Water is everywhere in the Bible! In this post then we will unpack one counsel and its wisdom from God about water.

Who is God?

First, though, here is a brief introduction to God. God is a divine Family known as “the Godhead” (Acts 17:29) in the Bible. This Family consists of three divine Persons, namely, the Father, the Son called Christ, and the Holy Spirit.

For those who are new to Bible notation, “Acts 17:29,” for example, is a reference to the Bible, which is a collection of books. Each book of the Bbible consists of one or more chapters, and each chapter has numbered sections called verses. The quotation referred to as “Acts 17:29” is taken from the book of Acts in the Bible, the 17^th chapter, and the 29^th verse.

What is God like? “God is love” (1 John 4:8) meaning that the identical love exists in the heart of each member of the Godhead and this love defines what is true love. The members of the Godhead never contradict each other at any time and, so, we can truly say, “There is one God.” Mark 12:32.

Our Bible Verse of Focus

Our Bible verse of focus in this post is as follows: “Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running [fresh] waters out of thine own well.” Proverbs 5:15.

This is the Bible verse that is the subject of this post. There is more to this verse than is immediately obvious on reading it!

The Literal Meaning of Proverbs 5:15

What does this Proverbs 5:15 mean literally? In ancient Israel, a “cistern” was a hollow area dug out of rock as an underground reservoir for holding rainwater. On the other hand, a “well” was a hole dug (or bored) in the ground to reach a supply of underground water.

So, literally, God’s counsel is to drink only from your own cistern or well. That seems fine enough, but is there a symbolic meaning? Yes, there is! This symbolism then is what this post is all about.

Water and My Impression from the Holy Spirit

So, as it happened one day, I was praying to God, and God directed me to the Bible verse, Proverbs 5:15, which is our Bible verse of focus for this post.

I read the verse, Proverbs 5:15, in the Bible and was meditating on it when the Holy Spirit impressed me that this verse applies to Bible study. How so? Read on and I will explain.

Here then is an illustration of a Bible study principle. That is, I approached God in prayer and in my subsequent meditation on what God had said to me, God opened the Bible to my understanding.

Prayer and Bible Study

Now, no effective Bible study can be done without prayer and, in fact, the Bible should never be read without prayer.

What is prayer? It is a two-way communication between the individual and God. That is, you speak to God, preferably silently, so as to ensure that your prayer to God is secret. God then responds to you, typically, by impressing your mind with His thoughts and, often, by directing you to the Bible.

Why do we need prayer? Because only the Holy Spirit who inspired the writing of the Bible can cause you to correctly understand it.

Water and the Holy Spirit

Now, “in the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus [Christ, when He was on earth,] stood and cried, saying, If any man [person] thirst, let him [or her] come unto me, and drink. He [or she] that believeth on me, as the scripture [the written word of God] hath said, out of his [or her] belly shall flow rivers of living water. (But this spake [spoke] he [Christ] of the [Holy] Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive…).” John 7:37-39.

Here in the words of Christ we have the meaning of a symbol in the Bible. Thus, according to the Bible, symbolically, the drinking of the water that Christ gives and, as a result, having rivers of living water flow from one’s belly, is to receive the Holy Spirit.

In other words, water is a symbol of the Holy Spirit and drinking water is a symbol of receiving the Holy Spirit.,

Drinking Water and the Holy Spirit

But what does it mean it receive the Holy Spirit? To unpack the meaning, let us also consider the words Christ spoke at another time. “Jesus…said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink [from the well]; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.” John 4:10.

“Whosoever drinketh of this water [from the well] shall thirst again: 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.” John 4:13, 14.

Here we see that the “living water [Holy Spirit]” (John 4:10) which Christ gives will cause you to, (1) symbolically, never thirst again and (2) will, symbolically, cause water giving everlasting life to spring from you.

If we can understand these two things, we will understand what is meant by, figuratively, drinking water, and thereby make progress in understanding our Bible verse of focus, Proverbs 5:15.

Living Water and Thirst

Now, an unknown person in ancient Israel said, “As the hart [deer] panteth [longs (thirsts)] after the water brooks, so panteth [longs] my soul after thee, O God. My soul [my whole being] thirsteth for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42:1, 2.

