Which Cup Will You Drink?
In Jeremiah 13, God, through Jeremiah, provided two parables to illustrate the coming destruction on Judah. Both are interesting, but I am going to focus on the 2nd parable: the parable of the wine jars.
Jeremiah 13:12-14
Therefore thou shalt speak unto them this word; Thus saith the Lord God of Israel, Every bottle shall be filled with wine: and they shall say unto thee, Do we not certainly know that every bottle shall be filled with wine?
Then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord, Behold, I will fill all the inhabitants of this land, even the kings that sit upon David’s throne, and the priests, and the prophets, and all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, with drunkenness.
And I will dash them one against another, even the fathers and sons together, saith the Lord: I will not pity, nor spare, nor have mercy, but destroy them.
The parable is small and simple enough. Basically, the jars represent the people of Judah and the wine represents drunkenness. All the people of Judah will be filled with drunkenness, and it is in their drunken stupor that God will destroy them.
Interestingly, the pride of the people are revealed in verse 12 when the people confidently say to Jeremiah that of course the jars would be filled with wine. It is likely that the people expected to always be “filled” most likely with blessings from God. So, I am sure it came as quite the surprise to see that God would fill them with drunkenness instead!
This passage reminded me of a common illustration God uses throughout the scripture which is the “Cup of Wrath”. It appears in the Old Testament and New Testament and is a major feature of Revelation. I am listing a few passages below which should provide a good picture of what the “Cup of Wrath” means.
And they shall drink, and be moved, and be mad, because of the sword that I will send among them.
Then took I the cup at the Lord‘s hand, and made all the nations to drink, unto whom the Lord had sent me:
Therefore thou shalt say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; Drink ye, and be drunken, and spue, and fall, and rise no more, because of the sword which I will send among you.
And it shall be, if they refuse to take the cup at thine hand to drink, then shalt thou say unto them, Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Ye shall certainly drink.
For, lo, I begin to bring evil on the city which is called by my name, and should ye be utterly unpunished? Ye shall not be unpunished: for I will call for a sword upon all the inhabitants of the earth, saith the Lord of hosts.
Revelation 17:1-6 (KJV)
17 And there came one of the seven angels which had the seven vials, and talked with me, saying unto me, Come hither; I will shew unto thee the judgment of the great whore that sitteth upon many waters:
With whom the kings of the earth have committed fornication, and the inhabitants of the earth have been made drunk with the wine of her fornication.
So he carried me away in the spirit into the wilderness: and I saw a woman sit upon a scarlet coloured beast, full of names of blasphemy, having seven heads and ten horns.
And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication:
And upon her forehead was a name written, Mystery, Babylon The Great, The Mother Of Harlots And Abominations Of The Earth.
And I saw the woman drunken with the blood of the saints, and with the blood of the martyrs of Jesus: and when I saw her, I wondered with great admiration.
There is none to guide her among all the sons whom she hath brought forth; neither is there any that taketh her by the hand of all the sons that she hath brought up.
These two things are come unto thee; who shall be sorry for thee? desolation, and destruction, and the famine, and the sword: by whom shall I comfort thee?
Thy sons have fainted, they lie at the head of all the streets, as a wild bull in a net: they are full of the fury of the Lord, the rebuke of thy God.
The cup of the wrath of God is associated with sin and, of course, God’s judgement. You see, sin is like wine. The more you drink, the more drunk you will become. The more you sin and live in sin, the more oblivious and belligerent you become. Your decision making becomes poor and you will always choose more sin. When you are drunk with sin, you reject God and you will draw God’s wrath.
When God gives a nation the “cup of wrath”, He is giving those people over to their sin and ultimately to their destruction. Being drunk can be fun but there is always a price to pay. Perhaps you will have a headache or regrets but drunkenness never leads to anything good. Sin is the same way. The nations who drink this cup believe that they are powerful and unstoppable because they are blinded in their drunkenness. But while in their drunken stupor, God will come with the sword and they will be destroyed.
However, we have a choice. We do not have to drink God’s wrath. We can choose instead what God offers to His children: living water. Just as we physically need to drink, everyone is spiritually thirsty but some of us will choose living water and some wrath (sin). As Jesus said is John 7:37, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink.” The world offers us wine which looks enticing and perhaps more fun, but Jesus offers eternal life! Which cup will you drink from?
Here are some passages that describe living water. It is unquestionably the better choice!
Isaiah 55:1-2
Ho, every one that thirsteth, come yet to the waters, and he that hath no money come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.
Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? And your labor for that which satisfieth not? Hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.
Psalm 42:1-2
As the hart panteth after the water brooks, so panteth my soul after thee, O God.
My soul thirsteth for God, for the living God; when shall I come and appear before God?
John 4:5-26
There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink.
(For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, asketh drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? For the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
Jesus answered and said unto her, if thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him and he would have given thee living water.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; from whence then hast thou that living water?
Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
John 7:37-38
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.
Revelation 21:6-7
And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely.
He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son.
Revelation 22:1
And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb.
As we can see from these passages, only Jesus Christ can give us this living water! Revelation makes it clear that we will see living water in the New Jerusalem and it is clearly tied to everlasting life.
So, how do we get this living water? 1) We believe on Jesus Christ: His death and resurrection and that He was the perfect sacrifice for our sin (John 7:37-38) and 2) We repent of our sin and turn to God: When the woman at the well asked Jesus to give her the living water, Jesus immediately had her acknowledge her sin and then worship Him (John 4:5-26).
Everyday, we must decide: what will we drink? Living water or God’s wrath? One comes with reward and the other with punishment.
Joshua 24:15
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the flood or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell; bust as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.
Do you have a question? Do you have something to add? Leave a comment below or on my contact page! I am more than happy to engage in friendly discussions. Thank you!