I had decided that it was time to go over some of my other blogging endeavors and when the thought occurred to me about drinking deeply from the well, that is the living water of Christ. I wanted to rewrite about the woman at the well. Sometimes, for teaching purposes only, I give the unnamed women of the Bible a name. I have used Mayim, Hebrew for water, for her, however, she was a Samaritan.
The people of Samaria were disliked by the Jews, but many of us can relate to this woman because Jesus went out of His way to help her. Has He ever done that for you, just showed up when you were so thirsty for a taste of His living water? Even the cup of cold water given a stranger, He remembers. And every word sown in love.
This woman was shunned by the others, she could not draw water until the others left, whether by law or just her choice, either way, she was frowned on and detested. Imagine her finding Jesus sitting on Jacob’s well. And He asked her for water. He was thirsty, it was not the route He would have had to take, but He does go out of His way, even for one person.
You may want to go back and read about Jacob’s well that was filled with stones by enemies. We feel that way, don’t we? Has someone been filling your spiritual well with stones? The devil with his lies, friends, neighbors, people teaching you wrongly? Jacob dug more wells, but Jesus can roll away the stones, I believe He could have at the resurrection, simply pushed away the stone.
Think about that, Jesus’ power knocked guards off their feet in the Garden of Gethsemane, when His sweat became as blood, a sign of heartbreak. The Holy Spirit had angels to minister Him, He even healed an ear, so could He not have been resurrected and simply pushed away a stone.
I want you to grasp not only the plight of this woman but the power and peace of Christ. Unlike Hagar, dying of thirst with her son, she was a woman with many husbands and the man she was with was not her husband. Jesus shocked her to the core with that knowledge and yet something about Him was unlike these other men. She believed He could give her living water, a new life, put His Spirit on her, ( the Holy Spirit did not indwell believers until after Pentecost ) and save her from her sins.
She may or may not have been a prostitute, it was the custom of the day, that women were passed to relatives after the death of a husband but she was in an adulterous relationship whether by choice or persuasion. She did not have options as women do today, and yet many of them continue in promiscuity, perhaps not realizing that Jesus has gone out of His way for them to have a chance to drink for the well of life, He even went so far as to give His life on a cross.
Do we simply sip from the cup of cold water that is offered, accept the crumbs from the Master’s table? Neither the woman at the well nor the Syrophoenician woman were Jewesses, yet both had their lives changed by Jesus. Why? They both dropped their guard and pretenses in His presence, and were accepted by His grace as they believed. Their souls cleansed by the washing of the water of the Word.
Now, the other story that comes to mind is is that of Rebekah at the well. She had servants to draw water but drew it herself for Isaac and his caravan. That is how she became daughter in law to Abraham. When we are born again, we are also, no matter our nationality, spiritual children, descendants of Abraham.
Jesus told a crowd that woman the who was bent over, bound by satan, deserved healing as a daughter. She too, as many woman most certainly did, drank deeply from the well of living water and was healed and delivered. It is time for us to be. I encourage you to study the women of the Bible, not only on my blog but others. There are plenty of good posts and studies. Now, let’s look to the Word and the Living Word Jesus in order to allow that water from the depths of His love to flow. But here is the story of the woman at the well.
Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Please give me a drink.” He was alone at the time because his disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised, for Jews refuse to have anything to do with Samaritans. She said to Jesus, “You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. Why are you asking me for a drink?”
Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
Jesus replied, “Anyone who drinks this water will soon become thirsty again. But those who drink the water I give will never be thirsty again. It becomes a fresh, bubbling spring within them, giving them eternal life.”
“Please, sir,” the woman said, “give me this water! Then I’ll never be thirsty again, and I won’t have to come here to get water.” “Go and get your husband,” Jesus told her. “I don’t have a husband,” the woman replied.
Jesus said, “You’re right! You don’t have a husband— for you have had five husbands, and you aren’t even married to the man you’re living with now. You certainly spoke the truth!”
“Sir,” the woman said, “you must be a prophet. So tell me, why is it that you Jews insist that Jerusalem is the only place of worship, while we Samaritans claim it is here at Mount Gerizim, where our ancestors worshiped?”
Jesus replied, “Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. 23But the time is coming—indeed it’s here now—when true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. The Father is looking for those who will worship Him that way. For God is Spirit, so those who worship Him must worship in spirit and in truth.”*
The woman said, “I know the Messiah is coming—the one who is called Christ. When he comes, he will explain everything to us.” Then Jesus told her, “I Am the Messiah!”
Just then his disciples came back. They were shocked to find him talking to a woman, but none of them had the nerve to ask, “What do you want with her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” The woman left her water jar beside the well and ran back to the village, telling everyone, “Come and see a man who told me everything I ever did! Could He possibly be the Messiah?” So the people came streaming from the village to see Him. John 4:7-30 New Living
Rebecca Jones / Ron Lach Pexels
- although this a not capitalized, it can be that He not only mean worship in our spirit and the truth but in the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of Truth, John 16:13