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Residents of West Virginia sensed something was wrong when they smelled the scent of licorice in the air 10 days ago. Investigators discovered that about 7,500 gallons of a chemical known as 4-methylcyclohexane methanol (MCHM), used to clean coal, had leaked through a 1-inch hole in a 48,000-gallon Freedom Industries storage tank into the nearby Elk River about a mile upriver from a water treatment plant which supplies Charleston and residents of nine counties with drinking water.
The West Virginia American Water Company issued a do-not-use order for 300,000 customers who were told it was not safe to use tap water for drinking, cooking or washing. The order was lifted five days later, but not before 231 people had suffered from skin or throat irritation or chest or stomach discomfort caused by exposure to the contaminated water.
Charleston resident Jen Williamson wrote in an email to CNN, "The problem is that when they say the water is fine to drink, do we believe them?"
Scientists tell us that while about 70 percent of the earth's surface is covered with water, 97 percent of the earth's water is salt water unsuitable for human consumption. Less than 1 percent of all the water on earth is fresh water that we can easily use for drinking, agriculture, manufacturing and other purposes. We know that the average adult human body is made up of 57 to 60 percent water and that most people cannot survive more than three days without water, which is essential to life.
Some 1,500 miles southeast of Charleston, West Virginia, inhabitants of the town of Mirebalais in the poverty-stricken nation of Haiti are struggling with a water crisis of their own, four years after a devastating earthquake claimed the lives of more than 100,000 people.
Ironically, the very soldiers sent by the United Nations to aid that country in its time of need are now accused of starting a cholera epidemic back in the fall of 2010 when waste from their septic tank overflowed into the Artibonite River used by Haitians for bathing, washing clothes and kitchen utensils, cooking and drinking water.
In the three years that followed, nearly 700,000 cases of cholera were diagnosed in a country which had never recorded a single instance of the disease before. Because the soldiers at the U.N. base came from Nepal, where the same strain of cholera exists as that which has taken more than 8,000 Haitian lives, suspicions arose that they were responsible for the outbreak of the disease.
Meanwhile, 6,400 miles to the east, villagers of Akhshtr in Sochi, Russia, are vexed over the impact of large-scale construction for the Winter Olympics on access to clean water essential for agriculture, the economy and the health of the local population. Situated between the Olympic venues on the Black Sea and at alpine resorts, the mountain village has been without a reliable supply of water for more than five years.
Construction of a waste dump above their village and heavy truck traffic in the area destroyed the wells the villagers used for drinking water, and the water the authorities truck in to the village every week or so is insufficient to meet their needs. A water pump installed in 2010 worked for one day at a public event celebrating its installation, but then was shut off because it failed to pass inspection.
Nearly 5 percent of the world's population dies of dehydration every year. According to UNICEF, more than a billion people do not have access to safe water, and every day 6,000 children die of preventable water-related diseases.
More on this story can be found at these links:
West Virginia Chemical Spill Poses Unknown Threat to the Environment. National Geographic
Haitians Blame UN Soldiers for Cholera Crisis in Wake of Earthquake Disaster. PBS
Russia: Olympic Construction Devastates Sochi Village. Human Rights Watch
Haitians Blame UN Soldiers for Cholera Crisis in Wake of Earthquake Disaster. PBS
Russia: Olympic Construction Devastates Sochi Village. Human Rights Watch
The Big Questions
1. What are some of the factors that contribute to water shortages, inequitable distribution of safe water and lack of access to adequate clean water?
2. Parents used to quote this saying to their children to get them to scrub behind their ears: "Cleanliness is next to godliness." Is this idea supported by Scripture? How might this saying apply to today's stories?
3. What do these stories teach us not only about the importance of water but about the necessity for clean water? Think about the steady stream of information, entertainment, etc. that you consume every day. How much impure content can you consume without becoming spiritually sick? How important is it to take in only what is morally pure and holy? Is that even possible in our culture? Why or why not?
4. Once a stream of water has been contaminated by pollutants or poison, what does it take to restore it to usable condition? What does it take to restore people's trust in the safety of the water so that they are confident enough to return to the well, so to speak? Which is harder -- to clean up polluted water, or to restore people's confidence?
5. What is your level of trust with regard to authorities in the United States or in the world? What assurance do you require with regard to your water? Have you ever experienced a water shortage for an extended length of time? What was it like?
Confronting the News With Scripture and Hope
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Here are some Bible verses to guide your discussion:
Genesis 21:19
Then God opened [Hagar's] eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink. (For context, read 21:14-19.)
Then God opened [Hagar's] eyes and she saw a well of water. She went, and filled the skin with water, and gave the boy a drink. (For context, read 21:14-19.)
Sarah demanded that her husband Abraham send her slave Hagar and Hagar's son Ishmael, whom she had conceived with Abraham, away to eliminate Ishmael as a rival for Sarah's son Isaac's inheritance. Abraham did as Sarah asked and sent them into the wilderness with bread and water. When the water was gone, could death be far behind? But God heard the mother and child crying, and reassured Hagar that he had not abandoned them.
Questions: What did water represent to Hagar in her desperate situation? When have you been so down that you could not see God's provision right in front of your eyes? What did it mean to you to realize that there was "a well of water" from which you (and your loved ones) could drink? Should we follow Abraham's example and leave the care of people in crisis to God? Explain your answer.
Genesis 26:22, 32-33
[Isaac] moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." ... That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water!" He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day. (For context, read 26:18-33.)
