Study Questions:

1. What does “digging for yourselves cisterns” mean in Jeremiah 2:13?

2. What are the implications of God’s claim when He declares that Israel became a “vine of foreign vine” in Jeremiah 2:21?

3. Can human beings, by their own means, remove sin? Jeremiah 2:22

4. What was God’s call to Israel, and how does it extend to us today? Jeremiah 3:13 and 14

Commentary and Reflection:

Jeremiah 2 and 3 are chapters of nostalgia, divine complaint, and a call to repentance.

God reminds Israel of the days when they were faithful (2:2-3), when they followed Him in the wilderness, and He rejoiced in protecting them. But then, God changes His narrative, emphasizing how Israel turned their back on Him (2:4) and pursued other gods. God offered Israel fresh, inexhaustible water, but the people traded God’s well for broken cisterns. In today’s language, Israel exchanged heaven for this world. A broken cistern is the temporary things of this life that may hold a little water today, but tomorrow are empty.

In Jeremiah 2:21, God makes a similar complaint, but through the image of a vine. God planted Israel as a chosen vine, a select plant of the highest quality, but they chose to become a foreign vine, with strange fruit. It’s as if Jehovah is telling Israel, “This is not the son I had.” Everything was good at the beginning, but then it became corrupted as it turned away from its Planter.

Today, we also experience this situation of human deviation from the original divine plan. A person comes to know God and enjoys His love and protection, only to later go astray. This can happen to anyone. Is there a solution to this problem? Yes, but the cleansing of the past comes only from God. The Holy Spirit touches a person and convicts them of sin, but we cannot remove sin by our own means. Jeremiah uses the illustration of lye, the active ingredient in soap, which cleanses dirt, to refer to any human effort to cleanse oneself from sin.

A person may resort to many means, have a “cleansing,” beat their body, take long walks during Holy Week, pay promises, etc., but sin will remain. Only the one who died on the cross can cleanse us from sin and bring holiness into our lives.

Finally, in Jeremiah 3:13 and 14, God calls Israel to recognize their wickedness and turn from their evil ways. That same call is for us today.

How is your life and relationship with God? Are you distant, drinking from your own cistern? Today is the day to draw near to God and ask Him once again for His fresh water.

Today, I invite you to seek God and remain faithful to Him every day.

May God give you a very blessed day.