At the well

In a hot, dry country, a well which sinks into the earth and delivers fresh water for life is precious. People gathered to a well for community and for sustenance.

Eliezer stood at the well outside of Nahor, asking God for help. When Rebekah came to the well, this trusted servant of Abraham asked for a drink. Her response confirmed that she was the chosen one, the bride of Isaac.

A few years later, Jacob stood at a well wondering aloud why the sheep were being brought in to water in mid-day. It was there he met Rachel, his future bride.

When Moses fled Egypt, he came to a well and watched the daughters of the priest of Midian come to draw water for their flocks. He defended them against other shepherds, not realizing that his future wife was among those daughters.

Jesus came to the well at Sychar in Samaria, tired and thirsty. When a woman approached at mid-day to draw water, he asked for a drink.

Probably you know the story. A revival began in Samaria as a result of an interchange between the divine and a stained lowly woman.

This woman had gone through five husbands and was currently living with a man who was not her husband. She drew water at noon to avoid the morning crowd and its cold shoulder. Even though marital relations had not gone well for her, she had not abandoned male companionship. She obviously enjoyed a man’s presence and was willing to defy convention for one.

Jesus approached her.

Eliezer found a wife for Isaac at a well. Jacob found Rachel at a well. Moses met Zipporah at a well. Brides were sometimes found at a well.

Followers of Jesus are called the bride of Christ. Jesus sought a bride. As the Samaritan woman revealed that she knew of the Messiah, the longed-for bridegroom, Jesus disclosed his true identity: I am he.

Look at the marks this woman had against her. She was a woman, a Samaritan, an adultress. She wasn’t our idea of the bride of Christ. She was stained, lowly, outcast.

The bride of Jesus doesn’t need a clean pedigree or a clean slate. What did Jesus look for in his bride? He wanted one simple thing. He required that his bride would worship in spirit and truth. (John 4:24)

“Those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life." John 4:14