Ecclesiastes Chapter Five cont...better before the angels to not vow at all than to vow and break it!

5 “Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay”.

Building on V:4 the follow up is the advice that it is a much better thing to not make a vow at all than to make the vow and break it. Fundamentally, we are being advised to be men and women of our word. In the world in which we live many people treat vows lightly; friendship, business and even marriages are not binding. However, in God's eyes once someone has made a vow they are bound to that oath and will give account of it. And so to that end it is very much better to not make the vow than to make it but not honor it.

God does not impose upon His creation rules He Himself isn't following. The character of God demands of Himself absolute compliance to His promises and to His word. His words are true, reliable and dependable. It is absolute folly to doubt Him, in fact except for cases where His people treacherously departed from Him and He was forced to judge them He never broke a promise (Numbers 14:33-34).

6 “Suffer not thy mouth to cause thy flesh to sin; neither say thou before the angel, that it was an error: wherefore should God be angry at thy voice, and destroy the work of thine hands?”

Here we really see how God views one's vows; in His eyes it is an egregious thing for one to break their vow or a promise. We have actually a warning here that if one makes a vow and subsequently breaks that vow then God is not pleased and will not bless the works of their hands. An example of this is in the marital covenant. The failure rate of second marriages is 67 % and 74 % for third marriages (CDC statistic). It is because God does not bless the covenant as a result of the first one being broken.

We have another revelation here and it is that angels are there to witness the making of vows that is what makes them binding. This why it is better to not vow at all than to vow and break it because the angels write down what was said. And finally, we see something of the nature of God (and praise His name for being this way) that He is a covenant keeping God. The Lord takes His promises very seriously; it is part of His nature to be faithful and true to His Word. What He says He will perform and He finds it very distasteful when people do not keep their promises.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Five cont... Do not fail to appeciate the accountability of words

3 “For a dream cometh through the multitude of business; and a fool's voice is known by multitude of words.”

Although the first part of this verse is meant to be a comparison to illustrate the fool “just as a dream results from the multitude of business so too is a fool known by the multitude of his words"; nonetheless, we do have another bit of wisdom here. Dreams or "visions of the night" can be a vehicle whereby God imparts wisdom to us (Job 33:15-16; Dan 2:19) but they can simply be the result of a busy day or a dislodged memory or desire. One must exercise caution and be very careful in this realm.  What is the litmus test on whether a thing is from God or not? One word…faith! We walk by faith and whatsoever is not of faith is sin. There must be the "Amen" of the Holy Spirit and the sense that it is from God. Ask God also to give us discernment between soul and spirit, just because something is dreamed does not mean it is of faith it can be from the soul. This takes practice and an honest heart and over time we will learn to discern the difference.

The point to this verse is that a fool is known by the multitude of his words (note: although he speaks much in reality he says very little); he talks, as they say, just to hear his own voice. We have known people like this; they are not lovers of truth they are lovers of their own words and they freely share their musings and opinions without regard for what is true. They would do well to remember a few verses: Job 38:2 - they are quick to counsel but the counsel lacks understanding and light, it is "darkened"; Proverbs 10:19 - in the multitude of words there is sin, better off are you when your words are few.

4 “When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed.”

Do not vow if you do not intend to fulfill your vow. Never is this more important than in marriage; when one makes a vow the angel records it down and we are held accountable to that word. If only we knew the impact of our words, in particular our vows. Do not hesitate to pay your vow to the Lord, do not back out of it once it is made... "For He hath no pleasure in fools…" For those of us who love Him it should be our mission in life to discover what brings pleasure to the Father, after all it is the reason we were created (Revelations 4:11) that through a loving relationship between Father and son we should live out our days not rebelliously or selfishly but doing those things that please Him (John 8:29). And so we should be slow and careful in vows so we do not displease Him by transgressing our own vows through weakness.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Five, is our tongue a pure foutnain?

Ecclesiastes 5:1 “Keep thy foot when thou goest to the house of God, and be more ready to hear, than to give the sacrifice of fools: for they consider not that they do evil”.

In the beginning of this chapter Solomon is dealing with words. V:1 deals with the sacrifice of fools, their foolish words; V:2 deals with rash and ill chosen words delivered from a foolish heart; V:3 deals with one who does not know when to refrain from speaking, he will miss the words of the wise and learned because he or she will not stop talking; V:4-5 deals with the vows one makes and how it is better not to vow than to vow and break it (remember Matt 21:28-31); V:6 deals with the breaking of promises before God and angering Him.

