For as close as the loincloth clings to a man’s loins, so had I made Israel and Judah cling to me, says the Lord. The prophets, prompted by God, at times resorted to the use of symbolism to convey God’s messages to the people. In today’s reading, we encounter a symbol that can come across as rather too “graphic” for some audiences. Loin cloths and similar garments are considered too “private” and “intimate” for the public domain. Sometimes they are even considered part of the human body because we use them to cover our vulnerability. They shield us from what is considered “shame.” Yet, it is for this very reason that the Lord resorted to using the symbolism. The relationship between God and Israel and Judah, in the words of the Lord, was an intimate one (cf. Jeremiah 13:11). It was a privileged relationship, one that the Lord did not share with any other nation or people. However, it was a privilege that came with a responsibility. In the same manner that a loincloth covers and protects a man’s loins, so was Israel and Judah expected to guard their privileged status as partners with God to a covenant. But Israel and Judah failed. Israel and Judah not only refused to listen to the Lord, they also forgot about the Lord who made them a privileged nation. And just as the rotten loincloth became “good for nothing,” so had Israel and Judah become. The Lord was going to toss them aside.
The “graphic” nature of the symbolism Jeremiah uses to announce the Lord’s sentence points to the gravity of Israel and Judah’s crime. Because of their betrayal of their privileged relationship, so “graphic” was their downfall going to be. The Lord was going to “allow” Jerusalem, their source of pride, to rot. Jerusalem was the throne of God, the place they frequented to “meet” God. Jerusalem was God’s loincloth. But the wickedness of its inhabitants had made Jerusalem to rot, making the Lord to discard it.