put on Christ

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.
(Jeremiah 13:11)

God’s design for the nation of Israel was that they would “cling” tightly to him, like a man’s belt cinched around his waist. God is the one who bound them so tightly to him. Even in spite of their sins and uncleanness, he kept them close.

God explains his purposes in the latter half of the verse.

Of all the peoples in the world, God chose Israel to his special people. He would use them for his redemptive work in the world. They were to serve him as a kingdom of priests (Ex 19:6).

They were to be “a name” for him. He would be known as the God of Israel. What an honor! Not only that a people would belong to God in a special way, but that he would take their name for himself!

And as they celebrated this special relationship, they would be to him a praise and a glory, a witness to the watching world of his greatness. They would praise him and magnify his glory, bringing it within view for all the people of the world. What a task!

In essence, God had said, “I pick you. You will be my people. Everyone will know me as your God. Your task is to enjoy me and the blessings I give, and to celebrate so loudly that the entire world hears about me.”

That sounds like a pretty sweet deal, but there was a problem…”they would not listen.” They wouldn’t hear what God had to say about the best way to live and to fulfill this calling. This not listening is tied to pride.

Hear and give ear; be not proud,
for the Lord has spoken. (Jeremiah 13:15)

But if you will not listen,
my soul will weep in secret for your pride; (Jeremiah 13:17)

Pride ruined the people. It made the nation rebellious, stubborn, self-centered, idolatrous, and ultimately good for nothing.

…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. (Jeremiah 13:9-10)

Under the New Covenant, all those who trust Jesus as their savior are now given this honor, this same calling and purpose.

So the honor is for you who believe…

…you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. (1 Peter 2:7,9)

There is a magnificent difference though in the way scripture speaks of our relationship to God. Here in Jeremiah, God put on Israel like a belt. In the New Testament though, it is we who are clothed in Christ. We are told repeatedly that we are in Christ and that we are to “put on the Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 13.14).

We are now called by his name. We are known as Christians. And our task is still to celebrate God, to praise him and make his glory known to the world.

The means has not changed though. For Israel during Jeremiah’s time, and for the church today, the key to fulfilling this purpose is clinging closely to God. They were to cling to him like a belt around his waist. We are to cling to Christ like he is a suit of armor wrapped around us. As you would wrap your armor around you before going into battle, wrap Christ around you now, dwell in him today, cling to him, so “that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.” (1 Peter 2:7,9)


Comments

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.