Are you Thirsty?
What is thirst?
Webster’s dictionary has 2 simple definitions
one is a desire or need to drink;
the other is an ardent desire such as a craving or longing.
What satisfies a thirst?
Water is the obvious answer as it rehydrates the body.
What about the second definition –a desire or longing?
People try to fill that thirst with everyday earthly things…
a new outfit, the latest gadget,
addictions and obsessions,
things that only quench the thirst temporarily.
The Israelites are thirsty.
Moses has led them out of Egypt,
and the journey is longer than they expected.
The Israelites are in the wilderness and they are thirsty.
This is not the first time
they have made this complaint to Moses.
Just 2 chapters earlier in Exodus,
the Israelites had come to a place
where the water was bitter, undrinkable.
And they complained to Moses, “What shall we drink?”
Moses cried out to the Lord,
God showed him a piece of wood;
he threw it into the water, and the water became sweet.
In chapter 16 they are hungry.
Again they complain to Moses, Moses cries out to God and
God provides manna from heaven.
Now once again the Israelites are thirsty.
They complain to Moses, “Give us water to drink.”
Moses cries out and God instructs Moses
to strike the rock and water will come out of it.
Water from the rock
Fresh flowing water from the oddest of places,
an unlikely source for water
–the rock of salvation!
God does this…
God works in and through Moses
and his staff (and with the rock)
to provide water for the people.
Water after all is life.
Water is essential for human, animal, and plant life.
Experts say you and I cannot survive past 3 days without water.
Now consider how many thousands
are on the journey in the wilderness…
How do they meet their basic needs?
How are they provided for on a daily basis?
How scared must they be
when they realize their families,
their children, may die of thirst?
The Israelites test Moses, they test God…
We are thirsty, give us water!
The bigger question the Israelites were asking was
“Is the Lord among us or not?”
The Israelites needed assurance of God’s presence.
this is their longing, their desire,
their real thirst.
The journey in the wilderness is long and there is uncertainty.
Just like the journey Abram began to the Promised Land,
it has had many twists, turns, detours, and delays.
The people of Israel are awaiting the fulfillment of that promise.
They are stuck between promise and fulfillment.
They are tired, hungry, and thirsty
so they complain,
“Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?”
The Israelites needed assurance of God’s presence.
Water from the rock does that.
It also has an underlying meaning.
One of the words that is used in the Old Testament for God
is Rock.
As in the Psalm this morning in our call to worship:
O come, let us sing to the Lord;
let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation!
Also Deuteronomy 32:
For I will proclaim the name of the Lord;
ascribe greatness to our God!
The Rock, his work is perfect,
and all his ways are just.
And Isaiah 26:
Trust in the Lord forever,
for in the Lord God you have an everlasting rock.
Think about a rock for a moment…it has
stability
strength
reliability.
All these are things that the Israelites need
while they are in the wilderness.
They needed assurance of God’s presence.
Is Jesus thirsty?
Is that why he says to the woman at the well
“Give me a drink.”?
That is the same command the people gave Moses
when they were thirsty
so is Jesus thirsty?
No,
He wants (you might say) ‘to test the waters’ of conversation
with the Samaritan woman.
Samaritans and Jews had some religious divisions
as the woman points out:
“Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain,
but you say that the place where people must worship
is in Jerusalem.”
The Samaritan woman has a thirst,
Why else would she be at the well except to draw water?
Jesus offers her ‘living water’.
Living water at a literal level is
a running spring or stream as contrasted with well water.
Think about the water for a moment…
The water from the rock was like a spring, flowing water.
Spring water is fresh and sweet.
A well is a way to secure water, it is of man-made construction.
Well water does not flow.
Living water is better.
A water source determines the type of water one enjoys.
Jesus is offering a better source of water.
The well of Jacob has provided and sustained the Samaritans.
It has been reliable.
The promises and covenants between God and Israel
have been a blessing to the people.
Protection and mercy.
Guidance and grace.
Hope and joy.
God’s providence in their lives.
Jesus offers something new;
Jesus is the divine water giver.
The Israelites were hungry and thirsty in the desert;
God provided food and water.
In Jesus’ time humanity still has a hunger and a thirst;
Jesus offers a hope.
From John 6:35:
Jesus said to them,
“I am the bread of life.
Whoever comes to me will never be hungry,
and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
No more hunger.
No more thirst.
From manna to bread of life.
From well water to living water.
Jesus offers an invitation:
“those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty”
Jesus as the rock of salvation!
What do you and I thirst for?
And how will the living water from Jesus quench our thirst,
our longings, our desires?
Jesus speaks to the Samaritan woman about spirit and truth.
Verses 23 and24:
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when the true worshipers will worship the Father
in spirit and truth,
for the Father seeks such as these to worship him.
God is spirit,
and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.
One commentary writer explains:
‘Worship of God in spirit and truth does not point to an internal spiritualized worship but to a form of worship that reflects and is shaped by the character of God.’
God is not bound by any place or people.
God is spirit
and as believers you and I are witnesses to the truth.
The truth of
Jesus Christ as our Savior and salvation;
Jesus as the divine water giver;
the source of living water;
the rock of our salvation!
The Samaritan woman changed
from her conversation with Jesus;
she became witness,
testifying to others;
she became disciple,
leading others to faith.
Others had the opportunity to experience Jesus
and believe and testify and become disciples themselves.
They said to the woman,
“It is no longer because of what you said that we believe,
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world.”
As you and I experience Jesus,
As we drink of the living water,
We are refreshed anew,
there is new life in us.
Faith, trust, and truth quenches our thirst,
fulfills our desires.
You and I are assured of God’s presence;
the rock of our salvation.
Through Jesus, we no longer hunger or thirst.
Remember your baptism, in which
we are cleansed,
we are renewed,
we are forgiven.
Living water, flowing and sweet…
have a drink,
share a cup with your neighbor,
and worship God in spirit and truth. Amen.
Charge and Benediction:
To paraphrase an old western tune:
We pray for water.... cool, clear water
And God will hear our prayer
and show us where
there's water... cool, clear, sweet, living water.
And God will hear our prayer
and show us where
there's water... cool, clear, sweet, living water.
lyrics parphrased are from the song Cool Clear Water by Bob Nolan
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