The Allure of Cheap Substitutes

Jeremiah 2

¹The LORD gave me another message. He said, ²“Go and shout in Jerusalem’s streets: ‘This is what the LORD says: I remember how eager you were to please me as a young bride long ago, how you loved me and followed me even through the barren wilderness. ³In those days Israel was holy to the LORD, the first of my children. All who harmed my people were considered guilty, and disaster fell upon them. I, the LORD, have spoken!’”

⁴Listen to the word of the LORD, people of Jacob—all you families of Israel! ⁵This is what the LORD says: “What sin did your ancestors find in me that led them to stray so far? They worshiped foolish idols, only to become foolish themselves. ⁶They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who brought us safely out of Egypt and led us through the barren wilderness—a land of deserts and pits, of drought and death, where no one lives or even travels?’

⁷“And when I brought you into a fruitful land to enjoy its bounty and goodness, you defiled my land and corrupted the inheritance I had promised you. ⁸The priests did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD?’ The judges ignored me, the rulers turned against me, and the prophets spoke in the name of Baal, wasting their time on nonsense. ⁹Therefore, I will bring my case against you and will keep on accusing you, even against your children’s children in the years to come. I, the LORD, have spoken!

¹⁰“Go west to the land of Cyprus; go east to the land of Kedar. Think about what you see there. See if anyone has ever heard of anything as strange as this. ¹¹Has any nation ever exchanged its gods for another god, even though its gods are nothing? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! ¹²The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay, says the LORD. ¹³For my people have done two evil things: They have forsaken me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all! (Jeremiah 2:1-13, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

Jeremiah was a prophet of Judah who prophesied from about 627 B.C. to 587 B.C. He is known as the “weeping prophet” because he expressed deep sorrow in his writings over the sins of his people toward God.

You may remember that the Jewish nation was divided in two after Solomon’s reign. The northern kingdom, known as Israel in the Old Testament historical books, was conquered by the Assyrians in about 722 B.C. and many of it’s inhabitants were exiled.

The southern kingdom was known as Judah. This was the royal line of David and Solomon. The southern kingdom was invaded by Babylon in 605 BC at which time they became a vassal state, though the kings of Judah continued to resist Babylonian control. It was during this period that Jeremiah prophesied to the kings of Judah with a message that they should concede to Babylonian rule as their punishment for their continued sins of rebellion and rejection of God.

And just what did they do to sin against and reject God? Verse 11 demonstrates that the major sin was that they exchanged their allegiance to the one true God, the God who delivered them from the Egyptians and brought them into the promised land, for “worthless gods” who are “nothing.”

God’s people were guilty of idol worship. This was a recurring issue with God’s people that happened over, and over and over again. They were constantly forsaking God in order to worship idols in the form of regional gods of the people they had displaced as well as the gods of people who lived in proximity to them.

I’ve written many times about the problem of idol worship within the Israelite communities, including here, and here.

Jeremiah gives an illustration to demonstrate just how foolish the people of Judah had been. In verse 13, he states,

For my people have done two evil things: They have forsaken me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all!

The climate in Israel was hot and arid and they depended on rainfall for drinking water and the development of their crops.

A cistern was used as a way of collecting water during the rainy season to use later when it was dry.

A cistern is not a well. It’s more like an underground storage tank. While there were different methods for constructing a cistern, a common cistern was a masonry cistern which allowed for more versatility in terms of the shape and size of the storage area.

Basically a large cavity or hole was unearthed and then quarried stones or bricks were used with mortar to create the structure – the walls and the floor. The structure was then sealed with plaster to prevent leaks.

So now that you know what a cistern is, let’s look at what the charge is against God’s people.

God says HIs people have rejected Him, the fountain of living water.

This right here is key. It’s easy to overlook the importance of water to the people in ancient Israel. Water represents life. You cannot live without water. You will die of thirst or of starvation if there is no water to drink and grow your crops.

In our modern society, we just go into the bathroom or kitchen and we turn on the faucet, and out comes the water – as much as we want. Most of us haven’t had to think at all about where our water will come from for that day.

But in the Ancient Near East, water was vital, and thinking about water was paramount. Water had to be retrieved on a daily basis for life’s needs – whether it was for drinking, cooking, cleaning or growing crops.

Retrieving water was not as easy as turning on a faucet and streaming water out of a hose into a bucket or cooking pot. One had to walk to wherever the well was located or wherever there was a cistern. Water had to painstakingly be lifted up out of the well or cistern. If you did happen to live near a river, you would have to walk to retrieve it and whatever you retrieved you’d have to carry back. The larger the bucket, the heavier the load. The smaller the bucket, the more times you had to visit the water source to retrieve the amount of water you needed.

