Chapter 9—"My People Have Exchanged Their Glory"
Snares work to destroy all that brings us closer to God. Nets are spread wide to weary and discourage all who try to avoid their damning traps. Covenant makers are particularly vulnerable because Satan and his spirits want to destroy them most. Blinded to the risk and reality, his snares let them believe their works are performed in righteousness.
When Isaiah entered the first court of the hellish Gehenna, he saw “men carrying buckets of water on their shoulders, and they kept filling them and emptying them into a well [cistern], but the well never fills . . . These are the men who . . . transgressed against what is written.” All who “understand not” and “have forsaken the right way and are gone astray . . . are wells without water” (2 Peter 2:12, 15, 17). Forsaking living waters brings an emptiness of soul as they “fall to their own inventions, vain confidence, and procure to themselves destruction.” “They digged for themselves a pit of death” (Barnabas 11:2).
Jesus said His “soul ached” when He came in the flesh but “found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty . . . They are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty” (Gospel of Thomas 28). “Because of the curse the land lies parched and . . . withered. The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly” (Jeremiah 23:10, NIV). Likewise, “the fools that received the priesthood” but do not live up to their covenants “will find themselves where the rich man did—in hell, with plenty of fire but no water,” a drought or famine of living waters. God “will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord . . . They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it” (Amos 8:11–12).
The impenitent do not have His word written in their hearts. Truth is found in God’s house, but they do not look there because they have not built it. They wander “from sea to sea and from north to east” (Amos 8:12) searching for religion, comfort, and peace, but they will not find it.
This rebuke is for the “men that rule this people,” for they “are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred” (Isaiah 28:14, 7). Hypocritical “mockers” (HCSB) and “foolish talkers” (God’s Word) “preside over these people” (Gileadi). “Judgment is toward you because ye have been a snare” (Hosea 5:1).
Exchanging our glory for that which has no eternal worth makes us broken cisterns, not properly sealed and unfit to retain (or be filled with) His living waters. Being sealed is required to receive His promises. We must “not appear before the Lord empty” (Deuteronomy 16:16). God directed the brother of Jared to make barges that hold water “tight like unto a dish,” a significant phrase found five times in one verse (Ether 2:17). God also instructed Noah to seal his ark “within and without” (Genesis 6:12-15).
Like vessels, our souls must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise before we can claim His promises. His seal is not given through ritual participation, but through ratified ordinances and living faith. “All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations” require ratifying to be recognized hereafter (D&C 132:7). “Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his” (2 Timothy 2:19).
“As the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces” in an instant (Isaiah 30:12), so will their destruction come. God will break unholy vessels just as they broke His covenant. That which is “broken or shattered” will be “reduced into complete confusion.” They will be “so ruthlessly shattered that a sherd will not be found among its pieces . . . to scoop water from a cistern” (Isaiah 30:14, NASB).
The enemy is eager to cause to fall all those who call upon the Lord. For he knows that on the day that Israel will believe, the kingdom of the enemy will be brought to an end. (Testament of Dan 6:3–4)Oblivious that they are ensnared, religious devotees resist His call to repent. They trade truth for lies, righteousness for vanity and unbelief.
My people have exchanged their glory for that which doth not profit . . . Indeed, my people have committed two evils: (1) they have forsaken me, the fountain of living water, and (2) they have dug cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that cannot hold water. (Jeremiah 2:11, 13, ISV, numerals added)In the ancient world, “although ‘pit’ could refer simply to a hole in the ground, generally it was a cistern several meters deep, carved in rock to collect and store precious water.” Nestorians use wazna, cistern, to refer to baptismal fonts. In this context, a broken cistern may refer to a broken covenant. A cistern made by men cannot withstand immense pressure or sustain itself over time. Eventually it will break. A broken cistern, which cannot fill the measure of its creation, represents
the world and all things in it . . . the inventions and ordinances of men . . . following after idols which have no divinity in them [which] can yield no help and relief, or give any comfort. It is egregious folly to leave a fountain for a cistern and especially a broken one.If its foundation is not solid or its construction is weak, a cistern cannot hold the living waters that quench all thirst, and are inseparably tied to the love of God and tree of life. The only path to God is found “by streams of living water.” From “a living stone . . . shall flow forth rivers of living water; he that believeth on me shall not suffer from drought.” We forfeit blessings by desiring the impure when “rivers of living water” (John 7:38) are offered. To all who overcome, the “mysteries of my kingdom . . . shall be in him a well of living water, springing up unto everlasting life” (D&C 63:23).
