Jacob's Well: Symbolic of The Times?

[Celt]

When our Lord Jesus went through Samaria on the way to Galilee, He stopped at Jacob's well in Sychar, and spoke to a Samaritan woman. He declared to her that He had Living Waters that you'd never get thirsty if you drank from it. Most know in John 4 our Lord was talking about His Salvation going to the Gentiles also. Yet is there more to what He was saying there at the well to the Samaritan woman? This is an example of once knowing your Old Testament history, one discovers our Lord Jesus was saying a lot more.

John 4:5-9

5 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.

6 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.

7 There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, "Give me to drink."

8 (For His disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.)

9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto Him, "How is it that Thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans."

(KJV)

Samaria was an area to the north, above Judea/Jerusalem. Judah at that time wouldn't have anything to do with the Samaritans living there, but why? It's because they were foreigners, not of Israel. Samaria was originally the capital city of the northern kingdom of Israel, with its own king after God split the 12 tribes into two separate kingdoms (1 Kings 11 forward). The kings of Assyria took all of the ten tribes out of those lands and supplanted foreigners from five Babylon provinces in their stead. Thus the Jews wouldn't have anything to do with those foreigners who had taken over the land of Samaria. Yet our Lord Jesus spake to the woman at the well.

John 4:10-12

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.

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?"

12 Art Thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

(KJV)

Our Lord is basically saying that if she knew about God's Salvation, and Who He was, she would have been asking Him for that Salvation, the Waters of Life. That's a Message from our Lord Jesus that His Salvation was to go also to the Gentiles, which the Samaritan woman represents. But look at the 12th verse, how is it that she claims Jacob as her ancestor? Why would this be included in this Message here? If Jacob was her ancestor, why would she be curious of why Jesus spoke to her, since she said she was a Samaritan, in the sense of a foreigner? Our Lord will sort this out here shortly for us.

Those foreigners from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim represented five pagan areas, each with their own false god in false worship (2 Kings 17). They started having all sorts of problems when they were brought into the land of Samaria, so the king of Assyria brought out of captivity a priest for them to teach them the ways of The God in that land of Samaria. So they feared God, but kept worshipping their pagan gods they brought with them from Babylon.

John 4:13-15

13 Jesus answered and said unto her, "Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:

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."

15 The woman saith unto Him, "Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw."

(KJV)

Then our Lord begins revealing to her His Waters of Life of Salvation. But she mistakes it for something carnal that she could have right then, just so she wouldn't have to keep coming back to that well to draw water.

John 4:16-18

16 Jesus saith unto her, "Go, call thy husband, and come hither."

17 The woman answered and said, "I have no husband." Jesus said unto her, "Thou hast well said, 'I have no husband:'

18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly."

(KJV)

The "five husbands" are symbolic of those five false pagan gods that each of those foreign peoples from Babylon, Cuthah, Ava, Hamath, and Sepharvaim brought with them into Samaria when placed there by the king of Assyria. God had removed all of the ten tribes of Israel out of those lands captive to the land of Medes, for doing exactly the same kind of thing against Him, bowing to idols which are no gods. And now, other nations had taken over those lands of promise.

That parcel of ground where Jacob's well was, was given to his son Joseph, and Joseph inherited God's birthright handed down from Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob (Genesis). God did exactly what He said He would do to Israel if they rebelled against Him by going into false worship (Deut.4; 28).

John 4:19-22

19 The woman saith unto Him, "Sir, I perceive that Thou art a prophet."

20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and Ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship."

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.

22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews."

(KJV)

Who might be her fathers that worshipped in the mountains of Samaria? Most likely, one of those peoples from the five nations out of Babylon the king of Assyria placed there when he took the ten tribes captive out of that land. It's very important to note that our Lord Jesus changed the subject here, or finally brought out what He was speaking to her about all along, i.e., that of false worship in Samaria, instead of proper worship in Jerusalem at that time per God's Salvation Plan. The Samaritan woman knows what our Lord is pointing to involving worship. Then our Lord tells her, "Ye worship ye know not what", pointing to the difference.

John 4:23-29

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.

24 God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.

Then our Lord lays out the proper worship to come by the New Covenant, being even different than the then required worship at Jerusalem per the Old Covenant.

25 The woman saith unto Him, "I know that Messias cometh, Which is called Christ: when He is come, He will tell us all things."

26 Jesus saith unto her, "I that speak unto thee am He."

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?'