Here then we see that, figuratively, thirsting for water means to have a longing, a desire, “for God, for the living God.” Psalm 42:2.

Here is an amazing thing though! “The whole world lieth [lives] in wickedness” (1 John 5:19) and “therefore the whole world [initially] say unto God, Depart from us; for we desire not the knowledge of thy ways.” Job 21:14. How is it then that anyone ever has a longing desire for God?

Well, the answer is that even though “he [or she initially] drinketh no [living] water [has not received the Holy Spirit], and is [therefore spiritually] faint” (Isaiah 44:12), “He [God supernaturally] giveth [the] power [of the Holy Spirit] to the [spiritually] faint; and to them that have no might [those who are spiritually faint] he increaseth [moral] strength” (Isaiah 40:29), if they are receptive to the gift of the Holy Spirit from God.

Yes, it is God who creates a thirst for God Himself, that is to say, who creates a desire for God Himself, in the individual, and who is constantly offering to every human being the gift of the Holy Spirit!

Having created this thirst, this desire, the individual then becomes aware of what God has been offering them all along—the “living water” (John 4:10), the Holy Spirit, which Christ gives.

Thus, those people who are now spiritually thirsty will say, “O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth [longs] for thee, my flesh [body] longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land [the world], where no water [no Holy Spirit] is.” Psalm 63:1. They have a spiritual thirst which only God can quench.

In response to such people, God promises, “When the poor and needy [the spiritually thirsty] seek water [seek the Holy Spirit], and there is none, and their tongue faileth [is dry] for [because of] thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of…[all who have received the Holy Spirit] will not forsake them.” Isaiah 41:17.

Living Water and the Receiving the Holy Spirit

If the person reaches out to God and takes the gift of the Holy Spirit, which is to, symbolically, drink the living water they will quench their spiritual thirst. They will receive the Holy Spirit.

In other words, our spiritual thirst is quenched when “the love of God is [supernaturally] shed abroad [poured] in our hearts by the Holy Ghost [Holy Spirit] which is given unto us.” Romans 5:5. This is what is meant by drinking the living water, that is to say, what is meant by our receiving the Holy Spirit.

Now, if we do not take the gift of the Holy Spirit, we will remain in our natural condition of being spiritually faint, that is, of being without the Holy Spirit.

Now that we understand the concept of, symbolically, quenching our spiritual thirst, let us turn our attention to understanding the symbolism of water flowing from the person leading to everlasting life.

Living Water and Eternal Life

Now, “the [Holy] Spirit and the bride [the Christian church] say, Come. And let him that [spiritually] heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst [spiritually thirsty] come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of [eternal] life freely.” Revelation 22:17.

Here then is a restatement of the connection, which Christ had stated, between drinking living water which is a symbol of receiving the Holy Spirit, and eternal life.

So, the individual then who receives the Holy Spirit will say, wholeheartedly, “Behold, God is my salvation [my saving by God from eternal death (annihilation) as the penalty from God for my sin, which is evil and wrongdoing]; I will trust, and not be afraid: for the LORD [God] JEHOVAH is my strength and my song; he also is become my salvation. Therefore with joy shall ye draw [living] water [and drink living water] out of the wells of salvation.” Isaiah 12:2, 3. For our salvation is the receiving of eternal life from God.

Living Water and the Work of the Holy Spirit

“Christ…gave himself for…[us] that he might sanctify [make us holy] and cleanse…[us from sin] with the washing of water [the Holy Spirit] by the word [the Bible].” Ephesians 5:25, 26.

For you must “lay apart [put away] all filthiness [spiritual uncleanness] and superfluity [abundance] of naughtiness [evil], and receive with meekness the engrafted [implanted] word [of God, the Bible, through the Holy Spirit], which is able to save your souls [from eternal death (annihilation)].” James 1:21.

We see then that the Holy Spirit, the living water, cleanses us from our sinful ways by implanting the word of God, the Bible, in our minds when we yield to the Holy Spirit. This the Holy Spirit does by first leading us to repentance, that is to have deep sorrow for our sins and then causing us to exercise the gift of faith. Now everyone receives the gift of faith from God but without repentance people have a superficial faith and not saving (correct) faith that takes proper hold of God’s truth by the working of the Holy Spirit. When we exercise this faith to believe God’s promise to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from our sins through Jesus Christ, God supplies the fact. That is, because we believe it becomes true of us in fact. This is known as “justification.” Romans 4:25.

