THEOSISEphraem the Syrian
The Lord spoke to me saying, Acquire for yourself a linen belt and wear it around your waist, but do not immerse it in water. Through these two symbols, the prophet is instructed to reveal the sins and impending captivity of the people. Initially, God directs him to procure a belt made of new linen, unwashed and untouched by water. Then the Lord instructs the prophet to wear it, and subsequently to remove it and travel to the Euphrates River, where he is to bury it and conceal it until it decays. This imagery illustrates the scorn the Israelites experienced in Egypt and the honor and magnificence that adorned them after their deliverance from bondage, chosen by God to be His treasured people. This divine splendor would have remained with them eternally had they not marred themselves through their sinful actions, turning, by their own will, into like the worn and decayed belt.