Fountains and Springs: Sometimes Dried Up
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In biblical literature, fountains and springs are often depicted as sources of life, sustenance, and divine blessing. They symbolize abundance, refreshment, and the provision of God. However, there are instances in Scripture where fountains and springs are described as drying up, serving as a metaphor for judgment, desolation, or the withdrawal of divine favor.

Symbolism and Significance

Fountains and springs are frequently mentioned in the Bible as vital sources of water in the arid landscapes of the Near East. They are essential for survival, agriculture, and the flourishing of communities. In a spiritual sense, they represent the life-giving presence of God and His provision for His people. For example, in Isaiah 41:18 , God promises, "I will open rivers on the barren heights, and fountains in the middle of the valleys. I will turn the desert into a pool of water, and the dry land into flowing springs."

Instances of Drying Up

The drying up of fountains and springs is often portrayed as a sign of divine judgment or a consequence of sin. In Jeremiah 51:36 , the Lord declares judgment upon Babylon, saying, "Therefore this is what the LORD says: 'Behold, I will plead your case and take vengeance for you; I will dry up her sea and make her springs run dry.'" This imagery underscores the severity of God's judgment, leading to desolation and the cessation of life-sustaining resources.

Similarly, in Hosea 13:15 , the prophet speaks of Ephraim's impending judgment: "Although he flourishes among his brothers, an east wind will come—a wind from the LORD rising up from the desert. His fountain will fail, and his spring will run dry. The wind will plunder his treasury of every precious article." Here, the drying up of the fountain and spring signifies the loss of prosperity and divine favor due to the people's unfaithfulness.

Metaphorical Usage

Beyond the literal drying up of water sources, the Bible uses this imagery metaphorically to describe spiritual barrenness and the consequences of turning away from God. In Jeremiah 2:13 , God laments the spiritual state of Israel: "For My people have committed two evils: They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living water, and they have dug their own cisterns—broken cisterns that cannot hold water." The rejection of God, the true source of life, leads to spiritual drought and emptiness.

Restoration and Hope

Despite the instances of drying up, the Bible also offers hope for restoration and renewal. God's promise to restore and provide springs of water is a recurring theme, symbolizing His mercy and the renewal of His covenant with His people. In Isaiah 35:6-7 , the prophet envisions a future restoration: "Then the lame will leap like a deer, and the mute tongue will shout for joy. For waters will gush forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert. The parched ground will become a pool, the thirsty land springs of water."

In conclusion, while fountains and springs sometimes dry up as a sign of judgment or spiritual desolation, the biblical narrative consistently points to God's desire to restore and renew, offering living water to those who seek Him.
Torrey's Topical Textbook
Isaiah 58:11
And the LORD shall guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make fat your bones: and you shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not.
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

The Shortest of the Seven Cries
... The sea is his, and he made it," and all fountains and springs are of ... We thought
sometimes that we loved him as we heard the story of his death, but we did ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 24 1878/the shortest of the seven.htm

Come and Welcome
... divine nature"these are the mysterious springs from which ... aiders and abettors, and
yet sometimes they are ... and without price." The drinking fountains at the ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 5 1859/come and welcome.htm

The Great Reservoir
... If thou hast all thy springs in God thy heart ... having crept down the pipe, and sometimes
creatures a ... historians tell us that there were fountains in Cheapside ...
//christianbookshelf.org/spurgeon/sermons on proverbs/the great reservoir.htm

The Great Reservoir
... If thou hast all thy springs in God, thy heart ... having crept down the pipe, and sometimes
creatures a ... historians tell us that there were fountains in Cheapside ...
/.../spurgeon/spurgeons sermons volume 4 1858/the great reservoir.htm

Interpretation of Prophecy.
... river, fed by thousands of perennial springs, that cannot stay ... Sometimes, like the
Arar described by Caesar, it winds ... of life, and not literal fountains in the ...
/.../barrows/companion to the bible/chapter xxxviii interpretation of prophecy.htm

Letter Lx. To Heliodorus.
... it could be watered anew from the fountains which these ... prompted not by the fear
that springs of unbelief ... Myself too he would sometimes quote, for he loved me ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/letter lx to heliodorus.htm

La Brea
... and number, we came to the very fountains of Styx ... with the Pennsylvanian oil, which,
when tapped, springs out of ... ground of itself, to a height sometimes of many ...
//christianbookshelf.org/kingsley/at last/chapter viii la brea.htm

Book ii. Jerome Answers the Second, Third, and Fourth Propositions ...
... teachers: [4698] "These are springs without water ... trees, twittering birds, crystal
fountains, murmuring brooks ... from sedentary habits were dried up by reducing ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/book ii jerome answers the.htm

The Reaction against Egypt
... catching rain or storing the water of neighbouring springs. Sometimes a chapel was
built close at hand, consecrated to ... O ye gods of fountains, attribute to him ...
/.../chapter iithe reaction against egypt.htm