These first six verses deal with our conduct with God and our words; how they must be right. Entering into the place of worship in the fear of the Lord; coming into His house realizing that we are approaching the great God! This specific advice is advice on how to enter the house of God; be more ready to come in, sit down and hear from Him than to come in and offer the sacrifice of fools (insincere worship and meaningless words). We are coming into the presence of The Great King (Habakkuk 2:20).

The scriptures set forth examples of men and women who should have refrained from speaking and yet they spoke on. Men such as Nebuchadnezzer who boasted of the great kingdom he made when he was warned by Daniel to prophet to be careful and give glory to God. (They were not in the temple per se but they were in the presence of the king and they should have let the Lord speak first).   But even among the godly this was a problem at times:

• Mark 9:4-6 in this instance Peter did not know what say...so he said something anyway. We do not want to be unkind to Peter but we are illustrating that there are times when we need to be silent in Gods presence.

• Luke 9:52-56 Jesus had to rebuke them for the folly of their ways; You do know not what spirit you are of when you say such things...again wait to see what the Master says.

2 “Be not rash with thy mouth, and let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God: for God is in heaven, and thou upon earth: therefore let thy words be few”.

This is a critical point; one who has restraint in this area is a mature person. This speaks to one having overall control over the lips, which is ultimately having control over one's spirit. Proverbs 16:32 say as much; James 3:2 also speaks of control over the tongue and adds he that rules over his tongue can rule over his own body! Not to pick on Peter but in his younger years he was a bit impetuous with his words (and he is not unique) many speak before they think and even fewer exercise restraint with their lips. They think by speaking their mind and getting in the last word that they are exercising their rights to an opinion; however, it is far more important to use your words "aright" than it is to simply spout out opinions.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Four cont... How will we use our influence?

16 “There is no end of all the people, even of all that have been before them: they also that come after shall not rejoice in him. Surely this also is vanity and vexation of spirit.”

Continuing our thought from verse fifteen we see why Solomon had become a shell of what he once was, in his pride he strove for remembrance and praise. He had worldwide influence and yet we can clearly see his focus is all wrong. Solomon had the world in the palm of his hand, he could have (and should have) influenced the world for good. He should have promoted worship and priestly teaching and upheld the laws of his God and yet he sought for the honor and remembrance of his position.  He should have focused on the fear of the Lord and using his influence and power to break the bands of oppression and wickedness as did Job (Job 29). How unfortunate that he sought the praise of men when he was the one who penned "before honor is humility". It is easy to criticize Solomon for his choices but we must be careful in our own world, are we sold out to the plans and purposes of God? Are we using our influence for the promotion and witness of the Lord? If we aren't doing it now then we won't do it when the Lord promotes us.

Witness for the Word is Featuring 
The Dungarvan Christian Fellowship

Co. Waterford Ireland

PLEASE PRAY FOR REVIVAL IN IRELAND!!

Pastor Kyle and Wendy of the Dungarvan Christian Fellowship would like to extend

a warm welcome to everyone to visit their website and blog!

(See links and contact info below)

About Kyle and Wendy Holland:

Kyle Holland and his wife, Wendy, have been doing ministry in Europe for 23 years. They have 4 children ranging in ages 10 to 20. They are currently living in Youghal, Ireland. Kyle has been instrumental in church planting in various places such as:

• Dublin, Ireland
• Delft, Holland
• Antwerp, Belgium
• Atlanta, Georgia, USA.

His years of ministry experience have been a tremendous blessing to Dungarvan Christian Fellowship as he partnered with Cliff (former pastor of DCF) & Ericka Gregston from the very beginning. Kyle now leads Dungarvan Christian fellowship and is also involved in other church related work throughout Ireland. He is also involved with Horizon Ireland, which networks with other churches in Ireland.

About Dungarvan Christian Fellowship

“We are a vibrant Christian community with a desire to serve others and reach out to those seeking hope in a sometimes-disillusioned world. We believe a fresh wave of Christianity has been sweeping the world, reaching out to people right where they are at and touching their hearts with the love of Jesus and a renewed hope about life. This is a time for the Church to impact the world in a dynamic and practical way, and that is what we seek to do.  Ways in which DCF is involved in serving our community include helping Youth engage with God and find value and purpose in life, laying a foundation of Christian values in children's lives, dialoguing in women's groups about issues that are unique to them, & mid-week small groups where we look at the teachings of Jesus Christ, just to name a few. We also participate individually in different sectors of our community, seeking to be involved in any way we can. One project we organize for Dungarvan is the Christmas Child project”.

