Cracked Cisterns Hold No Water

This Sunday's reading from Jeremiah 2:4-13 illustrates why he was such a pariah that he was thrown into a pit which some translate as a "cistern".

Hear the word of the Lord, O house of Jacob, and all the families of the house of Israel. Thus says the Lord:What wrong did your ancestors find in me   that they went far from me,and went after worthless things, and became worthless themselves?  They did not say, ‘Where is the Lord   who brought us up from the land of Egypt,who led us in the wilderness,   in a land of deserts and pits,in a land of drought and deep darkness,   in a land that no one passes through,   where no one lives?’  I brought you into a plentiful land   to eat its fruits and its good things.But when you entered you defiled my land,   and made my heritage an abomination.  The priests did not say, ‘Where is the Lord?’   Those who handle the law did not know me;the rulers* transgressed against me;   the prophets prophesied by Baal,   and went after things that do not profit.  Therefore once more I accuse you,says the Lord,   and I accuse your children’s children.  Cross to the coasts of Cyprus and look,   send to Kedar and examine with care;   see if there has ever been such a thing.  Has a nation changed its gods,   even though they are no gods?But my people have changed their glory   for something that does not profit.  Be appalled, O heavens, at this,   be shocked, be utterly desolate,says the Lord,  for my people have committed two evils:   they have forsaken me,the fountain of living water,   and dug out cisterns for themselves,cracked cisterns   that can hold no water. 

The imagery of a cracked cistern predates the "waterless clouds" of Jude 1:12 and idioms like "as worthless as a bucket that won't hold water".

Jerimiah would learn that the only thing a cracked cistern will hold is mire.

I would count those who try to silence the voice of Christianity, the proponents of a secular society, as builders of cracked cisterns, waterless clouds, and leaky buckets... worse than worthless.