Jeremiah 13:1-5 - I bought a belt

13:1,2

God now gives Jeremiah some instructions, and Jeremiah obeyed each instruction promptly. The first one was to buy a linen belt, to wear it and keep it away from water. The linen belt was symbolic of Israel’s holiness, and what she meant to God, of the closeness of the relationship. Jeremiah wore this belt around his waist. This was not a belt as we imagine it (eg to hold our trousers up!), but was worn close to the body.#

13:3-5

Jeremiah was to take the belt off and go and hide it at Perath. Perath was also used to refer to the River Euphrates. So the hiding of the belt in a crevice in the rocks represents the time of captivity in Babylon. Judah which had once been close to God, would be cast off for a period. Jeremiah once again obeyed God immediately.