Broken Cisterns
11 Has a nation changed its gods,
even though they are no gods?
But my people have changed their glory
for that which does not profit.
12 Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the LORD,
13 for 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. (Jeremiah 2:11-13)
This reference is probably well-known, at least the gist of it. What it points out is the folly of going to something for supply that cannot produce what is needed. I would not go to some quick oil-change place for a good dinner (or probably even an oil change). I would not go to a hardware store to find a good pair of running shoes. It’s not that hard to figure out, but yet we so often turn to something other than God to deal with our sin and our guilt and our shame. We turn to something other than God for our identity and worth. It is all as futile as seeking water from a broken cistern…and especially a cistern we made ourselves that’s still broken.
I’m reminded of this quote from John Calvin in his seminal work. Take the time and read it slowly.
“We see that our whole salvation and all its parts are comprehended in Christ [Acts 4:12]. We should therefore take care not to derive the least portion of it from anywhere else. If we seek salvation, we are taught by the very name of Jesus that it is “of him” [1 Cor. 1:30]. If we seek any other gifts of the Spirit, they will be found in his anointing. If we seek strength, it lies in his dominion; if purity, in his conception; if gentleness, it appears in his birth. For by his birth he was made like us in all respects [Heb. 2:17] that he might learn to feel our pain [cf. Heb. 5:2]. If we seek redemption, it lies in his passion; if acquittal, in his condemnation; if remission of the curse, in his cross [Gal. 3:13]; if satisfaction, in his sacrifice; if purification, in his blood; if reconciliation, in his descent into hell; if mortification of the flesh, in his tomb; if newness of life, in his resurrection; if immortality, in the same; if inheritance of the Heavenly Kingdom, in his entrance into heaven; if protection, if security, if abundant supply of all blessings, in his Kingdom; if untroubled expectation of judgment, in the power given to him to judge. In short, since rich store of every kind of good abounds in him, let us drink our fill from this fountain, and from no other. Some men, not content with him alone, are borne hither and thither from one hope to another; even if they concern themselves chiefly with him, they nevertheless stray from the right way in turning some part of their thinking in another direction. Yet such distrust cannot creep in where men have once for all truly known the abundance of his blessings.”*
Here is one of the better songs I could find to speak to what we have in Christ - the vast fountain (treasure) that we ought not turn away from to seek out broken idols that cannot save or serve. “How Rich a Treasure We Possess” by Matt Boswell.
How rich a treasure we possess, in Jesus Christ our Lord
His blood our ransom and defense His glory our reward
The sum of all created things are worthless in compare
For our inheritance is Him whose praise angels declare
How free and costly was the love, displayed upon the cross
While we were dead in untold sin the Sovereign purchased us
The will of God the Father demonstrated through the Son
The Spirit seals the greatest work the work which Christ has done
How vast and measureless the flood of mercy unrestrained
The penalty was paid in full the spotless Lamb was slain
Salvation, what a priceless gift received by grace through faith
We stand in robes of righteousness we stand in Jesus' name
For Yours' is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
Yours' is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
Yours' is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory
Yours' is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory;
Amen, amen, amen
*Calvin, J. (2011). Institutes of the Christian Religion & 2. (J. T. McNeill, Ed., F. L. Battles, Trans.) (Vol. 1, pp. 527–528). Louisville, KY: Westminster John Knox Press.