I was reading in the Old Testament book of Jeremiah yesterday when a pair of verses popped out and reminded me of something in the New Testament. God is confronting Judah’s sin with some serious warnings.
A glorious throne set on high from the beginning is the place of our sanctuary. O Lord, the hope of Israel, all who forsake you shall be put to shame; those who turn away from you shall be written in the earth, for they have forsaken the Lord, the fountain of living water. Jeremiah 12:13-14 ESV
Those who have turned away are destined not to see His throne. That includes all of us sinners, except for His intervention and the gift of faith to accept Him by grace
There isn’t a direct connection between the verses other than I see some parallels. Not enough to build a theology on, but enough to ponder.
In John 7, Jesus makes it clear that He is the Fountain of Living Water. Jesus is our sanctuary.
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” Now this he said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive, for as yet the Spirit had not been given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37-39 ESV
In John 8:1-11, we find the account of the woman caught in adultery. The Pharisees bring her before Jesus to test Him and condemn the woman. The results aren’t what they expect.
This they said to test him, that they might have some charge to bring against him. Jesus bent down and wrote with his finger on the ground. And as they continued to ask him, he stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” And once more he bent down and wrote on the ground. But when they heard it, they went away one by one, beginning with the older ones, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing before him. Jesus stood up and said to her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said, “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.” John 8:6-11 ESV
We don’t know what Jesus wrote in the dirt, but the parallel to the Jeremiah passage pops out. The self-righteous Pharisees and teachers of the Law are putting Jesus to the test, and He writes in the earth. They are rejecting Jesus, the Fountain of Living Water.
The warning in Jeremiah was clearly for the people of Judah, yet its overtones carry on to everyone. Without Him, there is no way they will ever see the throne of God. That’s true of all sinners; none of us will see that heavenly throne unless we come to him in faith by grace.
Heed the warning, and walk with Jesus by faith today.
May God richly bless you today,
Kevin
YOU MIGHT ALSO LIKE
The gospel, the best news you will ever hear
Read the Word, read the Word, read the Word.
Why the Old Testament Still Matters
Is it by faith or works? Do they both matter?
SUMMARY
I was reading in Jeremiah when two verses stopped me and carried my mind straight into John’s gospel. I share how God’s warning to Judah about forsaking the fountain of living water echoes forward into Jesus’s own words and the story of the woman caught in adultery.
TAKEAWAY
Jeremiah 12:13-14 warns that those who forsake the Lord, the fountain of living water, will be written in the earth and never see His glorious throne.
In John 7:37-39, Jesus stands up and declares Himself the fountain of living water, offering the Spirit to all who believe.
In John 8:1-11, Jesus bends down and writes in the dirt before the woman caught in adultery, an image that echoes Jeremiah’s warning to those who turn away.
Soli Deo Gloria (For the glory of God alone)
