Why will the Lord “spoil the pride of Judah”?

Notice secondly that the Lord says he will spoil the pride of Judah and the great pride of Jerusalem. The spoiling of the loincloth in the symbolic act is given a more positive meaning here by the Lord. The Lord is going to deal with the pride that has caused Judah to turn from him in disobedience and idolatry. He does not explain how he will spoil their pride, but it seems fair to understand that it will be through some act of judgment. It is for this reason that most commentators understand the Euphrates with its links to Babylon as the place where Jeremiah is to hide the loincloth in Jeremiah 13:1–7. It is by sending his people into exile that the Lord is ultimately going to remove the pride from the hearts of his people.¹ There is of course no mention in the symbolic act, or the explanation given, of the loincloth actually returning from the Euphrates, but the possibility of return is left open. Once the Lord has dealt with their pride his people may yet return from exile.²