Rehoboth: Can You Dig It?

By Jessica Buckland and Nick Singelis II

During times of drought, even in prosperous twenty-first century America, we have to limit our usage of this resource and cling to it for its life giving and life saving properties. And yet it is hard to imagine how important water would have been in biblical times. If characters from biblical times appeared today for a visit, they would probably spend most of their time playing in the kitchen sink and possibly pressing Jacuzzi water stream buttons.

The book of Genesis accounts for us the importance of the struggle and search for water. Not only was the discovery of fresh water wells rare, it was essential. Isaac discovered three such wells.

Scripture tells us, “Isaac's servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. But the herdsmen of Gerar quarreled with Isaac's herdsmen and said, The water is ours! So he named the well Esek (“to quarrel”), because they disputed with him. Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah (“to strive or have strife”). He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth (“board places; the place that they fluourished), saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land” (Genesis 26:19-22, NIV). The significance of this scripture is that we can all learn how to dig wells in our life and apply these biblical principles.

Sworn Enemies
Water meant life. It created the ability to sustain crops; it provided hydration for herds of animals. Isaac and his family lived in the desert, so they needed to drink a lot of it. Wars were often not fought with weapons, but with the abundance or lack of water. If one could destroy the water supply to another, the battle could be won without ever having to draw a sword. Understanding this, the Philistines had attacked the wells of Isaac's father, Abraham. The Philistines were an archenemy of God and his people, an Old Testament representation of our enemy Satan. They depict to us today the evil men and seducers that we face in our modern world.

The first book of the Bible reminds us, “So all the wells that his father's servants had dug in the time of his father Abraham, the Philistines stopped up, filling them with earth.” (Genesis 26:15, NIV).

Our sworn enemies, whether natural or spiritual, are trying to stop us from being productive. Their goal is to see us fail and destroy our lives.

Dirt in My Well

Water also symbolizes the washing and regeneration that we find through New Testament baptism. Our sins and our failures are buried with Christ in baptism. The enemies of our soul and of our lives try to dry up the refreshing that we feel after repentance, water baptism, and the infilling of the Holy Ghost. They want to remove the water from our lives and to deliver to us such a life-damaging blow that we will not be able to recover. If we give in to this attack, we are left to die. Whether the water is physical or spiritual, it's still the best source of refreshment and renewal. In Isaac's case, they were trying to kill him physically, they were trying to destroy his family, and they were jealous of his success.

Think about it:

Have you ever felt like someone was throwing dirt into your well?

Was someone trying to destroy the source of life from which you drink?

Have you ever felt like someone was trying to destroy you, and trying to push you away?

Many people try to eliminate the possibility of your being productive and versatile in the kingdom of God.

Oftentimes, you feel like people are trying to destroy you and manipulate situations to get you out of the workplace. Sometimes there are even people around you that are allowing the enemy to use them to push you out of the church. Satan would love to get you to throw in the towel on your ministry and your family. But, even with a sworn enemy trying to stop us, we need to keep digging and let nothing stop us. What made Isaac successful was the fact that he was not willing to stop digging. When things got tough and when the Philistines tried to destroy everything his father had worked for, instead of giving up, Isaac dug in. The choice is simple: to dig or not to dig.

Mired in the Impossible
So in the middle of your seemingly impossible situation, you are faced with a decision--Can I dig it? Can I grab my shovel and dig another well? While you are digging, sometimes strife will break out, but keep digging. Don't throw in the towel; dig another well. If you keep digging, you're going to have a Rehoboth, a big place, a broad place, a place for all your dreams that you thought had been destroyed by the enemy.

I refuse to allow my past, pain and problems to poison my future. It does not matter what has happened. It does not matter what others are saying about you. It does not matter if you do not meet all the criteria that the religious and the Pharisees say you need to meet in order to work for God. Do you have a desire to read, study, and digest the word of God and make it become relevant to your situation and life? What matters is the tenacity, the determination, the faith to keep digging in spite of all the dirt that's being thrown at you.

What separates the successful from the defeated is not a lack of problems or toxic environments. We all have our enemies and our seemingly impassable situations. What separates the failures from the victors is simply one thing: digging deeper when everyone else stops.

Reinventing the Situation
Everyone that does you dirty is actually doing a service of justice for you, creating the success that you are going to be. Without conflict, you will never be forced to reevaluate and come up with better and more successful solutions for victory. You can stand and be grateful for every time you were forced into a prayer closet by a person or a life circumstance. Open your mouth and shout, “Thank you for pushing me to my knees and thank you for helping me realize that no matter what happens God is faithful to help me through anything life can bring.”

God has given you the power to reinvent yourself. Today is a new day; forget about what's happened in the past and stop stressing about what's going to take place in the future. All you need to do is be willing to keep digging in spite of the circumstances that are surrounding you.

Rehoboth--can you dig it?

ninetyandnine.com

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Jessica Buckland and her husband Jonathan, along with their two sons, are planting a church in Cleveland, Ohio through the Metro Missions program of the UPCI. Jessica has a bachelor's degree in Psychology and a Master of Arts in Human Services degree with an emphasis on Family Studies.

Nick Singelis II has two children, Nichoas and Eleanor. Nick is pursuing full time ministry and dabbles in website design, politics, and writing.