Pastor Melinda Song
25 July 2021
INTRODUCTION
Two weeks ago, I shared from the book of Isaiah who prophesied during the threatening expansion of the Assyrian empire, the final collapse of the northern kingdom of Israel.
Today we fast forward 100 years to look at the prophecy of Jeremiah. God raised up Jeremiah to prophesy and call his people back to him during those dark days before they went into exile in Babylon. He was called the “weeping prophet” because he was a man of great sensitivity whose heart broke when the faithless nation rejected his call to repentance which would have turned away God’s impending judgment. He was courageous and faithful to his mission to confront the nation of her sin reaping only hate and opposition in return for the love he had for his countrymen.
Chapter 1 records the call of Jeremiah and Jeremiah’s prophecy begins in Chapter 2. At the time God gives Jeremiah these hard-hitting words to proclaim to the people of Judah, Jeremiah is still very young, probably in his early 20’s.
Jeremiah 2:1–13 (NIV84)
2 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’” declares the Lord.
4 Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, all you clans of the house of Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me? They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves. 6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and rifts, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ 7 I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.
8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.
9 “Therefore I bring charges against you again,” declares the Lord. “And I will bring charges against your children’s children. 10 Cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look, send to Kedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: 11 Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. 12 Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord.
13 “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.
Why is God so upset?
Isaiah 54:5–6 (NIV84)
5 For your Maker is your husband . . . 6 The Lord will call you back as if you were a wife . . .
God has a covenantal relationship with his people. A covenant is a solemn, and binding commitment between two parties “till death do us part” as in a marriage.
As a husband betrayed, God is confronting Judah his wife of her adultery summarized in v. 13.
Jeremiah 2:13 (NIV84)
“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.
Israel’s problem whether as a united or divided kingdom has always been idolatry, the chasing after false gods. The root of the problem for them is that GOD IS NOT ENOUGH.
Isn’t NOT ENOUGH the root of adultery in marriage? Isn’t NOT ENOUGH the root of our desire for more money, more fame, more power, more beauty, more applause?
In this passage, God is saying to Judah, “Enough!” God is not going to tolerate their nonsense anymore.
The prophecy reads like a case being presented in court but God is still gracious and faithful. He still calls them “my people” and he begins not with harsh charges but by tenderly calling them to remember.
You may not be in a situation where you have forsaken God but times of crisis take a toll on us. In this prolonged state of isolation and frustration at the situation not improving, the love of God and the love for God may grow cold. Today God’s message to us in the midst of the crisis we are in is to remember.
1. Remember your first love (vv. 1-3)
Jeremiah 2:1–3 (NIV84)
2 The word of the Lord came to me: 2 “Go and proclaim in the hearing of Jerusalem: “‘I remember the devotion of your youth, how as a bride you loved me and followed me through the desert, through a land not sown.
3 Israel was holy to the Lord, the firstfruits of his harvest; all who devoured her were held guilty, and disaster overtook them,’” declares the Lord.
This is God’s memory of the early days of his covenant relationship with Israel, his bride. In order to show the nation how far the people had departed from the Lord, he informs them he still remembers their love as his true bride.
In any marriage, breakdown spouses focus on the bad experiences and how their partner has failed them but notice that God chose to see devotion even though Israel complains about water and food, and about dying, and about being bored and even end up making a golden calf. God sees a Holy Israel just for following Him.
God reminds them of how no nation could trouble Israel without incurring the wrath of God. And it was he who brought them into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce (v 7a).
God reminds them of the honeymoon days. Unfortunately, the honeymoon did not last. Without commitment, love will wane but with a commitment on both parties, the love will grow stronger and sweeter through the years.
When God seems distant we ought to remind ourselves of the saying, “if God does not seem as close as he used to, who moved?” And the right question for us to ask when God seems distant is not “God, why have you forsaken me” but “Lord, have I forsaken you”?
Jeremiah 3:14a (NIV84)
“Return, faithless people,” declares the Lord, “for I am your husband.
After all that heartache God still considers himself married to Israel. That is how long-suffering God is; how much he loves them and how much he loves us. So in this crisis . . .
1. Remember your first love
2. Remember God’s goodness (v. 5-8)
God then tries reasoning with unfaithful Israel.
