Will You Marry Me?Sample

The Bride, the Groom, and the Well 

Over the next few days, we’ll continue our study by looking at two patriarchs of our faith: Isaac and Jacob. They were both Jewish and married to Jewish women, which means they would have undergone the Jewish marital customs we learned about earlier.

Both Isaac and Jacob found their future wives at a water well. Moses, another patriarch of the faith, also met his wife at a well, and later in this study, we’ll learn that Jesus met the Samaritan woman at a well, too.

When studying the Bible, you’ll find that when something happens more than once, it’s not a coincidence. Let’s take a look at wells today and see why this meeting place is significant.

In biblical times, wells were usually located outside of town and required a one- to two-mile walk to get to them. They often served as boundary lines to mark that a village was close by.

Women of the village would take two or more trips to the well each day to gather water for their family’s daily needs, such as drinking, washing, agriculture, and cooking. Wells were a crucial life source for a community in that day.

A functioning well was not only a necessary and life-giving source for a community; it was also a social hub, kind of like Starbucks is to us today. (I need coffee like I need water. Just saying.) Travelers would come from near and far to drink water and refresh their animals.

The well, being just far enough outside of town, was an acceptable place for young men and women to meet, visit, and flirt outside of the watchful eye of their elders (just keeping it real). You could often find a shepherd hanging out around midday or evening time resting and watering his flock before heading back on the road.

 

Water in the Bible symbolizes life. In the book of John, Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as “living water.” The Holy Spirit brings eternal, supernatural life. On the other hand, an empty well in the Bible is referred to as a “pit”: a symbol of death with no life-giving source or water dwelling inside. Pits were empty, dark, dry, and deadly. 

In today’s reading, King Solomon speaks of his bride as a well flowing with streaming water. Being “like a well” was considered a great compliment in this culture. It implied that you were refreshing and life-giving, and that all who come in contact with you were filled with life. 

When we, the bride of Christ, have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside us, we’re like the well in this verse. It’s truly a beautiful picture. 

Today, we’ll start reading the story of Isaac and Rebekah, which we’ll cover over the next couple of days. It’s a lot of reading, but trust me—it’s very romantic!