Jeremiah 12-13

“This evil people, who refuse to hear my words, who stubbornly follow their own heart … shall be like this loincloth, which is good for nothing” (13:10).  God said that He had made Israel to “cling” to Him, to be “a praise, and a glory” (v11).  But Israel rejected this glorious destiny and followed their own way, and so, like the linen cloth Jeremiah left in outside in the rocks, they were ruined and unable to fulfill their purpose in the land. 

 “You plant them, and they take root” (12:2).  Sin distorts the original design for our lives, but in Christ we are forgiven and reborn, able to participate in the good purposes of our Creator.