The prophet Jeremiah ministered to the people of Judah during the reign of king Josiah until after Babylon’s destruction of Jerusalem in 586 B.C. Some have called Jeremiah the “weeping prophet” due to his emotional messages of God’s judgment concerning Judah. Jeremiah didn’t just prophesy of Judah’s demise, he lived through it. Judah’s refusal to listen Jeremiah’s messages was just as devastating as its eventual destruction.
Like Israel in the north, Judah had forsaken the Lord to worship false gods. The Lord said, “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” (Jer. 2:13). By forsaking the Lord, Judah had left the fountain of living waters, and went after broken cisterns.
The people of the Ancient Near East would make cisterns to hold water. The cisterns could be pear shaped bottles, or a holes dug in the ground lined with stones. The cisterns would be filled with runoff water from a rooftop, or a similar source. The water itself would become contaminated from sitting in the cistern, breeding bacteria and germs. Therefore, the water from the cistern wasn’t fresh and wasn’t fit for drinking unless it was purified.
The Lord compared Judah’s backsliding to choosing broken cisterns which held no water. This was opposed to drinking from fresh fountain waters. Beloved, when we choose the world and sin, it’s like drinking contaminated water. What’s worse, is that this contaminated water is held in broken cisterns, leaving you always wanting more, but never having enough.
Jesus Christ will always satisfy. He is the Fountain of Living Water, quenching the thirst of every soul (Jn. 7:37-39).