Going To The Well Alone

Intro: Today I want to talk to you about going to the well alone. The steps from a sinner to a saint.

I. Outcast!

A. From the text we are introduced to a Samaritan woman whose heritage is less than one to be desired.

1. By that statement let us look into the past of the Samaritans. During the exile of the Jews which happened in three phases expanding over a period of 19 years from 605 B.C. to 586 B.C. The Jews were deported from their homeland by the Babylonians under the reign of King Nebuchadnezzar into Babylon, where they remained for 70 years before being liberated by the Medes and Persians under the reign of King Cyrus who let them go home and rebuild there lives as well as the homeland.

2. But during the exile the Jews broke another one of God’s ordinance on marriage by intermarrying with pagans. As was outlined in the books of the law or Torah.

3. So during the 70 years in exile a new set of people were being born from the intermarrying of the Jews to the Assyrians, Babylonians, and other pagans that resulted in what is now called the Samaritans.

4. They were a despised people because they were “half breeds” if you please, unaccepted by the Jews because they were half of another culture that represented and reminded them of a dark time in history for the Jews not only because of the destruction of there homeland but it was also the destruction of the Temple. Also the people of there other halves would have nothing to do with them because of there ties to the Jews.

5. So in all these people had no belonging what so ever they were outcast.

B. Not only was this woman an outcast from her heritage, but also from her own people because of her less than desired life style.

1. She was in all respects a full-blown sinner; she was a well-known adulteress and harlot. Were as most women were looking forward to having a husband she had already had 5 and the 6th wasn’t even her husband. She was garbage and filth by all respects of the time; she was not pure in heritage or lifestyle.

C. Which given all this may explain why she came to the well alone. By Jewish tradition your older single woman would go to the well it was also to our modern water cooler where one could catch up with current events and share stories with one another. For these women I could see them laughing and conversing over how great it will be to be married and raise up a family; even speaking of how romantic it would be to find there true love waiting for them there at Jacob’s Well as Rachael had found Jacob at a well. Just the thoughts of the similarities took them to giggles and sighs of the true romance they hoped to find.

1. This task of going to the well was one that was done at the beginning and end of the day. For the Samaritan women she chooses to go at the sixth hour or midday which was the hottest point of the day; one that was spent in the cool of the shade until the blistering heat would subside a few degrees where one could continue there daily chore. But I believe she chose this inconvenient hour because of the lack of those that would be working especially in the task of gathering water. She probably wanted to stay as far away as she could from others in fear of the stares and whispers she would get from the other women a reminder of her life style and who she was in that town as the local harlot.

II. But in spite of who she was, she like the rest of them needed a drink.

A. I can see her now making her way to the well, with her water pot upon her head in hopes to shield the heat and light of a midday blaze. As she gets closer to the well she notices a silhouette of a man through the glare of the heat sitting by the well.

1. Her mind begins to wonder at the sight, who is this man by the well? He shouldn’t be here, he doesn’t even have a water pot, and he shouldn’t even at be at here in this heat.

2. Then an apprehensive fear takes over, this man knows my reputation and probably knows I come to this well the same time every day. He’s not looking for water (You got that right sister), but for me!

3. It seems like all these men want these days is to gratify themselves at my expense, but on the other hand maybe this one is different, great now I sound like those silly girls that come here in hopes of finding a man, oh well it is true that I’m tired of the guy I’m with now. Who knows maybe number 7 is the one? Maybe even with this one I’ll leave this disreputable lifestyle and clean up.