Week 5 - Woman at the Well

Happy Week 5, OBSers! Can you believe we are already more than halfway done with this study? Here is your Weekly Lowdown. Print this, post it to your fridge or tuck it in your study book.

This is your SUGGESTED guide for the week to help you keep up in the Bible study!

What We’re Reading This Week...Woman at the Well (pp. 131-141 in study guide)

This week’s memory verse: “And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus ...” Hebrews 12:1b­2a (NIV)

Here’s what’s happening in our study this week…

Observe — What are your thoughts when you read this statement by Lysa TerKeurst, "The first four letters of the word 'Messiah' is mess. God knew we would have a mess and that the Messiah would come and touch or mess and out of that, would give us a message?"

Bible — Take a moment and read Hebrews 12:1-2.

In your notebook or journal write out your answers to these questions:

1.   Is something hindering you in your faith race? Ask God to show you what it is and how to get back on track.

2.   What can you do to ‘fix your eyes’ on Jesus?

3.   How did Jesus finish His earthly race? What does that mean for us as His followers?

Stretch —  Fill in the blank: This week, when I don’t feel God’s presence, I will keep seeking Him out by _______. #12Women-CCMV, #12Women, #OBS

Everyone who leaves a comment on the blog today will be entered to win this giveaway prize pack “A Little Time With God” Devotional Journal and Pen!

Hashtags

#12Women-CCMV, #12Women, #OBS – When you post on social media about the study, use these hashtags! If you want to see what other OBSers are saying, search these tags to connect!

Daily Blog Posts, Bible Study & Discussion

● Monday, Wednesday and Friday – New study email/blog posts, so check your email or head to the Facebook page to join in the conversation!

● Wednesday – Video teaching from StudyGateway, the link will be emailed to you; I hope you’re enjoying this special feature of our Online Bible Study.

Thursday, 2/25

● Bible Study LIVE! 8 p.m. ET ~ One hour of live fun and great conversation! - https://www.facebook.com/groups/692185037534989/

Woman at the Well: Turning Our Messes into Messages. We will learn that Jesus wants to deal with our messes and offer us healing and restoration

Her Character:  Looked down on by the Jews because she was a Samaritan, and disdained because of her many romantic liaisons, she would not have been most people’s first choice to advance the gospel in a region where it had not yet been heard.

Key Scriptures:  John 4:1-42; Luke 17:11-19

Life and Times

Water

Cool, clear water. A commodity most of us today take for granted. We turn on a faucet, and water is readily available. In Palestine, however, water is scarce and valued.

The long, mostly rainless summers caused most of the rivers in Palestine to dry up completely. Even the Jordan River becomes shallow, narrow and muddy in the summer months. The early peoples of Palestine depended on rain during the spring and fall months for their water supply. Though scarce at other times during the year, the rain during these seasons kept the springs and wells flowing and cisterns full.

The Jews became adept at gathering every bit of rainwater, storing it up for future use during the dry seasons. Cisterns, covered pools dugout of rock specifically for storing rainwater were numerous. In Jerusalem, the temple area alone had thirty-seven cisterns, one of them large enough to hold over two million gallons of water. Gutters, pipes, and waterways directed the rainwater from the surface to the underground cistern, which would provide a constant supply of water, even during dry spells.

Heavy dew provided a good share of the moisture required by crops growing in the summer months. The warm, cloudless nights of Palestinian summers provide prime conditions for dew to form. Where ample water was readily available, farmers irrigated crops and vineyards to maximize the produce received from a field.

Drinking water was stored and carried in goatskins. Many towns and cities had drinking water for sale in their markets and on the streets. Only a minimal amount of water was used for washing, simply because it was so scarce. However, good hospitality required that a guest in someone’s home receive a basin of water to wash at least his or her feet and hands after walking on the dusty roads (Genesis 18:4; John 13:5).

Getting daily water from the neighborhood well or cistern was the duty of the younger women of the household. They would usually go to the well in the evening, when the air was cooler. It’s interesting to note that the Samaritan woman went to the well at noon (“the sixth hour”), probably in order to avoid the other women, who may have looked down on her.

Water is used in symbolic ways throughout Scripture. David compared his troubles to “deep waters” (Psalm 69:1-2,14; 124:5). The book of Proverbs compares people’s words to deep waters and wise words to “bubbling brooks” of water (Proverbs 18:4). Good news is like fresh water (Proverbs 25:25). Several passages refer to our sins being washed away (Psalm 51:7; Ephesians 5:26; Hebrews 10:22).

Jesus told the Samaritan woman that he had water that would take away her thirst forever. The water he was speaking of was not, of course, two parts hydrogen and one part oxygen, but spiritual water – a water that will fill her so full of himself that all her needs would be met, all her wants satisfied, and all her thirst fulfilled.

Be blessed and be a blessing!