Jump Start # 712

Jeremiah 2:13 “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, The fountain of living waters, to hew for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

The opening chapters of Jeremiah are hard to read. It is a candid look at a people who took God for granted and let their faith wither away. The nation of Judah became arrogant, stubborn and indifferent to their wayward ways. They turned their back on God and pursued a course of idolatry, similar to her sister nation, Israel, years before. The early chapters of Jeremiah reveal the sins and heart of the nation that was no longer committed to God.

Our verse today is typical of what a person finds in those first chapters. Here two evils are identified: forsaking God and following idols (broken cisterns). Cisterns once were common to nearly every home, especially in rural communities. They often looked like a well, lined with brick or rocks, they collected water, especially rain water. The collected water could then be used. Cisterns were very essential in areas which were dry and water was hard to come by. Broken cisterns, like anything else that is broken, do not do what they are supposed to. Instead of holding water, the water seeps out and the cistern is empty except for a small muddy mess at the bottom. The point Jeremiah is making is that the nation left God, a living foundation, for idols, that are broken and cannot help them.

A person rarely leaves God for nothing. As with most things in life, we replace one thing for another. If we don’t like one dentist, we generally do not quit going, we find another. If we don’t like one place to eat, we find another. The nation in Jeremiah’s day, replaced God with the false idols that could not help at all. Those idols were not real. They had not given any law, promises or proof of their existence. The gods behind those broken cisterns had answered no prayers, they had not given any blessings. It was all fake. It was all hype and no substance. It was all in the minds of the people.

It is hard for me to understand how a group of people can leave a real God for something that is fake. What is the attraction? What would convince them? Yet, doesn’t the same happen today? People leave the teachings of the Bible for ideas, dreams and hopes that do not have any substance, proof or validity. Someone writes a book, using their experiences as alleged proof, and everyone gets excited about such things, to the point that they leave what the Bible teaches for those speculations.

I see this in two specific areas:

First, in believing that God speaks to people today. Tons of people believe that. Maybe you do. Hebrews tells us that God speaks through Jesus. Peter wrote that everything pertaining to life and godliness has been given. There is nothing new. There is no new insights, revelations, ideas. Yet people will leave plain Bible teachings for these divine “urges” and “nudges” that they think come from God. A weird feeling about something is thought to be God’s direction. Instead of considering moods, hormones, bad indigestion, the weather, sleeplessness—they attribute these things to God. Folks will leave a job, a mate, a church because of these “divine” influences. How can a person leave plain Bible teachings for feelings? How could ancient Judah leave God for idols? How could anyone leave a true fountain for broken cisterns? God speaks through His word. That is certain, absolute and unchanging. Feelings are not trustworthy. Have you ever felt you were in love and found “the one,” only to later discover that wasn’t “the one?” How about driving and you think you know where you are, but actually you are lost? Feelings and hunches can be misleading. God doesn’t speak that way.

The other area is about Heaven. God’s word is clear about Heaven. The only insight we have is the revealed word. There are no personal testimonies about what goes on in Heaven. Paul was given a vision of Heaven but he didn’t repeat what he saw. When Lazarus was resurrected, he did not tell us what he saw or heard. There are no personal testimonies in the revealed word of God. However, a truck driver who claimed he was killed has written a book about what going to Heaven. He reveals what songs he heard and what he saw. It’s amazing he could do that when no one in the Bible could or did. It’s amazing that people get more excited over that than what the Bible actually says. Is this nothing more than leaving the living fountain for a broken cistern?

There will always be people who claim a new way, a better insight, a new thought that in reality is nothing more than a broken cistern that can not hold water. Our hope is in the word of God. Broken cisterns never work.

Roger