Water

In the dry climate of the Bible lands, water was survival itself; a spring or well meant life, and drought meant death. Wells were fiercely guarded, and a cup of cold water was a real gift. Water was also the means of ceremonial washing and cleansing.

Both meanings fill the Scriptures. God is called “the fountain of living waters,” and the thirsty are invited to “come ye to the waters.” Washing with water pictured purification from sin, and the Red Sea crossing and the Jordan became images of passing from bondage and death into freedom and new life.

Jesus offered the Samaritan woman “living water… springing up into everlasting life,” and promised that from the believer would flow “rivers of living water” — which John explains is the Holy Spirit. Water captures the gospel's double gift: sins washed away, and a Spirit-fed life that never runs dry.