“I will say, ‘My dear children of Israel, keep in mind the road you took when you were carried off. Mark off in your minds the landmarks. Make a mental note of telltale signs marking the way back. Return, my dear children of Israel. Return to these cities of yours” (Jeremiah 31:21, NET). Jeremiah was warning the people before they were taken into captivity to keep in mind the landmarks so that they would be able to find their way back to Israel after their exile.
Jeremiah’s cry was for the people to return to God and abandon the idols and other alliances that they were making with other nations, but instead, in face of the coming invasion of the Babylonian army they were relying in a weak alliance with Egypt. “For my people have done two evil things: They have abandoned me— the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!” (Jeremiah 2:13, NLT)
Once I read this verse, I started to think of what the cisterns, cracked cisterns, represent in my life. What are the things that bring me a false sense of trust? What are the things that keep me from relying exclusively in the only source of Living Water? What are the things that can hold no water? What are the man made cisterns, structures, relationships, and other things that can become a source of a false sense of hope and security? What are the things that can become idols that do not please the Lord?
Jeremiah was speaking to the people and later he was told to write down everything so that the exiles in Babylon could be reminded of his prophecies (Daniel 9:2). In the Scriptures we have the lessons, the landmarks that can help us find our way back to our relationship to God (Jeremiah 31:21-23). The Bible was written to teach, guide, and correct our ways, so that we can find our way back to the Living Water. “These things happened to them as examples for us. They were written down to warn us who live at the end of the age” (1 Corinthians 10:11, NLT).
Psalm 1:2-3
John 16:12-13
Romans 15:4
2 Timothy 3:16-17
Jeremiah 17:13
Jeremiah 31:21-23
John 4:13-14
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