Jeremiah 2:9-13

Jeremiah was called by God to prophesy to Israel; prophecies of judgment and of restoration. Judah, the southern kingdom, was about to be exiled to Babylon.  Jeremiah’s first prophecy from the Lord is spoken to Jerusalem.

The Lord presents His case against Jerusalem. Using rhetoric, the Lord argues, “What injustice did your fathers find in Me, that they went far from Me, and walked after emptiness and became empty?”  In His indictment, God compares Israel with pagan tribes around them, both to the east (Kittim or Cyprus) and to the west (Kedar).  These pagan tribes do not change their gods, but Israel did! “But my people have exchanged Me, their glorious God,for a god that cannot help them at all!” Amazing! Shocking! Dumbfounding!

Israel committed two evils. One, they abandoned or rejected God, the fountain of living water. Two, as a replacement for God, they sought broken gods (broken cisterns), which cannot provide sustaining water. In this region of the world, the land is mostly arid. Thus water is a precious commodity and must be managed well. This is an excellent analogy. Israel abandoned the source of living water and made for themselves cisterns that cannot hold water. How does this make sense?

We can easily see Israel’s sin and certainly agree with God’s indictment. Israel’s action is dumbfounding and shocking. As is most often the case, our vision is 20/20 when seeing the sin or shortcomings in others, but we need eyeglasses to see the same sin in ourselves. We must ask ourselves if we have changed gods. If we confess to know God Almighty, then we should be imbibing in the Fountain of living water. The Sovereign Lord quenches our thirst, satisfies the deepest longing in our souls, and fills us with joy and hope. In John 17 Jesus says, “And this is eternal life, that [disciples] may know You, the only true God and Jesus, who You sent.”

Tragically, many who proclaim to be Christians have abandoned the Fountain of living water and hewn their own broken cisterns. The cisterns come in various forms – be it wealth, recreation, power, human relationships, toys, etc. God has been abandoned for these things that are fleeting and can satisfy only for a moment. As we pursue these worthless things, we become like these things – worthless (verse 5).  Knowing this, why would we abandon God? How does this make sense?

I think it’s possible to have the world’s greatest treasure and not know it. To paraphrase G.K. Chesterton, it’s not that we’ve tried God and found Him wanting, but we found knowing God difficult and have left it untried. In Jesus are springs that lead to eternal life, but it requires faith. Instead of maintaining a course of faith, we take the easy way out, the quick fix. We fill our lives with material things, with earthly pleasures, and human approval. Instead of seeking God who gives abundant life, we seek out the world’s devices.  I’m referring to not only those outside the church and but also to some inside the church.

We must press forward in our relationship with God. The journey is not easy, but the rewards are incomparable. Let us hold fast to our faith without wavering, and not succumb to the world’s cheap imitation. Then we shall “taste and see that the Lord is good.”

For momentary light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen, for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 1 Cor 4:17-18 (NASB)