"She (Achsah) said unto him (Caleb), Give me a blessing; for thou hast given me a south land, give me also springs of water. And Caleb gave her the upper springs and the nether springs" (Judges 1:15).

The south land sloping towards the sun's rays was not necessarily pleasant and fruitful. The hot, Eastern sun beating upon it might turn it into a dry and thirsty land. So Achsah asks for springs of water. Streams and springs turn wildernesses into gardens. Such is the inheritance of saints, but what gives character to the inheritance is the fact of its being "well-watered." "The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well (spring) of water, springing up into everlasting life" (John 4:14). Water in the desert speaks of exquisite delight. Water in cisterns and pools is apt to be muddy and impure. So human delights are comparable to water in cisterns and pools which ultimately become dried up. The sparkling spring-water leaps up, giving continuity of refreshment.

Achsah's pleasant south land had a dual attraction in the way of blessing. So the Christian's inheritance is symbolically watered by two springs. The Epistle to the Ephesians sets forth that we have obtained an inheritance in Christ, and Psalm 16 speaks of the fulness of joy in His presence and the lasting pleasures at the right hand of God. That aspect of the truth is illustrated by the upper springs. But we find also in that Epistle that Christ has found an inheritance in the saints, and the special delight which accrues to the soul in meditating on the latter aspect may well be considered as the nether springs. T. Oliver (Galashiels)