Be appalled, O heavens, at this;
be shocked, be utterly desolate,
declares the LORD,
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 prophesied during the time leading up to the destruction of Judah and Jerusalem by Babylon. He repeatedly announced the coming judgment of God against the nation because of their idolatry and the injustice of the ruling class.
In this passage, God illustrated what Judah had done using two water sources. The first was a fountain—a fountain of living water. The water here would be cool and refreshing.
The second source was a cistern. A cistern was a hole in the ground used for storing water; water that would be used during dry times. This water would keep them alive, but it was not nearly as satisfying as a flowing source of fresh water.
The problem with the cistern in this example is that it would not hold water. Any water diverted into it would soak into the ground and be gone. It had no value to the people who built and used it.
God charged Judah here with two evils. The first was that they had abandoned God, the fountain of living water. The second evil was that they had turned to idols, broken cisterns of no value. They had turned from what was best to something that had no value.
As a believer in the Lord Jesus, it is worth considering these words written to ancient Judah. How often do I drink from the fountain of living water, enjoying sweet communion with my Lord? And how often do I seek satisfaction instead from the things of this world, drinking from broken cisterns that will never satisfy? Am I guilty of committing the same two evils God charged Judah with?
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