“‘Take the belt you bought and are wearing around your waist, and go now to Perath and hide it there in a crevice in the rocks.’ So I went and hid it at Perath, as the Lord told me. Many days later the Lord said to me, ‘Go now to Perath and get the belt I told you to hide there.’ So I went to Perath and dug up the belt and took it from the place where I had hidden it, but now it was ruined and completely useless.”
- Jeremiah 33:4-7 -

God tells Jeremiah to create a piece of street theater. The linen belt (the Israelite equivalent of underpants or knickers), an intimate garment which, if not washed but left in the air, becomes contaminated. The intimate relationship of the Lord with his chosen people has been spoiled by exposure to foreign influences, so they have become a senseless and violent rabble. God’s condemnation of Judah continues in three vivid pictures: the traveler on the twilight road (v 16), the command for the king and the queen mother to step down (v 18) and the shameful public exposure of a woman, with a hint of sexual violence (vs 22,26).

Jesus also illustrated what he said by his actions. Crowds were fed, sick people healed, tables turned over; finally, a stone was rolled away and he, a dead man, appeared alive again. The early church acted out Christ’s teaching as they ate, prayed, healed, shared and created a resurrection community. Actions spoke louder than words, as is seen in the resulting numbers of those who came to join them. It is more effective if we become like Jesus to people. Actions speak.

Prayer: Lord, may my life and actions demonstrate to the world around me the difference you can make in a life.

(A summary from Encounter with God)