Several months back, during the shutdown, we had a water leak at the church building. On a normal week, it would have been no big deal; instead, it happened while all our staff were working from home. Thankfully, some of our servant-hearted members chose to spend a Saturday morning mowing the church yard and, in the process, discovered the leak, which by that time had grown to be a sizable flood.
It was all quickly cleaned up and repaired, and afterward got me thinking about a similar sight in the Bible. The person who called me that Saturday morning described how they came to notice a small stream of water which led them inside to the “lake” in the building. The description reminded me of one of the prophet Ezekiel’s visions in which he was guided to doors and gates of the temple and saw that “water was trickling out” (Ezekiel 47:2). As he followed the stream, its depth went from ankle-deep to knee-deep to waist-deep and finally to a river that couldn’t be crossed! This was not, of course, a water leak; it was a life-giving river flowing as a blessing from God to renew and restore a dry, lifeless wilderness. Ezekiel observed that wherever the river went, there was life (47:9). There were trees everywhere, fresh fruit, swarms of living creatures, and even the salty Dead Sea turned into a fresh-water lake teeming with fish (47:7-12).
Ezekiel was a prophet during exile, and this vision was part of a larger message of hope, of promise, of restoration, and of a future for God’s people and the nations. It was a vision of a drink offered to a Samaritan woman (of all people) when Jesus said, “Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). It was a vision of those who, like you and me, would one day put their faith in Jesus: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 6:38). It was a vision of the “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb through the middle of the street” in that new Jerusalem we await (Rev. 22:1-5). It was a vision for a discouraged people in a time of affliction that continues to deliver a timeless message to God’s people today: The future for God’s people is good and glorious. It may seem hardly a trickle at present, but a mighty river is coming.
Where The River Runs
Several months back, during the shutdown, we had a water leak at the church building. On a normal week, it would have been no big deal; instead, it happened while all our staff were working from home. Thankfully, some of our servant-hearted members chose to spend a Saturday morning mowing the church yard and, in the process, discovered the leak, which by that time had grown to be a sizable flood.
It was all quickly cleaned up and repaired, and afterward got me thinking about a similar sight in the Bible. The person who called me that Saturday morning described how they came to notice a small stream of water which led them inside to the “lake” in the building. The description reminded me of one of the prophet Ezekiel’s visions in which he was guided to doors and gates of the temple and saw that “water was trickling out” (Ezekiel 47:2). As he followed the stream, its depth went from ankle-deep to knee-deep to waist-deep and finally to a river that couldn’t be crossed! This was not, of course, a water leak; it was a life-giving river flowing as a blessing from God to renew and restore a dry, lifeless wilderness. Ezekiel observed that wherever the river went, there was life (47:9). There were trees everywhere, fresh fruit, swarms of living creatures, and even the salty Dead Sea turned into a fresh-water lake teeming with fish (47:7-12).
Ezekiel was a prophet during exile, and this vision was part of a larger message of hope, of promise, of restoration, and of a future for God’s people and the nations. It was a vision of a drink offered to a Samaritan woman (of all people) when Jesus said, “Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). It was a vision of those who, like you and me, would one day put their faith in Jesus: “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water’” (John 6:38). It was a vision of the “the river of the water of life, bright as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the lamb through the middle of the street” in that new Jerusalem we await (Rev. 22:1-5). It was a vision for a discouraged people in a time of affliction that continues to deliver a timeless message to God’s people today: The future for God’s people is good and glorious. It may seem hardly a trickle at present, but a mighty river is coming.