Wells Without Water

“Now on the last and most important day of the feast, Jesus stood and called out, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink! He who believes in Me [who adheres to, trusts in, and relies on Me], as the Scripture has said, ‘From his innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water.’” But He was speaking of the [Holy] Spirit, whom those who believed in Him [as Savior] were to receive afterward.” (John 7:37-39)

In the natural, when you are thirsty, you seek refreshment from a reliable source. Right? The same is applied in the spiritual. When your soul is longing for refreshing and renewal of life-giving sustenance, you seek a reliable source that will provide clean, continuously flowing sustenance. Jesus made it very clear, on several occasions, that He alone was the way to receive that refreshment. And that refreshment was (and still is) God’s Holy Spirit.

For those who are unfamiliar with Holy Spirit, here are just a few scriptures describing WHO He is and what He does:

“If you [really] love Me, you will keep and obey My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), to be with you forever— the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive [and take to its heart] because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He (the Holy Spirit) remains with you continually and will be in you.” (John 14:15-17)

“I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.” (John 14:25-26)

“But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. And He, when He comes, will convict the world about [the guilt of] sin [and the need for a Savior], and about righteousness, and about judgment: about sin [and the true nature of it], because they do not believe in Me [and My message]; about righteousness [personal integrity and godly character], because I am going to My Father and you will no longer see Me; about judgment [the certainty of it], because the ruler of this world (Satan) has been judged and condemned. “I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear [to hear] them now. But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth [full and complete truth]. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father—the message regarding the Son], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future]. He will glorify and honor Me, because He (the Holy Spirit) will take from what is Mine and will disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Because of this I said that He [the Spirit] will take from what is Mine and will reveal it to you.” (John 16:6-15)

***Also Romans 8:1-17, Acts 1-2, 1 Corinthians 12, and Galatians 5:16-26 have clear descriptions of the person, power, and works of God’s Holy Spirit (Btw, there is so much more besides these scriptures listed. I urge you to please seek them out in study!)

So now that we have a better understanding of the need for “living water,” let’s look at what the scriptures call “wells without water.”

In both the books of 2 Peter and Jude, we are taught to be alert and cautious of APOSTATES. Apostacy is the abandonment or renunciation of a religious or political belief, and particularly in these scriptures it is about false teachers and prophets who are trying to lure people away from the truth of God's word. Peter calls them “wells without water, clouds carried by a tempest, for whom is reserved the blackness of darkness forever” (2 Peter 2:17) and Jude refers to them as “hidden reefs [elements of great danger to others] in your love feasts when they feast together with you without fear, looking after [only] themselves; [they are like] clouds without water, swept along by the winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted and lifeless; wild waves of the sea, flinging up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of deep darkness has been reserved forever.” (Jude 1:12-13)

These apostates (past, present, and future) deceive both non-believers and believers in Christ. The ones referred to in these scriptures were once believers and followers of Christ, but turned away from His truth to follow their own lusts and desires. They appear as something good or promising, but are quite the opposite.

Peter warns about such people:

“For uttering arrogant words of vanity [pompous words disguised to sound scholarly or profound, but meaning nothing and containing no spiritual truth], they beguile and lure using lustful desires, by sensuality, those who barely escape from the ones who live in error. They promise them liberty, when they themselves are the slaves of depravity—for by whatever anyone is defeated and overcome, to that [person, thing, philosophy, or concept] he is continually enslaved. For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world by [personal] knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and are overcome, their last condition has become worse for them than the first. For it would have been better for them not to have [personally] known the way of righteousness, than to have known it and then to have turned back from the holy commandment handed on to them. The thing spoken of in the true proverb has happened to them, “The dog returns to his own vomit,” and, “A sow is washed only to wallow [again] in the mire.” (2 Peter 2:18-22)

Essentially, these people fell into some sort of temptation leading them to walk away from the TRUTH and now they have set about tempting others with false doctrine and various religious deceptions.

Temptation means to lure, entice, inveigle, decoy and seduce. Now we know that God allows temptation, but He Himself does not tempt anyone, as the scriptures say “Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am tempted by God”; for God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does He Himself tempt anyone. But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death.” (James 1:13-15)

And we know based on the scriptures that the one who presents temptation is our very own adversary and accuser, satan. Remember that wherever deception dwells, rest assured satan is behind it and is the father of it.

And deception is the major player in any apostate’s life. Think about how you would describe a “well without water.” A well without water is absolutely useless. In the natural, a well is a structure created in the ground intended to access groundwater in underground aquifers. Its entire purpose is to provide access to water.

Therefore, it attracts those who are thirsty and looking for water. When a person sees a well they assume that there is water in the well. With an apostate, however, the spiritually thirsty have assumed incorrectly.

Ellicot’s Commentary describes apostates as such “These men are like dried-up watering-places in the desert, which entice and mock the thirsty traveller; perhaps leading him into danger also by drawing him from places where there is water.”