In other words, we are “[spiritually] born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God [the Bible], which liveth and abideth for ever.” 1 Peter 1:23.

That is, “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his [God’s] mercy he [God] saved us [from eternal death (annihilation)], by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost [which is to be spiritually born again through the Holy Spirit].” Titus 3:5.

Speaking then of this regeneration, renewing, and “born again” experience, God says, “A new heart…will I give you, and a new spirit [new mind] will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh. And I will put my [Holy] spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.” Ezekiel 36:26, 27.

“For this is the love of God [received from God through the supernatural outpouring of love by the Holy Spirit in our hearts], that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.” 1 John 5:3.

Thus, the gift of love from God supernaturally received through the Holy Spirit causes the regeneration and renewing of our minds and hearts so that we live according to the Bible, which is to say, according to God’s ways of love. All this is the work of the Holy Spirit.

But there is another work that the Holy Spirit does for us. Immediately upon our justification, God tests our character to see if we will successfully resist all temptations to sin. Here the Holy Spirit works in us when we exercise faith in Christ’s keeping power to give us the victory over all sin. This process is known as “sanctification” (1 Corinthians 1:30) and when we have in the end become sanctified, we receive the gift of eternal life from God.

Living Water and Wisdom

Now, as we have seen, God works through the Holy Spirit “that he [God] might sanctify [make us holy] and cleanse….[us] with the washing of water by the word [the Bible].” Ephesians 5:26.

For “the holy scriptures [the Bible]…are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus [the Deliverer from sin].” 2 Timothy :15.

Who is Jesus? He is Christ who was born in human flesh as a baby boy named “Jesus” (Matthew 1:21) over 2,000 years ago. Jesus Christ died “for the sins of the whole world” (1 John2:2), rose from the dead to life again, and ascended to heaven from which He came to the earth.

It is clear then that without faith in Christ, we cannot be made wise to resist all sin so that we are saved by God to receive eternal life.

So, God says, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom.” Colossians 3:16.

For “all scripture [the entire Bible] is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man [or woman] of God may be perfect, throughly [thoroughly] furnished [equipped] unto all good works.” 2 Timothy 3:16, 17.

Drinking One’s Own Water

Having understood all of the above, we are now in a position to understand our Bible verse of focus: “Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running [fresh] waters out of thine own well.” Proverbs 5:15.

We can think of the cistern and the well as the Scriptures, the Bible, the only source of all “sound doctrine [uncorrupted teaching from God].” Titus 2:1.

So, God says to all humanity, “Search the scriptures [for yourself].” John 5:9. “Study [the Bible for yourself] to shew [show] thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [interpreting] the word of truth.” 2 Timothy 2:15.

“Till I [God] come [on my Judgment Day], give attendance [apply yourself] to reading [the Bible], to exhortation [preaching, that is, spreading the word of God in the world], to doctrine [teaching].” 1 Timothy 4:13.

None of these things that God says can someone do for you. No one can receive the Holy Spirit for you, search and know the Scriptures for you, study the Bible for you.

Yes, “another man’s [or woman’s] line of things [Bible study] made ready to our hand” (2 Corinthians 10:16) can be of help, but it is not a substitute for the process by which God “make[s] you [the individual] perfect, stablish, strengthen, settle you [in the truths of the Bible].” 1 Peter 5;10.

For “the entrance of thy [God’s] words giveth light; it giveth understanding unto the simple [the naïve and gullible]” (Psalm 119:130), “to give subtilty [subtlety] to the simple [the naïve and gullible]…[and the] knowledge [of God] and discretion.” Proverbs 1:4.

In other words, only the Holy Spirit can cause you to “discern between good and bad” (1 Kings 3:9), to discern “the difference between the holy and profane, and…to discern between the unclean and the clean [in God’s eyes].” Ezekiel 44:23.

Thus, God cautions us not to depend on other people but to “prove [test] all things [for ourselves]; hold fast [keep only] that which is good.” 1 Thessalonians 5:21.

Why does God warn us in this matter? Continue reading and you will understand.

