What has erupted on our university campuses?
My restless mind transports me back to the sixth century B.C., to the great themes of the prophet Jeremiah. Specifically, these words k eep ringing in my ears (2:11-13): “Has a nation changed its gods, even though they are no gods? But my people have changed their glory for that which does not profit. Be appalled, O heavens, at this; be shocked, be utterly desolate, declares the Lord, for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water.”
“Two evils,” says the Lord our God. If you will allow me to summarize, please … 1. God’s people have forsaken His glory, the awesome glory that God shared with them because of their unique relationship to Him. 2. God’s people have searched for substitute glory in places where no glory can be found.
What is being described here is rampant idolatry, no doubt. But what is being described is also rampant ingratitude.
Idolatry + Ingratitude = Disaster.
Both the Scriptures and history bear this out, in living color. The charges against the people, which God brings here through the prophet, are frightening. Once a vibrant and powerful nation, the terrain is becoming a wasteland, and the cities are destined for ruin. And God makes it clear: the people have brought this disaster upon themselves.
The people had fresh running water, in abundant supply, and now they have traded it for sludge.
In that day, precisely what had broken down? Can we know, specifically, what segments of society were broken? Does the Bible give us these answers?
Yes.
I believe that the answers are found in Verse 8 …
1. “The priests” stopped seeking the Lord.
2. “Those who handle the law” did not know God.
3. “The shepherds” rebelled against God’s rightful authority.
4. “The prophets” sought their fulfillment in demonically inspired activity.
If you’ll bear with me just a little longer, I’d like to briefly explore all four violations.
1. We must consider the impotence of the church, especially when times are tough and when people are afraid to speak the truth. Pastors and teachers and ministers share in these feelings of intimidation, but that is no excuse for silence or inaction. Both silence and inaction, on the part of the church, lead to doctrinal chaos and societal meltdown.
2. We must consider the price paid by everyone when those in authority are spiritually lost. When our leaders are lost and therefore easily confused, the widespread knowledge of right and wrong – part of God’s common grace as a gift to all of us – slowly shrinks until it is eclipsed. Society sinks to the lowest moral common denominator (which is about as low as low can go).
3. We must consider what happens when we exchange God’s truth for what feels good. That’s what idolatry is. There is such a strong sense of self in each one of us that we will do nearly anything to rework the Word of God to fit our personal preferences. And, when church leaders do this, it tends to give everybody else a green light to ignore the voice of God.
4. We must consider how overwhelmingly powerful are the incessant allures of money, sex, and power. (In Jeremiah’s day, the worship of Baal promoted the misuse and abuse of all three, under the guise of religion.) The unchecked quest for money, sex, and power unravels marriages and families. It destroys cherished friendships. It bankrupts the otherwise intelligent. It topples entire denominations which once preached Christ (see the UMC in today’s headlines). It cripples kingdoms and nations, and brings the unsuspecting to their knees.
Broken cisterns. Waterless, and void of genuine life. Let me tell you why many of these young protesters, acting largely in ignorance, are so passionate. They’re searching desperately for a cause worth living for. But they’re searching in all the wrong places, in “broken cisterns that can hold no water.” Sadly, our cherished institutions of higher education are reaping what they’ve sown for decades. And some of the responsibility, namely our silence and our inaction, lies at the feet of the church. Per Jeremiah, this is why the lions roar. This is no time for us to be proud or judgmental. Instead, we ought to be brokenhearted, and we better be vigilant. “Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall” (1 Corinthians 10:12).
Thankfully, in its thirty-first chapter, this ancient prophet also preached the best news ever delivered: By a bloody cross and an empty tomb, and ratified by none other than our Lord Jesus Christ – and despite all of the covenants which you and I, and all of us, have violated – the New Covenant will prevail in the end! “I will put my law within them, and I will write it on their hearts.” “I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” “They shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest.” “I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.” Without these unbelievably amazing promises, you and I could give up right now. Thankfully, these permanent promises are ours in Christ.
Precious Lord Jesus, please forgive our idolatry and our ingratitude, our silence and our inaction. Please fill us with Your Holy Spirit. Please grant to us Your Living Water, that Your gospel hope might flow in and through us, and from us to the ends of the earth. We ask this so that we, and many others, might live.
Pastor Charles
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