tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080372433953859587.post5280447873843647346..comments2023-08-06T07:02:49.496-04:00Comments on Little Steps Home: John 4Amberhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09002997517784638068noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080372433953859587.post-89548797542082537852014-06-14T22:31:54.446-04:002014-06-14T22:31:54.446-04:00It's this one.
http://www.amazon.com/Bible-La...It's this one.<br /><br />http://www.amazon.com/Bible-Land-Ancient-Context-Faith/dp/0310280443/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1402799476&sr=8-1&keywords=The+Bible+and+the+Land+by+Gary+M.+BurgeSusannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03115294023069458287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080372433953859587.post-33651863426807258472014-06-10T00:12:10.296-04:002014-06-10T00:12:10.296-04:00oooh...what's the book title? You know me and ...oooh...what's the book title? You know me and books. :)<br /><br />Definitely I was highlighting the cultural aspect of the water here. After all, if this was taking place in a more tropical climate like Florida the promise of water (living or otherwise) wouldn't be as much of a punch to the gut. We've got water to spare. Sure, you might die trying to get to it (snakes and gators and crocs, oh my!) but there's plenty of water.Amberhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09002997517784638068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080372433953859587.post-33838913128758193482014-06-06T10:41:58.035-04:002014-06-06T10:41:58.035-04:00Amber, I was reading a book earlier this year abou...Amber, I was reading a book earlier this year about the land of the Bible. The author discusses the wilderness, the land, water, and such things mentioned in the Bible. He does it in a cultural way. I guess like you mentioned in Florida you are surrounded by water vs. the arid land where Jesus lived.<br /><br />The author points out that living water was greatly distinguished in Judaism from common water so much so that an oral law "devoted an entire chapter to the classification of types of water for special uses."<br /><br />Living water was especially important in Jewish purification rituals. It was "water that has come to us directly from the hand of God (e.g., rain, a spring, a river." It hasn't been "'ported' or 'lifted' by human hand - as stored water has." He says about the Samaritan woman that Jesus offered her to be cleansed and made new. This is why they delve into her past and the mention of the husbands. He knew she was outcast from her community (gathering water at noon wasn't typical), and offered restoration, to make her clean.<br /><br />I enjoyed your thoughts!Susannehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03115294023069458287noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080372433953859587.post-30782764852001604982014-06-05T13:44:34.080-04:002014-06-05T13:44:34.080-04:00I think Jesus' mention of worship "in spi...I think Jesus' mention of worship "in spirit and truth" points to more than just God as spirit; I think it points to the Spirit of truth, expanding on Jesus' special gift of living water (the Spirit). This particular worship is already happening because Jesus has the Spirit of truth and is speaking that truth to the woman. Thus there is an incarnational aspect to this: the Spirit speaks the truth through the mouth of Jesus (and later his followers). The phrase "the Spirit of truth" is found three times in Jn. 14-16, where Jesus promises to send the disciples the Paraclete, the Spirit of truth, after he returns to the Father. That Spirit will help them remember and witness to the truth they have heard from Jesus. According to Jesus in Jn. 4, such witness will be (an important part of) worship.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5080372433953859587.post-34550977801483971082014-06-05T00:07:47.966-04:002014-06-05T00:07:47.966-04:00// It is, I believe, generally understood and acce...// It is, I believe, generally understood and accepted that the 'living water' Jesus is speaking of here is the Holy Spirit and with it the grace of God. //<br /><br />Yep, and more. I'm gonna drift into a personal thought. I was listening to an MP3 Bible on the way to work today (when it's 37min round trip, you've got plenty of time) and had it on the book of John. (cause, you know, this blog.)<br /><br />Anyway, I came to this passage, and was suddenly struck by this part:<br /><br />// Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” <br /><br />The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty //<br /><br />You're right, Amber, the woman really didn't know what she was talking about. But then, did I? I knew Jesus was speaking spiritually, but what WAS this spring of water rising to eternal life? How did it actually work? What did it feel like? I probably just had nebulous ideas of "joy", "contentment", "heaven", etc.<br /><br />Again, you're right to identify the "water" as the Holy Spirit, which we'll see again in John 7. And it occurred to me that there are things in life that I am not thirsty for, because when God Himself moved in with me, my thirst was satisfied. <br /><br />* My thirst for meaning in life, to know why I was here and what life was for.<br /><br />* My thirst for explanations, for bad things that happen for reasons I cannot possibly know in this life.<br /><br />* My thirst for the deepest possible relationship. Not that I don't deeply love my wife, my family and friends. But a knowledge that I have a friendship with God that will survive even if I lose every other loving relationship I have in this world. <br /><br />* My thirst to have someone to admire when I watch my daughter's ugly caterpillars dissolve, digest themselves, and reform into butterflies and ask "Who in the world could design something that can do THAT?!"<br /><br />* My thirst to makes sure every moment of my life is lived to the absolute fullest, because YOLO.<br /><br />It is an awesome, awesome thing to be at rest from trying to satisfy those thists that are otherwise unquenchable.<br /><br />After that, I got to work and the rest of the day of computer programming was much more mundane. So, end of story!Davidhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12930012251415919303noreply@blogger.com