The Forsaken Fountain
Today's Verse:
For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. ~Jeremiah 2:13
In our modern day world, we are blessed that water fountains can be found in most public locations. These water fountains provide us water so that we can quench our thirst and maintain our hydration while we are out and about. All of us understand that water is necessary for life. Without water our bodies will shut down and we will die. To die of thirst is one of the worst unimaginable ways to perish. Our devotion this morning centers on a confrontation God has with the nation of Judah. By using the symbol of a fountain of water, God shows us the importance of unbroken fellowship with him.
We see the unfailing resource.
God is our fountain of living water. He is an eternal resource who never fails us. As the fountain of living water we find salvation for our souls. Jesus said, “Whosoever drinketh of the water that I give him shall never thirst.” As the fountain of living water, we have a resource that is essential. It is a resource that is eternal. It is a resource that is boundless. We have a resource that refreshes and enables us over and over again. When this living water is abounding is us, it produces rivers of living water through us into the lives of other people.
We see the unwise rejection.
God told Jeremiah, “They have forsaken me the fountain of living waters.” The people of God made an unwise rejection of the Lord. They abandoned holy living. They forsook His counsel. They were double minded in their worship. They worshipped God through their ceremonies, and then worshipped idols on their housetops. They were unashamed of their double life. They became worldly and compromised their faith by relying on other nations for their needs. They no longer exercised faith in God. They resorted to solving their problems their way. They accepted false teachers and practices into their way of life. They made an unwise rejection of the Lord their God.
We see the unworkable replacement.
They hewed them cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water. A cistern is a tank or a well that is used to collect water. Many times cisterns are used to catch the runoff of rain water. God said these cisterns were broken and could hold no water. God is using the image of man made cisterns for water to dramatize what Judah was doing. Instead of drawing upon God on a continuous and daily basis for their need, they established man made devices as their sources of reliance. The fountain of living waters was replaced by broken cisterns that could hold no water. God was telling them that the cisterns they were using were broken and unable to hold water for their needs. Anything we establish as a substitute for God is a broken remedy or a broken resource. It cannot satisfy. It cannot meet our need. It will leave us dry and withered. It is an unworkable replacement.
We see the unavoidable remedy.
There must be repentance from our evil. God called these forsaking of Him and that adoption of broken cisterns two evils. There must be a complete confession and repentance from this evil. Then, there must be a return to an unadulterated reliance upon God for our lives. Drink from His fountain. Stay yourself upon Jehovah. Find your satisfaction in God alone.
The fountain is not broken. The fountain is the same. The water that it provides us is endless, eternal and essential. Come back to the fountain that always satisfies!
Have a refreshing God Morning!
Bible Reading Schedule: Joshua 22-24