Session Start: Thu Jul 10 18:52:13 2003
[18:52] *** Now talking in #TheChapel
[18:52] *** Headline: Woman at the well vindicated!
[19:06] <@Gr8rIsHe> I was praying for days about what to bring to you and the Lord has laid this story on my heart
[19:07] <@Gr8rIsHe> it's the story of the woman at the well and I know we've all heard it before but I thank God that he has opened my eyes to see in this story something I have never before
[19:07] <@Gr8rIsHe> I pray that you too will be blessed.
[19:08] <@Gr8rIsHe> Tonight I would like to set right a wrong that has for too long stood as 'gospel'. We will be taking our text tonight from John Chapter 4. The story of the woman at the well. It is my sincere desire that if nothing else we each come away with a deeper understanding of exactly what it is to 'read a scripture in context'
[19:09] <@Gr8rIsHe> Context is so much more than reading a scripture with the verses before and after it. It is understanding the situation, culture, tradition, and the mindset of the author and those being written of, to better understand what is being expressed.
[19:09] <@Gr8rIsHe> With that said
[19:09] <@Gr8rIsHe> John 4:5-6
[19:09] <@Gr8rIsHe> Then cometh He to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
[19:09] <@Gr8rIsHe> Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with His journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour.
[19:10] <@Gr8rIsHe> Samaria for those who do not know was the capital of the ten northern tribes of Israel that had succeeded from the united monarchy David had established. The people of Samaria worshiped Yahweh, used the Torah were keepers of the law, but as many in this room are all to familiar some of the most heated arguments and divisions arise through theological differences.
[19:11] <@Gr8rIsHe> This could be considered one of the earliest church splits
[19:11] <@Gr8rIsHe> So from the time of this succession (shortly after the death of David's son Solomon) to the day of this encounter and beyond, the two 'denominations' if you will, seethed with hatred for one another.
[19:12] <@Gr8rIsHe> Now Jacob's well was there. This was a holy site to the Samaritans and Jews alike. And as such there was no way to draw water from the well. Lest someone (in sin or an unbeliever) defile the sanctity of the place.
[19:13] <@Gr8rIsHe> John 4:7 There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink."
[19:13] <@Gr8rIsHe> Ok we've just established that Jacob's well is considered a Holy place. It is unlawful for one 'lacking moral fiber' / 'in sin' / or an unbeliever to draw from it lest it be defiled. Yet here she comes. This supposed poster child for premarital counseling, this woman who apparently goes through men like tissue paper.
[19:14] <@Gr8rIsHe> If anyone were unworthy to draw SHE should be at the top of the list. Yet she comes with water pot in hand, this serves as our first clue that this woman is more than we've made of her.
[19:14] <@Gr8rIsHe> The well is a public place and out in the open though it is early there are likely people about. And here is Jesus a Jew not asking but commanding her, a Samaritan, and a woman, to give Him a drink.
[19:15] <@Gr8rIsHe> Now in the custom of the day it was considered not just impolite to address a woman not of your family in public but an insult and a humiliation. What is more astounding is her response in v.9
[19:15] [19:15] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.8 (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)
[19:15] <@Gr8rIsHe> 9. Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me,
[19:15] <@Gr8rIsHe> which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
[19:16] <@Gr8rIsHe> According to custom she should have upon being addressed in such a fashion run back to her family and told the men of the house. Who in turn would come out to challenge the man who would dishonor her in such a public way.
[19:17] <@Gr8rIsHe> Not only does she not do this but she responds with her own challenge. (Here we see a seed.) Verses 10-15 show an interesting exchange almost chess-like as each seems to try to tip the others hand.
[19:18] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.10 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.