Come check us out: http://www.dungarvanchurch.org/

Also, please check out Pastor Kyles blog at: http://hollandscoop.wordpress.com/ You can see good examples of the work they are doing there; they have many pictures and video clips to view.

We have made a commitment in our home to pray for Ireland and for the Dungarvan Church each Saturday night. Please join with us and ask God to do great things in Ireland both in Evangelism and in teaching the Word of God making ready a people prepared for the Lord (Luke 1:17b)…

Many Blessings to the Church in Ireland!!

Ecclesiastest Chapter Four cont.... beware of the silver spoon!

14 “For out of prison he cometh to reign; whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor”.

This is a truth we must absolutely embellish... "For out of prison he cometh to reign..." This person goes straight from prison to the throne. Prisons do not prevent one from ruling and reigning; in fact, often times, just prior to a great promotion, is a horrible dark prison experience. Whilst in the prison one thinks they will never recover; Job for instance in the zenith of his trial, no doubt, thought he would never recover but not only did he recover but he had more than before his trial. Joseph too, before he was exalted to the throne, experienced a very long prison experience. It is an amazing truth that everything Joseph needed to know to be second in command in the kingdom of Egypt he learned while in prison. One may think that while they are in prison they are being held back and wasting away but in actuality God does a curious work much like a worm in a cocoon. Joseph went into captivity as a young man and stayed there until he was delivered and went straight to the throne.

“…whereas also he that is born in his kingdom becometh poor”. The Lord quickened this verse to me like this: Many come from prison to reign on the throne and yet those who are born in the kingdom, those who are born of “privilege” often times do not appreciate what they have and because of careless living lose every advantage they were born with. This was true of David and Solomon; David who paid a dear price for his relationship with Jehovah became rich whilst Solomon who was born into this kingdom and privilege became poor though untempered living. Those whose parents accepted Christ because they needed delivered from this world often do better than their children, this is sad but true. The parents are committed to Christ because He was their deliverer, however, the children who grew up with that covering at times do not have depth of commitment to him and they wander off and though they were born rich they become poor (towards God). We must seek the Lord for an experience that has depth and commitment.

15 “I considered all the living which walk under the sun, with the second child that shall stand up in his stead”.

One translation puts it like this: "I once saw everyone in the world follow a young leader who came to power after the king was gone". Solomon is most likely talking about himself here; he is the second leader after the king (David) was gone and the whole world was following him. This verse bears witness to the position of Solomon in the world’s stage; he was a world leader, he was respected and had influence over worldwide decisions. All of the great leaders of the world came to Solomon’s door to behold his kingdom.

I am sure that David’s expectation was that his son Solomon would take the kingdom from where David left it forward; this is the desire of any godly father to give his children advantages that they never had in order to promote the children, that their experience should exceed their own. It is unfortunate that Solomon actually promoted the kingdom for a time and a season but then eventually he began to steer it back into idolatry, wickedness and oppression thus fulfilling the second portion of Songs 4:14. The take home message here is for those who were born into the kingdom; seek the Lord while you are young, deal with areas in your heart that incline to this world. God has given you an advantage that enables you to stand on the shoulders of your parents (provided they were godly) and to press into the kingdom and into a relationship with Christ that exceeds your elders.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Four cont... No divided loyalties

12 “ And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken”.

This is an equation to illustrate strength in numbers, once again establishing that there is no premium in being a loner. If an enemy comes against you then get an ally and you two together will withstand him and if you add one more by mere force of strength you will stand a much better chance at prevailing.

This too is a famous marital verse often quoted by ministers as justification for the benefits of marriage where each member will draw off the strength of the other because two are better than one. However, it further exhorts that the two of them together is not enough; it is the threefold cord that is strongest. The third cord is Christ, honor Him in your home and you will certainly prevail against your adversaries.

