship with God. They turn to idols and pagan practices, abandoning the intimacy and cleansing of a life dedicated and submitted to God. When Jeremiah returns to dig up the loincloth, he finds that it has continued to rot and decompose. 
“Then I went to the Euphrates, and dug, and I took the loincloth from the place where I had hidden it. And behold, the loincloth was spoiled; it was good for nothing.” (13:7 )  God compares Israel to this dirty underwear. “Thus says the Lord: Even so will I spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart and have gone after other gods to serve them and worship them, shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing.”  (13:9-10)
Wow!...that’s harsh. But God was serious.  He warned the people over and over of the coming exile to Babylon. “....Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will it be before you are made clean?” (13:27)

 God desires an intimate relationship with a Holy and righteous people. Our selfishness and sinful ways make us unclean. We can not make ourselves righteous and clean but God provided the precious blood of Jesus to serve that purpose. I encourage you to examine your heart and to ask God to cleanse you.“Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” (Psalms 51:7) 
The next time you reach for that clean pair of intimates, let it be a reminder to you of the importance of your relationship with God. "Fresh and Clean" is important. Stay fresh by washing in His Word. 

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Isaiah

Here I am. Send me! {Isaiah 5:1-7:25}

11:00 PM



The Bible teaches about many prophets. Men and women blessed to be used by God in awesome ways. But far from enjoying peaceful easy living, God’s prophets were often despised, persecuted, and imprisoned; the messages they brought, hated and disregarded. Even though many came to tragic, violent ends, they still stayed true to revealing God’s messages. Why? Because of divine encounters with the Lord. Encounters that transformed both their hearts and their lives.

This was the case with one the greatest prophets, Isaiah. When God was looking for someone to deliver a message to Israel He said, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” (vs. 6:8) Isaiah stepped right up saying, “Here am I. Send me!” (v. 6:8) Why was Isaiah so eager to serve God? The Bible tells us that in the same year the king of Judah, Uzziah, passed away, Isaiah received a prophetic vision. “I saw the Lord sitting on a throne, lofty and exalted, with the train of his robe filling the temple. Seraphim stood above Him, each having six wings; with two he covered His face, and with two he covered His feet, and with two he flew. And one called out to another and said, ‘Holy, Holy, Holy, is the Lord of hosts, the whole earth is filled with His glory.” (vs. 6:1-3) 

Surrounded by the glorious majesty and holiness of God, Isaiah is convicted by the filthiness of his own life in comparison and cries out in despair, “Woe is me, for I am ruined. Because I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts.” (vs. 6:5) In response, God sends a seraphim to place a burning coal on the lips of Isaiah allowing his iniquity to be taken away and his sin forgiven. (vs. 6:7) Transformed, cleansed, and ready for service, Isaiah humbly volunteers to carry out God’s mission.

Have you ever thought you washed a window to crystal clear perfection only to find it full of streaks when the rays of the sun shined on it? That’s how it is with us. No matter how hard we try, or how clean we think our lives are, they are nothing more than dirty, streaky windows compared to the perfect goodness of God. But because of His boundless love, just like He did for Isaiah, God provides a way for our iniquity to be taken away and our sin forgiven. That way is Jesus Christ. Through His work on the Cross and the shedding of His precious blood the minute we receive Him as our Savior, the Holy Spirit goes to work. First he humbles and convicts us about the filthiness of our lives, then begins transforming, cleansing, and getting us ready for God's service. No longer unworthy, and like the prophets before us, we can be eagerly obedient to God’s calling. And after our own life changing encounter with the Lord, with a thankful heart we too can say to God, “Here am I. send Me!”