Gird up your loins

Yesterday the word of the Lord ended with the statement: “Gird up your loins.” This is a Hebrew expression seen, for example, in Jeremiah 1:17. In 1 Kings 18:46 we read,

⁴⁶ Then the hand of the Lord was on Elijah, and he girded up his loins and outran Ahab to Jezreel.

In the days of wearing robes and loin cloths, these impeded a man’s ability to run, so he needed to tie the bottom of his robe to his waist—and secure the loin cloth (underwear) as well.

In that culture the loin cloth hung down, something like a slip, along with the robe, making it difficult to run. By wrapping or tying up the loin cloth and the robe, a person could run much more effectively. The same concept is mentioned in Ephesians 6:14, as Paul explains that the armor of God includes a girding of the loins with truth. For Peter to tell us “to gird up the loins of your mind” (1 Peter 1:13) indicates that he intends for us to be prepared for action; in fact, the NASB translates the phrase in 1 Peter 1:13 as “prepare your minds for action.”

https://www.gotquestions.org/gird-up-the-loins-of-your-mind.html

This expression had a literal meaning as well as a metaphorical application, as Peter’s admonition shows. Generally speaking, it meant that one should prepare for action so that the work may be accomplished with less difficulty. In Ephesians 6:14 it means “Truth,” and is listed as part of the armor of God.

In other words, a believer must learn Truth in order to run the race in life and to fulfill one’s calling in the world. If we want to outrun Ahab’s chariot, we must gird up our loins by studying the word of God, allowing the Spirit of Truth to reveal truth to us. The rain is coming, and we need to be prepared to run while Ahab’s chariot gets bogged down.

Another aspect of this is to see that “loins” is the old English word for reproductive organs. Without the support of Truth, one cannot bring forth the sons of God. In fact, Peter notes that the seed that begets Christ in you is the imperishable (immortal) word of God (1 Peter 1:23). Hence, Jesus said, “Your word is truth” (John 17:17).

This is not about head knowledge or church creeds. It is about the revelation of the word, which the Holy Spirit writes in our hearts to make us living epistles of the word of God. I have learned that He writes His law in our hearts through real-life experience. He teaches us the word, not by pouring it into our heads but by making us walk it out experientially. Likewise, we can look at the examples in Scripture, where the Israelites camps in the wilderness were designed to teach the people the truths of the word and the standards of behavior that conform to the mind of God.

So also Jeremiah had to walk to the potter’s house to see the revelation of truth (Jeremiah 18:2). Again, Isaiah was instructed to “loosen the sackcloth from your hips and take your shoes off your feet” (Isaiah 20: 2) for three years to prophesy the truth that Israel would go into captivity.

Truth that is experienced is written on our hearts and becomes an integral part of us. This is an important part of our spiritual armor that prepares us to beget and birth the sons of God.