[Isaac] moved from there and dug another well, and they did not quarrel over it; so he called it Rehoboth, saying, "Now the LORD has made room for us, and we shall be fruitful in the land." ... That same day Isaac's servants came and told him about the well that they had dug, and said to him, "We have found water!" He called it Shibah; therefore the name of the city is Beer-sheba to this day. (For context, read 26:18-33.)
Conflicts over water rights existed long before the water wars depicted in westerns. After Abraham died, the Philistines stopped up his wells. His son Isaac had to dig them all over again, but other herders claimed that the water belonged to them. Rather than quarrel over it, Isaac moved on and dug another well. Again he met with accusations and attacks from an adversary at Sitnah (which can mean "Satan," who is called "the Accuser of our brothers and sisters" in Revelation 12:10, MSG). So Isaac moved again and dug another well; this time no one troubled him further. God appeared to him, assuring him of his blessing; Isaac worshiped God and dug another well. After that, the leader of the first group of herders who had challenged him approached him seeking a peace treaty, which Isaac granted. Isaac's servants came to report that they had found water at the last well they had dug. It must have been a real gusher, because he named it Shibah (meaning "seven" or "oath").
Questions: Do you live according to an idea of plenty or scarcity when it comes to sharing or withholding resources? To whom do natural resources like water belong? When various interests all vie for the same resources, how should we decide how to allocate those assets? What enemies (people or things) have stopped up wells of life-giving water in your life? What can you learn from Isaac about how to respond to enemies who keep putting obstacles in your path? How does making peace with former enemies produce results as satisfying as finding that a well you dug in the desert is fed by seven streams?
Exodus 7:17-18, 24-25
Thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know that I am the LORD." See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood. The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile. ... And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river. Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile. (For context, read 7:17-25.)
Thus says the LORD, "By this you shall know that I am the LORD." See, with the staff that is in my hand I will strike the water that is in the Nile, and it shall be turned to blood. The fish in the river shall die, the river itself shall stink, and the Egyptians shall be unable to drink water from the Nile. ... And all the Egyptians had to dig along the Nile for water to drink, for they could not drink the water of the river. Seven days passed after the LORD had struck the Nile. (For context, read 7:17-25.)
When God tells Moses to go tell Pharaoh to let his people go out of Egypt, he indicates that one of the signs he will use to persuade Pharaoh is the pollution of the source of life for the Egyptians, the Nile River itself. Without any bottled water available at the corner store, the Egyptians had to resort to extreme measures to survive for a whole week without clean water.
Questions: Do you consider the destruction of natural resources an appropriate tactic in warfare? Is water pollution an act of God, an act of judgment or something else? Explain your position.
Exodus 15:25
[Moses] cried out to the LORD; and the LORD showed him a piece of wood [KJV: "a tree"]; he threw it into the [bitter] water, and the water became sweet. (For context, read 15:22-27.)
[Moses] cried out to the LORD; and the LORD showed him a piece of wood [KJV: "a tree"]; he threw it into the [bitter] water, and the water became sweet. (For context, read 15:22-27.)
As the children of Israel journeyed through the wilderness, they searched for water for three days without success, putting their entire nation at risk of death. Then when they did locate water at Marah (which means "bitter"), they found the water unpalatable. Moses prayed, and God provided a solution.
Question: How does this incident hint at the spiritual salvation Christ would later win through his death on the cross (the tree) to remove the bitter poison of sin and bring sweetness back into our lives?
Exodus 17:5-6
The LORD said to Moses, "... I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. (For context, read 17:1-7.)
The LORD said to Moses, "... I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink." Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. (For context, read 17:1-7.)
Again the Israelites ran out of water in the wilderness and complained against Moses, who again prayed to God for a solution. God provides us with another word-picture of grace here. On the rock (translated elsewhere as "boulder," "refuge" and "God") at Horeb ("a desolate mountain of death parched by drought"), God provides for the needs of the people by inviting Moses to strike the rock so that the people might drink the water of life from the strong One they had abused.
Questions: Where do you see Jesus in this passage? Recall a time when God's grace unexpectedly gushed forth in the midst of dry places even though you had complained against him and questioned whether he was really present with you. What impact did that expression of God's grace have on you?
For Further Discussion
Read John 4:13-14 and 7:37-39. What is the nature of the living water Jesus offers? What must one do to receive it? How does it affect the one who drinks that water?
Responding to the News
Reflect on Proverbs 11:25: "A generous person will be enriched, and one who gives water will get water." How can you give water (literally and figuratively) this week? When might giving a cup of water be an act of real courage?
Closing Prayer
(drawn from Psalm 63:1; 107:35; 42:1-2; Isaiah 41:17, 18; 44:3; 49:10; John 4:15; Revelation 21:6; 22:17). People read the Prayer; Leader reads the Response.
Prayer: O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
Response: He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
Prayer: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
Response: When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Prayer: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?
Response: I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring.
Prayer: "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."
Response: "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."
ALL: The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let everyone who hears say, "Come." And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
Response: He turns a desert into pools of water, a parched land into springs of water.
Prayer: As a deer longs for flowing streams, so my soul longs for you, O God.
Response: When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys; I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.
Prayer: My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When shall I come and behold the face of God?
Response: I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my spirit upon your descendants, and my blessing on your offspring.
Prayer: "Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water."
Response: "It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. To the thirsty I will give water as a gift from the spring of the water of life."
ALL: The Spirit and the bride say, "Come." And let everyone who hears say, "Come." And let everyone who is thirsty come. Let anyone who wishes take the water of life as a gift.
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