28 The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men,

29 "Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?"

(KJV)

Summary:

The number Five in Biblical numerics represents Grace. Even though the woman's five husbands represent those five pagan gods those peoples of five areas of Babylon brought with them, the lesson is that Christ's Salvation Message would go to them also. But for all of God's people now, this is especially a Message to show what will happen with God's Promises if we fall away from Him to do false worship. This would have never happened if the ten tribes in Samaria hadn't gone into pagan idoltry. At the same time, if the ten tribes hadn't fallen away from God, those peoples supplanted in Samaria wouldn't have found Grace through Christ's Salvation being offerred to them also.

The question then is now, who does the 6th husband the woman was living with then, represent?

[kross]

Samaria was a place of Jewish people who mingled with the gentiles.

Thus, they considered themselve of the line of Jacob.

[dcampsart]

The five husbands are not 'symbolic' of anything and to claim such is incorrect and misleading. You're reading the story eisogetically.

I too was wondering if this isn't your own interpretation or ideas Celt because I've never seen any representation as to any symbolic meaning to the woman having five husbands - except for how the Lord knows all things about us. What source/sources are you basing your ideas on?

Edited January 12, 2009 by dcampsart

[Celt]

The five husbands are not 'symbolic' of anything and to claim such is incorrect and misleading. You're reading the story eisogetically.

I too was wondering if this isn't your own interpretation or ideas Celt because I've never seen any representation as to any symbolic meaning to the woman having five husbands - escept for how the Lord knows all things about us. What source/sources are you basing your ideas on?

The five husbands being symbolic is based upon our Lord's Message there about true worship vs. false worship.

And it's based on the five pagan gods that the five nations or peoples from Babylon brought with them into Samaria, when they became the Samaritans. And also, it's based on why God brought the king of Assyria upon Samaria to take the ten tribes out of that land in captivity to the land of the Medes beforehand, i.e., because of falling away to false idol worship. The reason why even Christ's disciples that saw Him speaking to the Samaritan woman wondered why He would bother, was because of that history about the foreigners that became the later Samaritans.

Per the history of 1 Kings 11 through 2 Kings 17, God took ten tribes away from Solomon's heir (Rehoboam), and gave the ten northern tribes to one of the house of Joseph of Ephraim, Jeroboam. God setup Jeroboam as king in Samaria over the ten tribes, and they became a separate kingdom called the "house of Israel". The tribes of Judah and Benjamin ("house of Judah") remained in Jerusalem/Judea as their own kingdom under rule by Solomon's son. Those two kingdoms of God's people made war against each other thereafter.

And Jeroboam, king of Israel in Samaria, did a unique thing against God. He setup two golden calf idols in the north for the ten tribes to worship, instead of allowing their going down to Jerusalem to worship properly at that time. Jeroboam also made common priests of the people, instead of allowing the sons of Levi to do their job among the ten tribes. King Jeroboam didn't want the ten tribes going down to Jerusalem and possibly join with the tribes of Judah and Benjamin, augmenting their numbers and their army.

The Samaritan woman at the well knew exactly what our Lord was speaking about concerning old worship at Samaria vs. going down to Jerusalem to worship...

John 4:20

20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and Ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.

(KJV)

That's part of the Samaritan woman's answer when Christ asked her to go get her husband.

During the time of the kings of Israel at Samaria, some of them would do better in following God's commandments then, but still... allow that old golden calf idol worship to continue there. So it's not chance that the subject of John 4 eventually changes to the idea of false worship. And thus the Samaritan woman's five husbands are very symbolic in that respect.

Surely, you all are familar with the metaphor of Who our true Husband is per Scripture? (Isaiah 54:5; 2 Cor.11:2)

So who is the 6th that Samaritan woman was living with at the time, which our Lord pointed out she was only living with? What does that 6th one represent?

The 6th one represents the Antichrist. That's why this Message about worship in John 4 is of utmost importance for us in these last days.

Per God's Word, when one goes into false worship against Him, it's like joining in spiritual harlotry against Him, even marrying another in His stead. This type metaphor appears throughout OT history, and again in the New Testament Books, so I'm surprised at how many apparently have missed it. I mean, there's what Paul said in 2 Cor.11 that he has espoused us to one Husband (Christ, in the spiritual sense), the idea of remaining a betrothed virgin to Christ prepared as a Bride, etc., etc. How could all this be missed?

