Broken Cisterns

“My people have committed 2 sins: they have abandoned me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug cisterns that can hold no water at all!” -Jer 2:13

This was written in the heyday of Israel’s sinning, when there were many, many sins being created. Adultery, idol worship, cheating the poor… You name it, it was there! But God summed them all up in these verses.

First, we forsake God and His ways that give whole life and living, fresh water. Then we spend our time digging cisterns that hold no water. Every time you go back to them, there is nothing there; they satisfy the moment you put water in but the next day you are dry, thirsty, and needing more.

The concept of living water was deeply ingrained in biblical culture. Living water was running water or water from springs; pure water that didn’t collect trash, couldn’t breed mosquitos, and was self-replenishing. Cisterns are still, breed mosquitos, cholera and other diseases, but they were all around because of the desert culture. Broken cisterns take a lot of effort and have little return. The most frustrating part is that they appear to be fine, but slowly your water and all the effort you put into them drains away and you are left with nothing. We have a water tank at our home and I have spent more time trying to fix that thing than any other home improvement. It’s maddening; we fill it up and all the water slowly leaks into the street. Man can create cisterns but only God can make living water.

These verses have a continuity to them. Because we have forsaken the Living Water God has for us, we feel the need to dig broken cisterns.  This has profound implications for how we treat sin. I think the church is good about treating the 2nd part; about telling people to close off the cisterns and wells. However, I think we often forget the need for water in the first place. We forget that sins come from good desires within us that have been distorted.

People have to drink water from somewhere. If we don’t introduce people to living water, it becomes extremely difficult for them to fill in their cisterns. It’s an exchange and we actually have to start with showing them the good. “Don’t steal” isn’t enough; we need to show the joy and pride of hard work, and that we were created to do something on this Earth. “Don’t sleep around” isn’t enough for transformation; we need to find that deeper desire in that person and help them fulfill it in the life-giving way God set about for them.

Likewise, we can even change our own personal dialogue. Instead of being disgusted with ourselves when we see sins crop up, we can see each sin as an opportunity to know God and live the life He has for us in a deeper way and in a way we don’t understand yet.

I recently read an article called “Video game addiction isn’t really about video games”. Psychologists are pointing out that many kids turn to games, not because they are addicted to them, but because they have desires to explore the world, make a difference, and do something with their lives that they feel they can’t do in real life. Most addiction is like that; there is a burning hole of pain, a terrible thirst but it’s not for drugs or sex but something deeper.