Lessons from Jeremiah

Leaky cisterns hold no water

"They went after empty idols, and became empty themselves" (Jeremiah 2:5, Moffatt).

Jeremiah was not a popular prophet.

His unpopularity stemmed from his ability to penetrate to the root of the matter. He proclaimed the truth, and the truth often hurts.

Like all prophets in the Old Testament he uncovered the social sins of the people, and declared God's judgment on them.

Then he asked the question, "Why have such sins flooded into the life of our once righteous nation of Israel?"

He supplied this answer, "My people have done double wrong, they have forsaken me, the reservoir of fresh water, and hewn out cisterns for themselves, leaky cisterns that can hold no water" (2:13, Moffatt).

As nature abhors a vacuum all kinds of wickedness had flooded in to occupy the "leaky cisterns" of idol worship.

A modern example of this taking place is in Nazi Germany.

For centuries Germany had been a Christian country. There is not a hamlet or village in Germany without a church. In the cities great cathedrals rival the cathedrals of England.

Then came Adolf Hitler, with his new gods of blood and war. But these gods were empty gods, and in worshipping these empty gods the people themselves became empty.

So a frightful vacuum was created in Germany, and into this vacuum flowed the demons of cruelty, sadism, and general beastliness.

The story of the Nazi atrocities is one of the most dreadful in human history. Then God's judgment fell, for, in retrospect, having in mind what Hilter planned for the world, we cannot but believe that the Allies were the instruments of God's judgment on a very great wickedness. All this is recent history.

But what about our own time and our own land?

It needs no Jeremiah to see that here in New Zealand we too have ceased drinking from the "reservoir of fresh water", which is God himself, and have hewn out "leaky cisterns" of idol worship which hold no water; and that because we have gone after empty idols we have become empty ourselves.

We worship at the shrines of many idols ­ our pop stars, our sport, our possessions, our status in society.

We worship anything and anybody except God.

But all such idols are empty. And the result of worshipping empty idols is inevitable. We ourselves become empty, and all kinds of evil comes sweeping in to occupy this emptiness.

Art

The emptiness of our generation is well illustrated by the state of our art. It is most significant that at a showing of contemporary art in a London art gallery there was only one picture concerned with a religious theme.

As belief in God has died great art has died. An article by Professor Jayne, a professor of art in America, entitled "What is this thing called pop art?" concludes with the words, "Man apart from God is dead."

Music

It is the same with music.

For our truly great music we must turn back to the ages of faith, for it was the ages of faith that produced men like Bach, Beethoven and Handel.

Where are the music-makers of that calibre today? Truly the flight of faith has meant the flight of the highest form of musical inspiration.

Literature

What can we say about literature?

Today we have a generation of writers who owe no allegiance to God, or to the commandments of God.

The result is only too apparent. The standard ingredients of so much modern literature are violence, sex, foul language and an all-prevading cynicism about life in general.

Worshipping at the shrine of empty idols they themselves have become empty.

Philosophy

There was a time when philosophy was described as the "handmaid of religion."

But this is not so today. The dominant philosophy of our time is existentialism, which is, quite literally, a philosophy about nothing.

Malcolm Muggeridge, a modern Jeremiah, wrote: "It has come to me, as a blinding revelation, that all our misery, our violence, our sex obsession, our sordid living, our soaring illegitimacy, abortion and divorce rate ­ all such things have come because we have deserted God.

"It is God's judgment upon us."

Here, then, in this ancient word from Jeremiah, we have a message of great urgency for today.

It is the message of all the prophets of God: "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord: and he will have mercy upon him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Is 55:7).

If we do not, if we continue to bow down before empty idols, then wickedness will continue to escalate, and God's judgment on our generation will continue to escalate.

For God has set before us the way of life, and the way of death. To worship and obey him, to drink from this "reservoir of fresh water" spells life; but to live without him, worshipping empty idols, spells death.

The only answer to the emptiness of our age is to turn back to God. A great revival of true religion would not only sweep multitudes into the kingdom of God, it would also mean a reversing of the moral landslide, and a fresh flowering of art, music, literature and philosophy, with God at the centre of all things.

It would mean a new life, and a new world, for man.

 

Tuesday - PSALM 16

"Thou dost show me the path of life" (v11).

We are shown the "path of life" in the Bible.

As Mr Good-will said to Christian in Bunyan's Pilgrim's Process, "I will teach thee about the way thou must go. Look before thee; dost thou see this narrow way? That is the way thou must go. It was cast up by the patriarchs, Christ and his apostles, and it is as straight as a rule can make it: this is the way thou must go."

The "path of life" is so called not only because it leads to Bunyan's "Celestial City", but also because to walk on this path is to truly enjoy life, and to experience deep self-fulfilment.

Those who are on this path really live. Those who are not on this path are dead, even though they may appear to be alive (1 Jn 5:12).

"The path of the righteous is like the light of dawn, which shines brighter and brighter until full day. The way of the wicked is like deep darkness" (Pr 4:18-19).

 

Wednesday - JOHN 10:1-18

"I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly" (v10).

In John's gospel Jesus is presented as the life bringer.

"In Him was life" (1:4). He is "the true God and eternal life" (1 Jn 5:20).

He brings life to men in many ways, as is revealed in the seven "I ams" ­ "I am the way, the truth and the life" (Jn 14:6); "I am the bread of life" (Jn 6:35); I am "the resurrection and the life" (Jn 11:25).