[traveller]

Over the years, there have been many different variations of "who" the husbands represented. Some think that the current husband was Rome.

[Guest HIS girl]

Samaria was a place of Jewish people who mingled with the gentiles.

Thus, they considered themselve of the line of Jacob.

Weren't they of mixed Jewish heritage?

[traveller]

Isaiah refers to a remnant left behind when the people were carried off by the Assyrians.

Isa 17:6 Yet gleaning grapes shall be left in it, as the shaking of an olive tree, two [or] three berries in the top of the uppermost bough, four [or] five in the outmost fruitful branches thereof, saith the LORD God of Israel.

Now - did these people intermingle with the enemy, or did they remain remain isolated from them? My opinion is that some of the remnant were descendants from Jacob and hence her reference

Jhn 4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?

Again - my opinion.

[Celt]

Rome? Possibly, since Rome had power especially over Judea at that time. But somehow, I don't think the Samaritan woman was following the tenets of Rome to represent the sixth.

Were the Samaritans of mixed Jewish heritage? No, they were brought from Babylon by the king of Assyria who would conquer a land and swap the peoples.

II Ki 17:26-33

26 Wherefore they spake to the king of Assyria, saying, "The nations which thou hast removed, and placed in the cities of Samaria, know not the manner of the God of the land: therefore He hath sent lions among them, and, behold, they slay them, because they know not the manner of the God of the land".

27 Then the king of Assyria commanded, saying, "Carry thither one of the priests whom ye brought from thence; and let them go and dwell there, and let him teach them the manner of the God of the land."

28 Then one of the priests whom they had carried away from Samaria came and dwelt in Bethel, and taught them how they should fear the LORD.

29 Howbeit every nation made gods of their own, and put them in the houses of the high places which the Samaritans had made, every nation in their cities wherein they dwelt.

30 And the men of Babylon made Succothbenoth, and the men of Cuth made Nergal, and the men of Hamath made Ashima,

31 And the Avites made Nibhaz and Tartak, and the Sepharvites burnt their children in fire to Adrammelech and Anammelech, the gods of Sepharvaim.

32 So they feared the LORD, and made unto themselves of the lowest of them priests of the high places, which sacrificed for them in the houses of the high places.

33 They feared the LORD, and served their own gods, after the manner of the nations whom they carried away from thence.(KJV)

The nations whom they (the Assyrians) carried away from the lands of Samaria was only the ten tribed house of Israel. The house of Judah at Jerusalem/Judea to the south remained untouched when the king of Assyria took the ten tribes captive. Per that history the ten tribes were removed by God because of doing idol worship in the northern lands, their refusing to go down to Jerusalem to worship because king Jeroboam (of Ephraim) setup two golden idols for worship in the north, one in Bethel and one at Dan (2 Kings 10:29).

So when the Samaritan woman says, "Our fathers worshipped in this mountain..." (John 4:20), it means she was from one of the two groups that dwelt there. It had to mean she was either of the priests of the ten tribes, which the king of Assyria had placed back at Samaria after the ten tribes had been removed, to teach those foreigners from Babylon about God. Or she was of those five pagan peoples from Babylon placed in the land by the Assyrian. Not likely that she was a priest so that would make her heritage from one of those five peoples brought from Babylon and placed in Samaria after the Assyrian had taken all the ten tribes out of the land.

Scripture in 2 Kings shows that God had ALL the ten tribes of the house of Israel removed from the land into captivity to Assyria and the land of the Medes. None of the ten tribes remained in the land per the Scripture. It's easy to get confused about that, because per God's Word there were 2 separate captivities, at two different times, of two different groups of Israelites, to two different locations, one for the northern ten tribes at Samaria by the king of Assyria, and another about 120 years later upon Judah at Jerusalem by the king of Babylon.

The Isaiah 17:6 verse is a prophecy about all of Jacob's offspring especially (Isa.17:4), which means Israelites. So that's not meant for the Samaritans. The Message is basically that among God's chosen Israel, there would always be a remnant with the Truth, even when the majority of them were in rebellion. The idea of a "remnant" of Israel is covered in several areas of God's Word talking about the election. The small remnant of the 'house of Judah' that returned after their captivity in Babylon is another example of that remnant idea. The rest, and majority of the house of Judah chose to stay in Babylon (read Books of Ezra and Nehemiah). In Romans 11:1-5 the apostle Paul is talking about the elect remnant of Israel.