July 30

Jeremiah 13, 14, 15

Useless

At my office we have a useless fact calender. Everyday, I can read about something that is interesting and/or funny but completely useless. It does not help me in any way in my life. (unless I was going to be on a game show!)

Some examples are:

- The wingspan of a Boeing 747 is longer that the Wright brothers first flight.

- Mel Blanc (the voice of Bugs Bunny) was allergic to carrots.

- No word in the English language rhymes with month, orange, silver, and purple.

- Maine is the only state whose name is just one syllable.

- The elephant is the only mammal that can't jump.

- The name for Oz in the "Wizard of Oz" was thought up when the creator, Frank Baum, looked at his filing cabinet and saw A-N, and O-Z, hence "Oz."

- Winston Churchill was born in a ladies' room during a dance.

- Dueling is legal in Paraguay as long as both parties are registered blood donors.

- Donald Duck comics were banned from Finland because he doesn't wear pants.

- The glue on Israeli postage stamps is certified kosher.

- Rolling Stones guitarist Bill Wyman began dating 13-year-old Mandy Smith when he was 47. (With her mother's permission) They married when she was 19 and then divorced 2 years later. Bill's son Stephen began dating Mandy's mother and married her shortly after his father's divorce. Had Bill and Mandy stayed married, Bill would have been Stephen's father and son-in-law. Stephen would have been his son, and his father-in-law. Mrs. Smith would have been Mandy's mother and daughter-in-law, and Mandy would have been Mrs. Smith's daughter and mother-in-law.

In today's passage, God's patience is coming to an end. It's Jeremiah's job is to warn Judah about their impending judgment. God gives a clear example in chapter 13. He tells Jeremiah to purchase a linen belt and hide it for many days in a crevice. When he comes back to retrieve it, the belt is ruined and useless. It can no longer be used as a belt and is of no use or value to anyone. So is the fate of Judah. Jer 13:-11 say "Then the word of the LORD came to me: "This is what the LORD says: 'In the same way I will ruin the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. These wicked people, who refuse to listen to my words, who follow the stubbornness of their hearts and go after other gods to serve and worship them, will be like this belt—completely useless! For as a belt is bound around a man's waist, so I bound the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah to me,' declares the LORD, 'to be my people for my renown and praise and honor. But they have not listened.' "

Like the facts listed above and the linen belt, God's people were useless because of their wicked deeds. God wants all of us to be involved in His great plans and blessings. But that cannot happen when we deliberately disobey Him.