耶二13 因为我的百姓，作了两件恶事，就是离弃我这活水的泉源，为自己凿出池子，是破裂不能存水的池子。

　　创二8~9 耶和华神……把……人安放在那里。耶和华神使各样的树从地里长出来，可以悦人的眼目，也好作食物；园子当中有生命树……。

　　在耶利米二章十三节，耶和华说到以色列人所犯两个基本的罪。第一个罪是离弃耶和华这活水的泉源、源头；第二个罪是为自己凿出破裂不能存水的池子。这第二个罪是不信靠神，却信靠自己，要作一些事为着自己的享受。这两个罪支配了全本耶利米书。

　　圣经的原则乃是：神不要祂的选民接受祂自己以外的任何事物作源头。神造人以后，将人安置在那表征神作生命的生命树跟前。神这样作，指明祂要人有分于生命树，而不是有分于别的。有分于生命树，就是接受神作我们独一的源头，作我们一切的源头（耶利米书生命读经，二五八页）。

　　Jer. 2:13 For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, to hew out for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns, which hold no water.

　　Gen. 2:8-9 …And there He put the man….And out of the ground Jehovah God caused to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food, as well as the tree of life in the middle of the garden…

　　In Jeremiah 2:13 Jehovah speaks concerning the two basic sins committed by the children of Israel. The first sin was forsaking Jehovah as the fountain, the source, of living waters; the second sin was hewing out for themselves broken cisterns that could not hold water. This second sin was a matter of not trusting in God but of trusting in themselves to do something for their own enjoyment. These two sins govern the entire book of Jeremiah.

　　The principle in the Bible is that God does not want His chosen people to take anything other than Himself as their source. After God created man, He placed him in front of the tree of life, which signifies God as life. By doing this God was indicating that He wanted man to partake of the tree of life, not anything else. To partake of the tree of life is to take God as our unique source, as our source of everything. (Life-study of Jeremiah, pp. 217-218)

　　罪就是离开神而凭着自己、为着自己作某些事。这正是以色列人所作的。他们离弃神这活水的泉源作他们的供应，并且按他们的意见，尽所能地凭自己作出一些东西，给自己享受。……罪就是离弃神而凭着自己、为着自己作某些事。这是全本圣经的原则。耶利米一再强调这原则，好叫我们印象深刻。

　　耶利米三十四至四十五章这段有十二章，给我们看见以色列在他们犯罪干犯耶和华上的顽梗。这段经文指明一件事—以色列离弃神这活水的源头、泉源。我们来想一想，以基大利的情况为例，虽然他忠信地照顾神的申言者耶利米（四十5~6），但他没有寻求主的话（13~14），因为这不是他的习惯。他没有以神作他的源头，与神是一，也没有接受出于神的一切。他若是这样的人，他所作的第一件事，必定是接受神的话（耶利米书生命读经，二五八页）。

　　生命树的原则是倚靠。……你若有这位活神和你一同驾驶，……祂就是你的活地图，也是你的活向导。你甚至可以停下来让祂驾驶。你可以靠近祂坐着，享受祂的驾驶，并且说，“……主啊，你替我开车。”

　　我们可以把这原则应用在以弗所五章婚姻的教训上。所有作妻子的基督徒都晓得，以弗所五章告诉她们要服从自己的丈夫。所有作丈夫的基督徒也知道，那处经节告诉他们当爱自己的妻子。然而，妻子和丈夫都达不到这些经文的要求，因为他们把以弗所五章当作知识树，而不是当作生命树。你们作丈夫和作妻子的，不能照着知识树而活，乃应当凭生命树而活。妻子要说，“主啊，我不晓得当怎样服从我的丈夫，即使知道，我也作不来。主啊，算了！我不靠自己的努力或力量来达到这要求。主耶稣，我只停留在你的同在里，我要住在你里面，一天二十四小时享受你。”如果这样，服从就自然的从你里面流出来。这就是你享受基督作你里面的生命而有的涌流，这就是倚靠生命树（创世记生命读经，二○一、二○三至二○五页）。

　　参读：在神与人关系里生机的联结，第一至二章。

　　Sin is a matter of leaving God and doing something by ourselves and for ourselves. This is exactly what the children of Israel did. They forsook God as the fountain of living waters for their supply, and, according to their opinion, they did whatever they could to work out something by themselves for their enjoyment ….Sin is to forsake God and to do something by ourselves and for ourselves. This is the principle throughout the Bible, and Jeremiah repeated this principle again and again so that we would be impressed.

　　Jeremiah 34—45 is a section of twelve chapters showing us the stubbornness of Israel in sinning against Jehovah. In these chapters one thing is made clear—that Israel has forsaken God as the source, the fountain, of living waters. Consider, for example, the situation with Gedaliah. Although he was faithful in caring for Jeremiah, God’s prophet (40:5-6), he did not seek the Lord’s word (vv. 13-14), because this was not his habit. He did not take God as his source to be one with Him and to receive whatever issued from Him. If he had been such a person, the first thing he would have done would have been to receive the word of God. (Life-study of Jeremiah, p. 218)

　　The principle of the tree of life is dependence. If you have the living God as your co-driver,…He will be your living map and your living guide. Actually, you will even cease being the driver and let Him drive. You may sit near Him and enjoy His driving, saying,”…Lord, You drive in my place.” We may apply this principle to the teaching about marriage in Ephesians 5. All Christian wives know the verse in Ephesians 5 which tells them to submit to their own husbands. All Christian husbands know the verse which tells them to love their wives. Nevertheless, wives and husbands fail to fulfill the requirements of these verses because they take Ephesians 5 as the tree of knowledge, not as the tree of life. Husbands and wives, you should not live according to the tree of knowledge. You must live by the tree of life. As a wife you should say, “Lord, I don’t know how to submit to my husband. Lord, even if I do know, I cannot do it. I will forget about it, Lord. I won’t use my effort or energy to fulfill this requirement. Lord Jesus, I simply stay in Your presence. I want to abide in You and enjoy You twenty-four hours a day.” If you do this, submission spontaneously will flow out of your inner being. It will be the overflow of your enjoyment of Christ as your inner life. This is dependence on the tree of life. (Life-study of Genesis, pp. 162, 164-165)

　　Further Reading: CWWL, 1993, vol. 2, “The Organic Union in God’s Relationship with Man,” chs. 1-2