They have forsaken me,
the spring of living water,
and have dug their own cisterns,
broken cisterns that cannot hold water. - Jer. 2:13
Jeremiah was a prophet in the Southern Kingdom of Judah during the time leading up to (and including) the Babylonian Exile. Nicknamed "The Weeping Prophet," Jeremiah grieved over the sins of the Jewish people, and the way in which the nation of Judah had exchanged the worship of God for the worship of false gods and idols. Persecuted by kings, false prophets, and even his "friends," Jeremiah is an example of someone who preaches the truth, even when it costs him everything.
Jeremiah uses the image of the broken well to demonstrate what the Jews have done--they have forsaken God and worshiped idols of wood and stone instead. We might imagine a backpacker hiking past a cool, fresh mountain stream, choosing instead to drink the stale, muddy water from a puddle in the middle of the trail.
We do the same thing whenever we trade the peace and security we have in Christ for the false peace and security offered by this world. Whenever we put our trust in the things or kingdoms of this world, it's like drinking from the stale water in a puddle--when we could choose instead to drink deeply from the well of Living Water.
Turn your eyes upon Jesus;
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
- Helen H. Lemmel
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim
In the light of His glory and grace.
- Helen H. Lemmel
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