Another critical point is that husband and wife need to be pulling in the same direction; if any kingdom is divided against itself it cannot stand. If one spouse is pulling towards the world and the other is pulling towards Christ then all your best the efforts are thwarted. Cry out to God to deal with both partners so there may be unity in the home. As has been pointed out before we can learn a lesson from the triangle, with Christ as the head or the pinnacle of the triangle when the two are drawing closer to Him they are drawing closer to each other, make Christ the head and press into Him.

13 “Better is a poor and a wise child than an old and foolish king, who will no more be admonished”.

Solomon could well be talking about himself here, he has fallen a great way since the days of his writings in the Song of Solomon and has violated most of his teachings in Proverbs. He has become foolish even in his wisdom because he knows what is right but lacks the power to perform it "...who will no more be admonished." This is one who will no longer be corrected; this is a condition common to the ones who once walked in the light but now have turned aside.

Paul talks about a state that one can slip into if they are not careful; it is the state of being a "Castaway" (1 Cor 9:27). A castaway, by scriptural definition, is one found "unworthy" or "rejected”.  The heartbreaking reality is that many believers will turn aside because they have not guarded their hearts. It is horrible when one comes to the place where they will no longer be admonished by good counsel; one who does not guard their heart diligently keeping their loves in check will certainly go down that path. I implore you dear reader please keep your loves in check, one may do well for a while but eventually these things catch up with everyone and God steers everyone to what they really love and long for. If it is not the right things in the end it can be devastating, let’s determine in our lives it will be Christ that we long for.

Ecclesiastes Chapter Four cont... Loners are easy prey for the enemy.

10 “For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up”.

In the natural ebb and flow of life we are up and we are down; therefore, we are better off with friends and companions who can help lift us up. I have come to realize over the years just how social God is; it is a good thing for us to have healthy social interactions (note: healthy means people which will encourage us on in the ways of the Kingdom of God; bad companionship corrupts good manners) Those we can call the brethren put us in check and to keep us on the right track.  There are those who prefer to be alone (mostly men); they are lone wolves who feel "I don't need any man to teach me…" They want to be led exclusively by the Holy Spirit, which does sound very spiritual but in reality they end up being men and women who are unable to receive any instruction (They usually feel they have special revelation from the Lord; only they can understand it). What they end up inadvertently doing is putting themselves at risk of being picked off by the enemy who has through pride successfully isolated them (Deut 25:18 “How he met thee by the way, and smote the hindmost of thee...” This was the favorite attack from the Amalekites who smote the stragglers and those who wandered on their own).

11 “Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone?”

This verse is in the context of two being better than one; in the natural we would be referring to a married couple versus a single person. One of the most important choices one will make is who they will marry and spend the rest of their life with; how important it is to make the right choice so you have one who will help keep you on fire for God.

Lets also lets make it a corporate application. Heb 10:25 says do not forsake the assembly! Why? Because others provoke us; they generate life and fire within us. A dead person is cold but a live one produces heat! Even through this very simple natural illustration we see the wisest choice is to surround one's self with good companionship. Now, let’s consider the counsel very carefully because he does not say that you should join yourself to the cold (lukewarm believers) and the dead (unsaved) he says one who is hot (on fire for the Lord)! The wise walk with the wise, the upright walk with the upright and yet the dead walk with the dead but we want to be on fire for God so we walk with those who generate heat...

As believers we are to be people who enjoy being with other people; God does not want us to be loners, loners are easy pray for the enemy. It is true that everyone needs private time to collect their thoughts and pray and be alone for a while but on the whole God is very social and gregarious. His people should have a desire to be with other saints of like vision.

The Fountain of Living Waters cont...

OTHER BROKEN CISTERNS

Loving this world and the things of this world is drawing from a broken cistern that cannot truly satisfy; in fact it, like a broken cistern has less and less to satisfy with each time one draws from it. What, specifically, are some of the things of this world that mankind turns to? Let us consider another verse from Jeremiah that highlights specific things the children of Israel were choosing instead of the Great Fountain, the Lord Himself. In the following verses we can see what God is warning His people about. Jeremiah 9:23-24 “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, [the fountain of living waters] that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” We see three specific broken cisterns that Gods people turned to, human wisdom and reason; human strength and abilities and the false security of money and wealth.