So an apostate not only deceives people into thinking they have the spiritual sustenance they need, but they can also detour them from reaching a place where the seeker can actually receive true spiritual sustenance.

Jesus promises us “rivers of living water” and He said that “whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.” (John 4:14)

Jesus never promised something that He could not or would not deliver. An apostate, on the other hand, will never be able to fulfill their promises. Because they themselves are empty, and an empty well cannot provide water.

Only through Christ can we to receive refreshment and renewal in the life-giving waters of God’s Holy Spirit, but He takes it up a step more. Those who have received the “living waters” are then made to be springs of living water, out of which flows the spiritual sustenance that helps others. An apostate cannot help anyone, because they themselves are lost and undone. They neither have true lasting spiritual sustenance nor the means to provide that sustenance.

This reminds me of a scripture in the book of Jeremiah, where the LORD chastised His people for building broken cisterns that could not hold any water.

In Jeremiah 2:11-13, the LORD says “Has a nation changed its gods, which are not gods? But My people have changed their Glory for what does not profit. Be astonished, O heavens, at this, and be horribly afraid; Be very desolate,” says the Lord. “For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water.”

Sound familiar?

The people had walked away from serving the God, Who was their fountain of living waters, and they turned to idols which they made themselves and which were unable to provide true spiritual sustenance. The children of Israel had turned away from the One True God to serve pagan gods who catered to their fleshly and carnal desires. 

They were greatly deceived into believing their idols had any power and authority above the God Who called them His own people. That same God Who promised them an eternal land, Who delivered them (multiple times) from their enemies, Who healed their diseases, Who provided for them, Who loved them with an everlasting love……….

They, like the apostates mentioned in 2 Peter and Jude, tried to both find “living water” from another source and create vessels for that water. Yet, there is no other life-source than Jehovah, and the vessels they created were defective.

An excerpt of teaching from Growing Christians Ministries describes this spiritual state:

“When the foolish people of Judah turned away from the Lord who had done so much for them, they were guilty of two evils. Trying to construct an artificial reservoir for collecting spiritual water was bad enough, but to turn away and reject the water from the life-giving Spring was tragic! How could anyone in his right mind do such a thing? Imagine yourself as a very thirsty person in a parched land, turning away from a bubbling spring of cool water to hack out a cistern in the dirt, under the parched sun, in the hopes of collecting some rain water! If no natural spring existed nearby, digging a cistern would be the best thing you could do.

If a spring was nearby and you didn't know it, you would be in a pathetic situation, but at least you could be pitied for your diligent efforts to try to collect some water. But if you did know that there was a good spring of running water readily available, and you deliberately turned your back on this life-giving source to construct a cistern, you would be incredibly foolish. There would be no sympathy or pity for you when your digging efforts resulted in an empty, broken cistern!

This is precisely the illustration that God painted in words to show His people how utterly foolish and guilty they were when they turned away from Him. The surrounding heathen nations could at least be pitied when they ignorantly followed lifeless gods which could not meet their spiritual thirst. Futhermore, unlike Judah, these pagan nations were loyal to their gods (v10-11)! The people of Judah knowingly forsook their Source of Living Water to attempt to drink from self-made broken cisterns. No wonder the heavens are called on to be appalled and "shudder with great horror" at such foolishness, such stupidity and such evil (v12).

Is it possible that some of God's people today are guilty of the same two evils that the people of Judah committed in Jeremiah's day? Is it possible that we've become so accustomed to the Living Water that we've wandered away from the Fountain to see if there's some water available elsewhere? Have we foolishly gotten involved in constructing our own cisterns?”

Is it indeed possible that people in the church today are guilty of the same two evils mentioned in Jeremiah 2:13? Is it possible that there are false teachers, preachers, and prophets in the world today slowly spreading their deceptions like a communicable disease?

I say not only is it possible, but it is RAMPANT! The need for spiritual discernment through God’s Holy Spirit is at an all-time high. We are bombarded on every front with deception. It comes through our TV’s, phones, computers, and yes, even some church pulpits.

Let us show gratitude and offer to God Almighty, our Father who is in heaven, pleasing service and acceptable worship with reverence and awe! There is no room in God’s kingdom for players! The LORD makes it clear that the games have got to go, or else the player will be gone. He is going to allow those deceivers, the false teachers, preachers, and prophets, to be exposed. And the merciful God He is, He will give them the chance to repent and come back into His arms. But it is their choice to do so, as it is all our choice to heed the words of God and obey them, not reluctantly, but willingly and with great joy. So take joy in your King! He is coming back for those who belong to Him and He is coming quickly!

I pray that this has helped you, for it has surely helped me. I urge you to continuously ask for God’s discernment, illumination, revelation, and wisdom. We are in perilous times my friend, but do not worry! If you abide in the LORD, He will abide in you. He will be your place of rest, refuge, and provision. Spend time with Him in the secret place. He will refresh you in your weariness, strengthen you in your weakness, and restore you in your brokenness.

God bless you!