The Life of S. Hilarion.
... As if from three fountains the sweat burst forth at ... taking with them provisions,
because sometimes as many ... for about a mile, with gushing springs amongst its ...
/.../jerome/the principal works of st jerome/the life of s hilarion.htm

Resources
Is there any evidence for the Bible's view of a young earth? | GotQuestions.org

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Subtopics

Fountains

Fountains and Springs in the Way to Shur

Fountains and Springs of a Good Wife

Fountains and Springs of a Numerous Posterity

Fountains and Springs of Christ

Fountains and Springs of Constant Supplies of Grace

Fountains and Springs of Eternal Life

Fountains and Springs of God

Fountains and Springs of Godly Fear

Fountains and Springs of Jezreel

Fountains and Springs of Pisgah

Fountains and Springs of Spiritual Wisdom

Fountains and Springs of the Holy Spirit

Fountains and Springs of the Law of the Wise

Fountains and Springs of the Means of Grace

Fountains and Springs of the Waters of Nephtoah

Fountains and Springs: (Always Flowing) of Unceasing Wickedness of the Jews

Fountains and Springs: (Corrupt) of the Natural Heart

Fountains and Springs: (Not Failing) of the Church

Fountains and Springs: (Sealed Up) the Church

Fountains and Springs: (Troubled) Saints Led Astray

Fountains and Springs: Abound in Canaan

Fountains and Springs: Afford: Drink to the Beasts

Fountains and Springs: Afford: Fruitfulness to the Earth

Fountains and Springs: Afford: Refreshment to the Birds

Fountains and Springs: Come from the Great Deep

Fountains and Springs: Constantly Flowing: Could not be Ceremonially Defiled

Fountains and Springs: Constantly Flowing: Especially Esteemed

Fountains and Springs: Created by God

Fountains and Springs: Drying up of, a Severe Punishment

Fountains and Springs: Found in Hills and Valleys

Fountains and Springs: Frequented by Travellers

Fountains and Springs: God to be Praised For

Fountains and Springs: Send Forth Each But One Kind of Water

Fountains and Springs: Sometimes Dried Up

Fountains and Springs: Sometimes Stopped or Turned off to Distress Enemies

Fountains and Springs: Upper and Nether Springs

Related Terms

Fountain (57 Occurrences)

Jordan (188 Occurrences)

Net-work (11 Occurrences)

Lively (5 Occurrences)

Water-springs (12 Occurrences)

Windows (27 Occurrences)

Floodgates (6 Occurrences)

Conduit (5 Occurrences)

Sky's (2 Occurrences)

Pond (2 Occurrences)

Rivers (81 Occurrences)

Living (3112 Occurrences)

Capernaum (16 Occurrences)

Springs (59 Occurrences)

Deluge (17 Occurrences)

Waters (386 Occurrences)

Rain (118 Occurrences)

Four (3139 Occurrences)

Deep (237 Occurrences)

Mount (311 Occurrences)

Water (4571 Occurrences)

Flowing (123 Occurrences)

Noah (55 Occurrences)

Vial (12 Occurrences)

Kir-hareseth (3 Occurrences)

Kishon (6 Occurrences)

Kir-har'eseth (2 Occurrences)

Noah's (5 Occurrences)

Overhead (4 Occurrences)

Lawgiver (7 Occurrences)

Leannoth (2 Occurrences)

Gerizim (4 Occurrences)

Garden (68 Occurrences)

Guiding (69 Occurrences)

Wormwood (10 Occurrences)

Water-brooks (6 Occurrences)

Withered (46 Occurrences)

Inches (1 Occurrence)

Fountain-gate (3 Occurrences)

Flows (14 Occurrences)

Features (3 Occurrences)

Torrents (17 Occurrences)

Transport (18 Occurrences)

Rainfall

Rivulets (11 Occurrences)

Restrained (51 Occurrences)

Ezrahite (5 Occurrences)

En-gedi (6 Occurrences)

Enan (9 Occurrences)

Ever-flowing (4 Occurrences)

Engedi (6 Occurrences)

Encompassed (34 Occurrences)

Ebal (8 Occurrences)

Deep's (1 Occurrence)

Depths (56 Occurrences)

Daphne

Mahalath (6 Occurrences)

Mountain-tops (2 Occurrences)

Mask (3 Occurrences)

Moabites (26 Occurrences)

Month (197 Occurrences)

Mirage (2 Occurrences)

Pleading (12 Occurrences)

Perennial (3 Occurrences)

Pitying (4 Occurrences)

Dispersed (28 Occurrences)

Boar (1 Occurrence)

Burst (33 Occurrences)

Bursting (22 Occurrences)

Broadways (10 Occurrences)

Calendar

Couching (4 Occurrences)

Channel (3 Occurrences)

Closed (47 Occurrences)

Artificial (1 Occurrence)

Antioch (21 Occurrences)

Abanah (1 Occurrence)

Anem (1 Occurrence)

Fountains and Springs: Send Forth Each But One Kind of Water
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