17 So Isaac moved away from there and encamped in the Valley of Gerar, where he settled. 18 Isaac reopened the wells that had been dug in the time of his father Abraham, which the Philistines had stopped up after Abraham died, and he gave them the same names his father had given them.
19 Isaac’s servants dug in the valley and discovered a well of fresh water there. 20 But the herders of Gerar quarreled with those of Isaac and said, “The water is ours!” So he named the well Esek, because they disputed with him. 21 Then they dug another well, but they quarreled over that one also; so he named it Sitnah. 22 He moved on from there and dug another well, and no one quarreled over it. He named it Rehoboth, saying, “Now the Lord has given us room and we will flourish in the land.” Genesis 26:17-22
At least 4000 years have passed since this was written, and nations are still fighting over water rights. As the earth becomes more populated, having access to fresh water becomes a priority, especially for people who live in hot climates and are inland from ocean or sea water. Cities such as Chennai India, Capetown South Africa, Mexico City, and Sao Paulo Brazil, and even Tokyo Japan have experienced fresh water shortages. And it seems that every year much of southern California experiences water shortages. For some of these places it’s understandable that they might run low, which is why city managers should be building desalination plants like crazy, thus turning salt water into fresh and clean drinking water.
An interesting sidenote. Last year during Capetown’s water shortage, Israel offered to come and help build desalination plants in South Africa. If anyone knows about desalination engineering, the Israeli’s do. South Africa said, “Thank you but NO thank you!” to their offer, mainly because of their hatred for Israel. Unbelivable short-sightedness.
Similarly, there are still parts of the world that do not have access to clean drinking water and need to drill for it.
People need fresh drinking water to survive in urban, rural, modernized, and primitive settings. As we turn on the spigot every day for our showers, we don’t realize how much we take clean water for granted.
Fortunately there are ministries who go to the lands to help drill for water. They are experts in finding and drilling these wells. They also are able to give the living water to those who will hear. Lifewater.org and Living Water International are two such ministries worthy of our support.