Jeremiah 2:13 - Living Water or Broken Cistern? (updated - part one)

Jeremiah 2:13 - Living Water or Broken Cistern? (updated - part 
one) 

Jeremiah 2:13 (CWB)  My people have committed two very great 
sins. They have forsaken me, the Spring of Living Water, and have dug 
their own wells, wells that crack and cannot hold water. 

Why should we cling to the broken promises of unstable 
"cisterns" (money, power, religious systems, or whatever transitory thing 
we are putting in place of God) when God promises to constantly 
refresh us with himself, the living water?  [Life Application SB] 

Grace in Christ is compared to water from a fountain, it being 
cooling and refreshing, cleansing and making fruitful: to living water, 
because it quickens dead sinners, revives drooping saints, supports and 
maintains spiritual life, and issues in eternal life, and is ever-flowing. 
To forsake this Fountain is the first evil; this is done when the 
people of God neglect his word and ordinances. They hewed out broken 
cisterns, that could hold no water. Such is the world, and the things in 
it; such are the inventions of men when followed and depended upon. 
Let us, with purpose of heart, cleave to the Lord only; where else 
shall we go? How prone are we to forego the consolations of the Holy 
Spirit, for the worthless joys of the hypocrite! [Matthew Henry 
Commentary] 

  "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that 
believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow 
rivers of living water." The condition of the people made this appeal 
very forcible. They had been engaged in a continued scene of pomp and 
festivity, their eyes had been dazzled with light and color, and their ears 
regaled with the richest music; but there had been nothing in all this 
round of ceremonies to meet the wants of the spirit, nothing to 
satisfy the thirst of the soul for that which perishes not. Jesus 
invited them to come and drink of the fountain of life, of that which 
would be in them a well of water, springing up unto everlasting 
life.... 
  Jesus knew the wants of the soul. Pomp, riches, and honor 
cannot satisfy the heart. "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me." 
The rich, the poor, the high, the low, are alike welcome. He 
promises to relieve the burdened mind, to comfort the sorrowing, and to 
give hope to the despondent. Many of those who heard Jesus were 
mourners over disappointed hopes, many were nourishing a secret grief, 
many were seeking to satisfy their restless longing with the things 
of the world and the praise of men; but when all was gained, they 
found that they had toiled only to reach a broken cistern, from which 
they could not quench their thirst. Amid the glitter of the joyous 
scene they stood, dissatisfied and sad. That sudden cry, "If any man 
thirst," startled them from their sorrowful meditation, and as they 
listened to the words that followed, their minds kindled with a new hope. 
The Holy Spirit presented the symbol before them until they saw in 
it the offer of the priceless gift of salvation. 
  The cry of Christ to the thirsty soul is still going forth, 
and it appeals to us with even greater power than to those who heard 
it in the temple on that last day of the feast. The fountain is 
open for all. The weary and exhausted ones are offered the refreshing 
draught of eternal life. Jesus is still crying, "If any man thirst, let 
him come unto Me, and drink." "Let him that is athirst come. And 
whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely." "Whosoever 
drinketh of the water that I shall give him, shall never thirst; but the 
water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water, springing 
up into everlasting life." DA453, 4 

  There should never be "dry spells" in the Christian life. God 
said that He would be like an artesian well in the life of a 
believer. Artesian wells bubbled forth with a cold, fresh, never-ending 
supply of water from the depths of the earth, quenching any thirst and 
always satisfying. This is the picture of the spiritual refreshment 
that belongs to the person in whom the Holy Spirit resides. 
  Have you ever heard people say they are experiencing a dry 
spell in their Christian life? What are they saying? Are they saying 
that the Lord ran out of water? It should never cross your mind that 
the fountain of living waters residing within you should ever be 
reduced to a trickle. You don't need to run all over the country trying 
to find sources of spiritual refreshment. Conferences, retreats, 
and books can all bring encouragement, but if you are a Christian, 
the source of living water already resides within you. 
  Have you exchanged the living fountain for man-made cisterns 
that cannot hold water? Why would you exchange an artesian well for a 
broken water tank? Artesian wells do not dry up. Broken cisterns do. If 
you are experiencing spiritual dryness right now, is it because you 
have been attempting to find your source of spiritual refreshment 
from man-made sources, which will fail you every time? Jesus extended 
an invitation to you when He said: "If anyone thirsts, let him come 
to Me and drink" (John 7:37). Have you been refreshed by the living 
water only Jesus can provide? [Experiencing God Day by Day by Henry 
and Richard Blackaby re Jer. 2:13] 

Because God made us for an intimate relationship with Himself, 
our deepest needs cannot be met anywhere else but in Him.  Jesus 
offers the only satisfaction for spiritual thirst. [Life Principles SB 
By Charles Stanley re John 7:37]