 |
| If you prefer, there is an easy to read and print READER version RIGHT HERE! |
18 And Jacob came to Shalem, a city of Shechem, which is in the land
of Canaan, when he came from Padanaram; and pitched his tent before the city. 19 And he bought a parcel of a
field, where he had spread his tent, at the hand of the children of Hamor,
Shechem's father, for an hundred pieces of money. 20 And he erected there an altar,
and called it Elelohe-Israel. (Gen 33:18-20)
Water is that which sustains life. There are two, perhaps three, kinds of
water. There is physical water of pure property that sustains our physical
bodies; and there is spiritual water (Water of Life) that sustains our spirits;
and then there is the poisoned water of Satan that rots away life and soul.
Jacob purchased a parcel of ground outside the gates of Sychar (anciently
called Sheckhem) and he dug a well thereon. Nearby the well, he also erected an
altar to the Lord for the Lord is the source of Life and the Water of Life. It
was many hundreds of years later that the true Water of Life came to that Well
of Jacob. According to the computations of Bishop Ussher, it was more than
1,700 years later that Christ came to that same Well.
5 Then cometh he to a city of
Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave
to his son Joseph. 6 Now Jacob's well was there.
Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it
was about the sixth hour. 7 There cometh a woman of
Samaria to draw water (John 4:5-7)
It is characteristic of wells that those who
come, come out of thirst and need. Each of us is born into the world with a
thirst. Sometimes those thirsts are for the wrong things – alcohol, illicit
sex, inordinate wealth, etc. But the thirst which is most essential to satisfy
is that which emerges from the dry deserts and plains of a broken and contrite
heart.
It was water of Jacob’s Well for which the woman came, and it was the Water of
Life with which she left that Well.
Situated approximately thirty miles north of Jerusalem in the hill country of
Ephraim is the ruins of the ancient walled city of Shechem of the Old
Testament, Sychar in the New Testament, and today known as Nablus. It is the
burial site of Joseph. Beneath the foundations of Shechem there runs an
Underground River which carries its nourishing waters to the distant
pasturelands, and it is this water course from which the water for Jacob’s Well
is supplied. The waters of the river run totally unnoticed beneath the busy
commercial streets and shops of flourishing Shechem during its active workday
of barter and trade. But once the oxcarts and trampling feet of merchants and
patrons have been stilled by the curtain of night, one can very plainly hear
the gurgling ripples of the stream deep below the foundation of the city as it
hurries along to its indefinite destination. But its waters come from deep
beneath the surface, and are of the earth. Though pure and wholesome for the
body, that water can offer no benefit to the soul.
But how like the still and silent draw of the deep waters of the Holy Ghost are
the waters of this Underground River, and it was these waters from above of the
Holy Ghost that quenched the great thirst and convicted the woman of Samaria as
she spoke with the Fountainhead of those Waters of Life.
The woman came thirsting for the water of the earth that would not finally
satisfy, but discovered the Water of Heaven that satisfies completely and
forever. Quite often in our busy
lives of social, commercial and professional activity, we are unable to hear
the soft, sweet voice of God calling to us over the tumult of life. It is at
those busy times that we need Him most - and are sadly unable to hear. Our
ignorance often separates us from recognizing His Presence just as the men on
the Road to Emmaus were ignorant of to whom they conversed until He broke the
Bread and gave to them.
The wells of earth are dug by the strenuous labors of men; but the Well of the
Waters of Life are purchased at the cost of the Blood of the Lamb of God.
What must we do to enter again into the sanctuary of the Almighty?
Simple! Be still, and know that I am
God. (Psalm
46:10).
Sometimes we simply need to close our minds, hearts and ears to the rush of
daily life, stop what we are doing in reading or converse, and commune with the
Majesty from on high. He never shouts, screams or intrudes without our
invitation; because He is a perfect Gentleman (Jesus es el Senor - Jesus is a Gentleman). as our good Spanish
brothers love to aver). Hearken unto this, O Job: stand still, and consider
the wondrous works of God (Job 37:14).
Remember the call of God to young Samuel? He called three times in the night.
Samuel heard clearly each call, but aging and restless Eli did not hear. (I Sam 3:4-15). And poor dejected Elijah, having given up all hope, God
commanded to go and stand upon the mount before the Lord. Elijah
witnessed a great and strong wind which rent the mountains and broke in pieces
the rocks, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after, an earthquake, but the
Lord was not in the earthquake; and after, a fire, but the Lord was not in the
fire; and after the fire, a STILL SMALL VOICE.
God does not speak to us in the heated shouts and elevated voices of everyday
life. He speaks not through the twisted and tortured notes of heavy metal
(Christian?) music. Not in the peals of drum and discordant voice. He comes
softly! He resorts (as he always has) not to the sin-filled and busy main
street, but to the GARDEN. And as Moses did, we must remove our spiritual shoes
when we stand on Holy Ground.
The Holy Spirit is forever that silent, bountiful stream of Living Water that
courses ever near us, but which we often neglect to hear or heed. It is a Well
whose base is fixed in Heaven – not at the bottom of a hole in the ground.
Our present generation wants ACTION! Entertainment - even in worship! But they
are a sad lot who seek God in vaunted words, music and deeds of modern society
which, it seems, many of our churches attempt to emulate. Worship in many of
America's churches is centered on man and his word - not the Word of God or
praise to Him. What does God think of such churches? He looks at the fruit
of the tree itself. Have our youth abandoned the Old Paths wherein our fathers
walked? Surely, they have. An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there
shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonas: 40 For as Jonas was three
days and three nights in the whale's belly; so shall the Son of man be three
days and three nights in the heart of the earth. (Matt 12:39-40) Please do not simply allow these words to go in one ear and out
the other. What did Christ mean? He meant that His death, burial, and
resurrection are sufficient for us to know that He is our risen Lord, Redeemer,
and King. We do not require signs and wonders performed at the hands of unholy
men to convince us – so stop running here and yon to see so-called wonders to
convince you.
If you want to hear the voice of God, be near to Him who first loved you;
follow close on as a lamb whose vision is short-sighted; seek Him in the quiet
sanctuary of His Garden. Seek Him in your closet of prayer, not in the
boisterous 'noise' of some modern worship services. The sound of His voice is
like the Underground River of Living Water of ancient Shechem. To hear Him, OUR
feet must stop, OUR voices must be stilled, if we are to hear HIS. Thoughts of
the market place, the bazaar, the social gatherings, must be put aside. We
empty our hearts of worldly lusts and turn them to the Source of all Mercy and
Grace.
Our Lord Jesus Christ is a Mighty River of Life. That River is present in the
Paradise of God according to God’s Holy Word. But Christ is not only that River
in its course, but the very Fountainhead thereof. 13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be
ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because
they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. (Jer 17:13) His Water of Life gushes forth from the Fountainhead (which He
is) and waters the Tree of Life in the Garden of God (which He also is). 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. 2 In the midst of the street of
it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare
twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of
the tree were for the healing of the nations. 3 And there shall be no more
curse: but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it; and his servants
shall serve him: 4 And they shall see his face;
and his name shall be in their foreheads. 5 And there shall be no night there; and they need no candle,
neither light of the sun; for the Lord God giveth them light: and they shall
reign for ever and ever. (Rev 22:1-5)
If this life is all there is for you, you are destined to be the dust that
leads to the Gates of Hell; but if you seek that Water of Life which our Lord
Jesus offers, you shall become the watered fruits of Heaven. Dry dust bears no
life, but watered fruit is the currency of Heaven.