To us, we can easily take water for granted. In that culture, nobody took water for granted. It was everything.

God says that He is like a fountain of living water. Since water is essential for life, God is saying that He is like a fountain of life. He is the one who sustains life.

Instead of coming to this source of pure living water, God’s people have chosen to retrieve their water from cisterns that are cracked. A cracked cistern not only would leak its water, which made for an unreliable source, but it would also allow earth sediment to leak in via the cracks so that whatever water remained would be dirty and impure.

This is what we tend to do as humans. On the one hand, there exists a fountain of pure water that never runs dry. On the other hand, there’s a cracked cistern that may have some water in it. It’s unreliable because it leaks. If there is water in it, it’s dirty and stagnant.

Now imagine you’re really thirsty. From which source do you choose to retrieve water to satisfy your thirst?

You’d think that we would choose the fountain of pure living water every time. But we don’t. We consistently choose cheap substitutes that we think will give us life but ultimately, doesn’t quench our thirst.

The Israelites were constantly worshiping false gods and idols that they created out of wood, stone and various metals. These idols could not save them, nor could they protect them, nor could they provide for them. Only God could do that.

We may not be carving idols out of wood, clay, stone and metal and then worshiping them. But we do make this same exchange that Jeremiah warns about. Anything in our life that we turn to in order to provide for us can be an idol.

What is it that you have exchanged for God in your life? What is it that you turn to in order to provide joy, happiness or contentment? Where do you go when you’re sad, anxious or lonely? If you don’t turn to God and trust Him for these things, it’s possible that you are settling for a cheap substitute that cannot quench your real thirst or satisfy your deepest need. Only God can do that.

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Reflection

How do you see people in today’s culture forsaking God? What does forsaking God look like today?

What are some typical things people today tend to turn to for fulfillment, joy and satisfaction in life?

What would you say is your deepest need? How can God help you meet that need?

How can you safeguard your life to ensure you don’t exchange God for some cheap substitute that cannot ultimately provide for your deepest needs?

Photo by Seval Torun on Unsplash

May 12, 2021

The Prayer of Rebellion

Jeremiah 44

¹¹“Therefore, the LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: I have made up my mind to destroy every one of you! ¹²I will take this remnant of Judah that insisted on coming here to Egypt, and I will consume them. They will fall here in Egypt, killed by war and famine. All will die, from the least to the greatest. They will be an object of damnation, horror, cursing, and mockery. ¹³I will punish them in Egypt just as I punished them in Jerusalem, by war, famine, and disease. ¹⁴Of those who fled to Egypt with dreams of returning home to Judah, only a handful will escape.”

¹⁵Then all the women present and all the men who knew that their wives had burned incense to idols—a great crowd of all the Judeans living in Pathros, the southern region of Egypt—answered Jeremiah, ¹⁶“We will not listen to your messages from the LORD! ¹⁷We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and sacrifice to her just as much as we like—just as we and our ancestors did before us, and as our kings and princes have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles! ¹⁸But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her, we have been in great trouble and have suffered the effects of war and famine.”

¹⁹“And,” the women added, “do you suppose that we were worshiping the Queen of Heaven, pouring out drink offerings to her, and making cakes marked with her image, without our husbands knowing it and helping us? Of course not!”

²⁰Then Jeremiah said to all of them, men and women alike, who had given him that answer, ²¹“Do you think the LORD did not know that you and your ancestors, your kings and officials, and all the people were burning incense to idols in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem? ²²It was because the LORD could no longer bear all the evil things you were doing that he made your land an object of cursing—a desolate ruin without a single inhabitant—as it is today. ²³The very reason all these terrible things have happened to you is because you have burned incense to idols and sinned against the LORD, refusing to obey him and follow his instructions, laws, and stipulations.”

²⁴Then Jeremiah said to them all, including the women, “Listen to this message from the LORD, all you citizens of Judah who live in Egypt. ²⁵The LORD Almighty, the God of Israel, says: You and your wives have said that you will never give up your devotion and sacrifices to the Queen of Heaven, and you have proved it by your actions. Then go ahead and carry out your promises and vows to her!

²⁶“But listen to this message from the LORD, all you Judeans now living in Egypt: I have sworn by my great name, says the LORD, that my name will no longer be spoken by any of the Judeans in the land of Egypt. None of you may invoke my name or use this oath: ‘As surely as the Sovereign LORD lives!’ ²⁷For I will watch over you to bring you disaster and not good. You will suffer war and famine until all of you are dead.

