1.He came to find the Bride at the time of noon, when there is no shadow.

Shalom~

Living according to the Word that tells us to seek first His kingdom and His righteousness is no easy task.
There are many devotionals I’ve written in parts but left unfinished.
I pray for the Holy Spirit's help so that each piece of spiritual bread shared in its time may be conveyed well to others.

The long summer is finally passing where I live.
Meanwhile, in Korea, the cold winter has passed, and spring is on its way.
I think this year I might actually get to enjoy the spring blossoms in Korea. 
But since the Lord has already given us a joyful gift, shall we go to meet Him before we go flower-viewing?

Now, I want to meet Jesus—the Bridegroom who came at noon, the time without shadows, to find His bride. 

Would you like to come with me?

 

The phrase "the time without shadows" refers to the moment when the Bride and Bridegroom become one.
“So He came to a town in Samaria called Sychar, near the plot of ground Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired as He was from the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.” (John 4:5–6)

 

In biblical terms, the sixth hour is high noon—the time when the hour hand and minute hand overlap, leaving no shadows.
On His way to Galilee with His disciples, Jesus had to pass through Samaria—a place Jews normally avoided, going around via the Jordan River.
But Jesus never does things randomly or by accident.

He came to meet His bride who was waiting for Him.

 

                Map showing Jewish route avoiding Samaria, ancient Jewish timekeeping]

 

 

Sychar in Samaria was in the region of Shechem, which Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
And Jesus sat by Jacob’s well—alone—because He had sent all His disciples away to buy food.
He was waiting for His bride.

When I looked into the significance of Jacob’s well, I remembered that Jacob met his bride, Rachel, at a well.
Isaac also found his bride, Rebekah, through his servant—at a well.
Though the well in Shechem is a different location, it's worth noting the symbolic pattern: the Bride is met at the well.

“He said, ‘Look, it is still high day; it is not time for the livestock to be gathered.
Water the sheep, and go pasture them.’
But they said, ‘We cannot until all the flocks are gathered together
and the stone is rolled from the mouth of the well; then we water the sheep.’”
(Jenesis 29:7–8)

“When Jacob saw Rachel...he went up and rolled the stone from the mouth of the well
and watered the flock...” (Genesis 29:10)

"Before he had finished speaking, Rebekah came out with her jar on her shoulder.

She was the daughter of Bethuel son of Milcah, who was the wife of Abraham’s brother Nahor."(Genesis 24:15)

 

Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water, and filled the troughs to water

their father's flock.
Then the shepherds came and drove them away, but Moses stood up and helped them, and watered their flock.

 

(Exodus 2:16-17)

 

            1.Rebekah.    ->     2.Rachel     ->     3.Zipporah        

 

Isaac’s wife Rebekah, Jacob’s wife Rachel, and Moses’ wife Zipporah all had their first meeting at a well.

Just like that—the Bride cannot drink until the flocks are gathered and the Shepherd opens the well.

Now, a woman arrives at the well in the heat of the day, carrying her jar.

Jesus, sitting there, speaks to her:

Jesus: "Give me a drink."
Woman: "You are a Jew, and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?"
Jesus: "If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink,
you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water."
Woman: "Sir, You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep.
Where can You get this living water? Are You greater than our father Jacob...?"
Jesus: "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again,
but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst.
Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Woman: "Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water."

 

At first glance, the conversation seems to miss each other—but somehow, they connect.
Let me insert a little interpretation into the woman’s possible thoughts:

Woman: "Excuse me, sir... you're a bit forward, aren't you?"
Woman: "If you have living water, why don’t you drink that yourself?"
Woman: "How can you, a Jew—who normally won’t even talk to a Samaritan—ask me for a drink?"

 

Reading this over, I realize how cynical my thoughts are.
But wasn’t she entitled to push back a little?
After all, Jews considered Samaritans dogs and didn’t associate with them.
Even Jesus’ disciples—James and John—once asked if they should call down fire from heaven on a Samaritan village (Luke 9:52–54)!

It’s amazing that this dialogue isn’t awkward at all.
Compare it with the conversation Jesus had with Nicodemus (John 3:1–21).

There, Jesus eventually has to rebuke him and finish the conversation on His own.
But here—with this Samaritan woman—the dialogue flows.
It even ventures into very personal, potentially painful territory:

Jesus: "Go, call your husband and come back."
Woman: "I have no husband."
Jesus: "You are right when you say you have no husband.
The fact is, you have had five husbands, and the man you now have is not your husband.
What you have just said is quite true."

 

Now, that’s a deeply painful truth.
Why would Jesus, after promising her living water, suddenly bring up her painful past?

Some scholars say she was a prostitute.
Others argue she was a victim of levirate marriage (marrying a brother-in-law to preserve a family line), as in Matthew 22:23–28.

 

This reflects the concept of Levirate marriage,
where the firstborn's name must be preserved through a brother’s duty.
In this light, Jesus, the firstborn Son (πρωτότοκος, prototokos) of God,
comes to fulfill this covenant as the true Bridegroom—
raising up spiritual offspring for His lost brothers,
restoring inheritance, and redeeming His Bride.

Still others interpret her five husbands symbolically—perhaps as former political alliances or false gods of Samaria.

I don’t reject any of those views—they’re all worth considering.
But this time, I tried to meditate on this story from the bride’s perspective.
What if the woman was like Israel—the bride waiting for her Messiah?

There’s a clue in her words:

“Our father Jacob gave us this well and drank from it himself,
as did also his sons and his livestock.” (John 4:12)

 

This well was her heritage.
Jacob met Rachel at a well.
Isaac’s servant met Rebekah at a well.
Her people were waiting for the Bridegroom—just like the patriarchs had once found their brides.

“Joseph is a fruitful vine, a fruitful vine near a spring,
whose branches climb over a wall.
With bitterness archers attacked him...
but his bow remained steady, his strong arms stayed limber,
because of the hand of the Mighty One of Jacob,
because of the Shepherd, the Rock of Israel…” (Genesis 49:22–24)

 

She knew her heritage.
She was waiting for the Shepherd, the Rock foretold by her ancestors.
The very land she lived on was the land Jacob gave to Joseph.

“Then Jacob called for his sons and said: ‘Gather around so I can tell you
what will happen to you in days to come.’” (Genesis 49:1)

 

And she believed the promise that a Shepherd from the Rock would come.
Her faith was that of a bride remembering her covenant.

“...though I was a husband to them,” declares the Lord. (Jeremiah 31:32)
“...they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.” (1 Corinthians 10:4)

 

So from the bride's heart, we begin to understand her five husbands and her current companion...

The very first husband-ancestor is Adam. His wife's name is Eve.
The second husband-ancestor is Abraham. His wife's name is Sarah.

Now, you might wonder:
Why didn’t I include Noah?
Noah is a type (symbol) of the end times. That is why his wife has no name.

As you know, in order to be written in the Book of Life, one must have a name.
Another symbolic figure is Lot’s wife. Lot also represents the end times.
It is written simply as “Lot’s wife”, and she became a pillar of salt.
How she is recorded—or not recorded—in the Book of Life, I do not know.
But one thing is certain: She is not the Bride. 

Now, the third husband-ancestor is Isaac. His wife’s name is Rebekah.
The fourth husband-ancestor is Jacob. His wife's name is (?)
The fifth husband-ancestor is Joseph. His wife's name is Asenath.
The sixth husband-ancestor, who is present now, is Moses (the Law). His wife's name is (?)

 

Dear readers,
You may have noticed that I did not record the names of the fourth and sixth brides.
Do you know why?

That's it for today.
Stay tuned for the next part.

Hallelujah!