Jeremiah 2:11-13
Hath a nation changed their gods, which are yet no gods? but my people have changed their glory for that which doth not profit.  Be astonished, O ye heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid, be ye very desolate, saith the LORD.  For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.

The nations around Israel were like die-hard sports fans.  These kinds of fans stick with their team no matter what.  They support them in the high times and the low times.  They are dedicated and passionate, putting all their energy into that team.  They would never forsake them for anyone else.  The heathen nations were worshiping false gods, but they were faithful to them.  When another nation came along with a new god, they didn’t chase after that one, but stuck with the one they had followed all their lives.  Those were their gods, and they weren’t giving them up for anything.

But somehow Israel wasn’t so rooted in their faithfulness to God—the only actual and true God.  Their faithfulness was questionable at best.  Their dedication to Him faltered time and time again.  And they are even willing to trade Him in for these other gods that are just worthless stones and idols.  This was the final step of their backsliding—completely abandoning God for something else, exchanging the true God for false ones.

What a criticism this was by God to His people.  The other nations could be so faithful to gods that weren’t gods at all, and His own people would forsake Him for them.  How fickle we can sometimes be.  How easy it is for us to change our allegiance from one thing to something totally different.  How foolish it was to exchange the source of ever-flowing water for a broken pot that could hold no water and give no life.  How foolish to turn away from the almighty, supreme and sovereign God of all for some broken shards.

How wretched it is to turn aside from the true God for anything else.  But have we done that in our lives?  Have we allowed things to become idols in our lives that pull us away from God?  Have we been more faithful to a god that is no god than we have been to the true and living God?  Or have we dedicated our lives to Him with the same kind of passion those other nations had for their gods?  Will we refuse to forsake Him for anything else?  Will we refuse to chase after every shiny thing that comes along and simply be faithful to the God who is so faithful to us?