Today wells are seen as touristy places to snap selfies, maybe make a wish or toss a coin in for good luck but in the dry heat of the Middle East two essentials are the need for shade and clean fresh water, both could be found at the well. ‘Living’ water was running water that meant the growth of abundant foliage for shade. Water represented life. So wells became linked with salvation and were valued in Old Testament times (Isaiah 12:2-3). Life was centred around the well. It was the place of meetings, conversations, social exchange. It was where bargains were struck, partners met, relationships formed and where humanity made contact with the divine. The provision of water was seen as a blessing from God bringing about fertility of the soil and promising the preservation and growth of the family.
The first well mentioned in the Bible (Genesis 16) is when Hagar stops at one as she flees from Sarah . It is re-named ‘the well of the Living One who sees me’ since she encounters the Lord in the form of an angel there. The meeting changes her life, she goes back to live with Sarah and Abraham and has his child Ishmael who goes on to be the father of the Arab peoples. She is amazed that she meets with God and lives to tell the tale.
Moses was on the run from Egypt and stopped at a Midianite well. Wells were traditionally the places where different kinsmen or tribes met and where people met their future spouses. While he was there, Moses resolved a dispute between Reuel’s daughters and some shepherds, leading to both sides being able to peaceably draw water. The successful mediation resulted in Moses’ marriage to one of Reuel’s daughters.
So, the Jews in Jesus’ time would be well (sorry!) aware of these stories – they were part of their cultural psyche. John carefully chooses this theme in his gospel. By referring to Jacob’s well, his listeners would associate the salvation brought to the Israelites by Joseph’s provision, with Jesus, the ultimate Saviour and Provider. There was a Rabbinic legend that at a well associated with Jacob, waters would spring up miraculously with no need for buckets. The Samaritan woman may be hinting at this in her comment (v 11) where she refers to Jesus not having a bucket and the well is deep. As with tradition, rival clans –Jews and Samaritans – represented by Jesus and the woman – meet at the well, they discuss, not water rights, but the nature of worship. Man meets woman, but they discuss divorce rather than marriage. At the well, the true Bridegroom of Israel offers, to a woman whose relationships are unconventional and whose ways of worship are not those of Biblical Israel, a way towards a restored ‘marriage’ or relationship with God. He asks her for a drink, an example of divine irony; the author of life asks for water. Living water enlivens the soul, bringing a person into a right relationship with God. The woman met God at the well.
Jacob gifted his ancestors with a miraculously overflowing well; Jesus’ gift gushes freely within those who drink from Him. The water of God’s Word refreshes and renews our innermost selves, enlivens our spirit with the gift of God’s Spirit, so we can be a source of life for others.
Gracious God,
Jesus met with an ordinary woman at an ordinary well. But what happened was extraordinary. She met God. Jesus gave the Samaritan woman living water so she would never thirst for Him again. Meet with us where we are and grant that we may know You. Fill us with the flow of Your Spirit, that we may never thirst again, Amen