5 This is what the Lord says: “What fault did your fathers find in me, that they strayed so far from me?
God is asking, “What have I done that was wrong? How have I wronged you that caused you to stray? How have I failed you?” The answer is always that God has done nothing wrong for . . .
Deuteronomy 32:4 (NIV84)
He is the Rock, his works are perfect, and all his ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is he.
God is trying to reason with them to save the marriage. But their unfaithfulness was devoid of reason–driven by emotion, lust, and foolishness. Actually, if we allow reason to enter our hearts, we wouldn’t sin but . . .
5 . . . They followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
People lose their values, their senses when they chase after idols. We become like what we pursue. If we pursue what is empty, we become empty. If we pursue vanity, we become vain. If we pursue darkness, we are assimilated into the darkness.
6 They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord, who brought us up out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness, through a land of deserts and rifts, a land of drought and darkness, a land where no one travels and no one lives?’ 7 I brought you into a fertile land to eat its fruit and rich produce. But you came and defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable.
When I first read this passage I thought the people were asking, “Why did God leave? Where did he go?” I assumed that it was stating of those times in our lives when are feeling God’s distance from our lives. But this statement points us in a different direction. God was telling the people that they failed in remembering God’s presence and the things he had done in their lives. “Was he there? Did he do all that?”
In the face of such forgetfulness, God reminds Israel of everything He’s done for them!
They had forgotten and taken the goodness of God for granted. Take a moment to reflect on this: How many of God’s gifts do I take for granted, often times a few days after He gives them to me. How often do I get up and think to thank God for rising in the morning?
A failure to recall the mighty deeds of God serves as an outright denial of God, and such forgetfulness deprives them of the very resource they need in order to be sustained through the time of judgment – the memory of God’s salvific actions on their behalf.
“The kind of memory that truly shapes and guides a community is the kind that keeps past events in mind in a way that draws guidance from them for the future.”
Our memories help us to remember who we are and how we got to where we are. More importantly, they can help us remember the God who has been so good to us. In times of crisis, our memories matter.
Israel was in such a state of ingratitude that even . . .
8 The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those who deal with the law did not know me; the leaders rebelled against me. The prophets prophesied by Baal, following worthless idols.
The apostasy was so pervasive that it affected the leadership who should know better. Led by their leaders the people ran towards things that are worthless and don’t profit. As they say, the fish stinks from the head.
All of God’s charges against them revolve around idolatry, the breaking of the first two commandments.
v. 5 followed worthless idols and became worthless themselves.
v. 7 defiled my land and made my inheritance detestable (high place, shrines, and idolatrous practices)
v. 8 following worthless idols
God was not enough for them because they forgot their first love and God’s goodness and faithfulness towards them.
1. Remember your first love
2. Remember God’s goodness
3. Remember that He is the real God (v. 9-12)
Tender wooing and gentleness didn’t seem to work so God now comes down hard on his stiff-necked people. God presents his charges.
9 “Therefore I bring charges against you again,” declares the Lord. “And I will bring charges against your children’s children. 10 Cross over to the coasts of Kittim and look, send to Kedar and observe closely; see if there has ever been anything like this: 11 Has a nation ever changed its gods? (Yet they are not gods at all.) But my people have exchanged their Glory for worthless idols. 12 Be appalled at this, O heavens, and shudder with great horror,” declares the Lord.
“Has a nation ever changed its gods?” is a challenge to the people. God’s response is that from Kittim (Cyprus to the East) to Kedar (a tribe in Arabia to the west), there is no precedent for such a massive national defection. Pagans who are loyal to their gods are impotent and “not gods at all.” Yet the only nation that wants to change its faith is the one with the true living God.
It is so foolish to take something of great value and deliberately exchange it for something worthless that even the heavens are horrified and shudder.
God’s heart-breaking indictment is this:
13 “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.
This metaphor needs some explaining. We are so spoilt with the easy access to clean water that we cannot imagine what a luxury it was in the ancient world to have easy access to a spring of fresh, running water.
Water is essential for survival. Where water flows, life abounds. Where water stagnates, disease takes hold. Where there is no water, life cannot even begin. Thus, throughout history, people have settled around sources of water for their personal use, for their livestock, and for their crops.
The climate of much of Israel was defined by a rainy season (winter) and a dry season (summer). People would hew cisterns (pits) from bedrock as a reservoir to collect and store surplus water from the rainy winter for use during the arid summer.
