The Tupelo journal., 1908-02-07
Jesus and the
Woman Of Sarnaria
Sunday School Lesson for Feb. 9, 1908
Specially Prepared for This Paper

summer and autumn in Judea. The Incl
dent at Jacobs well was probably in
December, A. d. q. 1t was near the
close of the first year of Jesus ministry,
John still preaching at Enon, near the
| Jordan.
PLACE.-Jacob's well. near Sychar, be-
tween Mts. Ebal and Gerizim in Sa-
maria.
SCRIPTURAL REFERENCES. The
soul fun of thirsts (Psa. 42:1-3: Matt.
BE; 1925: Rom. 7:23, "a; Pisa. 51:1-10; 63:1-3;
Rev. $40. 2. Worldly things cannot sat
isfy the souls thirsts (Jer. 2:1S; lisa. 55:2:
Psa. 1878: Feel. 1:12-14; 2:1-11; Rom.
i 7:1S-2G. 3. The water of eternal life (Psa.
1914; AL; 23:2; Matt. Sc; John 4:10, IA
7:37, IS; lisa. 55:1-3. 1O-13; ALL. IS; H:3.
35:1. z; 1913; Rev. 22:1, 2: Ezek.: 47:12:
1925.
Comment and Suggestive Thought.
V. 6. Now Jacobs well was there"
One of the few sites about which
there is no dispute" 1t is situated in
the fork of the two roads that lead to
Galilee from this region, one rum
northeast to the fords of the
Jordan, a few miles south Of
the lake, the other going to the
northwest by way of the south
ern pass into the plain of Esdraelon
directly toward Nazareth. The well
is Is feet deep, but was originally
much deeper, as the bottom has been
filled UP with rubbish. The well is
about seven feet six inches in diane
eter, but the mouth of it is a mar
row neck four feet long, and only
large enough for a man to pass
through with arms uplifted. See Hast
ings' Bible Dict.
Near the place where Christ talked
with the Samaritan woman now
stands a Baptist church, with a regu-
lar congregation of a hundred per-
sons."-Jewish Messenger.
Jesus therefore, being wearied
with his journey" He had probably
been walking several hours, as the
Orientals were accustomed to start
early in the morning, and it was now
about the sixth hour, or noon. &C.
cording to Jewish reckoning. Jo-
sephus (Antiquities) describes Moses
as sitting weary by a we'll at midday.
Jesus was weary in his work, not of it.
The wise approach by ~courteously
rising and asking a favor that could
easily be granted. The Syriac Cordex
implies that Jesus rose and stood to
meet politely the standing woman,
n this standing was one thing that
caused his disciples to marvel. Give
me to drink" Jesus asked for water
because he needed it, but he Used the
request as a means of preparing the
way for his teaching. A useless re-
quest would have defeated his pur-
pose.
Ii. whatsoever drinketh of this
water shall thirst again" This water
satisfies only bodily thirst, and for
brief periods-a type of all worldly
supplies for the deeper thirst of the
soul.
Every person is full of wants, long
ings, desires, hopes, both of the body
and of the soul. There are the thirsts
for pleasure. for power, for money, for
respect, for love, for knowledge. There
are thirsts for the friendship and love
OF God, for forgiveness, immortal
life, holiness, happiness, usefulness,
heaven, a larger sphere and broader
life. The larger the soul the more
and greater are its thirsts.
n greatness of any being is meas
ured % by the number of his de.
sires and thirsts; ca by their quail
1ty; 90 by their capacity, intensity.
Dead and Living Water.-"The old
Greeks believed that, before passing
30 the Elysian Field, all souls could
drink from the River Lethe, n for
get the sins and sorrows they had
experienced in this world. The liv-
ing water which Christ offers does not
enable us to forget our sorrows, but it
helps us to bear them. It. is no a
prelude to a life of ease, but a stimu-
lus for the struggle entailed on all
who follow Jesus.
V. &c. Jesus declares to the oma
that he is the expected Messiah. II
-. am he"
True Worship.-(I) God wants all men
to worship him, because thus they be-
come like him, near to him. (2) Thus
every heart may become hallowed
ground. go Worship must be spiritual
rather than formal. (4) 1t must be sim
cere. 60 1t is the fruit of love rath.
er than fear. CO. True worship can
not be separated from morality, while
formal worship can. ca Worship is
essential to the religious life. (8)
Forms and rites are valuable only as
they aid the spirit in its worship. co.
1t is not necessary to forms
(for some form is necessary in pub
lie Worship, but to fill the forms with
the true spirit.
(10) Sir Matthew Hale found that
prayer gave a "tincture of devotion"
to all secular employments; that "N
was a Christian chemistry, converting
those acts which are materially natn-
raj and civil into acts truly and for.
mally religious" He discovered in
habitual devotion what Herbert calls
the elixir" of life.
We need personal interest in the
welfare of others, not Organized
charity, scrimpt and iced in the name
of a cautious, statistical Christi We
need the personal touching even more
than the needy need our touch.
An Oriental Story.-There is an ORR
entail legend of a fountain into whose
waters a good angel infused the mys-
FERROUS power that a new fountain
rose and gushed whenever drops fell
on the barren plain, so that a traveller
carrying a portion of this water could
safely traverse any desert however
wide or dry, because he took with him
<h4 coarof nf 1Yrfoi1;r~ onr;n,o