They went to the cisterns (wells) and found no water…(and) returned with their vessels empty; they were ashamed and confounded. [Jeremiah 14:3-4, parenthesis added]
Growing up on a small farm in rural Washington State, I became familiar with our pump house and well. I was too young to know the well depth or water purity or even how the pump actually got water to our house. But I did notice my dad’s concern and frustration when something went wrong with it.
If he could fix the problem (which he often did), he would wrestle the heavy concrete lid off the top of the well and begin his magic. I remember looking over the edge of the uncovered well and seeing the water shimmering far below. The presence of water was always a good thing. Fixing a pipe or pump was much easier and less costly than drilling a new well.
Imagine going to a well and finding it bone dry. Then, drilling another well and finding only dry sand and dirt. For miles around, you find no water—not in wells or bottled in stores. In this scenario, you face possible heat stroke or dehydration. On top of this, imagine being in a nationwide drought.
The Dry Wells of This World
In Jeremiah’s day, their drought came as a result of God’s judgment for rebelling against Him and forsaking His moral standards. Their waywardness and God’s judgment remind us that sin is a counterfeit that never fulfills, satisfies, or quenches desires. Having wandered that empty, dry, barren desert, I know sin is merely an appealing mirage. It ultimately abandons thirsty, fatigued, ashamed, and confused people in its heat.
The world is a desert and sin is the drought. Many people wander about futilely seeking relief from the heat at a refreshing oasis. They just don’t know where or how to find it. Not only do they need a refreshing drink, they need the source of satisfying, living water.
As followers of Jesus, the Living Water, who drink deeply from His fountain, we have a wellspring bursting forth within us. Let’s be the source of refreshing, untainted water for a dry, thirsty, dying world. Not simply talking about or describing it, let’s bring others to Christ’s overflowing well of Living Water. Be a water source to end sin’s drought and quench its thirst.
