New Year Message: Water-tanks of Blessing - Jeremiah 2:4-13

1. Drought

When we were in an extended period of drought, and stringent water restrictions were put in place, many of us added water tanks to our properties. This was so that we could keep our gardens alive and keep our vegetables growing. This was a very sensible approach to keeping things alive in a difficult dry time. Perhaps this is like how our lives should be, in a time when many around us are experiencing tough and dry times. Coming out of 2010 and entering 2011, there are many people struggling with life – with financial worries, family problems, work pressures, lack of hope, and varying addictions to unhelpful substances and behaviours. They all need to sense the possibility that some sort of blessing can come upon their lives.

We too, as part of the human community, can struggle in similar ways. The onset of a new year certainly invites us to consider whether we ourselves are spiritually dry, why that might be the case, and what we need to do about this. And we should not delay too long! Jeremiah 2 reminds us of the crucial nature of our relationship to God. Our allegiance to God’s ways has to be the central focus of our life. Jeremiah suggests the possibility of being regarded as “worthless” (in v.4) along with the possibility of going after “things that do not profit” i.e. things that are useless and bring no benefit (in vs.8&11). This should certainly get our attention and echo in our ears. Yet here too is a reminder that our compassionate and understanding God is always seeking out the dry seedlings to give them living water.

Should not the basic way we live our lives be like the water-tank, that when all seems lost, it provides refreshment ... where otherwise that deathly dryness persists! Well this should be the case!! So often the ancient people of Israel let God down in this department. They were meant to be a light to the nations. Yet, so bad was their rebellion at times that they barely looked like a special people at all. They grumbled, they fought, and so often abandoned Yahweh the one true God for other allegiances. Why?? Why do you think they did this?? Well maybe the challenge of living God’s way was just too much!?! Or maybe they just didn’t get the fact that it wasn’t just about them per se, but that God wanted to show his glory through them (to all of creation).

So many disappointing centuries went past, until the time came when God had to send the Son Jesus into the world to seek to bring some decisive inner transformation [this is the very theme of the ‘parable of the wicked tenants’ in Mark 12]. There was to be a new covenant based on this gift of grace. Yet, so many disappointing centuries still go past, where the great potential of Jesus is largely unseen and unknown. So many serious errors have been made, and the human population of each generation have had to come to terms with this, and denounce historic evils, before they are able to go forward. As Paul writes in his letter to the Romans (8:19), “For the creation waits [in turmoil!?!] with eager longing for the revealing of the children of God”! Can 2011 be a year in which the world sees Jesus revealed by those who are God’s children? Will many people be able to remember that it was in 2011 that they first encountered a God who loved them (having benefitted greatly through others being water-tanks of blessing to them)?

2. The Text

In Jeremiah chapter 2, we have a haunting description of how wrong God’s people went! In a nutshell – Israel has abandoned the Lord, the source of living water, and substituted a false god symbolised by cracked cisterns. So, Jeremiah spoke these words in seeking to confront these people and challenge them to do better. They would need to really seek the true and living God all over again (and with all their heart) if they were to be people they were chosen, called and nurtured to be.

After all, God’s living water is always abundant, fresh and freely flowing! And water is everything when it comes to the sustaining of life. God is the one essential source of our well-being.

As already mentioned, in verses 4 & 5, we read about the people of God becoming “worthless” (in terms of their life effectiveness) because they went after and centred their lives in “worthless” things and “worthless” pursuits. Now that is a drastic piece of preaching!!! There is actually nothing that could be rationally found against God to excuse such actions. So where does the fault lay!?! Investing our lives in things that don’t amount to much ... tends to lessen what a person’s life is worth (in terms of its output).

We might look at the first of the ‘ten commandments’ ... “You shall have no other gods before me” (Exodus 20:3), and feel quite content ... because we haven’t gone over to worship a different god as such. However such idolatry can be far more subtle than this. Exodus 20 goes on, “you shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on the earth beneath ...”, thus covering everywhere and everything that might be allowed to compete with God (Ex 20:4). We can actually displace God through the “gods” of money, work, career, material possessions, food and drink, or just plain convenience. We can never get, though, from things like this ... what they were never intended to provide!

Then there are the even more subtle areas of idolatry ... (i) family and (ii) country.

(i) In terms of family ... to see our family as our primary focus in an exclusive of all others type way, is to risk missing the needy face of Jesus in others that come along. Jesus radically teaches that our identity is now actually more found with our brothers and sisters in our worshipping faith communities than anywhere else (Mark 3:31-34), and this is where our security and future lies (Mark 10:28-30).

(ii) In terms of country or nationalism ... the way you hear some Americans talk, it sounds like the interests of God and the USA are indivisible (one-and-the-same); whereas the agenda of the Kingdom of God is actually much broader and more far-reaching than any one country’s interests. The Kingdom of God does not endorse any parochial desire to control the world’s resources – quite the opposite! We are first and foremost citizens of heaven, which is an international and intercultural realm (Galatians 3:27-28).

