Jesus calls the quickening gift of the Spirit “living water” because mere human nature is . . . barren of all virtue by the crimes of the devil. - Cyril of Alexandria(1)
In reference to the arrival of the Messiah, the prophet Isaiah declared, “For waters shall burst forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert” (35:6). Jesus entered this world bringing with Him a stream of spiritual abundance that would convey life to dry and thirsty souls. He came to wash away the filth of sin and bestow eternity to those who would believe in Him, in order that they might become as beautiful desert blossoms. Isaiah prophesied, “Behold, God is my salvation, I will trust and not be afraid; for the Lord is my strength and song; He also has become my salvation. Therefore with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:2-3).
The salvation from sin that God wants to give through His Son, Jesus Christ, is likened to water, for water is vitally important to all life on earth. For example, a human being can survive almost two months without food, but can’t survive a full week without water; and a plant will wither and die if water is withheld, even if it’s rooted in rich soil, because water is required to make the soil nutrients available to plant cells. Without water all living things on earth will die; and in a similar manner, without the water that comes from the well of salvation through Jesus Christ, all human beings will die a spiritual death, for the Bible says, “The wages of sin is death” (Rm 6:23a).
Those who are believers have tasted that the Lord is good (Ps 34:8). They know the truth about life in Christ; but even so, the devil can sometimes muddy the water and cause pain and confusion, as he attempts to pollute the living water within us. He wants believers to become tainted by the same dirt and filth from which they have arisen. If we feel as though the very life is being sucked out of us and we don’t know why, then we’ll soon understand as we discover how Satan is attempting to contaminate our well. We’ll also come to learn how to clean out our well once it’s become stopped up, in order to regain the joy of our salvation and our spiritual vitality.
A Well of Living Water (John 4:14)
The Bible compares the salvation bestowed on believers to life-sustaining water. In Revelation, John said that in heaven there will be “a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rv 22:1; cf. Ps 46:4), and that anyone can partake of this life-giving water right now, saying, “Whoever desires, let him take the water of life freely” (Rv 22:17). This is the same message that Christ proclaimed to the woman at the well. In John 4:14, Jesus said:
But whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life (John 4:14).
You might be familiar with the account behind these words. Jesus was passing though Samaria and stopped to rest at Jacob’s well (Jn 4:4-6), and there He saw a woman approaching, and He asked her to assist Him in drawing up some water. The woman was astonished and questioned how Jesus, being a Jew, would dare associate with her since the Jews had no dealings with Samaritans (4:7-9).
Jesus replied, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, ‘Give Me a drink,’ you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water” (Jn 4:11). Jesus was telling the woman that if she would only ask Him for salvation from sin that He would grant her request. She had within her a spiritual thirst that could only be quenched by the eternal fountain of living water that never runs dry.
Jesus utilized this opportunity at Jacob’s well to provide a lesson, in order to reinforce the fact of how He longs to grant people eternal life. If someone decides to give his or her heart to Jesus Christ, then their new life in Him will be eternal. It will be as a constantly flowing well that never runs dry.
A well was “a deep shaft, bored far under the rocky surface . . . which contained water which percolated through the [rock] strata in its sides.”(2) A well was dug down to the depth of the water table and would therefore be constantly replenished by the flowing groundwater as long as there wasn’t a drought.
Water didn’t have to be hauled in by people and poured into the well. It entered the well freely and no human effort was required to place it there. Eternal life in Christ Jesus is obtained in a similar fashion. God’s grace is freely given, it’s always with us, and we do not have to work to replenish it.
Stopping Up Your Well (2 Kings 3:19)
We have within us a well of living water and the devil doesn’t like it. In Hebrew, the word satan means “adversary” and “enemy.”(3) Satan is definitely our adversary and he wants to stop up our well. In Hebrew the verb satam (or satan) means “to lay snares,”(4) but it’s also translated as, “stop up” and “close off.”(5) We find the verb satam used in reference to stopping up wells during battle, such as what we read about in 2 Kings 3:19, which says:
Also you shall attack every fortified city and every choice city, and shall cut down every good tree, and stop up every spring of water, and ruin every good piece of land with stones (2 Kings 3:19).
