Jeremiah 2:11-13. But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. 12Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, 13for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.
Have you ever wondered what shocks the heavens? What makes the angels appalled and horrified (desolate)? God is telling the beings that stand around his throne, those that gather around him eternally declaring his holiness and glory, to look at humanity’s sin and be ashamed. Yikes.
But why? What have God’s people done that is so bad that the angles need to be disgusted? Jeremiah 2:11-13 tells us not only what the Jews in exile did wrong, but it also gives us one of the clearest understandings of what sin is. Let’s look at it in reverse:
Sinis drinking from a broken cistern – they hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water. In ancient times, people would dig cisterns or large holes lined with plaster that would hold rainwater. But over time these cisterns would get cracks and leaks. They would fill with mud or animal dung and the water would become disgusting. Now drinking from the broken cistern, though easier, was deadly.
What is your broken cistern? What is your easy answer to life’s trials? What is your source of comfort in times of pain? Food? Money? Sex? The news? Social media? Work? Family? Exercise? Entertainment? The problem is that these are all finite things used to quench an infinite thirst. None of these things, even good things, can satisfy us forever. Every one of them will eventually let us down. Or worse, they will enslave us in a cycle of addiction. That mental carousel of feeling better and yet numb at the same time, always needing more and more to feel “normal” again.
Can you name your broken cisterns? Your idols? Your addiction cycle? Can you recognize your patterns of chasing after something over and over for comfort or control? But why do we do this? Why do we chase false gods? Why do we keep drinking from broken cisterns? Jeremiah has the answer.
Sin is forsaking Christ – they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters. We chase false gods, we dig broken cisterns, and we become enslaved to sin because, before any of those choices are made, we have chosen to reject Christ, the fountain of God’s living water.
Each time you choose lust, entertainment, knowledge, or pleasure to bring yourself comfort, each time your efforts, abilities, preparedness, or performance, become your boast, you have rejected Christ’s water of life and you have drunk from a poisonous, poop-filled, pit. Whether you realize it or not, you have declared in your heart that Jesus isn’t enough to satisfy you.
But the good news is that the same God that said be shocked and appalled that the people have rejected my fountain of living water, stood up in the temple courts 500 years later and shouted, If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink.
To live is Christ means that Jesus has replaced your broken cistern of deadly water with his indwelling river of living water. Jesus, the spring of water welling up to eternal life (John 4:14), is IN YOU. No more digging holes to satisfy your desires. No more searching for temporary satisfaction. Just drinking from his ever-present stream of thirst-quenching love.
Where will you drink today?
You: What broken cisterns have you been drinking from lately?
You in Christ: How has Christ’s indwelling love and grace satisfied your desires in these times of distress?
Christ in you: How can you point others to the “spring of water welling up to eternal life” (Jesus) today?
To Live is Christ 