(Jeremiah 2:13)
“For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me,
The fountain of living waters,
To hew for themselves cisterns,
Broken cisterns
That can hold no water.”
(Jer 2:10)
The following chart contrasts “the fountain of living waters” with “broken cisterns.”
| Fountain of living water | Broken cisterns | Comment |
|---|---|---|
| A gift—No work on our part | Extreme effort to excavate through hard, solid rock | People will do almost anything to avoid trusting the Lord |
| Accomplished in a moment | Takes a lifetime | Wasted life |
| Humility | Pride | Rejected grace |
| Faith | Works | Rejected salvation |
| Fountain is singular—One God | Cisterns are plural —Many gods | Deut 6:41 |
| Pure filtered water from spring | Contaminated by dirt and mud | Filled from roof and surface runoff |
| Fresh continuously flowing water | Stale water—just sits there months | Unhealthy, scum, mold, bugs |
| Cool | Warm | Doesn’t satisfy—John 4:132 |
| Impossible to poison | Easy to poison | Satan’s lies |
| Unlimited amount—abundance | Runs empty during drought | Exhausted when you need it the most |
| Unaffected by cracks in rock | Leaks out | Unavailable when life gets tough. |
| Available anywhere | Requires special kinds of rock | Ps 139:7-103 |
| Impossible to end | Impossible to accomplish | Rom 8:38-394 |
| Eternal life | Eternal death | John 4:4 5 |
Obviously, we should accept Jesus’ fountains of living waters and drink deeply.
Photo Attribution: Marcel L – Unsplash.com
Footnotes
- Deut 6:4, Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
- John 4:13, Jesus answered and said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will thirst again.”
- Ps 139:7-10,
7 Where can I go from Your Spirit?
Or where can I flee from Your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, You are there;
If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, You are there.
9 If I take the wings of the dawn,
If I dwell in the remotest part of the sea,
10 Even there Your hand will lead me,
And Your right hand will lay hold of me. - Rom 8:38-39, For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
- John 4:14, “…whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never thirst; but the water that I will give him will become in him a well of water springing up to eternal life.”