The segment of this verse that I want to emphasize is stopping up springs of water. The King James Version translates it as, “stop all wells of water.” Both springs and wells represent an unending and continually flowing supply of water. Stopping up the wells of the enemy was a warfare strategy used frequently in Old Testament times; a strategy that resulted in the opposing forces becoming weakened from thirst and choosing to surrender.(6)
Those who know Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord have within them a well of living water flowing continually, which provides a close relationship with both the Father and Son through the Holy Spirit. This well bestows strength, spiritual sustenance, and energy to withstand the attacks of the enemy. However, when Satan gets a chance he will try to plug that well in an attempt to defeat believers.
We’re in a spiritual battle against an unseen enemy called the devil. Paul warned how believers are in a daily struggle against Satan and his demons (Eph 6:11-12). He also said that we must suit up for battle with the armor of God (6:13), revealing how we’re definitely at war. It’s vital to become alert to the enemy’s tactics; and one of his schemes is to stop up our well and cut off our access to the water of life and spiritual sustenance.
So, what are some things that Satan will use to stop up your well? First of all, he will use stones. Joyce Meyer says, “The stones of worry, self-pity, and depression - all of these things - are Satan’s strategy to stop up your well. When your soul is full of these stones, it hinders the flow of God’s Spirit within you.”(7)
Secondly, he will use dirt. Meyer states, “The dirt of judgment, hatred, bitterness, resentment or unforgiveness - the dirt of jealously and competition. All of these things will definitely stop up your well and hinder the flow of righteousness, peace and joy”(8) that God so desires for you to have.
Many believers have allowed Satan to stop up their wells. They have no joy or peace in their lives, and they certainly don’t have the energy to fight during the face of trials and opposition that life hurls at them each and every day. Meyer says, “God wants to unstop your well! He desires that the river of life in you flow freely.”(9) Jesus wants you to experience the renewing energy of His living water!
Replacing Your Well with a Cistern (Jeremiah 2:13)
A major problem often exhibited in the life of a believer whom Satan is attacking with the intention of stopping up their well, is that the individual will give up on the idea of trying to clean out his or her well.
Maybe the person has grown tired and weary, or perhaps is complaining that it’s just too hard to dig out the life-giving water. Perhaps the individual hasn’t drawn close enough to the Lord to find any real value in reopening their well, or their relationship with Jesus Christ. Whatever the problem might be, it results in the believer forsaking God and hewing out his or her own cistern. In Jeremiah 2:13, the Lord said:
For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns - broken cisterns that can hold no water (Jeremiah 2:13).
A cistern was much different from a well. It was “a subterranean reservoir for storing water, which was collected from rainfall” through a system of gutters and manmade channels.(10) Not only did a cistern hold collected rainwater, but it also stored water that was hauled in from other locations and filled by the painstaking labor of people.
Unlike a well, which is continually being replenished without any human effort, a cistern requires the effort of people in order to keep it filled. Spiritually speaking, a cistern is man’s substitute for God’s well of living water. It’s a spiritual replacement that the individual hopes and believes will become much better than the well that God has provided. When Satan attacks and stops up our well then we might be tempted to go out and construct our own cistern.
Perhaps we’ve become disappointed by some bad experience in life and have become angry at God, and we feel that He’s not there for us. Maybe we’ve lost our faith in His provision and have tried to take matters into our own hands. When we feel this way we can begin living apart from God, attempting to fill our empty heart with earthly possessions and the lusts and passions of this world.
There are two problems that we’ll encounter should we dig our own cistern: First, our cistern won’t be continually replenished on a daily basis by natural means; therefore, we’ll have to work really hard in our attempt at finding satisfaction. Secondly, the Lord says the cistern that we build will be cracked and flawed and continually leaking. When our leaky life becomes depleted of the living water, then we’ll wind up spiritually dry and dead on the inside.
God’s Word Will Unstop Your Well (Proverbs 16:22a, 18:4b)
If our well becomes plugged, the solution is not to construct a cistern. What we need to do is clean out and unstop our well. So, how is this accomplished? Well, listen closely as I read Proverbs 16:22a and 18:4b consecutively, or back-to-back:
“Understanding is a wellspring of life to him who has it,” [and] “The wellspring of wisdom is a flowing brook” (Proverbs 16:22a, 18:4b).
