There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
—Psalm 46:4
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
—Psalm 105:41
“For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.”
—Ezekiel 47:9b
And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
—Luke 5:13
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
—John 7:37-38
Then the angel showed me 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 of the city
—Revelation 22:1-2a
Last night's speaker reminded the audience that when people living in the first-century Roman world declared that "Jesus is Lord!" they were also saying that "Caesar is not."
I like my coffee with a certain kind of creamer. My wife does not. She likes hers with low-fat milk. This morning, while pouring her first cup, my mind was elsewhere and I was operating on muscle memory. So I reached into the refrigerator, took out the creamer, and added it to her coffee. And then realized what I had done.
I couldn't unpour the creamer. I couldn't add a little more coffee from the pot to dilute it, just as adding a little clear water to dirty dishwater would make it palatable to drink.
Several days ago, she read an article about the sharp decline in obstetric mortality after germ theory became understood and doctors started washing their hands between patients.
All of these have to do with contagion. As Paul put it in letters to Corinth and Galatia, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.”
Israelites with contagious conditions were ceremonially unclean, excluded from close contact with others. But the touch of Jesus brought healing. Similarly, Ezekiel's vision of the water flowing from the temple revealed the healing power of God to overcome contamination.
The Israelites struggled to remember that their allegiance to the Lord had to be uncontaminated with little doses of the corrupted idolatry and practices of the nations around them. Only then could they be the Lord's witnesses to His truth.
The Lord cleanses and heals. It is His living water that brings life. And John's revelation warned against trying to add to it.
Contagion
There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God,
the holy habitation of the Most High.
—Psalm 46:4
He opened the rock, and water gushed out;
it flowed through the desert like a river.
—Psalm 105:41
“For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes.”
—Ezekiel 47:9b
And Jesus stretched out his hand and touched him, saying, “I will; be clean.” And immediately the leprosy left him.
—Luke 5:13
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’”
—John 7:37-38
Then the angel showed me 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 of the city
—Revelation 22:1-2a
Last night's speaker reminded the audience that when people living in the first-century Roman world declared that "Jesus is Lord!" they were also saying that "Caesar is not."
I like my coffee with a certain kind of creamer. My wife does not. She likes hers with low-fat milk. This morning, while pouring her first cup, my mind was elsewhere and I was operating on muscle memory. So I reached into the refrigerator, took out the creamer, and added it to her coffee. And then realized what I had done.
I couldn't unpour the creamer. I couldn't add a little more coffee from the pot to dilute it, just as adding a little clear water to dirty dishwater would make it palatable to drink.
Several days ago, she read an article about the sharp decline in obstetric mortality after germ theory became understood and doctors started washing their hands between patients.
All of these have to do with contagion. As Paul put it in letters to Corinth and Galatia, “a little leaven leavens the whole lump.”
Israelites with contagious conditions were ceremonially unclean, excluded from close contact with others. But the touch of Jesus brought healing. Similarly, Ezekiel's vision of the water flowing from the temple revealed the healing power of God to overcome contamination.
The Israelites struggled to remember that their allegiance to the Lord had to be uncontaminated with little doses of the corrupted idolatry and practices of the nations around them. Only then could they be the Lord's witnesses to His truth.
The Lord cleanses and heals. It is His living water that brings life. And John's revelation warned against trying to add to it.