05/30/2018 WATER
John 4:7 Soon a Samaritan woman came to draw water, and JESUS asked her for a drink. HE was alone at the time as HIS disciples had gone into the village to buy some food. The woman was surprised that a Jew would ask a “despised Samaritan” for anything---usually they wouldn’t even speak to them!—and she remarked about this to JESUS. HE replied: “If you only knew what a wonderful gift GOD has for you, and who I am, you would ask ME for some living water. [Living Bible Translation]
Definition: “Jew” – (Heb. Yehudi) In its narrowest interpretation, a “Jew” means someone from the tribe of Judah (Heb. Yehudah). [From Rabbi Shlom Chein]
Samaritans and the Jews
To understand why the woman in John 4:7 had such a strong reaction to JESUS asking her for a drink of water, it helps to understand a little about the history of the hostility between the Jews to the Samaritans. This hostility probably existed at least 800 years before this woman met JESUS.
The Hostility
After the death of King Solomon (around 931 B.C.), the twelve tribes of Israel, which had been united under King David and King Solomon, divided into two kingdoms—a Northern kingdom and a Southern Kingdom. Ten tribes made up the Northern Kingdom and two tribes (the tribe of Benjamin and the tribe of Judah) made up the Southern Kingdom. The Northern Kingdom became known as “Israel” and the Southern Kingdom became known as “Judah.” The “Israelites” to the North formed their capital in the city of Samaria and the “Judeans” from the South kept their capital Jerusalem. Each Kingdom had its own king.
During later years, when the Assyrians conquered Samaria and deported the people to Assyria, the Samaritans intermarried with people outside their race and religion. This resulted in the Samaritans practicing a “blended religion,” since they adopted some of the religious beliefs of the people with whom they intermarried. This also resulted in the Jews (the people from Judah) thinking of the Samaritan as not being pure in race or religion. When the people of the Southern Kingdom (after their return from exile in Babylon) returned to Jerusalem to rebuild the city and the temple, one of the Samaritan leaders, Sanballat, was told that he could not take part in the rebuilding. Sanballat became angry. This and the fact that men who married foreign women could not serve as priests in the Jerusalem temple (Nehemiah 13:28) purportedly led to the Samaritans building their own temple of worship in Samaria. The fact that the Samaritans did not accept Jerusalem as the one true place of worship increased the friction between the Samaritans and the Jews even more. Over the years the animosity worsened.
JESUS and the Samaritan Woman
By the time of JESUS, the general bitterness between Jews and Samaritans had grown to open hatred. Not only was the Samaritan woman surprised that Jesus would ask her for anything, but even the disciples were surprised that HE was talking “with her.” See, John 4:27. However, during her brief encounter, the Samaritan woman came to accept JESUS as “THE MESSIAH” (i.e., THE SAVIOR). Although the Samaritan woman came to draw liquid water, she was at the right place at the right time to meet someone who could give her something far better---living water (i.e. eternal life).