"The pre-existent Son of God was sent into the world to rescue me from their state of death, and to establish them in his kingdom of life" (Eph 2:1).

"In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through Him" (1 Jn 4:9).

This abundant life which Jesus came to bring is received by faith in Him as Saviour and Lord. When we so believe we are regenerated by the Spirit of God, and pass from death into life (Jn 5:24).

This eternal life, which is ours in union with Christ, expresses itself in overflowing joy (Jn 15:11), and in love. "We know we have passed out of death to life, because we love the brethren" (1 Jn 3:14).

One of the many sources of joy for the Christian is the knowledge that death and judgment are no longer to be feared (Heb 2:15), for Jesus said, "He who believes in Me, though he die, yet shall he live" (Jn 11:25).

 

Thursday - DEUTERONOMY 27:11-26

"Cursed be he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them" (v26).

As his dying message to his people Moses set before them the way of life and the way of death (28:1,15).

The way of life was to be devoted to God, and to obey His commandments. The way of death was to ignore God, and to disobey His commandments.

In order to ram this message home in a way that the children of Israel could never forget Moses commanded them to assemble in the sacred valley of Shechem (Josh 24:1), and to perform a solemn ceremony there.

Six tribes were to stand on Mt Gerizim "to bless the people" (v12), and the other six tribes were to stand on Mt Ebal "for the curse" (v13).

This was to be done by the Levite standing between the two mountains, and calling out these curses "to all the men of Israel with a loud voice" (v14). By replying with "Amen" the 12 tribes would claim the blessing which would be theirs if the covenant with God was kept, and agreed that they deserved God's curse if the covenant was not kept.

This solemn ceremony was carried out by Joshua (8:30-35).

It is still true today that "cursed be he who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them."

 

Friday - EZEKIEL 47:1-12

In this graphic vision Ezekiel sees water flowing from beneath the temple in an easterly direction. He follows it, and has it checked for depth every thousand cubits, about one-third of a mile.

At the first measurement it is only ankle-deep, but by the second it has attained the depth of a river at waist-deep, and at the third it can be crossed only by swimming.

Ezekiel notices that "upon the bank of the river there were very many trees" (v7). Eventually it reaches the Dead Sea, with the result that "the stagnant waters" there "became fresh" (v8).

Fish cannot live in the Dead Sea, but with the incoming river they appear and flourish.

Fishermen spread their nets there, for "its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea (Mediterranean)" (v10).

The meaning of this vision is clear.

The Israel of his day was as dead, spiritually speaking, as the Dead Sea. But if God was placed at the centre of their lives, in His holy Temple, an ever-increasing blessing would flow out to revitalise everything.

It is the same with the Church and with us. If God is at the centre, the Church, the nation, the individual, will all be transformed.

 

Saturday - MATTHEW 12:43-45

This parable has an immediate reference to "this evil generation" (v45).

Dr Alfred Plummer comments, "The Jewish nation had gone through a temporary repentance and then had fallen into far worse sins than before. The worship of idols had been given up, but had been followed by a worship of the letter, which had been fatal to the spirit of religion.

"The temporary repentance may refer to this abandonment of idolatry, or possibly to the religion excitement produced by the preaching of the Baptist. That revival had in many cases been very superficial; few of those who experienced it had become followers of the Messiah, and those who had not done so would end in putting him to death."

These words were therefore a terrible condemnation of the Jewish nation of that time, as well as a prophecy that there was a vacuum in the hearts of the people which would soon be filled by evil forces which would lead to their total ruin.

But this parable also applies to us. When we are converted, and the devil is cast out of our lives, it is essential for us to fill the vacuum with the good habits of church-going, prayer, Bible reading, witnessing by life and word and good works.

If we do not, experience shows that we can "backslide", so that our "last state becomes worse than our first."

 

Sunday - ISAIAH 1:10-20

"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow" (v18).

Sin, whether it be in the time of Isaiah or today, is essentially rebellion against God. "Sons have I reared and brought up, but they have rebelled against me" (v2).

Even dumb animals, the ox and the ass, acknowledge the authority of the master, but the rebellious sinner refuses to acknowledge the authority of God (v3).

The result is that the rod of his correction falls on us (v5), and we suffer as individuals, and as a nation (v6-8).

This passage teaches us that even if we have a form of religion, but have not had a life-changing experience issuing in a life which is pleasing to God, all our religious acts are useless (v12-15).

The equivalent New Testament passage is Romans 3:10-12, where we read, "None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands, no one seeks for God. All have turned aside, together they have gone wrong; no one does good, not even one."

The answer for all who acknowledge their sinful condition is to amend their lives, and turn to the Lord for salvation and cleansing (v16-18).

 

Monday - ECCLESIASTES 1

"All is vanity and a striving after wind" (v14).

In this chapter "the Preacher" (v1) takes the position of the worldly man who lives without God, and views life from his point of view.

He asked the question, "What does man gain by all the toil at which he toils under the sun?" (v3). The worldly man would reply that he toils to make the world a better place, and to ensure that his children have a better life than he enjoyed.

But "the Preacher" says, "There is no remembrance of former things, nor will there be any remembrance of later things yet to happen among those who come after" (v11).

He means by this that the world never does become a better place, and that after we have died our words and deeds will soon be forgotten.

As for a better life for our children, this is beyond our power to provide. For they will find, as we have, that "All things are full of weariness . . . the eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing" (v8).

The futility and emptiness of living without God described here has its parallel in our Lord's words, "What will it profit a man, if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul?" (Mt 16:26).

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