Wells Without Water

God says, “For… [the] people [in the world] have committed two evils; they have forsaken me [God] the fountain of living waters, and hewed [cut] them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.” Jeremiah 2:13. That is, they are estranged from God and have not received the Holy Spirit.

“There…[are] false prophets also among the people [of the world], even as there…[are] false teachers…who privily [secretly] shall bring in damnable heresies [false teachings]…and bring upon themselves swift destruction [from God].” 2 Peter 2:1.

“Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling [deceiving] unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children.” 2 Peter 2:14.

These are they “which have forsaken the right way, and are gone astray [from God], following the way of Balaam the son of Bosor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness; but was rebuked for his iniquity [wickedness]: the dumb ass [donkey] speaking with man’s voice forbad [forbidding] the madness [foolhardiness] of the prophet.” 2 Peter 2:15, 16.

“These are wells without water, clouds that are carried with a tempest; to whom the mist of darkness [lack of a knowledge of God] is reserved for ever.” 2 Peter 2:17.

“For the vile [wicked] person will speak villany [folly], and his heart will work iniquity [wickedness], to practise hypocrisy, and to utter error against the LORD [God], to make empty the soul of the hungry, and he will cause the drink of the thirsty to fail [to be lacking].” Isaiah 32:6.

Such is God’s diagnosis of the spiritual condition of the people in the world in general and the many false prophets and false teachers of the Bible. They have not the Holy Spirit.

Clearly then, you would not want to entrust your understanding of the Bible and, hence, your salvation to such people.

Foul Water

Moreover, God says of false prophets and false teachers, “Ye…have drunk of the deep [fresh] waters, but ye…foul the residue [remainder of the water] with your feet.” Ezekiel 34:18.

That is, these people claim to have drunk of the water of life but, in reality, they have fouled the water that they give others to drink.

In other words, such people have a “another spirit” (2 Corinthians 11:4) which is a “foul spirit” (Mark 9:25), an “unclean spirit” (Matthew 12:43), “a lying spirit” (1 Kings 22:22), that is to say, they have the spirit of Satan and his “evil angels.” Psalm 78:49.

Who are Satan and his evil angels? Satan, whose original name was “Lucifer” (Isaiah 14:12), is an angel who rebelled against God in heaven and persuaded some of the angels to join him in this rebellion. As a result, God cast Satan and his angels out of heaven. Subsequently, Satan tempted Adam and Eve, the first human pair whom God created, to sin, and Adam and Eve, who were created holy, sinned. All of Adam and Eve’s descendants have inherited their disposition to sin.

So, nothing good such as correct Bible study, can come from those who have are like Satan, which is to say, they have the spirit of Satan. They do not have the Holy Spirit, the living water, which spiritually cleanses us from all sin through the correct interpretation of the Bible.

God Cautions Us to Not to Drink Foul Water

Now, God says, “I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent [Satan] beguiled [deceived] Eve through his subtilty [subtlety], so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ [and His teachings].” 2 Corinthians 11:3.

“Take heed that no man [or woman] deceive you” (Matthew 24:4) “by good words and fair [elegant] speeches [by which they] deceive the hearts of the simple [the naïve and gullible].” Romans 16:18.

“Be…[not] children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine [teaching], by the sleight [subterfuge] of men, and cunning craftiness [trickery], whereby they lie in wait to deceive.” Ephesians 4:14.

“Cease, my son [and my daughter], to hear the instruction that causeth to err from the words of [the] knowledge [of God].” Proverbs 19:27.

For “the simple [the naïve and gullible] believeth every word: but the prudent man [or woman] looketh well to [diligently considers] his [or her] going [steps].” Proverbs 14:15.

“A prudent man [or woman] foreseeth the evil, and hideth himself [from the evil]: but the simple [the naïve and gullible] pass on, and are punished [by God with eternal death (annihilation)].” Proverbs 22:3.

Water and the Close of Probation

There will come a time when God will say of all those living on the earth, “He [or she] that is unjust, let him [or her] be unjust still: and he [or she] which is filthy, let him [or her] be filthy still: and he [or she] that is righteous, let him [or her] be righteous still: and he [or she] that is holy, let him [or her] be holy still.” Revelation 22:11.

This is the point in time when everyone living on earth has made their final decision to either drink of the living water, or to partake of foul water. Thus, there will be only two classes of people on earth—those who have received the Holy Spirit and those who have the spirit of Satan.

