Living Water
by Tom Reed
It seems that my interest and training in geology always crops up when I see things in the Bible that particularly reference aspects of the physical world around us. Things like mountains, seas, clouds, water, rocks – and specifically – the symbolism that God applies many times to His creation. Jesus’ use of the term “living water” in John 4 in His conversation with the Samaritan woman is one of those occasions.
The first reference to “living water” that I found in Scripture is in Genesis 26:19. Isaac was temporarily living in the land of the Philistines, and by necessity, had to dig new wells because the Philistines had filled in the ones his father Abraham had dug in the past. Verse 19 says that Isaac’s servants dug a well in the valley, and as the Amplified and Holman Standard Bible versions read, found “living water” or “spring” water. What does that mean? When the subsurface groundwater table rises high enough in the ground, it will discharge water at the surface. This is called a natural spring. This usually occurs in valleys where rainfall on the hills or mountains above the valley recharges the groundwater table, and because of the higher elevation of the hill or mountain, the groundwater is under pressure and will be forced to a higher level in the valley, sometimes coming to the surface.
So Isaac’s servants have discovered something very special. A well described as having “spring” or “living” water is called an artesian well. In this instance, the groundwater filling the well will actually rise to the surface and flow naturally out of the well.
Many years ago, I was working with a drilling crew in Wyoming exploring for uranium. We were drilling along the mountain slopes above Laramie. We kept drilling farther and farther downhill trying to find the uranium deposit when we hit water – groundwater actually flowed out of the boring and down the hill! We thought that was pretty neat, but the landowner was not impressed, and we had to plug the boring with several shot-hole plugs and an entire pallet of cement to finally stop the flow. As a geologist, that was a bucket-list experience.
But what an incredible find for Isaac’s servants! A well that flows at the surface so that the water is never stagnant, and no effort is needed to draw water from deep in the well would be an absolute blessing. No wonder in verses 20-22, the Philistine herdsmen were quarreling over Isaac’s new wells and seizing them.
There are other references in Song of Solomon and Zechariah describing living water in physical terms. But Jeremiah, through the prompting of the Holy Spirit, illustrates the significance of living water in symbolic references to God Himself.
Jeremiah 2:13 says, For my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the Fountain of living waters, and they have hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns which cannot hold water.
We see a similar statement in 17:13. Jeremiah describes God as the Fountain or Source of living waters, which the people have rejected in order to follow their own direction and desires, ultimately leading to tragic results. If God is the Source of “living waters,” what would “living waters” include? I see everything that is good for us – God’s Spirit, His presence, His reconciliation, His grace, His mercy, His salvation – in essence, God giving Himself to us.
In realizing the significance of artesian or “living water” in our physical world, and then seeing how Jeremiah symbolically portrays “living water” in Old Testament Scripture, it is easier to understand the symbolism Jesus is using in His discussion with the Samaritan woman.
In John chapter 4, beginning in verse 3, we have Jesus and His disciples traveling through Samaria to go the short route to Galilee. Jesus stops at a well to rest and encounters a Samaritan woman who has come to the well to draw water. He asks her to give Him a drink from her bucket. She is surprised that a Jew would have anything to do with a Samaritan. At this point, we have the key verse – verse 10: If you had known God’s gift, and Who this is that is saying to you give Me a drink, you would instead have asked Him and He would have given you living water.
Unfortunately, the Samaritan woman doesn’t understand Jesus’ meaning and assumes He is talking about the great fortune of fresh flowing water or spring water in a well. But what does Jesus mean by the term “living water”?
Later in John 7, we get a hint of what Jesus means by “living water.” As He speaks to the crowd in verse 38, He says, “He who believes in Me, as the Scripture says, from his heart will flow rivers of living water.” In the next verse, the apostle John says that Jesus was actually speaking of the Holy Spirit. This is a clear reference by Jesus to the Jeremiah passages. With the offer of “living water,” Jesus not only proposes to give the Holy Spirit, for example salvation and reconciliation with God to the Samaritan woman, but also claims the power and authority as the Messiah to do so.
As I look back to that time in Wyoming and remember watching that clear, fresh water coming up out of the ground with no need of a pump or bucket, it is easy to see why God would use “living water” as a symbol of His Spirit. It is given to us fresh each day. We can’t work for it – we can only accept it as a loving gift of His grace.
Author Bio
Tom was born and raised in Oklahoma. He and his wife, Krista, met in the singles department at First Baptist Church in Oklahoma City. Tom and Krista joined Council Road in 1995. They have two daughters and four grandchildren. Tom was a geologist with oil and gas firms in Oklahoma City until early retirement. He later accepted a position on the CRBC staff as minister to senior adults for several years until full retirement. Tom is a teacher in his connection class at CRBC and serves on the board of directors of a Christ-centered, after-prison care program where he teaches and mentors. Tom and Krista always enjoy opportunities to travel and visit the mountains!