On draughts

This is the word of the LORD to Jeremiah concerning the drought:

"Judah mourns, her cities languish; they wail for the land, and a cry goes up from Jerusalem. The nobles send their servants for water; they go to the cisterns but find no water. They return with their jars unfilled; dismayed and despairing, they cover their heads. The ground is cracked because there is no rain in the land; the farmers are dismayed and cover their heads. Even the doe in the field deserts her newborn fawn because there is no grass. Wild donkeys stand on the barren heights and pant like jackals; their eyesight fails for lack of pasture."

Although our sins testify against us, O LORD, do something for the sake of your name. For our backsliding is great; we have sinned against you.

-- Jeremiah 14:1-7, NIV

In Joseph's day seven years of famine and drought drove God's people into captivity in Egypt. Far from evil, it effectively led to the concentration of the entire world's wealth into Egypt, wealth that God gave Israel during the Exodus.

But what to make of Jeremiah's drought and this vivid picture Jeremiah paints on behalf of God?

- People in cities and towns in despair and panic.

- Political leaders and the wealthy scramble about wielding worthless power.

- Men are utterly ashamed.

- The earth suffers as flora and fauna die.

Remnants of Israel and Judah - Daniel and his kin - survived the drought safely in Babylon. Those around them languished in the desert. These are the people God's talking about. Henry notes that we should dread God's departure, but we usually dread the removal of our creature comforts more. Such are the consequences of sin, not against the earth, but against The God Who Made It. The drought sufferers got that eventually but it was too late by then. The ones captured by God - they were the survivors.

Eventually this particular drought ended leaving in its dusty wake the beginnings of modern Judaism. This drought transformed a nation - the world, really.

Don't believe drought isn't a problem to you and me. Fast-forward to Jesus and the woman at the well. The only solution to her drought was the living water Jesus would give her. Water that would not only satisfy her, but become a spring that would flow out over others. Water of eternal life.

Droughts have always been a most vivid picture of souls without God. There is only one source for water that truly satisfies the ultimate thirst. There is only one way to get it.