²⁸“Only a small number will escape death and return to Judah from Egypt. Then all those who came to Egypt will find out whose words are true, mine or theirs! ²⁹And this is the proof I give you, says the LORD, that all I have threatened will happen to you and that I will punish you here: ³⁰I will turn Pharaoh Hophra, king of Egypt, over to his enemies who want to kill him, just as I turned King Zedekiah of Judah over to King Nebuchadnezzar of Babylon. I, the LORD, have spoken!” (Jeremiah 44:11-30, NLT)

The Daily DAVEotional

Jeremiah was an Old Testament prophet who lived about 2600 years ago. The book of Jeremiah chronicles the many prophecies he gave to the people of Judah in which the Lord promised to punish the people for their continued unfaithfulness and wickedness. This punishment would come at the hands of the Babylonians who would invade the land, overtake the capital city of Jerusalem and take the majority of its citizens back to Babylon as captives of war.

Throughout the book, many false prophets opposed Jeremiah, claiming that he had not heard from the Lord. These false prophets predicted that Babylon would not invade and if they did, they predicted that God would protect His people and enable them to withstand and resist any invading army.

At this point in the book, all of Jeremiah’s prophecies have come true. The Babylonians have come and laid siege to Jerusalem, overtaking its walled barriers and taking its people back to Babylon as prisoners of war.

However, a remnant of people are left in Judah to tend to the land and continue living under a Babylonian appointed governor.

It’s at this point that those who are left decide that they would be better off fleeing to Egypt and living under the rule of Pharaoh instead of living in their own land under Babylonian occupation.

Jeremiah comes to this group and gives them the Lord’s directive, which is to stay in the land and NOT flee to Egypt. God’s reasons are clear: He is going to punish the Egyptians by the very army that He used to punish the Israelites. If this remnant of Jews decides to flee to Egypt, they will only be putting themselves in the very harm’s way that they are trying to escape.

This chapter outlines the conversation Jeremiah has with key leaders of this remnant group which has made its way to Egypt. Jeremiah explicitly states that the Lord has decided that because this group has insisted on rejecting His direct command to stay in Judah, they will all die from the very things from which they fled, namely war and famine.

What is the response of the people?

You would hope that they would listen to Jeremiah and the word of the Lord. You would think that maybe they would repent and follow, for once, the command of the Lord.

But that’s not what happens. Instead, their response is:

“We will not listen to your messages from the LORD! ¹⁷We will do whatever we want. We will burn incense to the Queen of Heaven and sacrifice to her just as much as we like—just as we and our ancestors did before us, and as our kings and princes have always done in the towns of Judah and in the streets of Jerusalem. For in those days we had plenty to eat, and we were well off and had no troubles! ¹⁸But ever since we quit burning incense to the Queen of Heaven and stopped worshiping her, we have been in great trouble and have suffered the effects of war and famine.”

God’s response to this overt rebelliousness and rejection of Him is to allow them to experience the consequences of their choices and actions. By rebelling against the Lord, they were unknowingly putting their lives in danger by subjecting themselves to forces and circumstances that they could not possibly have seen or predicted on their own.

It seems to me that I often act just like this group of Judeans.

God no longer sends physical prophets like Jeremiah to speak to His people and warn them of potential disaster. He doesn’t need prophets to communicate these messages of warning because He has His holy Word that speaks for Him.

God’s word functions as the prophet in our current environment. Everything God wants us to know about righteous and wise living is summed up in His word. And yet, I often fail to consult His word to get input and wise advice concerning the issues I’m facing.

Often times, I don’t just ignore what God’s word says, I KNOW what it says and choose to overtly rebel anyway. I follow the pattern of rebellion these women modeled as I say to the Lord:

I will not listen to your messages, LORD! ¹⁷I will do whatever I want. I will burn incense to whatever God or deity I want and sacrifice to her just as much as I like—just as we and our ancestors did before us, and as our leaders have always done in our towns and communities.

This is what I call the prayer of rebellion, in which I vocalize my rejection of God’s commands and His will for my life and I exert my own stubborn independence to live apart from Him.

Though Jeremiah lived 2600 years ago in a time and era that was much different than today, one thing is still the same – people are still rebelling against God’s word and will and living instead for their own personal desires and preferences.

We may not be taken into captivity by an invading army but by resisting the Lord’s will and disobeying Him, we most certainly will experience negative consequences and even disaster in our lives.

Reflection

These women made a habit of burning incense to a foreign god. They were putting their trust in a foreign deity and false god instead of God Himself. What are some potential idols in your own life that you are tempted to trust in place of God?

What are some times in your life where you have expressed “the prayer of rebellion” towards God. What were the circumstances?