HUMAN WISDOM

A broken cistern of today that some of Gods people are turning to for satisfaction is human wisdom. There is a blend in the church of human wisdom, intellect, reason and Christianity. One needs to be careful here; let us remember that human wisdom stems from the fallen human nature (James 3:15 –“This wisdom descendeth not from above but is earthly, sensual, devilish”). God has made it very clear in the scriptures that mans thoughts are not His thoughts and mans ways are not His ways (Isaiah 55:8-9); also that the human mind is continually at enmity with God (James 4:4). Peter speaking out of his own human reason argued with the Lord when Jesus spoke of His death on the cross, “surely this shall not be”. We must be very careful in this area, human intellect and reason will destroy faith and dilute the truth.

We should also be very careful in the area of Christian psychology. Psychology is the study of the human mind and how it works. One should be very careful about feeding on this; the human mind is incapable of discerning Gods thoughts. Bear in mind what Jeremiah said in 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” Why study the mind to try and figure it out? The wisest man who ever lived said the fool is the one who seeks to know his own heart: Proverbs 18:2 “A fool hath no delight in understanding, but that his heart may discover itself.”

We need to be renewed in our minds by faith, grace and the Blessed Holy Spirit; Romans 12:2 “but be transformed by the renewing of your mind.” This comes by seeking the One who is the fountain of living waters. This word “transformed” in the original text is the word “metamorpho”, which is where we get our word “metamorphosis” or “to transform”. It is the same process that changes a caterpillar into a butterfly. We don't need to know the human mind; we need to walk by faith and know the mind of Christ.

 HUMAN MIGHT

The prophet also listed human strength as a broken cistern; 1 Corinthians 1:26-27 “For ye see your calling, brethren, how that not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called: But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty.” God hath chosen the weak things of this world to confound the things which are mighty… it is actually a sign of Gods favor on your life when he weakens your strength or ignores your talents. He might touch our strength by giving some physical limitations, He could do it through pressures, He could do it through people who have authority over us. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10:12 “Wherefore let him that thinketh he standeth take heed lest he fall.” God has to bring us at times to the end of our strength, so we don't swell with self-confidence.

Consider what Jesus said about His own human strength in John 5:19 “Then answered Jesus and said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, The Son can do nothing of himself, but what he seeth the Father do: for what things soever he doeth, these also doeth the Son likewise.” Also, he continues later in the same chapter; John 5:30 “I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.” Later in the book of John he further drives home this point; John 8:28 “Then said Jesus unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things.” The Lord was trying to make his disciples understand that the power He possessed was the result of His submission to His Father. It was not of Himself; His own strength or His own might (although He was the Son of God); it was His dependency on His loving Heavenly Father. The point is further illustrated for us in John 15:5 “I am the vine, ye are the branches He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.”

We want to come to the place where we know that in ourselves we can do nothing. Why is this so important? It is because man is so easily lifted up in ambition, pride and arrogance; the fallen nature wants to be recognized and praised for its accomplishments. Remember how severely God judged king Nebuchadnezzer for his arrogance in declaring that Babylon was created by his own power and ambition; God brought great humiliation in his life so that he would know he was nothing. Self ambition, pride, strength posse a problem for the Godhead since 1 Corinthians 1:29 “That no flesh should glory in his presence.” Also, 1 Corinthians 1:31 states “He that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord.” As true believers let us glory in the Lord; He is our fountain of living water!

UNCERTAIN RICHES

1 Timothy 6:17 “Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy” Note the phrase “uncertain riches”; this is clearly a broken cistern. In actuality riches are quite unstable; they can come today and go tomorrow without warning. The Lord Jesus, however, is very certain, very stable and is worthy of our devotion and trust for our every day provision. Let me illustrate this by something that happened to me. I well remember a time when I was pastoring a small church in New York. The church was too small to give us a living wage and the job market in the area was very depressed so I could not find a decent job. During my time there I was brought to a place where I literally did not know where the money was going to come from to pay for our rent, utilities and daily necessities. I was so overwhelmed by this burden of how to provide for my family that in the middle of the night I was driven into the woods to cry out to God and weep before Him; while kneeling in the woods in the middle of the night I simply got one phrase, “I am your loving heavenly Father and I will take care of your needs” At the time it was almost impossible to see how God would provide, I might have said that if I had a lot of money right now I would be happy but in truth there were other ways God was going to make me rich; rich in faith and trust and I would learn how to lean on the arm of my beloved. We did not have any extra but God provided for our every need, I didn’t need more money; I needed more grace.

