O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. Jeremiah 17:13

Corresponding details in the life of David and his "mighty men":

In the Old Testament, in the book of I Chronicles, there is an account of the exploits of King David's "mighty men," including a story about water too precious to drink.

Now three of the thirty captains went down to the rock to David, into the cave of Adullam; and the host of the Philistines encamped in the valley of Rephaim. And David was then in the hold, and the Philistines' garrison was then at Bethlehem.

And David longed, and said, Oh that one would give me drink of the water of the well of Bethlehem, that is at the gate! And the three brake through the host of the Philistines, and drew water out of the well of Bethlehem, that was by the gate, and took it, and brought it to David: but David would not drink of it, but poured it out to the LORD. And said, My God forbid it me, that I should do this thing: shall I drink the blood of these men that have put their lives in jeopardy? for with the jeopardy of their lives they brought it. Therefore he would not drink it. These things did these three mightiest. _{I Chronicles 11:15-19}

David had a need for water. There was water in the well at Bethlehem, but David couldn't get to the well because enemy troops were there. The only way to get the water was for someone to risk his life by going into enemy territory to get it.

Three of David's men loved him so much that they decided to risk their lives to get to the well to get some water for him.

When David received the water, he realized that it represented the very lives of the men who had obtained it for him. Because of this, he considered the water to be too precious to drink. Therefore, instead of drinking it, he poured it out as an offering to God.

We have a need for the "living water" (the Holy Spirit). Jesus was born in Bethlehem, site of the well from which David's mighty men obtained the water too precious to drink, and is the source of the "living water." (Note that the Holy Spirit descended upon Jesus "like a dove" when he was baptized by  John the Baptist ).

Like David, we can't obtain the "living water" on our own; Jesus provides the "living water" for us. What David's men did for David, Jesus has done for us. We may receive the Holy Spirit as a free gift, but only because of the price that Jesus paid when he shed his blood on a cross. _{John 1:29, 7:37-39, Revelation 7:17, 21:6}

Note: This story also appears in 2 Samuel 23:13-17.