The Gospel of John recounts the record of Jesus and The Woman at the Well.
John 4:5-20 Then cometh he to a city of Samaria, which is called Sychar, near to the parcel of ground that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Now Jacob’s well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied with his journey, sat thus on the well: and it was about the sixth hour. There cometh a woman of Samaria to draw water: Jesus saith unto her, Give me to drink. (For his disciples were gone away unto the city to buy meat.) Then saith the woman of Samaria unto him, How is it that thou, being a Jew, askest drink of me, which am a woman of Samaria? for the Jews have no dealings with the Samaritans. Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water. The woman saith unto him, Sir, thou hast nothing to draw with, and the well is deep: from whence then hast thou that living water? Art thou greater than our father Jacob, which gave us the well, and drank thereof himself, and his children, and his cattle? Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: But whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. The woman saith unto him, Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not, neither come hither to draw. Jesus saith unto her, Go, call thy husband, and come hither. The woman answered and said, I have no husband. Jesus said unto her, Thou hast well said, I have no husband: For thou hast had five husbands; and he whom thou now hast is not thy husband: in that saidst thou truly. The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
People have speculated much about what the references of husbands in this record are referring to. Some have said she was a prostitute (whore), some have said the Samaritan culture allowed dating as opposed to the Jewish culture, and some have said she had been married several times.
Interestingly, none of those subjects are dealt with, but the woman immediately brings up the subject of where is the proper place to worship your chosen God!
Sometimes the best place to look to understand the scriptures is to look AT the scriptures.
Isaiah 54:5 For thy Maker is thine husband; the LORD of hosts is his name; and thy Redeemer the Holy One of Israel; The God of the whole earth shall he be called.
People generally worship their gods. That is why she so quickly turned the conversation to where to worship. She must have been very familiar with the expression that whatever god you worship is your husband. That you are married to the god you worship. So, the question then is where to worship!
If you need more on this subject here are some other places where God says He is the husband to Israel or the Jews.
Jeremiah 3:14 Turn, O backsliding children, saith the LORD; for I am married unto you: ….
Jeremiah 31:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
Hosea 2:19-20 And I will betroth thee unto me for ever; yea, I will betroth thee unto me in righteousness, and in judgment, and in lovingkindness, and in mercies. I will even betroth thee unto me in faithfulness: and thou shalt know the LORD
Whenever a person who is married has sexual relations with another, it is called adultery. In this instance, the adultery would be to worship any god other than the one you are married to.
Jeremiah 3:8 And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also.
John 4:19-20 The woman saith unto him, Sir, I perceive that thou art a prophet. Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship.
This mountain is where her fathers had gone to worship their idols, their gods, their husbands so to speak.
John 4:21-22 Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews.
Jesus said her forefathers did not even know what they were doing or what they were worshiping. For there is only one God.
John 4:23-24 But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
Jesus is explaining to her what was to come to pass shortly on the Day of Pentecost. Believers would be worshiping by way of the new birth spirit – speaking in tongues.
John 4:25-29 The woman saith unto him, I know that Messias cometh, which is called Christ: when he is come, he will tell us all things. Jesus saith unto her, I that speak unto thee am he. And upon this came his disciples, and marvelled that he talked with the woman: yet no man said, What seekest thou? or, Why talkest thou with her? The woman then left her waterpot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ?
This was not a woman of ill repute as some have suggested. Her husbands were the gods she had been worshiping.
Jesus did not need to convince the woman to believe what he had said, nor did he have to argue with her. When she heard the words of God spoken by Jesus Christ – she believed.
Many times, rather than guessing what the scriptures are saying it is best to search the scriptures for yourself and expect God to give you understanding in all things.