s went to buy food.
The Jews and the Samaritans were bitter enemies, and as far as
possible avoided all dealing with each other. To trade with the Samaritans
in case of necessity was indeed counted lawful by the rabbis; but
all social intercourse with them was condemned. A Jew would not
borrow from a Samaritan, nor receive a kindness, not even a morsel
of bread or a cup of water. The disciples, in buying food, were acting
in harmony with the custom of their nation. But beyond this they did
not go. To ask a favor of the Samaritans, or in any way seek to benefit
them, did not enter into the thought of even Christ’s disciples.
As Jesus sat by the well side, He was faint from hunger and thirst.
The journey since morning had been long, and now the sun of noontide
beat upon Him. His thirst was increased by the thought of the cool,
refreshing water so near, yet inaccessible to Him; for He had no rope
nor water jar, and the well was deep. The lot of humanity was His, and
He waited for someone to come to draw.
A woman of Samaria approached, and seeming unconscious of His
presence, filled her pitcher with water. As she turned to go away, Jesus
asked her for a drink. Such a favor no Oriental would withhold. In the
East, water was called “the gift of God.” To offer a drink to the thirsty
[184] traveler was held to be a duty so sacred that the Arabs of the desert
would go out of their way in order to perform it. The hatred between
Jews and Samaritans prevented the woman from offering a kindness
to Jesus; but the Saviour was seeking to find the key to this heart, and
with the tact born of divine love, He asked, not offered, a favor. The
offer of a kindness might have been rejected; but trust awakens trust.
The King of heaven came to this outcast soul, asking a service at her
144
At Jacob’s Well 145
hands. He who made the ocean, who controls the waters of the great
deep, who opened the springs and channels of the earth, rested from
His weariness at Jacob’s well, and was dependent upon a stranger’s
kindness for even the gift of a drink of water.
The woman saw that Jesus was a Jew. In her surprise she forgot to
grant His request, but tried to learn the reason for it. “How is it,” she
said, “that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman
of Samaria?”
Jesus answered, “If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is
that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him,
and He would have given thee living water.” You wonder that I should
ask of you even so small a favor as a draught of water from the well at
our feet. Had you asked of Me, I would have given you to drink of the
water of everlasting life.
The woman had not comprehended the words of Christ, but she
felt their solemn import. Her light, bantering manner began to change.
Supposing that Jesus spoke of the well before them, she said, “Sir,
Thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence
then hast Thou that living water? Art Thou greater than our father
Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself?” She saw
before her only a thirsty traveler, wayworn and dusty. In her mind
she compared Him with the honored patriarch Jacob. She cherished
the feeling, which is so natural, that no other well could be equal to
that provided by the fathers. She was looking backward to the fathers,
forward to the Messiah’s coming, while the Hope of the fathers, the
Messiah Himself, was beside her, and she knew Him not. How many
thirsting souls are today close by the living fountain, yet looking far
away for the wellsprings of life! “Say not in thine heart, Who shall
ascend into heaven? (that is, to bring Christ down from above:) or,
Who shall descend into the deep? (that is, to bring up Christ again
from the dead).... The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy
heart: ... if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt
believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou
shalt be saved.” Romans 10:6-9. [185]
[186]
[187]
Jesus did not immediately answer the question in regard to Himself,
but with solemn earnestness He said, “Whosoever drinketh of this
water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I
146 The Desire of Ages
shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him
shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”
He who seeks to quench his thirst at the fountains of this world will
drink only to thirst again. Everywhere men are unsatisfied. They long
for something to supply the need of the soul. Only One can meet that
want. The need of the world, “The Desire of all nations,” is Christ. The
divine grace which He alone can impart, is as living water, purifying,
refreshing, and invigorating the soul.
Jesus did not convey the idea that merely one draft of the water of
life would suffice the receiver. He who tastes of the love of Christ will
continually long for more; but he seeks for nothing else. The riches,
honors, and pleasures of the world do not attract him. The constant
cry of his heart is, More of Thee. And He who reveals to the soul
its necessity is waiting to satisfy its hunger and thirst. Every human
resource and dependence will fail. The cisterns will be emptied, the
pools become dry; but our Redeemer is an inexhaustible fountain. We
may drink, and drink again, and ever find a fresh supply. He in whom
Christ dwells has within himself the fountain of blessing,—“a well
of water springing up into everlasting life.” From this source he may
draw strength and grace sufficient for all his needs.
As Jesus spoke of the living water, the woman looked upon Him
with wondering attention. He had aroused her interest, and awakened
a desire for the gift of which He spoke. She perceived that it was not
the water of Jacob’s well to which He referred; for of this she used
continually, drinking, and thirsting again. “Sir,” she said, “give me this
water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.”
Jesus now abruptly turned the conversation. Before this soul could
receive the gift He longed to bestow, she must be brought to recognize
her sin and her Saviour. He “saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and
come hither.” She answered, “I have no husband.” Thus she hoped to
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prevent all questioning in that direction. But the Saviour continued,
“Thou hast well said, I have no husband: for thou hast had five husbands;
and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst
thou truly.”
The listener trembled. A mysterious hand was turning the pages
of her life history, bringing to view that which she had hoped to keep
[188] forever hidden. Who was He that could read the secrets of her life?
There came to her thoughts of eternity, of the f
