National Baptist world., 1894-09-14
THE SUNDAY SCHOOL.

International Lesson for September 16s
1S94-Jesus at Jacobs Well-John A.
! 9-26.
! Especially arranged from Peloubet's notes.l
GOLDEN TExr.-Whosoever drinketh of the
water that shall give him shall never thirst.
John 4: IL
PLACE IN THE HIsrORY.-First year Sixth
event.
TIME.-December, A. D. 81 About eighs
months after the last lesson
PLACE.-Samaria, at Jacobs we'll, near
Sychar at the foot of Mount GeriZim.
FEAsTs IN A. D. 27-Passover, April 9; Pente-
cost, May 80; Tabernacles. October 4.
JEsUs-Now about thirtyone years old. al
the close OF his first years ministry chiefly In
Judea. John the Baptist preaching at Enon.
near the Jordan between Jericho and the Ses
. of Galilee
LESSON NOTES.
Jesus Journeys from Judea to Sa-
maria.-The larger part of the first
! year Of His ministry Jesus spent in
/ Judea. 1t was now winter. He had
| been so successful in gaining disciples,
/ chiefly from those John had taught
and prepared, that His disciples in
creased faster than those of John, who
himself had said: HE must increase,
but must decrease" This was the
fruit and proof of Johns success But,
seeing that remaining in Judea might
cause friction between His disciples
and those of John, and that the Phari-
sees would foment this feeling and
arouse opposition, and wishing to seek
freer fields of labor, where He could
nurture the infant church, Jesus de-
cided to leave Judea and spend some
time in Galilee. The province of Sa-
maria lay between, and He, with His
disciples, began the journey on foot.
Jesus Resting by Jacobs Well.-
The road from Judea to Galilee led by
the town Of Sychar, part of the an
cient Shechem, and Jacobs well or
fountain (Gen. 33:1S-20) 1t is on a
knoll, really spur of Gerizim, eighteen
feet high. Approaching, we find an
irregular, open space, or chamber, cut
out some six feet in the ground, and
walled up on the sides. 1t was origin
ally nearly square-say seventeen by
fifteen feet. An archway once spanned
the chamber. In the center of this
chamber is the we'll. 1t is nine feet in
diameter, and for distance of some
twelve feet is carefully walled up.
Thence downward it is solid rock.
Maundrell, in 1897, found it to be one
hundred and five feet deep. A dozen
years ago an Arab was let down into
the well, and by measuring the rope it
was found to be seventy-fve feet deep,
and quite dry at the bottom. The
thirty feet of rubbish at the bottom
covered up the water.
He Asks a Samaritan woman for
Drink of Water:-While His disciples
went to the city half "a mile away to buy
food, Samaritan woman came to the
well to draw water, probably for the
1aborers in the field, for there was
water to drink nearer Sychar. Jesus,
having no means of drawing water for
Himself, asked her to give Him drink.
She asks in surprise and perhaps
pleasure, ''How is it that Thou, being
Jew" etc, She recognized Him as
Jew either by His speech or His dress.
''For the Jews have no-Setiiings with m
the Samaritans," remark thrown in
by the writer to give the reason for her
surprise. They have no dealings OF
friendly intercourse. "This ill-will,
however, did not extend beyond famil.
buying and selling, intercourse was
allowed. This is manifest both from
Jewish writer's and from the conduct
of our Lords disciples OF the present
OCCASION
He Offers Her the Water of Eternal
Life.-It is worth while to note here
how often Jesus gives His best instruc.
ton, His choicest truths, in private
conversation and to one hearer or
very few. 1t was the same in our last
lesson. eff thou knewest the gift
of God:" The living waters referred to
below and salvation and eternal life
which they produce, and the Messiah
through whom they come. In word,
the whole Gospel of salvation as brought
by Jesus Christ. 'And who it is that
saith" And that this Messiah that
brings this salvation is now talking
with you, and can give it to you.
'"Thou wouldst have asked of Him"
Instead of His asking of thee, ''thou"
is emphatic. Spiritually, our positions
are reversed. 1t is thou who art weary,
and footsore, and parched, close to the
we'll, yet unable to drink; it is / who
can give thee the water from the
well and quench thy thirst forever.
"And He would have given thee living
water" That is perennial, springing
from an unfailing source (Gen. 2619),
ever flowing, fresh Uev. 14:5). "Liv.
ing water" then, denotes the gift OF
the Holy Spirit This was preemi-
nently the promised gift of the Fa.
ther (see especially Isa. a; Joel q,
beautifully and most aptly symbol.
lied by the fresh, springing water,
which, wherever it comes, makes the
desert rejoice and everything live.
The Water of Life.-1. Every person
has certain great thirsts of the soul.
He is full of wants, of longings, of de-
sires. He needs love, forgiveness, inn
mortal life, the friendship of God, holi.
ness, happiness, knowledge, usefulness,
Heaven, a larger sphere and broader
life. The larger the soul, the more and
greater are it's thirsts. Civilization.
progress, goodness, always increase the
thirsts of the soul. The number and
quality of these thirsts are the measure