The best cisterns, even those in solid rock, are strangely liable to crack, and are a most unreliable source of supply of that absolutely indispensable article, water; and if by constant care, they are made to hold, yet the water, collected from clay roofs or from marly soil, has the colour of weak soapsuds, the taste of the earth or the stable, is full of worms, and in the hour of greatest need it utterly fails. Who but a fool positive, or one gone mad in love of filth, would exchange the sweet, wholesome stream of a living fountain for such an uncertain compound of nastiness and vermin!” [Note: W. H. Thomson, The Land and the Book, 1:443.]
Without a natural spring nearby, you would need a cistern. But if there was a fresh spring available, and you deliberately reject and turn your back on the life-giving Spring to build a cistern, you’d be incredibly foolish. And it is greater foolishness to depend on a broken cistern.
God is using the metaphor to address their idolatry—the abandoning of the one true God and chasing after false gods described here as broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
We know that anything in life can serve as an idol, a God-alternative, a counterfeit god. But in the context, Jeremiah is addressing I would like to look at it from the definition Henry Blackaby gives in his book Experiencing God. He writes, “an idol is anything you turn to for help when God told you to turn to Him for help.”
And that was what both Israel and Judah did time and time again. And they are doing it again.
Jeremiah 2:18 (NIV84)
Now why go to Egypt to drink water from the Shihor [a branch of the Nile]? And why go to Assyria to drink water from the River [Euphrates]?
During this time in their history, Judah is caught between two mighty powers and they would vacillate between the two. Instead of returning to God, they Egypt and Assyria for protection and provision.
As a result, the Lord declared that His people would reap what they had sown (v19). Judah was conquered and taken away into exile in Babylon, on the Euphrates River, where they drank the bitter waters they had chosen. The survivors who were left in Israel ran away to Egypt, against the explicit counsel of the Lord through Jeremiah. There they died by the waters of the River Nile (Jeremiah 42-44).
I can’t help but wonder if God isn’t using this current pandemic to do much the same thing in our time. Like the people of Judah, we look to the government, the vaccine (nothing wrong with all that) to solve our problems and rescue us. But ultimately it is only God who can save us.
And what if God is using this pandemic to cause all of us to slow down and to examine our lives and make sure that we’re not digging broken cisterns in our lives. Is there something I need to learn about myself? Is it a test to see how things would be between God and me when life got hard?
I am convinced that from time to time all of us get caught up in digging broken cisterns. But the good news is that we don’t have to stay there. So let’s all use this season to make sure that we quit settling for the stale brackish water that comes from our own broken cisterns and instead let God refresh us with the living water that He offers.
1. Remember your first love
2. Remember God’s goodness
3. Remember that He is the real God
The reason for hewing your own cistern is because we think God is not enough. In these difficult times, we may fall into the lie of thinking that God is not enough. But the fact of the matter is that God is enough.
He has always been enough, and when the people of Israel realise it, they enjoy dwelling in His love. When they forget it, they toil and work hard just for broken cisterns.
Broken cisterns or living water? The choice is yours.
Drink. Drink deeply from the living waters. There is always more than enough for you.
CONCLUSION
Roughly 600 years after Jeremiah’s prophecy, Jesus met a Samaritan woman at a well in Sychar. And there he used the very same metaphor to let her know that He had come to earth to provide us with living water.
John 4:13–14 (NIV84)
13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 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.”
The Samaritan woman was taken aback that He would speak to her.
John 4:10 (NIV84)
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.”
If you only knew, He says, if you only knew . . .. This morning we all have a chance to respond to the offer that Jesus made that day, an invitation that was made not just to that Samaritan woman, but to us as well.
Let’s ask Him. Today. Right now. Because God is enough.
Today instead of a benediction we’re going to make a declaration.
DECLARATION
Psalm 121:1–8 (NIV84)
1 I lift up my eyes to the hills— where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth.
3 He will not let [my] foot slip—he who watches over [me] will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over [me and my family] will neither slumber nor sleep.
5 The Lord watches over [me]—the Lord is [my] shade at [my] right hand; 6 the sun will not harm [me] by day, nor the moon by night.
7 The Lord will keep [me] from all harm—he will watch over [my] life;
8 the Lord will watch over [my] coming and going both now and forevermore.
LOGOS 