https://odb.org/2025/07/14/digging-for-meaning
Jeremiah 2:13 – “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.
The background to Jeremiah 2 is that the Israelites had forsaken God and worshipped the prevalent dieties of the lands surrounding Canaan notwithstanding Yahweh having brought their ancestors out of slavery in Egypt, through the wilderness for 40 years and into Canaan, the land promised to their forefathers. Despite the miracles in Egypt, in the wilderness and their victories in Canaan led by Joshua against all odds (the cities were fortified, they had strong armies and some were descendants of Anak), the Israelites forgotten God and forsook Him for mere idols. Idols that are dead and do not speak. Or so it seemed.
The reality of the situation is not that simple or as it seemed. This is because Baal and Asherah were the prevailing dieties of those lands. They were not just idols made of stone that are dead because behind them are real spiritual power of the air. They were the reigning spiritual force of the lands – what we in modern Christian speak and times call “territorial spirits.”
Yahweh, the one true and living God, instead of choosing one of the prominent tribes of the land, chose one person from a faraway land to build His own tribe. He chose Abraham from the Ur of the Caldeans, believed to be near the city of Nasiriyah in modern-day Iraq. It likely took Abraham months of travel to reach Canaan. That is probably why when God rescued the Israelites from Egypt (from a clan of Jacob of 71 becoming 600,000 men not counting women and children), He showed them countless miracles. From the 10 plagues in Egypt to the parting of the Red Sea to the water from the rock and manna from heaven, God demonstrated that He was and is the true and living God.
However, after years having passed by, the Israelites forgot about their past and God and worshipped Baal and Asherah. They forsook the living water and dug their own cisterns that are broken and can not hold water. They broke the first and most important of the 10 Commandments.
This morning, we may be far away from the supernatural experiences of our past. Most of us are nevertheless still faithful following Jesus and God’s Word in our lives. A few of us may have drifted far away along our own path of glory and may have achieved fame and wealth, but as proclaimed in Jeremiah 2, cisterns that are broken and cannot hold water. But for the majority of us still with God, attending church and serving Him faithfully, we must be careful that the spirit that is reigning and prevailing in the world do not seduce and draw us away from God. The same way Baal and Asherah overwhelmed the Israelites despite their miraculous past experiences with Yahweh, the spirit in the world can cause our spiritual senses to be dulled. Instead of pursuing God’s plans and purposes, we get carried away with our own dreams and fleshy desires or even just to survive in this world.
These are the end times, and our Lord will return anytime. The schemes of the evil one are subtle to ensnare and deceive us. Like the Israelites, after some time, it became natural to worship Baal and Asherah like everyone else was doing. Be alert and be on guard that we don’t end up digging our own cisterns instead of going with the living water. Our own cisterns can never be good. They are broken and can not hold water properly. Remember that and have a good week ahead! May the LORD our God grant us wisdom to deal with the challenges at work! Amen!
Ronnie's Thoughts 