Jeremiah 2
Chasing fame, wealth, relationships, and material things comes so naturally to us. He who has the most toys wins, right? This is how we think and how we roll unless something inside us changes to offer a new perspective.
It was no different for the people of the Bible. The people of Judah were chasing Idols to see what they might gain. They had seen God do amazing things. They had heard stories of what God had done in the past. But they loved it when their priests and false prophets tickled their ears with lies that made them feel comfortable and at ease with how they were living. They worshiped idols made of wood and stone, and they enjoyed sin. They were willing to sell their souls and bodies for any pleasure. God wanted them to choose life but they continually choose otherwise.
Remember Jeremiah, our weeping, depressed prophet? What an assignment God had given him. His job was to warn God’s people of the captivity coming if they didn’t return to him. But even with all that warning, the people were more than willing to exchange their glorious God for worthless idols.
God gave Jeremiah a picture of what the people of Judah were doing. He said in Jeremiah Chapter Two that the people were doing two evil things. First, they abandoned the fountain of living water that was fresh, clean, and abundant. And the second was they had dug cracked cisterns for themselves. These flawed and shoddy cisterns couldn’t hold water. The water they put in- just leaked out. There was no hope of quenching and satisfying their thirst when they became parched.
The people willingly gave up fresh flowing water, which satisfies a thirst for a well that couldn’t even hold water. What a dumb trade. Of course, hindsight is 20/20. We can easily look back and criticize these “foolish” people; however, we need to look at our own lives first. I have found that looking in a mirror is quite revealing.
Jesus offers us living water, too, yet we often look elsewhere in our zest for things of this world. We are quite a lot like the people of Judah. We remain thirsty for hope and satisfaction when God willingly offers us a living fountain.
“Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)
John 7:37-39
Let’s take some time and ask the Lord to show us where our hope is resting:
God, is there anywhere in my life where I am opting for a cracked cistern rather than your fountain of living water? Have I built my leaky cisterns, or am I resting in you?
Lord, show me in what way I am chasing things that can’t satisfy rather than living abundantly by walking with you.
Now take a minute to remedy the situation. Confession and repentance are a powerful duo, and as David wrote, “The sacrifice you desire is a broken spirit. You will not reject a broken and repentant heart, O God.” (Psalm 51:17 NLT)
Anne Farnum 