And Isaac digged again the wells of water, which they had digged in the days of Abraham his father, For the Philistines had stopped them after the death of Abraham, and he called their names after the names by which his father had called them. Genesis 26:18
When we travel with the grandchildren, we like to point out to them interesting things we see along the way. One such interesting sight was the sign of a well drilling company along the Airline highway in the state of Maine. The children were fascinated by the sign, which is an old well drilling truck high on a long pole in front of the business. That sign must be effective because it has been there for as long as I can remember. Those folks must have drilled many wells over the years (their Web site says they have been drilling wells for some 50 years), so they are undoubtedly very good at it. Those folks would certainly be pleased to meet the Bible’s master well-digger, from whom they – and we – could learn much.
Isaac spent much of his life digging wells. But the first wells he worked on were those of his father Abraham. For whatever reason, enemies had filled in the old wells, a very serious crime in that dry country. Isaac remembered the refreshing water from those old wells, and he restored them to their original useful condition. He also made sure that the old names were restored. Spiritually speaking, there are some old wells that once refreshed and preserved God’s people, wells that the enemy is striving to stop up and destroy, but which you and I need to keep in operation.
Have you noticed any workbooks and study plans being brought to our Bible readings recently? No? Me neither. We use the Bible itself, along with a few references, dictionaries, and concordances to help. But in much of Christendom, they don’t study the Bible at all, they study (if they study) from guides and workbooks that explain their organization’s slant on Scripture. Because they don’t spend time in the Book, they don’t really know what it says. Those who came before us dug the wells of truth from the Word of God. We need to keep in the Word, to keep the wells cleared of the rubbish of men’s opinions. We live in a day when so many are trying new techniques and changing the way in which they try to understand and approach God. We can’t do that. We need to return to the old wells of truth. And we need to call truth by the names that Godly men in the past used, as they studied and taught the principles of God’s New Testament Assembly. We will lose some of those old wells of truth unless we act now.
The devil has succeeded in stopping up many of the old wells among many of the people around us. Let us strive to restore the wells of truth around us, or we will lose them, too. -Jim MacIntosh