Jeremiah 2:13
About 600 years before Christ, the nation of Judah was facing difficult times.... The northern kingdom of Israel was history, taken into Assyrian captivity. Manasseh and his son Amnon, very wicked kings, had led the nation into idolatry. Young Josiah, son and grandson of such kings, struggled to do what was right. In the thirteenth year of Josiah's reign, God called a young priest to be His prophet.... His name was Jeremiah - Jer 1:1-2 "The words of Jeremiah, the son of Hilkiah, one of the priests who were in Anathoth in the land of Benjamin, to whom the word of the LORD came in the days of Josiah the son of Amon, king of Judah, in the thirteenth year of his reign.", 4-5 "Now the word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations."' A young man himself (about 20), he was hesitant to speak - Jer 1:6 "Then I said, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth."' God did not accept his youth as an excuse - Jer 1:7-8 "But the LORD said to me, "Do not say, 'I am only a youth'; for to all to whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD."' In his first assignment as God's prophet, Jeremiah was sent with a message to Jerusalem, recalling their past faithfulness - Jer 2:1-3 "The word of the LORD came to me, saying, "Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem, Thus says the LORD, "I remember the devotion of your youth, your love as a bride, how you followed me in the wilderness, in a land not sown. Israel was holy to the LORD, the firstfruits of his harvest. All who ate of it incurred guilt; disaster came upon them, declares the LORD."' Jeremiah was sent with a message to the house of Jacob and all the families of the house of Israel, bemoaning their apostasy into idolatry - Jer 2:4-11 "Hear the word of the LORD, O house of Jacob, and all the clans of the house of Israel. Thus says the LORD: "What wrong did your fathers find in me that they went far from me, and went after worthlessness, and became worthless? They did not say, 'Where is the LORD who brought us up from the land of Egypt, who led us in the wilderness, in a land of deserts and pits, in a land of drought and deep darkness, in a land that none passes through, where no man dwells?' 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. "Therefore I still contend with you, declares the LORD, and with your children's children I will contend. For cross to the coasts of Cyprus and see, or send to Kedar and examine with care; see if there has been such a thing. Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit." Calling for the heavens to look on in astonishment and great fear, as God accused His people of committing two great evils... - Jer 2:12-13 "Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the LORD, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water."
Forsaking their God, the fountain of living waters:
1) "living water" was used to denote springs, fountains, running streams
2) As opposed to stale and stagnant water
Hewing for themselves broken cisterns that can hold no water:
1) Cisterns were tanks for rain water, hewn (cut) out of stone
2) At best, they could only offer stagnant water
3) Broken with cracks, they could not even retain water
Could we be guilty of similar evils today? To God's dismay and our own peril, very much so! To see how, let's examine closer the "Two Great Evils" spoken of in Jer 2:13.
Forsaking the fountain of living waters Israel forsook her fountain. God was Israel's fountain of living waters. Who delivered her from Egyptian bondage - Jer 2:6. Who led her through the wilderness wanderings - Jer 2:6. Who brought her into the land of milk and honey - Jer 2:7. Israel forgot her God. Beginning with her own priests and rulers - Jer 2:8. From one generation to the next - Jer 2:9. Unlike other nations that were true to their gods - Jer 2:10-11a -- Israel had changed their Glory (God) into that which did not profit! - Jer 2:11b
Dare we forsake our fountain...? We have our fountain of living waters. Of which Jesus promised during His ministry:
1) To the Samaritan woman - Jn 4:13-14 "Jesus said to her, "Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty forever. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."'
2) To all who believe in Him - Jn 7:37-39 "On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'" Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
Of which Jesus later revealed to the apostle John:
1) Regarding our state between death and the resurrection - Re 7:13-17 "Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, "Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?" I said to him, "Sir, you know." And he said to me, "These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. "Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."'
2) Regarding our eternal destiny in the New Jerusalem - Re 22:1 "Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb."
Could we be guilty of similar evils today? To God's dismay and our own peril, very much so! To see how, let's examine closer the "Two Great Evils" spoken of in Jer 2:13. In that there are more lessons and questions to ask ourselves from our primary text of Jeremiah 2:13. We will continue looking into these in our next lesson.
