Whose Water Are You Drinking?

Scripture:

Jer. 2:14      ¶ Is Israel a slave? Is he a homeborn servant?
        Why then has he become plunder?
Jer. 2:15     The lions have roared against him,
        they have roared loudly.
    They have made his land a waste;
        his cities are in ruins, without inhabitant.
Jer. 2:16     Moreover, the people of Memphis and Tahpanhes
        have broken the crown of your head.
Jer. 2:17     Have you not brought this upon yourself
        by forsaking the LORD your God,
        while he led you in the way?
Jer. 2:18     What then do you gain by going to Egypt,
        to drink the waters of the Nile?
    Or what do you gain by going to Assyria,
        to drink the waters of the Euphrates?

Observation:

Israel was the beautiful bride of Christ, that had been freed from bondage to any nation.  God fought for her to break away from Egypt and cared for her every need, if only she remained faithful.  Instead she chose to give herself away again to the surrounding nations, including Egypt!  God had promised to be their source and to supply their every need, but now again they sought out alliances with other nations and in effect, with other gods.  In verse 18 a political analogy is made regarding the drinking of water.  Political alliances have been made with Egypt and with Assyria.  Why?  Because they chose to get their help from others, instead of from God.  God is the one who provides living and eternal water, and yet so often we seek help from other sources, and so drink the temporal water of slavery to foreign gods. 

Application:

I am out in Idaho this week and yesterday morning I was out for a walk.  It is in this desert that one can see the desperate need for water.  One yard will be green and lush because they irrigate on a regular basis.  The next will be brown and completely barren for there has been no water for a period of time.  The need for water as a source for life is visible from one piece of land to the next.  Out here they have learned to capture the snowmelt in reservoirs in the mountains which then feed the desert throughout the summer months. 

Throughout the Scriptures we read about water.  Water represents the source of life for all of God's creation.  In the Garden of Eden there were four rivers.  As the journey continues through the word of God we discover humanity searching for the source from which they have been separated.  But always when the people need it, they find the source in God.  Finally in the book of Revelation we see that the river with life-giving water flows direction from God himself.  So, when the prophet Jeremiah refers to the fact that the Israelites are going to other rivers to drink of their water, we understand that this is a complete and total rejection of God, who said he would be their very source. 

God continues to be the source for all that we need today, but we too, may be drinking from other wells.  Where are we going for joy and satisfaction in life?  Maybe we think that it's okay to drink a few days a week from God's well, but then spend the rest of the week drinking from the wells of Egypt and Assyria.  Can you imagine -- they went back to Egypt!  But what about us?  Do we ever go back to the things we used to do in life that we thought gave us a sense of security and satisfaction.  It could be something as blatant as drugs, alcohol, or sex.  Or it might be something more "acceptable" as money, travel, position, friends, homes, cars and family.  God is waiting patiently with his life-giving water that will supply our every need, if only we will come and drink at his well.  Whose water are you drinking?

Prayer:

Lord, thank you for your water that satisfies every need.  Amen.