Genesis, Message 22: Two Wells - Two Sources of Living

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 22

Two Wells - Two Sources of Living

Christ is the source of living water

In the New Testament, Jesus revealed that He was the source of living water. He said to the Samaritan woman that, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:13-14 NKJV) Furthermore, He gave us a wonderful promise that "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38 NKJV) Jesus is the source of living for all the believers, and if we drink of this water, we will not only be brought into everlasting life, but we will also have the rivers of living water flow out of our heart. What a wonderful promise we have!
With regard to the illustration of Christ as the source of living water, we also see some sources of water in the Old Testament that clearly typify Christ.
In Exodus, when Israel people did not have water to drink, the rock in Horeb was struck by Moses and became the source of water for them.

Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock in Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink." And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel. (Exodus 17:6 NKJV)

The same situation happened again in Number 20. The people was so thirsty because of lack of water supply, and complained against Moses. And again, a rock was also to be the source of water for them. But God's instruction to Moses was different this time. He did not have to strike the rock again. All Moses needed to do was speak to the rock!

"Take the rod; you and your brother Aaron gather the congregation together. Speak to the rock before their eyes, and it will yield its water; thus you shall bring water for them out of the rock, and give drink to the congregation and their animals." (Number 20:8 NKJV)

In order to become the source of water, the rock needed to be struck. And it needed to be struck only once. After it has already been struck, it did not need to be struck again. It needed only to be spoken to, and water would come out of it.
The rock both in Exodus 17 and Numbers 20 typifies Christ as the source of living water. For Christ to become the source of living water, He needed to be crucified on the Cross. His mission was perfectly completed and He did not have to be crucified again. Only once was adequate for all people in the past, present and future. All we need to do to receive this water supply today is speak to the Rock!
Another type of Christ as the source of living water is found in Genesis 21. I believe most people, including me, have read through this chapter without noticing the importance of the 2 wells, the well of Ishmael and the well of Isaac. Inspired by the Holy Spirit, Moses mentioned these 2 wells so that readers might learn some spiritual lessons from them. I really appreciate the ministry of brother Witness Lee that clearly explains this matter.

Two wells in Genesis 21 represents two sources of living.

In Genesis 21, there are 2 sources of water mentioned, the well of Ishmael and the well of Isaac. They were totally different in their nature and their effect, resulting in totally different outcomes and destinies for the drinkers. 

1. Well of Ishmael represents our soul as the source of living.

¹⁹ Then God opened her [Hagar's] eyes, and she saw a well of water. And she went and filled the skin with water, and gave the lad a drink.
²⁰ So God was with the lad; and he grew and dwelt in the wilderness, and became an archer.
²¹ He dwelt in the Wilderness of Paran; and his mother took a wife for him from the land of Egypt. (Genesis 21:19-21 NKJV)

The well of Ishmael was a natural source of water. It was located in the wilderness. Drinking from this well, Ishmael became an archer and joined to Egypt by marrying an Egyptian.
What does this illustration mean? The well of Ishmael represents our soul as the source of living.
Our soul, composed of mind, will and emotion, is natural source of living. Resulting from the fall of man, everyone has this well as the source of living by default. Everyone's life is therefore directed by what he thinks, what he wants and what he feels. This source is in wilderness, signifying the place rejected by God. Drinking from this well, he is made an archer like Nimrod, the very origin of Babel and Babylonian Empire (Genesis 10:8-12). Like an archer, he fights and kills with selfish ambitions for building up of his own kingdom. Eventually, he will be joined to the world, depicted by the marriage to an Egyptian.

2. Well of Isaac represents Christ in our spirit as the source of living

²² And it came to pass at that time that Abimelech and Phichol, the commander of his army, spoke to Abraham, saying, "God is with you in all that you do.
²³ Now therefore, swear to me by God that you will not deal falsely with me, with my offspring, or with my posterity; but that according to the kindness that I have done to you, you will do to me and to the land in which you have dwelt."
²⁴ And Abraham said, "I will swear."
²⁵ Then Abraham rebuked Abimelech because of a well of water which Abimelech's servants had seized.
²⁶ And Abimelech said, "I do not know who has done this thing; you did not tell me, nor had I heard of it until today."
²⁷ So Abraham took sheep and oxen and gave them to Abimelech, and the two of them made a covenant.
²⁸ And Abraham set seven ewe lambs of the flock by themselves.
²⁹ Then Abimelech asked Abraham, "What is the meaning of these seven ewe lambs which you have set by themselves?"
³⁰ And he said, "You will take these seven ewe lambs from my hand, that they may be my witness that I have dug this well."
³¹ Therefore he called that place Beersheba, because the two of them swore an oath there.
³² Thus they made a covenant at Beersheba. So Abimelech rose with Phichol, the commander of his army, and they returned to the land of the Philistines.
³³ Then Abraham planted a tamarisk tree in Beersheba, and there called on the name of the LORD, the Everlasting God.
³⁴ And Abraham stayed in the land of the Philistines many days. (Genesis 22:27-34 NKJV)

In contrast to the well of Ishmael, the well of Isaac was not a natural source, but was dug by Abraham. It was seized by Abimelech's servants. To make it available again, Abraham therefore redeemed it from Abimelech and made a covenant with him. This well was not located in the wilderness like Ishmael's well, but in a proper place called Beersheba. Drinking from this well, Abraham became a planter and Isaac's life was heading to Moriah, the place where Jerusalem, with the temple in it, was being built and Jesus was being crucified (2 Chronicles 3:1).
What does this well represent? It represents Christ in our spirit as source of living.
This source is not natural. In order for it to be made available to us, the processes of redemption and covenanting are requuired. And it was fully redeemed on the Cross at a great cost - the life of Christ Himself. Through His resurrection, He has become the life-giving spirit (1 Corinthians 15:45), now dwelling within our spirit. If we drink of this source, we will become a planter, growing life for building up of God's kingdom. We will experience the Triune God as the eternal life dispensed into us and living in us. Ultimately, we will be brought to Zion in which God's temple is built, and our destiny is the New Jerusalem.
Here another name of the LORD is mentioned. Abraham called Him "the Everlasting God." This name comes from the word "El Olam," which can mean either the eternal God or the concealed, hidden and veiled God. Both ways of translation are equally true with regard to the nature of our God. He is eternal, yet very mysterious. We can never know Him unless He reveals Himself to us.
Hallelujah for the well of Isaac! We don't have to drink from the well of Ishmael anymore. Everyone who has been saved by grace through faith in our Lord Jesus now has free access to the well of Isaac, which is Christ in our spirit, as his source of living. If we drink of the water from this well, we will experience joy unspeakable and full of glory, which will cause us to call upon the name of the LORD and experience Him as the God who is very mysterious yet very real, ever-existing, and ever-living.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 22.

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)