In verses 6 & 7, we read that, by the evidence of their behaviour, these people had forgotten entirely about all the good and liberating things God had done for them, especially when it was needed most; in fact they seem to arrogantly refuse to remember. This is the great God who brought this people out of slavery in Egypt and through the wilderness into a promised land filled with so much potential. Yet they not only showed ingratitude, but also dishonoured and wasted their inheritance.

Lack of gratitude seems to always lead in a negative direction. Conversely, when we are grateful and thankful to God, this seems to keep us on track. Let us never forget the good and liberating measures God has taken on our behalf. For, when we grow tired of being prayerful and patient before God, we can easily seek and adopt unworthy and unhelpful substitutes for God.

In verse 8, in the line of Jeremiah’s fire were the leaders of these people. Jeremiah charged them with neglecting to first look towards God, thereby failing to know God well enough to provide worthy leadership. They didn’t consult God anymore! Thus they were vulnerable to leading others astray (into error). Leaders in God’ service should always be about the task of encouraging and nurturing a proper response to God (based on a sound personal and Biblical knowledge of God). Proper spirituality should profit humanity!

I look in the mirror each morning and understand my responsibility, a responsibility that often weighs heavily and seems too much to bear (for such a fallible human just like everybody else). Yet under Jesus, we are all priests to each other, servants of all those whose needs (spiritual and otherwise) are put across our path.

In verses 9 to 12, God through Jeremiah speaks about the absurdity of changing gods, especially given how undoubtedly well God had looked after the people of Israel. Yet, despite the absurdity and stupidity of this, that is exactly what God’s people had done. And this probably did not happen all at once – it was not like all of a sudden deciding to support England in the cricket instead of Australia (just because of a momentary superiority, this being another form of treason).

But rather it was actually far more subtle than this – the odd selfish indulgence, the little unthinking decision, a little lie here and there to try to cover up, a new overly-persuasive friend, some quiet shifting of priorities for convenience sake. And then one day we have lost God entirely from our view! As viewed from the heavens (and also from the earth), this is more than just an unfortunate situation ... this is a “shocking” outcome (refer verse 12).

How can we be water-tanks of blessing ... how can we make a positive difference ... how can we reveal the glory of God? These are water-tanks which, rather than trying to defensively store water, would liberally share their contents and be ready again to be re-filled. This would certainly be an alternative vision to the reality that Jeremiah referred to here!!

Well, it’s not going to happen through coming up with our own design!

In verse 13, we read that the people of Israel’s efforts of life-building were referred to by Jeremiah in terms of digging out their own “cisterns” i.e. water-holding-facilities, which turned out to be cracked and useless. These “cisterns” were plastered underground pits where water was stored for use during the dry season. These broken and leaking “cisterns” represent the ‘false’ gods’ often adopted to replace the real God – but also represent how we would look having adopted such a (ludicrous) course of action. The people had in effect replaced Yahweh (as God) with themselves (even despite their full knowledge of their own imperfections).

This would be like me trying to construct my own water-tank in the backyard, without reference to proper design, engineering principles, the basic rudiments of plumbing, and the necessary professional help. It would no doubt leak, not perform properly, waste water, not last very long, and cause no end of stress. To put your water-supply at risk like this, similar to turning away from a faithful God ... would be an act of stupidity. To be water-tanks of blessing in this life we have to be built according to God’s design, with reference to the ‘Holy Instruction Book’, and transformed into the best version of ourselves by the professional expert on the matter – the Holy Spirit.

3. Refreshment

The ancient people of Israel, with some notable exceptions, generally failed to keep to God’s agenda. The religious leadership of Jesus’ time conspired to stick him on a cross. Would any other people group at any other time have done any different or better? Maybe the recent history of the world would suggest not! The politics of the world is still based on gaining and maintaining power; and all this leads to is poverty and violence. This is just so opposite to the Kingdom of God revealed in the New Testament, specifically in Jesus’ teaching. The Kingdom of God, which should be championed by the church, is about serving the needs of others through humility and gentle dealings. The Kingdom of God is about peace-making not position-defending.

This all cannot help but lead one’s mind to John’s Gospel chapter 4. Jesus knew that ‘the woman at the well’ was thirsty, which was the reason she had gone through and endured so many relationships. Check out this narrative again! This poor Samaritan woman was thirsty for true meaningful acceptance, a sense of belonging, knowledge that she was a valuable member of the human community, and a fulfilling spirituality. Jesus said to her, that he could give her “living water”; and that through receiving such “living water”, she would never be spiritually thirsty again. Jesus said, “The water that I will give – will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life”.

The recipients of this certainly become water-tanks of blessing!! In fact this sounds more like a giant free-flowing waterfall ending up in a calm and secure dam ... full to capacity ... enough to refresh the whole state for many a year! This is a gift we can firstly receive, and then having received it, give it on to others. Let the living waters flow!! If anyone is thirsty ... anyone ... let them come to Jesus and drink. O let the living waters flow! Let the river of God’s Spirit flow through us ... flow through me!!!