Have we forsaken the fountain of living water, and dug broken cisterns that cannot hold water? Let’s look at Jeremiah 2.
Was Israel once devoted to God, and enemies who attempted to devour the nation ended in disaster?
The Lord’s word came to me: Go and proclaim to the people of Jerusalem, The Lord proclaims: I remember your first love, your devotion as a young bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in an unplanted land. Israel was devoted to the Lord, the early produce of the harvest. Whoever ate from it became guilty; disaster overtook them, declares the Lord. (Jer 2:1-3 CEB)
How did the relationship between God and Israel become worthless?
Listen, people of Israel, and I, the Lord, will speak. I was never unfair to your ancestors, but they left me and became worthless by following worthless idols. Your ancestors refused to ask for my help, though I had rescued them from Egypt and led them through a treacherous, barren desert, where no one lives or dares to travel. (Jer 2:4-6 CEV)
Even after entering the land did all of Israel prove unfaithful to God, from the least to the greatest?
And I brought you into a plentiful land to enjoy its fruits and its good things. But when you came in, you defiled my land and made my heritage an abomination. The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who handle the law did not know me; the shepherds transgressed against me; the prophets prophesied by Baal and went after things that do not profit. (Jer 2:7-8 ESV)
Had Israel exchanged the one true God for an array of useless man-made idols? What have we exchanged for God?
Therefore, I will bring a case against you again. This is the Lord’s declaration. I will bring a case against your children’s children. Cross over to Cyprus and take a look. Send someone to Kedar and consider carefully; see if there has ever been anything like this: Has a nation ever exchanged its gods? (But they were not gods!) Yet My people have exchanged their Glory for useless idols. Be horrified at this, heavens; be shocked and utterly appalled. This is the Lord’s declaration. (Jer 2:9-12 HCSB)
Does the analogy of the broken cisterns in any way apply to us?
“Indeed, my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.” (Jer 2:13 ISV)
Did Israel learn anything from their Egyptian and Assyrian slavery? Will their own sins bring self-inflicted punishment?
Is Israel a servant? is he a homeborn slave? why is he spoiled? The young lions roared upon him, and yelled, and they made his land waste: his cities are burned without inhabitant. Also the children of Noph and Tahapanes [Egyptian cities] have broken the crown of thy head. Hast thou not procured this unto thyself, in that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, when he led thee by the way? And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt, to drink the waters of Sihor [blackness of the Nile]? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river [Euphrates]? Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the Lord thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord God of hosts. (Jer 2:14-19 KJV)
How did Israel act like a harlot who loved strangers instead of being faithful?
“For long ago I broke your yoke And tore off your bonds; But you said, ‘I will not serve!’ For on every high hill And under every green tree You have lain down as a harlot. Yet I planted you a choice vine, A completely true seed. How then have you turned yourself before Me Into the degenerate shoots of a foreign vine? Although you wash yourself with lye And use much soap, The stain of your iniquity is before Me,” declares Lord Yahweh.
“How can you say, ‘I am not defiled; I have not walked after the Baals’? Look at your way in the valley! Know what you have done! You are a swift young camel entangling her ways, A wild donkey accustomed to the wilderness, That sniffs the wind in her passion. In the time of her heat who can turn her away? All who seek her will not become weary; In her month they will find her. Keep your feet from being barefoot And your throat from thirst; But you said, ‘It is hopeless! No! For I have loved strangers, And after them I will walk.’ ” (Jer 2:20-25 LSB)
How had Israel acted like a thief whose crimes are exposed? Is worshipping idols made of stone and trees in any way realistic?
“Like the shame of a thief when he is discovered, So the house of Israel is shamed; They, their kings, their leaders, Their priests, and their prophets, Who say to a tree, ‘You are my father,’ And to a stone, ‘You gave me birth.’ For they have turned their backs to Me, And not their faces; But in the time of their trouble they will say, ‘Arise and save us!’ But where are your gods Which you made for yourself? Let them arise, if they can save you In the time of your trouble! For as many as the number of your cities Are your gods, Judah.” (Jer 2:26-28 NASB)
Has punishment brought about national repentance in Israel? Will we repent?
“Why do you bring charges against me? You have all rebelled against me,” declares the Lord. “In vain I punished your people; they did not respond to correction. Your sword has devoured your prophets like a ravenous lion.” (Jer 2:29-30 NIV)
Why did Israel live in the delusion of self-mastery and forget God? Have we?
“O generation, see the word of the Lord! Have I been a wilderness to Israel, Or a land of darkness? Why do My people say, ‘We are lords; We will come no more to You’? Can a virgin forget her ornaments, Or a bride her attire? Yet My people have forgotten Me days without number.” (Jer 2:31-32 NKJV)
How well did foreign alliances work out for Israel? Do we put too much trust in foreign alliances, especially with nations that spurn Christian values?
“How you plot and scheme to win your lovers. Even an experienced prostitute could learn from you! Your clothing is stained with the blood of the innocent and the poor, though you didn’t catch them breaking into your houses! And yet you say, ‘I have done nothing wrong. Surely God isn’t angry with me!’ But now I will punish you severely because you claim you have not sinned.
First here, then there—you flit from one ally to another asking for help. But your new friends in Egypt will let you down, just as Assyria did before. In despair, you will be led into exile with your hands on your heads, for the Lord has rejected the nations you trust. They will not help you at all.” (Jer 2:33-37 NLT)
Did Jesus also allude to coming to Him, the fountain of living water?
Now on the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink! He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, from within him will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:37-38 WEB)
Have we forsaken the fountain of living water, and dug broken cisterns that cannot hold water? You decide!
