This is what the LORD said to me: "Go and buy a linen belt and put it around your waist, but do not let it touch water." – Jeremiah 13:1

Today's Scripture Reading (July 10, 2026): Jeremiah 13

It was a Christmas skit to be performed at the Annual Christmas banquet. At the time, I was the Associate Pastor for the church, but I was also very new at the position. The skit called for me to wear a pink, frilly tutu. (How they found one that I could fit into is still a bit of a mystery to me.) They gave me the tutu the night of the performance, and I remember squeezing myself into it before I had to take the stage. And yes, I looked ridiculous. But then, that was the point.

I remember the tutu, although I don't remember much else about the skit. I remember my boss had a role in the skit, although his mode of dress was much more dignified than mine. The skit was humorous, but much of the humor was me in the tutu.

If Jeremiah wore the traditional dress of a prophet, he would have been wearing a fairly tight-fitting tunic made out of a coarse material. Over top of this tunic, he would have worn a hair cloak. On the other side of the coin, the priests and the wealthy would wear a linen girdle or decorative belt around their waist, along with the finery that they could afford. God's instructions would have been to take the linen girdle that the more elite members of society might wear and place it around his waist, on top of the prophetic dress Jeremiah would normally wear. Combining the two would have made Jeremiah look as ridiculous as I did in a pink tutu that Christmas. But again, the spectacle was the point.

As Jeremiah appeared in Jerusalem, everyone would notice what the Prophet was wearing. But even more importantly, they would remember what Jeremiah was wearing. It would have been hard to forget. Likely, there was some good-natured, or maybe not so good-natured, ribbing over the way that Jeremiah looked. (Trust me, I remember the jokes I took over the tutu.) But all of this was the point.

The Prophet's ridiculous look was the beginning of a message, and if nobody noticed how Jeremiah was dressed, the message might have been missed. Sometimes, Prophets were more like that guy who stood on the cafeteria table with French fries up his nose than we might imagine. But somehow, they had to gain the attention of those around them before they could deliver the message God had placed on their hearts.

Tomorrow's Scripture Reading: Jeremiah 14