“I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling to Him, for He is your life and the length of your days;”
Deut. 30:19
This scripture is such a beautiful reminder of choosing life, through the obedience to the Lord and walking in His ways. The one Word that stuck out so prominently today, when I read this again, was “CLING”. I read these verses and then came upon Jeremiah 13, and compiled a good study for not only myself but to share with our teenage sons.
A few verses to begin with, I took note of on the word Cling, Cleave, Stand Fast,
1) Deuteronomy 10:20: Hold fast/cling to God
2) Deuteronomy 13:4 Follow God, fear Him, obey His voice, serve Him, hold fast, cling, cleave.
3) Josh 23:8 Hold fast
4) Deuteronomy 11:22 Love God, walk in His ways, and hold fast to Him.
5) 2 Kings 18:6 Moses held fast to the Lord. He continued to follow the Lord. He kept God’s commandments. The Lord was with Moses and he prospered. He did well in life. I should do the same.
Then I came upon Jeremiah 13. What a wonderful thought of the “sash” or “belt” on a waist in application to “CLING”. God’s words is full of visuals and symbols to connect us to greater understanding of what He wants us to learn in order to gain wisdom. Jesus even taught with so much around him. Fig trees, animals, storms, stars, I could go on. To think of from Old Testament to New the Lord Jesus has used creation, and so much more, as Jesus walked and taught His disciples. It is a joy of mine to be granted to do the same all these years with ours sons.
Symbol of the Linen Sash – Jeremiah 13:1-8
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. For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to cling to Me,’ says the Lord, ‘that they may become My people, for renown, for praise, and for glory; but they would not hear.’
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“God was teaching Jeremiah the importance of clinging to Him. He told Jeremiah to put a sash around his waist. The sash clung to him. God had him take the sash off and hide it, this ruined the sash. The point is, I need to cling to God, like a belt that clings to my waist. I want my walk with God to be genuine. To say I walk with God but to have pride in my heart, and living my own way, brings no profit and only destruction. Clinging to God, there is much profit – life now and forevermore. Of course I will never be perfect in this life, that is why Jesus the Perfect One died for me. I do realize that I need to pay attention to when I am not, or struggling to be clinging fully to God, and putting my hope, desires, dependency for joy, peace, on people and other things instead. Clinging to God means obeying Him, in every part of my life. It is important for me to ask God every day to show me how to Cling and ask Him to show me when I am not. When I am not, I need to quickly turn back to clinging to God. ” Schooling on the Rock
I had our sons put on their Karate belts before I even read them these scriptures today. They had no idea why, but obeyed like Jeremiah and respectfully did it without one question. We read the story, they journaled the thoughts above.
In all seriousness I encouraged them that every time they put on their Karate belts and they cling to their waists, remember the Spiritual importance of cling. As their belts cling to them, may they cling to God. So closely, so intimately, and humbly.
“Heavenly Father, thank you for Your Word. Thank You for the ever flowing fountain of teachings you have for us to guide our hearts, minds, and souls into Your wisdom. Thank You for every opportunity to share the scriptures with our children. Thank You we can live it out daily in a thousand ways as we obey Your command to teach them diligently morning, noon, and night. May Your Word bless, strengthen, convict, and spur us on to greater things, for Your glory. In Jesus Name, Amen”
