Saved by the Well – Moses at B’er

Saved by the Well – Moses at B’er.

“From there they went to B’er (Beer), which means the Well, where Yahweh had said to Moses, ‘Gather the people together, and I will give them water.’ On that occasion Israel sang this song: ‘Spring up, O well! Sing its praises! Sing of this well which the leaders dug out, which was hollowed out by the nation’s nobles with their royal scepters and staffs!’” (Numbers 21:16-17).

SAVED: The Hebrew word for save is “Yasha,” which means to be set free into the wide open; to be delivered in a time of desperate need; to be saved from destruction and certain death. “Salvation” literally means to become spacious, and refers to “the sense of deliverance from an existence that had become confined, compressed, or cramped.” (Eugene Peterson). When Jesus delivers us from our inner spiritual confinement, we are liberated into a wide open, broad, expansive place. The word for “wide open space” is the opposite of a straitjacket. Without Jesus, our soul will never be freed from our spiritual straitjacket. There are three passages in Psalms that describe this freedom deliverance beautifully:

1. “From my distress, I called upon the Lord. He answered me and set me on a large place. After being in a tight spot, the Lord placed me into a broad space. Because I was hemmed in, I called on Lord Yahweh. He answered me and gave me room.” (Ps. 118:5);
2. “Lord, you have not given me over into the hands of the Enemy; You have liberated me and set my feet in a wide expanse, a good and spacious land. You have given me the freedom to roam at large, where I can freely move. You have given me room to breathe.” (Ps. 31:8);
3. “The Lord rescued me because He delighted in me. He brought me out to freedom into a wide-open space. My soul has been delivered because of God’s love for me, and my soul finally has some elbow room!” (Ps. 18:19).

THE WELL: There are four Hebrew words used in the Jewish Bible to describe the different kinds of ancient wells. There was the traditional well that was a deep hole dug in the ground to tap into an underground source of water. Another type of well was a fountain spring that had naturally broken through the earth’s surface on its own without man’s help. The wellspring is another version of well in Scripture in which fresh water flowed out of the ground in any number of ways to become available for cleansing, nourishment, refreshment, for survival itself. Life-giving wells of water have always been a powerful picture of our dependence upon God for spiritual survival. Just as Creator God has designed the human body to completely depend on water to live, our spiritual life totally relies on His presence in us to not just survive but to flourish. God is our spiritual well of fresh water, the only stable source of nourishment and purity. He is our fountain of life that gushes forth to replenish and cleanse us. God is our eternal wellspring of living water that will never run dry. Each of us is born spiritually dehydrated, and God alone is the constant, reliable water source to bring us back to life. As the silly joke goes, wells are a deep subject, and the biblical wells involve such stalwarts as Hagar and Abraham; Isaac and Moses; Samson and Solomon; the psalmists and the prophets. And of course, the glorious fulfillment of all these ancient stories of wells… Messiah Jesus and the woman at the well.

I’ve Got a River of Life Jeremy Riddle & Bethel Church January 15, 2012 (youtube.com)

The Song of the Well. The wandering Israelites were once again facing a shortage of water in the sweltering heat of the Sinai desert. They had just completed a hard-fought, victorious battle over the Amorites, and were no doubt exhausted and extremely thirsty. So Yahweh took the initiative of grace, asked Moses to gather the people, and went full steam ahead with fresh water before the Israelites had a chance to grumble or complain. They arrived at a place called “The Well,” which is B’er in Hebrew, better known as Beer. Evidently, they had been there at some point earlier, because Yahweh directed them to a well that had already been dug by the leaders of Israel. The people were so grateful and relieved to have the prospect of a flourishing well right there with them that they exuberantly greeted it with a song. They encouraged each other to break out into an historic song of praise and thanksgiving and gratitude. For, they were weary and dehydrated and discouraged, and Yahweh couldn’t have given them a better or a more timely gift. It’s not clear if the people rejoiced in anticipation of the water bursting forth from the well, or while it was actually gushing water to the surface, or perhaps even after the water had already poured forth. This Song of the Well could have been sung in celebration before, during, or after the water burst forth. Maybe the Song was sung that whole time during all three phases of the celebration.

The Song. This song has gone down in Jewish history as one of the most famous songs in their entire history. It was evidently already well known before this scene with Moses in the wilderness. It has been dated by historians as present from the earliest of times. It was routinely sung for a long time by the “maidens of Israel” as a routine water-drawing song. And, it was sung for centuries in the Jerusalem Temple as a regular part of the Sabbath worship. The Hebrew word used for the more common translation of “spring up” was “ali,” which means ascend or go up. So other ways to voice this song would be… Erupt, O well! Sing praises about this well! Flow upwards, O well, and we’ll sing in celebration! Come up, O water-spring! Let the well gush forth! Pour out your water, O well, and we will sing all about it!

I’VE GOT A RIVER OF LIFE (SPRING UP O WELL) (youtube.com)

“If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink! He who believes in me, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water!” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive.” (John 7:37-39).

Spring Up, O Holy Spirit! “The Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,” proclaims the Nicene Creed, and all God’s people say Amen! Throughout Scripture, the Spirit is symbolized by fresh water, by the waters of life. Living water from running streams is a picture of the life-saving, soul-satisfying refreshment that can only be given by God through His Holy Spirit. In the Hebrew Bible, the connection between water and the Spirit is in Isaiah 44:3, “I will pour water on him who is thirsty, and streams on the dry ground. I will pour My Spirit on your descendants, and my blessings on your offspring.” And In Isaiah 32:15, 20, “Until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fertile field… How blessed will you be, you who sow beside all waters.” When Jesus had that momentous discussion with the woman at the well, He promised her the water that will become in her “a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14).

Come!” say the Spirit and the Bride. Whoever hears, echo, “Come!” Is anyone thirsty? Come! All who will, come and drink, drink freely of the Water of Life! (Revelation 22:17, MSG).

Revelation 22 – Come, Lord Jesus || Bible in Song || Project of Love (youtube.com)

So when the Holy Spirit said ‘Come’ in Revelation 22:17, He is inviting those who are thirsty to come to Him and drink freely from His fountain of life. Only those who are thirsty, those who are “painfully conscious of his need of those things by which the soul is refreshed, supported and strengthened” (AMP), can receive the Spirit’s water of life. Only the thirsty can have their thirst quenched by the Spirit. The Bride of Christ, the Church, joins in the invitation, appealing to all who are spiritually thirsty to come and drink of the Spirit. Whoever drinks of the Spirit will have an ongoing stream of life flowing out of his heart. And this water is free of charge. “Ho! Everyone who thirsts come to the waters; you who have no money, come!” (Isaiah 55:1). John’s final appeal in Scripture is the divine invitation of the Holy Spirit to come to Him for life-giving water. As the Father made clear in Isaiah 41:17, “The afflicted and needy shall rejoice exceedingly, for when they shall seek water, but there is none, and their tongues are parched with thirst, I the Lord God, will hear them; As the God of Israel, I will not forsake them.” The Spirit’s invitation to come and drink is simply a profound gesture of God’s mercy. Spring up, O well! Gush forth, O Holy Spirit!

Phil Wickham – Spring Up O Well (Official Pseudo Video) (youtube.com)