[19:18] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.11 The woman saith unto Him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
[19:18] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
[19:18] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
[19:18] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
[19:18] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.15 The woman saith unto Him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
[19:19] <@Gr8rIsHe> (there is so much here apart from our topic tonight. The wellspring of the Holy Spirit, etc. I got sidetracked here for the better part of an afternoon hehe)
[19:20] <@Gr8rIsHe> Pay particular attention to her questions. They are intelligent, bold, respectful, and there is a freedom to them. She is perfectly comfortable in this situation though as a woman she shouldn't be. Why? Now we begin to get a picture:
[19:20] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
[19:20] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
[19:20] <@Gr8rIsHe> v. 18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
[19:20] <@Gr8rIsHe> And here is the part that has labeled her one of "The Bad Girls of the Bible." Five Husbands!!! Well I never! That Harlot! Is she?
[19:21] <@Gr8rIsHe> that is certainly the way she's taught from every pulpit I've ever sat under
[19:21] <@Gr8rIsHe> but the Lord led me to an answer most unexpected.
[19:22] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.Deut 25: 5 If a man's brother dies without a son, his widow must not marry outside the family; instead, her husband's brother must marry her and sleep with her.
[19:22] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.6 The first son she bears to him shall be counted as the son of the dead brother, so that his name will not be forgotten.
[19:22] <@Gr8rIsHe> remember the Samaritans were keepers of the law of Moses and of the Torah
[19:23] <@Gr8rIsHe> According to the Law if her husband died without leaving a son she would marry the brother of her husband. According to tradition however if a woman's husband dies she is considered: "la`anah" (Hebrew for 'cursed') should her second husband suffer similar fate, doubly so.
[19:23] <@Gr8rIsHe> A third and certainly by the fifth then the word changes to "charam" - (still 'cursed' but different) it means to seclude; specifically (by a ban) to devote to religious uses. The woman is considered consecrated by, and having the hand of, God upon her.
[19:24] <@Gr8rIsHe> She would live in the house of the family but would not be given in marriage. She would be treated as a prophetess or seer and would be given latitude not normally granted women. As it appears this woman enjoys from what we've read thus far. To further solidify this position I direct you to the following exchange.
[19:24] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.19 The woman saith unto Him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
[19:24] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship
[19:25] <@Gr8rIsHe> In v.19 She a prophetess recognizes the gift in the other. To confirm it she 'tests' Him with a matter of theology in v. 20. Jesus, wanting to dispell any further illusions of grandure she might still be entertaining confounds her with His answer prompting v.25 a veiled inquisition
[19:25] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe Me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
[19:25] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
[19:25] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him.
[19:25] <@Gr8rIsHe> 24. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.
[19:25] <@Gr8rIsHe> 25. The woman saith unto Him, I know that Messiah cometh, which is called Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things.
[19:27] <@Gr8rIsHe> "Are you the Messiah?" She is already reaching that conclusion. Only to have it confirmed in v.26.
[19:27] <@Gr8rIsHe> v.26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am He.
[19:27] <@Gr8rIsHe> Along come the disciples. You may remember they had gone into the city (v.8) leaving Him alone to accomplish THIS discipleship. They being keepers of the Law themselves 'marvelled that He talked with a woman' showing us that it is indeed a thing not done.
[19:28] <@Gr8rIsHe> John 4:27 And upon this came His disciples, and marvelled that He talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest Thou? or, Why talkest Thou with her?
[19:28] <@Gr8rIsHe> But as we see in v.28-29 He was successful nevertheless. 28. The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,
[19:28] <@Gr8rIsHe> 29. Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
[19:29] <@Gr8rIsHe> NOTE: when she leaves she does three important things:
[19:29] <@Gr8rIsHe> 1) She leaves the water pot. She has no doubt whatsoever about Jesus character nor concern that the well should be defiled. She has found the Christ! What possible care could she have for the idol that the well had been?
[19:30] <@Gr8rIsHe> 2) She goes to the MEN of the city (not the other woman). This further attests to the argument that she is a prophetess or seer or such and NOT the woman of ill-repute she has been labeled by the modern church.
