The Samaritan Woman

Jesus answered and said unto her, "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." John 4:10

Why is it that Jesus values that which is not valuable to the world? He goes out of his way to talk to people who the world would say were nothing, loosers, outcasts, people who have a past, people who think little of themselves and have been told by others that they are even less. Yet Jesus, the King of Kings, the bright and morning star, all that is holy and good, seeks out these people in the time of his walk here on earth and today. First Corinthians 1:26-29 says that he chooses those who are "foolish," "weak," "base," "despised," "nothing," failures, if you will, so that no one can say, "Jesus loves me because I am worthwhile. I am beautiful, talented, brilliant, funny, educated, wealthy and therefore Jesus loves me. Jesus saw something fantastic in me, that is why he died in my place." No, he died for us while we were yet sinners, when we were his enemies. Romans 5:8

Here he seeks out a woman who probably felt pretty low about her life. She had been married five times which even in our liberal age would be the subject of jokes and mocking. The man that she is with is not committed to her. She has to go out to draw water in the hot sun because the women of the town probably do not want to be seen with her even just to be kind. And not only that...she is a Samaritan! Could you get any lower in that society?

This woman is told that she needs to know the gift of God. What is the gift of God? Surprisingly, we find the answer in 1 John 4:10. "Here in is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." Jesus is in fact the gift of God, the Son of God and the propitiation for our sins. Jesus says to the woman that the gift of God is who is speaking to her. The living water is the Holy Spirit which Jesus gives to those who believe in Him. He is the baptizer in the Holy Spirit. Jesus gives this gift to people like the woman of Samaria. People who wouldn't think they deserved such a gift.

The Word "Let"

"Let thy mercies come also unto me...." Psalm 119:41a

Jesus went out of his way to come to earth and endure great pain and anguish to provide salvation for his people. He desires to show us love and compassion, but we must ask before he can let his mercies come to us. If we do not ask, then we are saying we do not see our need; and we will forever be in rebellion, justifying our actions. It's as if there is a flood gate of God's mercies waiting to be let go, and when we ask, God lets that flood flow to us in Jesus' name. The word let makes this verse a prayer rather than a statement. It is a request for mercy rather than an affirmation of a fact. Let is a plea. We are always in a position of supplicant. We do not make a statement and expect it to be honored simply because we say the words. This is the difference between "Name It and Claim It" theology and submitting to the will and purpose of God in humility and trust.

The Hebrew Letter Vav

I've been really getting into the study of Biblical Hebrew, and I'm finding out some fascinating things. Somehow I've settled on the letter "vav" at the moment. It's the name for " a hook or nail," and it stands for the connectedness of all things. Psalms 119:41 begins the section of Vav in this alphabetically organized Psalm:

"Let thy mercies come also unto me, O Lord, even thy salvation, according to thy word."

What I imagine are many golden hooks hanging down from the Lord in heaven, golden hooks of His mercies. Each person in the world has a golden hook waiting for him, but he must hook his faith to it to find salvation. Jesus Christ is the one who forged those hooks on Calvary, and the One who reaches them out to each of us. Then, after we have salvation, He still reaches out His hooks of mercy and forgiveness every day.

When I have a problem, a "care," I need to hook onto the golden hook of Jesus, and He will carry that problem for me. That's what trusting in Jesus is, hooking onto Him and not letting go, kind of like a zip line. He'll take you through, just don't let go!