“Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will
be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will
never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a
spring of water welling up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give
me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw
water.”” (John 4:13–15, ESV)
Jacob’s well had been there for centuries, and it’s location
remains unquestionably known today. While its depth today pales in comparison to
its historic depth (likely due to debris and people tossing things into it) and
it appears dry, Jacob’s well had provided a constant source of water from which
people came to draw generation after generation. No one knows when it was
really dug, but the historical record has consistently pointed to this well as
being attributed to Jacob, being dug in the land given to Joseph and not far
from where Joseph’s bones were eventually buried. This well has had buildings erected
over it to mark its special significance and then had them torn down again by
conquerors to squelch its significance. This was not just any old well that
Jesus was sitting at when He chose to speak to this woman about giving her
living water. For those who had come year after year this well had already
proven itself to survive their own lives and the lives of those who had come
before them. But even for as long as this well had endured, its relief was only
temporary to those who drew from it.
It was at this well that Jesus continued to speak to the
Samaritan woman. He told her that she could continue to draw from this well as
did Jacob for himself and his livestock, but in doing that she would never find
true and lasting satisfaction from her thirst. As Jesus spoke the woman
remained focused on her physical thirst, but Jesus knew her true need and her
real thirst that ran much deeper and was in need of a more perfect solution.
The solution He was offering to her was one that would satisfy her soul for all
of eternity.
Speaking to Israel, the prophet Isaiah wrote, “if you pour
yourself out for the hungry and satisfy the desire of the afflicted, then shall
your light rise in the darkness and your gloom be as the noonday. And the Lord will guide you continually and
satisfy your desire in scorched places and make your bones strong; and you
shall be like a watered garden, like a spring of water, whose waters do not
fail.” (Isaiah 58:10–11, ESV) The prophet Jeremiah wrote about a coming time
when God would restore Israel. “Thus says the Lord
of hosts, the God of Israel: “Once more they shall use these words in the land
of Judah and in its cities, when I restore their fortunes: “ ‘The Lord bless you, O habitation of
righteousness, O holy hill!’ And Judah and all its cities shall dwell there
together, and the farmers and those who wander with their flocks. For I will
satisfy the weary soul, and every languishing soul I will replenish.””
(Jeremiah 31:23–25, ESV) And going back to Isaiah we read of that day when the
remnant of Israel recognizes Jesus as Lord, “You will say in that day: “I will
give thanks to you, O Lord, for
though you were angry with me, your anger turned away, that you might comfort
me. “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the
Lord God is my strength and my song, and he has become my
salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you
will say in that day: “Give thanks to the Lord,
call upon his name, make known his deeds among the peoples, proclaim that his
name is exalted. “Sing praises to the Lord,
for he has done gloriously; let this be made known in all the earth.” (Isaiah
12:1–5, ESV)
Comparing the wells to which people regularly went for their
daily water, the Old Testament is rich with pictures of God providing a well of
life that leads to great rejoicing. And as we look to the end of Scripture we
read in Revelation 21:6, “And he said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and
the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give from the
spring of the water of life without payment.” (Revelation 21:6, ESV)
Jesus went on to tell this woman that He was prepared to
offer to her the “water of life” and that He was willing to do this without
charge—as a free gift. But as we can see from her response she still was
focused on her pressing physical need and not the deeper one of her soul. There
remained with her a large disconnect, one which Jesus would dig deeper as we
continue to read the verses which follow. But for today, let’s consider just
how much we ourselves might live momentarily in the thirst of our desires. And
as we do this even consider how much more those we are around and who don’t
know Him really are living with thirsts that they have no idea how to satisfy.
For them their life is a continual pursuit of seeking ways to satisfy those
unmet desires, and for many it includes chasing from one disappointment to
another. But for those who have been given eternal life through salvation in
Jesus Christ, even us, we can sometimes see something looming over us or
enticing us apart from what we know to be true. This is the power of
temptation. It is when we are tempted by anything to look at the size of our
situation and not the size and faithfulness of our God. Sometimes we might even
have to endure some things for extremely long periods of time without a clear resolution
or tangible relief, but this is never to be confused with God turning His back
on us. He has promised that He will never do so, but that He would continue the
work that He began in us and that in Him we would be continually refreshed.
“Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you entirely; and
may your spirit and soul and body be preserved complete, without blame at the
coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will
bring it to pass.” (1 Thessalonians 5:23–24, NASB95) After my favorite verses
Proverbs 3:5-6, we go on to read, “Trust in the Lord
with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways
acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight.” … “It will be healing
to your body and refreshment to your bones.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, 8, NASB95)
Even as we speak to those who do not know the refreshment
that we receive from God, we can speak to them even in the midst of our own
trials of the hope that we have found. We can share of the relief that God has
shown us in times past and encourage them with the hope that compels us in
continual daily trust as we look forward to full and eternal satisfaction.
Jesus is showing us in these verses how He takes the daily issues of people and
turns them toward their looking to and having answered their greater need which
is eternal life and a relationship with the living God.
Prior to his concluding remarks to the church in
Ephesus and after speaking about the daily spiritual battles in which we
engage, the apostle Paul asked his readers to pray. This prayer was not one
that he might be steered clear of the battles, but that he might be bold to
make the most of the opportunities presented. We read, “With all prayer and
petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the
alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, and pray on my
behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make
known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in
chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.”
(Ephesians 6:18–20, NASB95)
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