[19:30] <@Gr8rIsHe> 3) Just as Jesus modeled to her she presents the facts, invites the question, and allows them to come to their own conclusions regarding Jesus as Messiah.
[19:31] <@Gr8rIsHe> It is my sincerest desire not only that you see this woman differently but that you see how dangerous it is to instill/impart/filter scripture through our modern western mindset. The truths of the Bible are timeless but if we don't carefully examine scripture and rightly divide the Word Look how easily we can fall into error.
[19:33] <@Gr8rIsHe> Here is a woman that for over the centuries has suffered from our perceptions of her all because time wasn't taken to look at the situation from the same spirit in which it is written.
[19:34] <@Gr8rIsHe> We in America find ourselves embroiled in the same type of battle with our constitution when we don't interpret by the spirit we bring defamation of chararcter, error in judgment and ultimately death.
[19:35] <@Gr8rIsHe> Another biblical defamation of character occurs in GEN 3
[19:36] <@Gr8rIsHe> Adam and Eve. For as long as I can recall Eve has taken the blame for the fall of man. She ate then beguiled Adam to isn't that how it's widely told? Not by Scripture:
[19:36] <@Gr8rIsHe> Genesis 3:6 And when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof, and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her; and he did eat.
[19:37] <@Gr8rIsHe> NOTE: The word WITH. He was right there and stood by and let it happen. He didn't say a word, didn't pick up a stick, didn't intervene in any way but he WAS there.
[19:37] <@Gr8rIsHe> Then only verses later when God questions him he shifts blame and completely excuses himself from wrongdoing. At least in his own mind.
[19:38] <@Gr8rIsHe> Gen 3: 8. And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden.
[19:38] <@Gr8rIsHe> 9. But the Lord God called to the man, and said to him, "Where are you?"
[19:38] <@Gr8rIsHe> 10. And he said, "I heard the sound of thee in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked; and I hid myself."
[19:38] <@Gr8rIsHe> 11. He said, "Who told you that you were naked? Have you eaten of the tree of which I commanded you not to eat?"
[19:38] <@Gr8rIsHe> 12. The man said, "The woman whom thou gavest to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate."
[19:38] <@Gr8rIsHe> "God it was the woman that YOU gave me. It's her fault, it's your fault I'm out of it!" Is the argument essentially.
[19:40] <@Gr8rIsHe> My hope is that from these examples I've encouraged you to research the Word of God. Not to take at face value what is familiar. but to understand the background of the Word.
[19:41] <@Gr8rIsHe> Context is not just how verses relate but getting the WHOLE picture. I exhort you all to diligently seek JESUS in His Word for if you seek you will find.
[19:49] <@Gr8rIsHe> I am continually fascinated by the people Jesus encountered. What's behind the scenes as it were not only did she preached and bring them to Jesus but also as a woman proves that there is no distinction into who God uses man or woman to preach His Word!
[19:50] <@Gr8rIsHe> There is no Jew nor Greek (or Samaritan) nor bond nor free nor male nor female.
[19:52] <@Gr8rIsHe> A Deut 28 Blessing for you ALL:
[19:52] <@Gr8rIsHe> Be blessed in the city and in the country
[19:52] <@Gr8rIsHe> Be blessed in the fruit of your body, and of the ground
[19:52] <@Gr8rIsHe> Be blessed in your basket and store
[19:52] <@Gr8rIsHe> Be blessed when you come in and go out in Jesus Name!
Attend church more often, twice a month is better than not at all, however four times+ a month gives more opportunities for real spiritual nourishment and growth! This will help ensure that God directs your very steps...that you are exactly where He has foreordained you to be...building relationships with those whom God has chosen for you...and that you are wholeheartedly living out His calling on your life! 
What a blessing that your Dad prays for you, so all the better that you heed what God Almighty spoke! 
You give Him your utmost and He will give you His Highest! 
If you can, remember me in your prayers.
