Conversations At A Well...

Today we have water cooler talks.  It's the place where conversations are often had. It was no different along time ago.  It seems many amazing and important conversations happened around a water well.  Some life changing and course altering conversations happened.  But I want to talk about the differences in a few...

Going to a well to draw water was something that women typically did during in Bible times.  They would usually go at night when the sun was down and the air was cooler. Some would carry these huge jars great distances to draw it then return it home. The water was used for many things.

When I think about conversations at a well I think of Abraham in Genesis 24.  Abraham is getting older in his age and his son Isaac has not yet found a suitable wife for himself.  So Abraham sends his senior servant to Abraham's family land to find a wife suitable for Isaac.  So the senior servant takes off.  When he arrives to the land of Abraham's family it is night, right around the time when the women would go to the well.  A woman named Rebekah appears with a jug of water and the senior servant rushes over to her to ask her "may I have a drink of water".  She not only gives him a drink of water but she gives enough water for his camels as well.  Success! He has found the right wife suitable for Isaac to marry!  She meets all the perfect criteria! She is most certainly a Proverbs 31 woman which is the Biblical criteria for Godly women, she was a camel waterer.

Another similar story takes place in Genesis 29 when the son of Isaac and Rebekah named Jacob leaves on a journey running away from his brother Esau because he stole his blessing from Isaac.  But he follows his fathers blessing none the less.  Isaac told him to go to the land of his father Abraham and find a suitable wife.  Sounds similar huh?  So he leaves and goes to find a suitable wife, a Proverbs 31 wife.  And he comes upon a well!  As Rachel appears watering her families sheep he runs up and kisses her and begins to weep.  WHAT A KISS HUH?  Jacob has found his new family just as Isaac did.

These two stories are very simliar.  Men seeking out good and suitable women. Amazing things happen around a well!  Conversations at a well is where destinies begin!  It is the place where good men find worthy women to take their place in God's story! The well is where dreams come true!

Then Jesus has a conversation in John 4 with a woman at a well.  And we think... "Oh I have seen this before.  I know how this goes."  But this conversation is different....

Jesus was tired and was sitting by a well and a Samaritan women comes in the middle of the day at noon to draw water from Jacob's well.  The women in the other stories before and many others would go collect water at night, in the cool of the day.  But not this woman.  She went at noon when the day was at its hottest.  I think she went then hoping not to see anyone because she was embarrassed and ashamed of who she was. A Samaritan is someone who is 1/2 Jewish and 1/2 Gentile.  They are a race built on disobeying God.  They were viewed as the lowest people, the worst in the town, the most hated region.  Not only was this person a Samaritan but she was a woman, which was even worse in that day. Jews were not allowed to converse with Samaritans. So much so that if they had to travel through Samaria they would walk all the way around it instead of walking through it.   Jesus then ask's this woman the same question the men in the others stories ask the women at the well, "may I have a drink." This woman responds different than the other stories as well.  She is kind of argumentative. She questions why Jesus is even talking to her.  She doesn't feel worthy to even be having this conversation with a Jewish man. Jesus begins to share with her about who He is in typical Jesus fashion.  Jesus then gets personal and asks her to go and get her husband and she responds by telling him she doesn't have a husband.  Jesus uses a Word of Knowledge and tells her, "you are right you have had five husbands and the man you are with right now isn't your husband." She has given up all hope on herself and life.  The only reason she is with the man she is with now is to be taken care of. The man doesn't even think enough of her to marry her. Then she asks Jesus a question about worship that most people believe is a means to change the subject.  But I believe she asks the question about which mountain to worship on because she wants to know where she belongs! I don't know what is right... The northern 10 tribes of Israel created their own temples (mountains) of worship to stop travel into Jerusalem  after the kingdom was split 10 tribes to the north and 2 tribes (Judah) to the south.  Jesus tells her, that doesn't matter anymore... I AM HE... I AM THE ONE WHO YOU WORSHIP NOW.  She immediately runs back to the town to tell everyone to come and meet a prophet who told her everything that she had ever done.  She believes He could be the Christ!  The one everyone had been waiting for. I am sure everyone in the town thought, "are you sure you want everyone else to know everything that you have done?"  "Aren't you already ashamed enough?" But She doesn't care.  It's as if she knows that who she was and the life she lived is now not who she is anymore after this conversation with Jesus.  That's not who I am anymore. Jesus restores her dignity.

We are all the Samaritan woman at the well.  Before we have a conversation and meet Jesus we aren't sure where we belong. We are aren't sure of ourselves.  We live a life of guilt over what we have done wrong.  We are outsiders... Then Jesus comes to us and invites us to belong to the family of God.  It no longer matters where you worship but who you worship.  You can be a new creation.  Your past no longer chains you down and defines you.  The first two well stories Isaac and Jacob are looking for wives who are worthy and suitable.  Wives who deserve to be with them.  Jesus seeks out those who do not deserve for there destiny to be changed and altared.  We are not a Proverbs 31 bride before Jesus.  Only through the blood of Jesus do we become a suitable bride for Christ.