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."
19: "Your wickedness will punish you; your backsliding will rebuke you. Consider then and realize how evil and bitter it is for you when you forsake the Lord your God and have no awe of me," declares the Lord, the Lord Almighty.
27: "They say to wood, 'Your are my father,' and to stone, 'You gave me birth.' They have turned their backs to me and not their faces; yet when they are in trouble they say, 'Come and save us!'
In verse 13 the two sins that were committed here were (1) forsaking the spring of living water, and (2) digging other cisterns, which were broken and could not hold water. In other words, Israel had rejected the One True God and had turned to idols, which meant nothing, could do nothing for them, and ultimately would not hold up in the end.
Verse 19 talks about the consequences for the wicked actions of Israel and the tragedy of forsaking the Lord and having no awe of him (the exact words used to describe this are "evil and bitter"). This led me to a thought based on verse 27, which mentions again how Israel had forsaken the Lord in order to worship idols. Towards the end of the verse it says "...they have turned their backs to me and not their faces..." In looking to idols for satisfaction, they had turned their backs on God. And since their backs were turned to God, they clearly were not standing in awe of Him. It's kind of hard to stand in awe of something if you're not even looking at, much less facing in the right direction!
Imagine going to the museum and examining a piece of gum that was stuck to the floor and completely ignoring the spectacular crystal chandelier hanging from the ceiling. How ridiculous! Or picture taking a trip into space and ignoring the stars around you because you'd rather look at a comic book. What would possess you to do that? Yet these examples and the account in Jeremiah are so similar to things that happen every day! Millions of people are content to play around in meaningless things and occupy themselves with transient pleasures of this world when the Son of God died to offer the free gift of eternal life to mortal, sin-stained, hell-bound men. The world and it's contented lost people need our prayers and God's mercy now more than ever.
1 comment:
Thirteen years ago I was hired to interpret a Nancy Leigh DeMoss conference. She spoke on this passage & also the woman at the well. I realized THAT was me. I was searching for someone to love me, to belong, for significance & purpose. But I had looked everywhere but to Jesus. I was a broken cistern. I had rejected Jesus, THE LIVING WATER, & was attempting to fill my life with whatever scrap I could scrounge up. Her words, actually God's words, hit my like a ton of bricks that day. I knew the Truth, yet I lived as an enemy of God's. When I think back to who I was & the things I had done...I stand amazed at all He has done for me. If you are looking at the outer appearance my life may not look like much, but if you could see inside - I am WHOLE. That person I was is dead, or in the process of dying. I don't think like her & I don't want what she wants. If you knew me before, you would realize what an amazing miracle God has done for me. My life is full, abundant! Not by worldly standards. But I wouldn't trade with anyone else. I know who I belong to. The King of kings delights in me. He set my heart free. Thanks for the reminder of all that HE has done for me. Love, Renee
Post a Comment