Digging Wells

Genesis 26:18-33

In the Middle East, the quest for water is endless. The arid deserts of that land leave little fresh water. The Jews of modern day Israel have perfected the art of turning salt water into fresh, drinkable water. Israel has perfected reverse-osmosis desalination to turn sea water into drinking water for millions of people. Such innovation has fulfilled Biblical prophecy, providing fresh water to make the Negev desert profitable for farming.

“The wilderness and the wasteland shall be glad for them, And the desert shall rejoice and blossom as the rose” (Isaiah 35:1).

The quest for water in the Middle East is timeless. The Bible records that Abraham, the patriarch, dug wells at Gerar and Beersheba in the land of Canaan. The Philistines had stopped up the wells in an attempt to drive Abraham’s family off the land.

“Then Isaac sowed in that land, and reaped in the same year a hundredfold; and the Lord blessed him. The man began to prosper, and continued prospering until he became very prosperous; for he had possessions of flocks and possessions of herds and a great number of servants. So the Philistines envied him. Now the Philistines had stopped up all the wells which his father’s servants had dug in the days of Abraham his father, and they had filled them with earth” (Genesis 26:12-15 NKJV).

Isaac, Abraham’s son, had to reopen his father’s old wells, and dig some new ones if he was to survive.

“And Isaac dug again the wells of water which they had dug in the days of Abraham his father, for the Philistines had stopped them up after the death of Abraham. He called them by the names which his father had called them” (Genesis 26:18 NKJV).

You and I have received an important inheritance, wells of truth, salvation and righteousness. Our spiritual and physical fathers have dug these wells for us. Time, culture, and spiritual drift attempts to clog the wells of truth, salvation and righteousness. You and I must reopen the wells of our fathers that Satan seeks to stop up over time.  Then, we must dig some new wells in the Promised Land of Truth.  The fresh water of truth, salvation, and righteousness must continue to flow.