Paul also said this 1 Timothy 6:6-8 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content.” Don't become caught up in vain pursuits, riches are snares, seek the one who is the fountain of living waters and let Him determine your state in life. 1 Timothy 6:9-10 “But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.” Don't fall in love with money; it will bind you. The best policy is this; don't allow yourself to trust in bank accounts and money, learn to walk in loving obedience to the Master and see the hand of the Lord provide for your daily needs.

JESUS CHRIST IS THE FOUNTAIN OF LIVING WATERS

Finally, concerning these three areas, wisdom, might and riches let us bear in mind Col 2:9-10 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Only Jesus Christ is the fountain of living water everything else man puts his confidence in is a broken cistern. Is Jesus satisfying to us or do we need other things? Answer the following questions as honestly as you can:

• Do you need to have earthly things to be happy and secure?
• Do you feel confident in your own strength and abilities?
• Does your intellect need to be titillated with human wisdom?

If any of these are true of us, then we must take care we may be drinking from a broken cistern that in the end will let us down. I have seen good Christians neglect their relationship with the Lord for years in pursuit of these other things only to come to a point in their lives where they realize they have developed nothing of any spiritual value, they labored for the wrong things and now they are dry and empty. Dear ones let us conclude this essay with words from the book of Colossians: Col 2:9-10 “For in him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:” Christ came that we might find in him our all sufficiency; let us do His sacrifice for us justice by making Him our all in all.

The Fountain of Living Water or Broken Cisterns?

Christ is the Fountain of Living Water

A question that all believers who seek a closer walk with The Lord Jesus Christ need to ask themselves: Is Jesus Christ my fountain of living water, in other words does Jesus Christ truly satisfy me? I have come to discover over the years that not all of God's people are satisfied with him alone. It is not Him or His plan for their lives that rises to the top of their priority list, for some they feel that is for those who are missionaries or those in full time ministry but Jesus certainly does not require that of me. I want to consider with you something Jeremiah said to the “church” of his day and ask if this does not apply to our day also: Jeremiah 2:12 -13 “Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD. For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.”

Forsaken the Fountain of Living Waters for Broken Cisterns

The prophet Jeremiah points out to his generation that there are 2 evils committed by Gods people: First, they had forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. This very much has application to us today because in order for us to be truly satisfied Christians we must be convinced that in spite of all the voices in this world Jesus Christ is the only one who truly satisfies; He is the true fountain of living water whereby if one drink of Him they shall never thirst again. This truth is exemplified for us in John 7:37-38 “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, 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.” Secondly, Gods people, those not finding their satisfaction in the Lord, had hewn out for themselves broken cisterns. The cistern of Jeremiahs day would have been a reservoir made out of earth, like a pond, or carved out of rock. In type these cisterns are other pleasures that men pursue for their happiness and satisfaction. They had before them the Lord Himself, the fountain of living water, and yet they turned to a manmade cistern which was broken; a device that is faulty and can fail in its duty to hold water. This typifies the pleasures of this world; they promise fulfillment but they leak and before one knows it they go to the reservoir and it is dry. When one leaves the path they prosper for a while but then they are left bitter and dry in the end.

Therefore the prophet continues his indictment: Jeremiah 2:18 “And now what hast thou to do in the way of Egypt (World), to drink the waters of Sihor? or what hast thou to do in the way of Assyria, to drink the waters of the river?” The people of God were finding their satisfaction from the rivers of Egypt and Assyria. Here's the problem in a nutshell, Gods people are drinking from the waters of Egypt! Egypt has long been recognized as speaking of the world; to put it into today’s setting we would say these cisterns represent the music of the world, dress of the world, talk of the world, entertainment of the world etc. When one drinks from the waters of Egypt, their desire for the Lord begins to die and they no longer find that he satisfies.  They become disconnected from Him and become bored with the church and Gods people.

Here is the inevitable end of those who turn to the things of this world Jeremiah 2:19 “Thine own wickedness shall correct thee, and thy backslidings shall reprove thee: know therefore and see that it is an evil thing and bitter, that thou hast forsaken the LORD thy God, and that my fear is not in thee, saith the Lord GOD of hosts.” It is indeed a tragic thing, when the people of God make the wrong choices in what they choose to satisfy themselves, the consequences of those choices more times than not is that these things end up hindering their walk and hold them back from the things of God. Let us make the Lord our fountain, the only fountain in our lives. Let us realize that whatever the world has to offer will not last but will eventually leave us high and dry…