Notes of Faith August 12, 2026
A Source of Life
Drink water from your own cistern, and running water from your own well.... Let your fountain be blessed, and rejoice with the wife of your youth.
Proverbs 5:15, 18
When Sennacherib, king of Assyria, threatened to invade Judah, King Hezekiah blocked off all the springs around Jerusalem so the Assyrian army could not access water. Most famously, he blocked a spring in Gihon outside the city walls and dug a tunnel from the spring to a pool in the city to supply water for Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32:1-4, 30). Known today as Hezekiah’s tunnel, tourists to Jerusalem can walk through the entire length of the 1,749-foot-long tunnel.
Recommended Reading:
Song of Solomon 4:15
That historical event shows how valuable water was in the arid Middle East. Wells, cisterns, and springs were protected at all costs. Solomon used wells and cisterns to illustrate the importance of a man protecting his wife (Proverbs 5:15-20). Not only should he refresh himself from his own “well” (wife), but he should also protect his wife so that strangers will never seek refreshment from her (verse 17). A good marriage is a life-sustaining source and force.
May your marriage be nurtured and protected and be a source of life and refreshment.
There is no estate to which Satan is more opposed than marriage.
Martin Luther
(The sacred marriage of one man to one woman until death separates them)
Song 4:15
15 "You are a garden spring,
A well of fresh water,
And streams flowing from Lebanon."
Prov 31:10-16
10 An excellent wife, who can find?
For her worth is far above jewels.
11 The heart of her husband trusts in her,
And he will have no lack of gain.
12 She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
13 She looks for wool and flax
And works with her hands in delight.
14 She is like merchant ships;
She brings her food from afar.
15 She rises also while it is still night
And gives food to her household
And portions to her maidens.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
From her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She girds herself with strength
And makes her arms strong.
18 She senses that her gain is good;
Her lamp does not go out at night.
19 She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hands grasp the spindle.
20 She extends her hand to the poor,
And she stretches out her hands to the needy.
21 She is not afraid of the snow for her household,
For all her household are clothed with scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies belts to the tradesmen.
25 Strength and dignity are her clothing,
And she smiles at the future.
26 She opens her mouth in wisdom,
And the teaching of kindness is on her tongue.
27 She looks well to the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children rise up and bless her;
Her husband also, and he praises her, saying:
29 "Many daughters have done nobly,
But you excel them all."
30 Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Grateful to have shared 47 years with the gift of God to me, my wife, Robin. If the Lord tarries, may we share many more years together in service to our Savior and King!
May you who are married be so blessed, and those who are not, love and serve God with all your heart! If you desire a spouse, seek one that is the kindred spirit of your own heart, to love and serve the Lord!
Pastor Dale