In what ways can you prepare yourself from drifting and serving other gods or idols in your life? What are some practical tips that might keep you from experiencing spiritual drift?

What can you learn from this passage about the importance of being yoked (married) to someone who shares your same spiritual values and commitment to the Lord?

Photo by Jakayla Toney on Unsplash

February 3, 2021

The Whip of God’s Anger!

Isaiah 10

⁵“Destruction is certain for Assyria, the whip of my anger. Its military power is a club in my hand. ⁶Assyria will enslave my people, who are a godless nation. It will plunder them, trampling them like dirt beneath its feet. ⁷But the king of Assyria will not know that it is I who sent him. He will merely think he is attacking my people as part of his plan to conquer the world. ⁸He will say, ‘Each of my princes will soon be a king, ruling a conquered land. ⁹We will destroy Calno just as we did Carchemish. Hamath will fall before us as Arpad did. And we will destroy Samaria just as we did Damascus. ¹⁰Yes, we have finished off many a kingdom whose gods were far greater than those in Jerusalem and Samaria. ¹¹So when we have defeated Samaria and her gods, we will destroy Jerusalem with hers.’”

¹²After the Lord has used the king of Assyria to accomplish his purposes in Jerusalem, he will turn against the king of Assyria and punish him—for he is proud and arrogant. ¹³He boasts, “By my own power and wisdom I have won these wars. By my own strength I have captured many lands, destroyed their kings, and carried off their treasures. ¹⁴By my greatness I have robbed their nests of riches and gathered up kingdoms as a farmer gathers eggs. No one can even flap a wing against me or utter a peep of protest.”

¹⁵Can the ax boast greater power than the person who uses it? Is the saw greater than the person who saws? Can a whip strike unless a hand is moving it? Can a cane walk by itself?

¹⁶Listen now, king of Assyria! Because of all your evil boasting, the Lord, the LORD Almighty, will send a plague among your proud troops, and a flaming fire will ignite your glory. ¹⁷The LORD, the Light of Israel and the Holy One, will be a flaming fire that will destroy them. In a single night he will burn those thorns and briers, the Assyrians. ¹⁸Assyria’s vast army is like a glorious forest, yet it will be destroyed. The LORD will completely destroy Assyria’s warriors, and they will waste away like sick people in a plague. ¹⁹Only a few from all that mighty army will survive—so few that a child could count them! (Isaiah 10:5-19, NLT)

Assyria is an ancient nation that at one time was THE biggest, baddest empire around.

As is typical of big, bad empires, they conquered other nations, took captives, plundered and slaughtered people and generally enforced their will wherever they went.

In this chapter of Isaiah, God describes the Assyrians as “the whip of my anger.” Its mighty military power is described by God as “a club in my hand.”

God explains that He is going to use the Assyrians as His tool to punish the Israelites, His people who have continually forsaken Him, despite many warnings about the consequences of abandoning the Lord for other gods.

After the Lord has used the Assyrians to accomplish His purposes, He explains that He will then punish the Assyrians.

Why would He punish the Assyrians if they were simply God’s tool to accomplish His plan of destruction against Israel?

Verses 12-15 give the answer. The reason Assyria will be punished is because of pride and arrogance. The Assyrian king won’t acknowledge that He is subordinate to God and that the Lord was simply using Him as His vessel of discipline. Instead, the Assyrian king will embrace the belief that everything he’s accomplished is because of his superior nature over those whom he’s subjugated.

The king of Assyria will essentially make himself out to be a god as he mentions all the gods he has conquered from the various lands he now controls.

God reminds the listener that Assyria is no different than an ax, a saw or a cane. They are all just instruments that are completely useless unless there is an active agent to employ the tool for its purpose.

Assyria, at one time, WAS the big bad empire bullying all the surrounding nations of the Ancient Near East. WAS! Somewhere between 612 and 605 BC, Assyria was destroyed. They were overtaken by the next big, bad empire – the Babylonians, but not before God fulfilled His promise of using the Assyrians to discipline and punish His people who had forsaken Him.

Reflection

Under what circumstances are you tempted to take credit for actions and outcomes that are ultimately orchestrated by God?

The Assyrians were supplanted by the Babylonians, who were supplanted by the Persians, who were supplanted by the Greeks, who were supplanted by the Romans, etc. Why do you suppose empires come and go? What conditions do you think would be necessary for an empire to last?

What do you think is the difference between pride/arrogance/boasting and confidence and self-assurance? How can you ensure that you’re confident in yourself without being boastful or proud?

Photo by Jamil Kabar on Unsplash