13 for my people have committed two evils:
they have forsaken me,
the fountain of living waters,
and hewed out cisterns for themselves,
broken cisterns that can hold no water. – Jeremiah 2:13
Yuck!
Years ago a cousin of mine was driving up North, in the dark, with a friend. As they were talking my cousin’s friend reached down and picked up a bottle of what he thought was a cola. You can imagine his surprise when he found out it was not a soft drink that he grabbed for refreshment, but rather a bottle of tobacco spit. I don’t mean to gross you out, but I think we need to realize the shock factor in what God is communicating through Jeremiah. What my cousin’s friend did inadvertently, God’s children do intentionally. God finds it disgusting.
Forewarned
16 And I will declare my judgments against them, for all their evil in forsaking me. They have made offerings to other gods and worshiped the works of their own hands. – Jeremiah 1:16
Before God gives Jeremiah the illustration of the living water and the broken cisterns, He declares judgment against His people for forsaking Him and fashioning idols. We are not left speculating what has brought the ire of God. Despite the blessings He had lavished on Israel, they had a serious problem with idolatry. Despite the faithfulness of God, Israel was unfaithful. Jeremiah chapter two begins with God recounting the relationship He had with Israel as He led them out of Egypt, guided them through the wilderness, and then brought them into the promised land. But Israel decided to forsake God and dig their own cisterns. Listen to God’s response.
“What wrong did your fathers find in me
that they went far from me,
and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? – Jeremiah 2:4b
Drawbacks
In an area, such as a desert, where water sources are scarce, a cistern was practical. A cistern would be dug out in order to catch and retain rainwater. Although practical, they did have their drawbacks. First, and foremost, it was not in and of itself a water source. Being a receptacle, it was dependent upon rainfall for a source of water to hold. In addition, cisterns were often known to leak. Between a lack of rainfall and problems with cracks, the water supply of a cistern was often inadequate. When they did retain water, it was often stagnant. Imagine a body of still water exposed to great heat. In addition, vermin would often fall into cisterns and die. Not very appealing is it? But desperation calls for drastic measures. Unfortunately, Israel wasn’t desperate, they were ungrateful.
Foolishness
I have always been fascinated with cowboys. As a young boy, I loved reading books about Sam Houston, Wild Bill Hickok, James Bowie, Wyatt Earp, etc. Who knows what my legend might have been if Santa had only brought me a holster belt and a set of revolvers with pearl white handles? Perhaps I would have received them if I hadn’t asked for a white horse also!! But in all of the Westerns I watched, not once did I see a parched cowboy walk into a saloon and turn down a cold drink, only to walk to the end of the bar, pick up the spittoon, and begin to drink from it. Sounds laughable, doesn’t it? Yet how often do we do it in real life?
Longings
God has created humanity with a longing that only He can fulfill. As Christians, we have the fountain of living water residing within us, but too often we are not content. We are ungrateful. We turn from God and start digging. And God is disgusted. Like Israel, we reject the living water and dig broken cisterns to satisfy our longings. In our foolishness, we fill our cisterns with sin that is quickly stagnant. We try to fill our cisterns with material things, but they rot and decay and leak out the cracks. When it rains, we are happy for a season, but more often than not we are depressed by droughts. How much pride can we take in a shallow body of warm water, polluted with dead rats floating on the surface? God is priceless and yet we chase after worthlessness. God has led us out of our spiritual Egypt. He will lead us through the wilderness, and He promises to accompany us to the Promised Land. He has promised to never leave us or forsake us, yet how quickly we are to forsake Him.
Questions
It is intimidating to be interrogated by the Creator of the universe, but it is healthy for us. We need to look at Jeremiah 2:4b quoted above and ask ourselves the question, “What wrong did I find in God, that I went far from Him?” When has God ever failed you? When has He ever been unfaithful to His Word? Then why would we logically turn from Him and commit two evils?
Satisfaction
I am not sure what cisterns you are digging to compete with the Fountain of Living Water, but there is no time like the present to abandon them. Sin will never satisfy. The world will never give us joy. It is time to stop rebelling and stop doing worthless work. Leave the cisterns to the rats and return to your first love.
“I remember the devotion of your youth,
your love as a bride,
how you followed me in the wilderness,
in a land not sown.” – Jeremiah 2:1b
Everything you need to satisfy your spiritual thirst is available in the Fountain of Living Water. Don’t turn from Him, trust Him. That thirst you need to be quenched was His idea. He wants to fulfill it.
63 O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. – Psalm 63:1