July 15, 2020
Jeremiah 2-Part 2
For My people have committed two evils; they have forsaken Me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water. (verse 13)
LET IT GLOW
Are you in a "dry spell" in your Christian life? Are you experiencing spiritual dryness right now? Do we reduce the Fountain of Living Waters, Jesus Christ, to a trickle in us? Friend, this should not happen, but it does. It is due to our own doing, for when we attempt to find our source of spiritual refreshment from man-made sources, which fails us every time, instead of the Lord Jesus.
The first problem Judah had was that they forsook Jesus, the Fountain of Living Waters. Let's take a closer look at those words.
In the Hebrew language, forsaken means relinquish; leave; refuse; a fountain is a source (of water, even when naturally flowing); a well-spring; living refers to fresh (water); life; running; springing;
waters are springs; floods.
You may recall the time when Jesus conversed with the Samaritan woman at the well, found in John 4. Jesus said in verses 13-14, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life."
The woman believed Jesus was the Messiah, the Christ, who gives eternal life. Judah had left, refused, the One who could give the abundant life and everlasting life.
Jesus wants to be a constantly flowing stream, a river, even, keeping us fresh, filled, and satisfied. As Jesus quenches our spiritual thirst, He overflows touching the parched lives of those around us. (Joni Eareckson Tada)
God refers to Himself as an artesian well in the life of a believer. (Blackaby)
Webster's Dictionary defines an artesian well as a well in which water is under pressure; one in which the water flows to the surface naturally; a deep well.
Artesian wells bubbled forth with a cold, fresh, never-ending supply of water from the depths of the earth, quenching any thirst and always satisfying. You don't need to run all over the country trying to find sources of spiritual refreshment. Conferences, retreats, and books can all bring encouragement; but if you are a Christian, the source of living water already resides within you. Why would you exchange an artesian well for a broken water tank? Artesian wells do not dry up. Broken cisterns do. [Experiencing God Day-By-Day Devotional by Henry and Richard Blackaby]Jesus extended an invitation to you when He said: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink" (John 7:37). Also, in Revelation 21:6, Jesus said He will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of life freely. Have you been refreshed in your soul by the living water only Jesus can provide?
LET IT GROW
The Lord that Judah abandoned was their source of spiritual salvation and sustenance. This was their first sin.
What was the other sin that Judah did? They dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all.
A cistern is an artificial reservoir (as an underground tank) for storing liquids and especially water (as rainwater). (Webster's Dictionary)
A broken cistern, a holding tank, that held no water, was no good. Do we have holding tanks for past victories or other people's ideas? Do we try to store up the freshness of Jesus in our life, but we actually become a stagnant pool of old experiences and tired testimonies? Then we do not live the fresh, thirst-quenching life each day that God wants to give us.
Israel and Judah lost their freedom and became slaves to Assyria and then to Egypt, eventually to Babylon. It was all because they forsook and left the God who loved them and turned to false gods.
Our cisterns can be modern money power, religious systems, or whatever we choose to replace God.
LET IT GO
Jesus, be our Living Water that quenches the thirsting of our souls.
Refresh us with Your Spirit today.
Keep us thirsting for more of You.
How glorious You are, Sweet Jesus!
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