We can’t unstop our well by poking and digging at it from the outside. I recall a time in seminary when I worked on the grounds crew, and my coworkers and I were directed to unstop a manhole. We tried to extract the debris from the top using our shovels, but they were ineffective at the steep angle. The job could have only been accomplished by climbing down into the filth. Since the manhole was technically on city property we elected to delegate the task to the city workers!
We can’t clean our well all by ourselves, for the job is too difficult and dirty. Someone else must do it, and that Someone is Jesus Christ; and He does so by cleaning from within in what’s called “the wellspring.” Allow me to share an illustration that demonstrates the cleansing power of the wellspring:
It is said that at St. Margaret’s Bay, in the southeast of England, there is a well that is always covered by the sea at high tide. Strangely enough, however, its waters remain fresh and pure, uncontaminated by the briny waters of the sea. Fed from the hills above, it has a constant supply of fresh water pouring into it, which effectively prevents the ocean from flowing in.(11)
In order for our well to become unstopped there must be a continual supply of fresh water feeding our soul at all times, to flush out the garbage and filth of the world that’s been tossed in by the devil. So, how can we receive this constant supply of pure and fresh life-giving water? What can make the water of life begin to flow again within our dry and thirsty soul?
There are two key words found in these verses: “understanding” and “wisdom.” According to Proverbs, understanding and wisdom are gained through instruction in the ways of the Lord (1:2-3). Therefore, the teachings found within the Bible are a flowing brook which provides the wellspring of life. We read in Psalm 1:1-3, “Blessed is the man . . . [whose] delight is in the law of the Lord, and in His law he meditates day and night. He shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that brings forth its fruit in its season, whose leaf also shall not wither.”
When we read and study the Bible, we will become as a tree that has sunken its roots deeply into the ground. The main taproot of many trees will descend all the way until it reaches the water table where it will receive a continual supply of fresh water to keep its leaves from withering. I have observed this firsthand. I remember how one time when I was cave exploring, I entered a passageway where the roots of trees were actually coming through cracks in the ceiling, and I could observe how they had worked their way down to the stream in the bottom of the passageway. When we immerse ourselves in the Word of God then we’re being continually renewed from within.
Time of Reflection
This evening, if you’re a Christian, I want to encourage you to seek to reopen the well of living water that you received from Jesus Christ on the day of your salvation. Do not let the painful stones that Satan has hurled at you separate you from the life-giving water that can only be found in the Lord. Do not try to dig your own cistern. If you do, then you’ll only be left empty, frustrated, and worn out from trying to find fulfillment on your own. Apart from Jesus you can do nothing, and you’ll be left barren and unfulfilled. So, start seeking the Lord again by looking in His Holy Word, and then the sins in your life will be flushed out and you’ll be renewed and restored in the sight of the Father.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Savior and Lord, then you’ve never tasted the springs of living water that Jesus promises to those who know Him. All you have is your leaky cistern, and all you presently are is empty, dry and dead. If you’re seeking fulfillment in life, it can be found in Jesus Christ. What you have to do is believe in Him and confess Him as Savior and Lord.
NOTES
(1) Cyril of Alexandria, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture, John 1-10 (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2006), p. 150.
(2) Easton’s Bible Dictionary, on Logos 2.1 CD-ROM (Oak Harbor, WA: 1996).
(3) ASA/CSCA NewsLetter, vol. 39, no. 3, May/June 1997: http://www.asa3.org/ASA/topics/NewsLetter90s/MAYJUN97.html (Accessed March 26, 2010).
(4) Ibid.
(5) “Satam,” Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament, vol. 10 (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 1999), p. 359.
(6) Joyce Meyer, Enjoying Where You Are On the Way To Where You Are Going (Tulsa, OK: Harrison House, 1996), p. 125.
(7) Ibid., pp. 125-126.
(8) Ibid., p. 126.
(9) Ibid., p. 126.
(10) J. C. Whitcomb, “Cistern,” New Bible Dictionary (Wheaton, IL: InterVarsity, 1991), p. 210.
(11) P. L. Tan, Encyclopedia of 7700 Illustrations, on Logos Scholar’s Edition CD-ROM (Garland, TX: Bible Communications, 1979).