So, this marks the time when the probation of the human race closes, that is, when there is no longer any opportunity for anyone to be saved by God to receive eternal life from Him.

At that time, God says, “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land [in the world], not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD: And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.” Amos 8:11, 12.

So, God says, “You who are troubled [in any way] rest with us [the disciples of Christ]…[for] the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels [after the close of probation], in flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel [the good news of salvation through]…our Lord Jesus Christ.” 2 Thessalonians 1:7, 8.

These are they “who shall be punished with everlasting destruction [be annihilated] from the presence of the Lord [God], and from the glory of his power; when he shall come to be glorified in his saints [to be honoured by the full display of God’s character of love in those whom God has made holy], and to be admired in all them that believe [in Christ] (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.” 2 Thessalonians 9, 10.

Conclusion

Our Bible verse of focus in this post has been follows: “Drink waters out of thine own cistern, and running [fresh] waters out of thine own well.” Proverbs 5:15.

In unpacking this Bible verse, we have seen that God is cautioning us to study the Bible for ourselves and not to be dependent on other people’s study. For no one can receive the Holy Spirit for us so that we correctly interpret the Bible and are able to discern between good and evil.

Be sure to know and understand the Bible for yourself, for there is much error in the world which will cause you to lose eternal life.

Note that, in this blog post, it was the Holy Spirit who gave me the interpretation of our Bible verse of focus, Proverbs 5:15, by impressing my mind that it was about Bible study. Thus, God has directed my life and cautioned me about my approach to Bible study.

Furthermore, the symbolism of the words in Proverbs 5:15 was discovered by the teaching of the Holy Spirit. For example, we found that water was a symbol in the Bible for the Holy Spirit.

Lastly, I drew from the insights gained about the Bible in my own daily prayer and meditation and my daily Bible reading.

The Bible Teaches Us How to Obtain Eternal Life from God

“In the beginning was the Word [Christ], and the Word [Christ] was with God, and the Word [Christ] was God.” John 1:1. “And the Word [Christ] was made flesh [was born as a baby boy named Jesus], and dwelt among us [human beings], (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father).” John 1:14. Thus, Christ, whose “name is called The Word of God” (Revelation 19:13) is the One who gave the whole Bible to humanity, from the Bible’s beginning to its end. Further, “God is love.” (1 John 4:8), which is to say, Christ is love.

And every one of you as a human being are to “lay apart [put away] all filthiness and superfluity [abundance] of naughtiness [of wickedness], and receive with meekness the engrafted [the implanted] word [from God, which is the Bible and], which is able to save your souls [from annihilation by God as the penalty for sin].” James 1:21. For the word of God, the Bible, being implanted in us means that “the love of God is shed abroad [is poured] in our hearts by the Holy Ghost [the Holy Spirit] which is given unto us.” Romans 5:5. So then, “love is of God; and every one [every human being] that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.” 1 John 4:7. This is known as “justification” (Romans 4:25) which is accomplished by our repentance, that is, our deep sorrow for our sins and the gift of faith from God, which when exercised to believe God’s promise of forgiveness of sins and cleansing from sin brings us the gift of love from God. Note that everyone receives the gift of faith from God but without repentance people have a superficial faith and not saving (correct) faith that takes proper hold of God’s truth by the working of the Holy Spirit.

Immediately upon our justification, God tests our character to see if we will successfully resist all temptation to sin. Our success depends on our exercising faith in Christ’s keeping power through the Holy Spirit and, hence, we become sanctified (made holy) and thus receive eternal life from God.

And this is life eternal [everlasting life], that they [as human beings] might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent [to the earth as a Deliverer from sin].” John 17:3. Thus, when the whole Bible makes our character a character of perfect love, it means that we know God and, hence, we will receive eternal life from God.

How This Blog Teaches Bible Study

My blog posts take one or more Bible verses and unpack what is often the hidden meaning in them, to help you to gain in your understanding of the Bible, and to receive insights into how to study it. For God says, “Study [the Bible] to shew [show] thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing [interpreting] the word of truth [the Bible].” 2 Timothy 2:15. There are new blog posts every two weeks on a Monday at 12:01 a.m. in timezone UTC-5 (GMT-5).

Further Reading

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