2.1 Key themes⤒🔗

• In Jeremiah 2 we read about two problems that lead to idolatry:
  1. Forgetting
      - When we forget how God has saved us, we will think that we are the masters of our own lives.
  2. Unfaithful leaders
• To turn away from other gods, we should put our trust in Jesus Christ.
     - This is something that we should do every day.
     - Jesus died, so that our idolatry can be forgiven.
     - Now we can come to God without fear.
• God is the fountain of life-giving water. He will never disappoint those who come to him.

2.2 Jeremiah 2:4–8, 12–13←⤒🔗

^4. Now listen to the LORD’s message, you descendants of Jacob, all you family groups from the nation of Israel.

^5. This is what the LORD says: “What fault could your ancestors have possibly found in me that they strayed so far from me? They paid allegiance to worthless idols, and so became worthless to me.

^6. They did not ask, ‘Where is the LORD who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of valleys and gorges, through a land of desert and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives?’

^7. I brought you into a fertile land so you could enjoy its fruits and its rich bounty. But when you entered my land, you defiled it; you made the land I call my own loathsome to me.

8. Your priests did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord?’ Those responsible for teaching my law[s] did not really know me. Your rulers rebelled against me. Your prophets prophesied in the name of the god Baal. They all worshiped idols that could not help them.

…

^12. Be amazed at this, O heavens. Be shocked and utterly dumbfounded,” says the Lord.

^13. “Do so because my people have committed a double wrong: They have rejected me, the fountain of life-giving water, and they have dug cisterns for themselves, cracked cisterns that cannot even hold water.

© NET Bible

2.3 Two more questions←⤒🔗

In Lesson 1 we tried to answer two questions. The first question was: Why should God’s people not have other gods? We saw that it is a great sin to have other gods. God has saved us from our sin so that we can worship him alone.

The second question was: What does it mean to have other gods? We saw that idolatry begins when you are no longer satisfied with God. When this happens, you put your trust in other things (such as money or the respect of people). Deep in our hearts, we are all guilty of this.

In this lesson we will think about two more questions:
1. What causes God’s people to worship other gods?
2. How can we turn away from other gods?

To answer these two questions, we will go again to Jeremiah 2.

2.4 What causes God’s people to worship other gods?←⤒🔗

In Jeremiah 2 we read about two problems in Israel. These two problems led the people of God into idolatry. They still lead God’s people into idolatry today.

Problem #1: Forgetting←↰⤒🔗

Jeremiah 2:6 says this about the Israelites: “They did not ask, ‘Where is the Lord who delivered us out of Egypt, who brought us through the wilderness, through a land of valleys and gorges, through a land of desert and deep darkness, through a land in which no one travels, and where no one lives?’”

The Israelites had forgotten their history. They had forgotten how the Lord had saved them from Egypt and how he had cared for them in the desert. Does this mean that they did not know their history? No, they knew it. They could tell you about Moses, the forty years in the desert, and so o. But they did not keep these things deep in their hearts. They did not think about these things all the time. They did not ask every day, “Where is the Lord…?”

Soon the Israelites acted as if they were the masters of their lives. They no longer thanked God for the good land that they were living in. They did not follow God’s law. They followed worthless idols, and they became worthless themselves (Jeremiah 2:5).

What about us? We have seen an even greater salvation than the salvation from Egypt. God has saved us from sin and death, through the death and resurrection of his own Son. He has made us his own children. He has promised to take care of all our needs, to lead us through his Spirit, and to give us a new heaven and earth one day.

Do we remember these things at all times? Or do we only think about them on a Sunday? If we forget God’s salvation even for one moment, we will fall into idolatry. We will think that we are the masters of our own lives. We will begin to make our own gods.

Problem #2: Unfaithful leaders←↰⤒🔗

In the time of the Old Testament, the priests were the spiritual leaders of God’s people. But in Jeremiah 2:8 we see that the priests had moved away from God. They did not ask, “Where is the Lord?” Even the prophets did not speak God’s Word to the people. They led the people to worship Baal (Jeremiah 2:8)!

Today God still uses human leaders (preachers, elders, and deacons) to lead his people. He calls leaders to be shepherds (Jeremiah 2:8). Just as sheep follow their shepherd, so church members will follow their church leaders. When church leaders are unfaithful, then the whole church is soon led into idolatry.

2.5 How can we turn away from other gods?←⤒🔗

Let us look again at the last verse of our passage: “for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of life-giving water, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).

In this verse, God calls himself “the fountain of life-giving water.” He is the only one who can give us life. He is the only one who can give us rest, comfort, and happiness. Every good thing is found with him.

This verse also speaks about “broken cisterns.” A cistern is a man-made hole in the ground. The land of Israel did not get a lot of rain. So, the people would sometimes dig cisterns to catch and hold rainwater.

But the water in a cistern quickly became dirty and dangerous to drink. Also, a cistern could break and leak. This is what false gods are like. They are like broken cisterns. We create them because we think that they can help us. But in the end, they only disappoint us.

How can we leave our broken cisterns (our false gods)? How can we drink from God, the fountain of life-giving water?

The answer is found in Jesus Christ. In Jesus Christ, God himself came into our world. The fountain of life-giving water has come to us!

Idolatry separated us from God. But God sent Jesus Christ to die, so that our idolatry could be forgiven. Now we can come into God’s presence without fear. We can drink from the fountain of life-giving water, every day of our lives.

How do we drink from this fountain? We simply put our trust in Jesus. Jesus himself invites us, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink” (John 7:37-38). This is not something that we should do only once. It is something that we should do every day of our lives. Just as we need water every day, so we need Jesus Christ every day.

Every day Jesus Christ calls you to come to him. He wants to feed you through his Word, the Bible. He wants you to pray in his name for everything you need. Remember, if you believe in him, then his Father is your Father too. Your Father wants to give you everything you need: strength, forgiveness, comfort, wisdom, joy, purpose, good relationships with other people, and everything else.

Will you come to the fountain of life-giving water? Will you be filled with his goodness every day?