King Hezekiah (715-687 BC) dug his well before he needed the water. He created a tunnel 1750 feet long to divert the waters of the Gihon Spring so that they flowed into the west side of Jerusalem (2 Chronicles 32:30). He then sealed the cave from where the waters originally sprung. By doing so, he brought the city’s water supply within its gates, a military objective that drastically improved and extended the peoples’ chances of survival in the event of a siege.
Bringing the water supply within the city gates prevented an enemy from poisoning it before it entered the city. Excellent tactical move! But Hezekiah was also thinking about the defensive weakness presented by the water shaft required to let water enter the city. He knew that the water shaft was the route David’s army used to conquer the Jebusites when they occupied Jerusalem (2 Samuel 5:8). He didn’t want an invading army to follow suit.
We would do well to follow Hezekiah’s example. Are you allowing anything into your city (your mind) that has been poisoned by the Enemy? He will send his poison in through any opening you give him, and that poison will start to break down your walls (your relationship with Christ). But if you control the source, you control the quality.
Make the source of your daily refreshment God’s Word. Satan has no access to it. He can lay siege to your mind, but if you are getting a continual flow of living water, he has no chance of outlasting you. All he can do is call out toothless threats from outside your city walls. He will search for a weak point in your relationship with Christ, but there will be none to be found, because you will have shored up your walls.
Hezekiah’s plan was put to the test. Sennacherib besieged Jerusalem in 701 BC, shortly after the completion of the tunnel. As hard as he tried, Sennacherib couldn’t force Hezekiah out. The city was too strong with an internal water supply. The siege made such an impression on the invading king, that he had this commemoration inscribed on the Prism of Sennacherib:
“As to Hezekiah, the Jew, he did not submit to my yoke…”
May Satan say the same of you.
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Sometimes we make progress two steps forward and one step back. In the next chapter, we’ll see how Nehemiah dealt with the same problem.
