The dryness between May and September in Palestine made reservoirs or cisterns necessary. The rocky ground was conducive to their construction. Their tops, carved of stone and covering a round opening, often had a wheel for a bucket to be lowered and raised to access the water which was conducted from the roofs of houses. This explains the proverb "Drink waters out of thine own cistern" (Prov. 5:15)--take your enjoyment only from the sources that are legitimately yours.
"Now [Jesus] had to go through Samaria. So He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob's well (cistern) was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour (noon). When a Samaritan woman came to the well to draw water (late in the day, probably to avoid the gossip and harsh looks of the other women), Jesus said to her, 'Will you give me a drink?'" (John 4:4-7)
4:9 Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans.
4:10 Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.
4:11 The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water?
4:12 Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle?
4:13 Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again:
4:14 But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life.
4:15 The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw.
4:16 Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither.
4:17 The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband:
4:18 For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly.
4:19 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet.
4:20 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
4:21 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father.
4:22 Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
4:23 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.
4:24 God [is] a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship [him] in spirit and in truth.
4:25 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things.
4:26 Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am [he].
Long before the time of Christ, the prophet Jeremiah wrote: "My people have committed two sins: They have foresaken me, the spring of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that can not hold water" (Jer. 2:13). His words prophesied what the time of Christ would see and what our own times maintain.
A cistern is a man-made container. Even if it were not broken, the water could become polluted by dirt, insects, algae (because the water is not flowing) and bacteria. If the cistern developed cracks, even usable water would be lost into the surrounding ground.
"Blaise Pascal, a 17th Century Christian thinker, referred to broken cisterns as diversions. He argued that all of us know we will someday die, and that we can not conquer death on our own. However . . . instead of seeking a Savior, most people choose to divert their attention by focusing on things of the world, things that can only give temporary gratification" (Dr. Phil Fernandes). Cisterns can hold only a limited supply of water, not an ever-flowing spring and the stonework can be destroyed or wear away. The broken cistern of the Samaritan woman at the well was adultery. For others it may be addiction, job, family, sports, false religion, pornography, academics, anything that one might turn to for quenching the deep-down "thirst." However, there is only one thing that can quench that thirst--the Living Water, Jesus Christ.
Heavenly Father, I am thirsty. Free me from my dependence on the cistern. I want the living water! Lead me to Your spring so I may drink. Amen
2:13 for my people have committed two evils: they have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.
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