January 22, 2023 . . .
Last time, we looked at Jeremiah 2:13 where Jeremiah writes, “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.” We discussed how God’s people had forsaken Him and followed after other gods (often while giving Yahweh lip service at the same time). The second evil that Jeremiah said God’s people had committed was digging for themselves cisterns - broken cisterns - that could hold no water. Judah needed to remember that Yahweh was the source of living water and they needed to return to Him and trust Him to be their provider and their God. Do we need to do the same thing? Only God can provide the “living water” that we need to sustain our lives both spiritually and figuratively. In fact, Jesus told the woman at the well in John 4:14 that whoever drinks the water that He gives would never thirst again and that water would become in him (or her) a fountain of water springing up to eternal life. Jesus is the source of all we need. Let’s not forsake the living water of Jesus for bad water from other sources. If we have drank bad water, we need to repent and return to God. We need to drink deeply from the Well of Living Water. But there is that other thing of “broken cisterns” that needs our attention. A cistern in the strictest sense is a well. It holds water from which people and animals drink. There are two issues here that Jeremiah discusses with Judah. First Judah had dug cisterns “for themselves”. Instead of trusting God to be their provider and protector, they looked elsewhere “for themselves” by adopting the god’s and goddesses of the culture (Jeremiah has already covered this in the previous “evil of forsaking God”), but perhaps more specifically, they had trusted in the armies and military might of other nations (mainly Egypt) to protect them, instead of trusting God. So not only had Judah dug “for themselves” cisterns, the cisterns they dug for themselves were broken. They wouldn’t hold water. False gods, goddesses, and armies from other nations could provide for and protect Judah from her enemies. Let’s jump back to our day. Have we dug cisterns “for ourselves”? Do we look to other sources than God to be our provider, sustainer, and protector? If so, like Judah, we are digging for ourselves broken cisterns that won’t hold water. Only Jesus can provide what we need to get through this life. Once again, let’s drink deeply of Fountain of Living Water and then let’s allow God to be our cistern. Let’s lean on Him and not ourselves. Until we do, we will never be truly satisfied.
Be blessed and be a blessing . . . Bro. Andy
