Strange

Seems strange. 

The Lord commands Jeremiah to go and buy a loincloth and wrap it around his waist.

Seems strange. 

The Lord commands Jeremiah to go to the Euphrates and hide the loincloth in a hole.

Not so strange.

The Lord commands Jeremiah to go and retrieve the loincloth. But naturally enough – because it is close by the river – the loincloth is ‘spoilt, good for nothing.’

Not so strange:

For just as a loincloth clings to a man’s waist, so I had intended the whole House of Judah to cling to me (Jeremiah 13).

‘Spoilt, good for nothing?’

Amen.