When Isaiah entered the first court of the hellish Gehenna, he saw “men carrying buckets of water on their shoulders, and they kept filling them and emptying them into a well [cistern], but the well never fills . . . These are the men who . . . transgressed against what is written.” All who “understand not” and “have forsaken the right way and are gone astray . . . are wells without water” (2 Peter 2:12, 15, 17). Forsaking living waters brings an emptiness of soul as they “fall to their own inventions, vain confidence, and procure to themselves destruction.” “They digged for themselves a pit of death” (Barnabas 11:2).
Jesus said His “soul ached” when He came in the flesh but “found them all drunk, and I did not find any of them thirsty . . . They are blind in their hearts and do not see, for they came into the world empty, and they also seek to depart from the world empty” (Gospel of Thomas 28). “Because of the curse the land lies parched and . . . withered. The prophets follow an evil course and use their power unjustly” (Jeremiah 23:10, NIV). Likewise, “the fools that received the priesthood” but do not live up to their covenants “will find themselves where the rich man did—in hell, with plenty of fire but no water,” a drought or famine of living waters. God “will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the Lord . . . They shall run to and fro to seek the word of the Lord and shall not find it” (Amos 8:11–12).
The impenitent do not have His word written in their hearts. Truth is found in God’s house, but they do not look there because they have not built it. They wander “from sea to sea and from north to east” (Amos 8:12) searching for religion, comfort, and peace, but they will not find it.
They go with their flocks and herds to seek the Lord but do not find him; he hath withdrawn from them. Ephraim will become a desolation on the day of punishment . . . I will depart and return to my place until they recognize their guilt and seek my face. They will search for me in their distress. (Hosea 5:6, 9, 15, CSB)God “will feed [the prophets] with wormwood and make them drink the water of gall: for from the prophets of Jerusalem is profaneness gone forth into all the land” (Jeremiah 23:15). Wormwood, which means bitter or grievous, is from a root meaning ‘to curse.’
This rebuke is for the “men that rule this people,” for they “are out of the way; the priest and the prophet have erred” (Isaiah 28:14, 7). Hypocritical “mockers” (HCSB) and “foolish talkers” (God’s Word) “preside over these people” (Gileadi). “Judgment is toward you because ye have been a snare” (Hosea 5:1).
Exchanging our glory for that which has no eternal worth makes us broken cisterns, not properly sealed and unfit to retain (or be filled with) His living waters. Being sealed is required to receive His promises. We must “not appear before the Lord empty” (Deuteronomy 16:16). God directed the brother of Jared to make barges that hold water “tight like unto a dish,” a significant phrase found five times in one verse (Ether 2:17). God also instructed Noah to seal his ark “within and without” (Genesis 6:12-15).
Like vessels, our souls must be sealed by the Holy Spirit of Promise before we can claim His promises. His seal is not given through ritual participation, but through ratified ordinances and living faith. “All covenants, contracts, bonds, obligations, vows, performances, connections, associations, or expectations” require ratifying to be recognized hereafter (D&C 132:7). “Having this seal, the Lord knoweth them that are his” (2 Timothy 2:19).
The Lord is with you when you are loyal to him. If you seek him, he will respond to you, but if you reject him, he will reject you. (2 Chronicles 15:2, Net Bible)Those who “depart from me shall be [ashamed and] written in the earth because they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living waters” (Jeremiah 17:13). How tragic that so many “have exchanged their glory for that which does not profit” or “for worthless idols” (Jeremiah 2:11, ISV, NIV). Similar wickedness existed in Enoch’s day. “Ye have not stood firm nor acted according to his commandments; but you have turned aside” (1 Enoch 5:4).
“As the breaking of the potters’ vessel that is broken in pieces” in an instant (Isaiah 30:12), so will their destruction come. God will break unholy vessels just as they broke His covenant. That which is “broken or shattered” will be “reduced into complete confusion.” They will be “so ruthlessly shattered that a sherd will not be found among its pieces . . . to scoop water from a cistern” (Isaiah 30:14, NASB).
Awake, awake, stand up, O Jerusalem . . . There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth . . . These two things are come unto thee . . . desolation and destruction, and the famine and the sword. (Isaiah 51:17–20)“Thou art also taken, O Babylon, and thou wast not aware: thou art found and also caught because thou hast striven against the Lord” (Jeremiah 50:24). “This is a people robbed and spoiled. They are all of them ensnared” and “none saith” to repent or turn back (Isaiah 42:22).
Among My people are found the wicked. They . . . stretch nets; they set a trap that they may catch men . . . The prophets prophesy falsely and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof? (Jeremiah 5:26, 31)
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