From Cracked Cisterns to Living Water

​Drought has decimated life in the eastern part of the United States this fall. What usually is a rainy season has become a parched one. As we drive around Bucks County, PA we see how the lack of rain is taking its toll on farm fields and ponds and streams. There is a pond that we pass every time we drive to our church. For decades it has been the home of birds, turtles, and insects. All that remains now is a depression in the land with a cracked, muddy bottom. I thought of the Scripture in Jeremiah 2 where God is chastising Israel for forsaking Him. Here is what God said through His prophet: "'...But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror.' declares the Lord. 'My people have committed two sins; They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.'" (Jeremiah 2:11-13) Verse 19 continues: "'Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me.' declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty." 
 
In the parched lands of Israel, spring water was and is extremely rare. Cisterns, hewn out of rock, were frequently used to collect and store water. No sane person would trade a clean and flowing spring for an unreliable cistern. In His discussion with the Samaritan woman at Jacob's well, Jesus identified Himself as the One who dispenses living water. (John 4:10) Referring to Jacob's well, He says, "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." (John 4:13, 14)
 
God was telling the Israelites through the prophet Jeremiah that their worship of false idols had subjected them to slavery and allowed the destruction of their lives. Their broken cisterns (religious systems with false promises that had become idols) could not be sustained. What are the unstable cisterns of today? What are the idols we as individuals and as a nation have allowed to take the place of God? There are multiple ways in which this can happen. Here are a few: Striving for power, putting our trust in religious systems, depending on money, looking to technology to solve all our problems, or consuming drugs and alcohol.
 
God reminds the people of Israel how they turned their backs on Him yet cry out to Him in times of trouble. He says, "You have as many gods as there are towns in Judah. Why do you accuse me of doing wrong? You are the ones who have rebelled,' says the Lord." (Jeremiah 2:27-29 - NLT) In spite of their sins, God holds out hope. He says, "'O Israel, my faithless people, come home to me again, for I am merciful. I will not be angry with you forever. Only acknowledge your guilt. Admit that you rebelled against the Lord your God and committed adultery against Him by worshipping idols under every green tree. Confess that you refused to listen to my voice. I the Lord have spoken.'" (Jeremiah 3:12, 13 - NLT) "'My wayward children,' says the Lord. 'Come back to me, and I will heal your wayward hearts.'" (Jeremiah 3:22 - NLT)
 
We should examine ourselves today to determine if we have replaced the worship of the Lord with any idols. When we have, we can repent and return to the Lover of our souls. Mercy and grace are always flowing from God's throne for those who repent. We must destroy cracked cisterns that cannot hold water and return to our Fountain of Living Water, a constant source of love and mercy and wisdom.