Genesis 21:19 And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. It is wonderful how God provides for the needs of His creatures in strange places and in unlikely ways. All living things must have water or die; and so water is often found stored up in remarkable and unexpected places. In the heart of Africa, where all is drought and barrenness, it is said that there is sometimes found in the soil a little stem of a plant, and by digging down to the bottom of it, a bulb is discovered which contains a quantity of pure, sweet water. Melons, which are full of water, grow best on light, dry, sandy soil; and sometimes, where water cannot easily be found, certain trees afford a most nourishing and refreshing beverage. There is a vast amount of water in the air, even when no clouds are seen. In a summer day how quickly the outside of a pitcher of cold water will be covered with moisture, which is drawn from the air. So while some plants draw up water from the earth by their roots, others, called air plants, hang upon trees, and, without touching the ground, draw nourishment and moisture from the air. A writer tells of a surveying party who were resting at noon in Florida, when one of the chainmen exclaimed: "I would give fifty cents a swallow for all the water I could drink." He expressed the sentiment of the others; all were very thirsty, and there was not a spring or a stream of water anywhere in the vicinity. While the men were thus talking, the surveyor saw a crow put his bill into a cluster of broad, long leaves, growing on the side of a tall cypress. The leaves were those of a peculiar air-plant, they were green, and bulged out at the bottom, forming an inverted bell. The smaller end was held to the tree by roots grappling the bark. Feeding on the air and water that it catches and holds, the air-plant becomes a sort of cistern. The surveyor sprang to his feet with a laugh. "Boys," he said, "that old crow is wiser than every one of us." "How so?" they asked. "Why, he knows that there are a hundred thousand water-tanks in this forest." "Where?" they demanded, in amazement. The surveyor cut an air-plant in two, and drained nearly a pint of pure cold water from it. The men did not suffer for water after that, for every tree in the forest had at least one air-plant, and almost every air plant contained a drink of water. So God satisfies the longings of thirsty men. Even amid the desert's glowing sands, the smitten rock poured forth the life-giving flood. And God also provides living water for thirsty souls; and those who feel in their hearts longings such as earth can never satisfy, may hear amid the restlessness of unsatisfied desire, the voice of Him who stood in the Temple and cried, "If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink!" Parallel Verses KJV: And God opened her eyes, and she saw a well of water; and she went, and filled the bottle with water, and gave the lad drink. |
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