Ezekiel and the waters…. Ezekiel 47
As an old country boy who grew up in the Oklahoma Panhandle (think Dust Bowl) and still resides there, I’ve always been fascinated with bridges, streams and rivers. I assume that’s because around here most bridges cross over places that at one time carried water, but now are dry, and dusty.
Northeast of us is the Cimarron. It’s totally dry now. It carries no water unless there has been a big rain out west.
Not far away is the Beaver River which The Google defines as an “intermittent river.” That’s putting it mildly! When I was a kid, it had flowing water! Not much, not deep, but flowing water just the same. But not today.
As I travel and come to a bridge with water flowing under it, I many times wonder, “where does that water come from,” or in the case of the Arkansas at Syracuse with its flowing water, and several miles downstream at Garden City, there is none! Where does the water go?
I always think how interesting it would be to follow it until you find the source or the headwaters as they are sometimes more romantically called. Or, to see where it ends. Is there just a big hole in the ground? But I never do that.
As a kid I recall that flowing water under the bridge at Syracuse as we headed west to Colorado on a trip. I always felt we had crossed the line into more exciting, maybe even uncharted territory when we crossed that bridge over the running water. There is always something special for me about that bridge and its water.
If I were to follow it toward its source, I would find the John Martin Reservoir in Eastern Colorado. The Reservoir is created by a dam on the Arkansas. It initially tumbles down from the distant Rocky Mountains a few hundred miles to the west, and then quietly flows east, its water headed eventually to the Gulf of America.
Enough geography!
In Ezekiel Chapter 47 there is a picture of living water flowing, and we are told where from. It comes from the (house) temple Ezekiel sees in his vision from God.
“Ezekiel had walked round the house again and again and yet did not till now take notice of those waters; for God makes known his mind and will to his people, not all at once, but by degrees.” (Matthew Henry commenting on Ezekiel Chapter 47).
I just love Matthew Henry. He says we don’t have to know everything all at once.
I noticed with interest the part where Ezekiel, the inspired prophet had to go around the House (temple) a few times before he noticed the water. That makes him human much like me. I often don’t pick up things the first time I hear or see them.
There’s always a lot in Henry’s few, well-chosen words that require closer examination. He had earlier said people should leave the temple by a door different than the one they had used to go in. The reason given is to allow a longer route home to give worshippers time to pause, meditate, think, and appreciate the things God had done.
Boy, do I need that today!
We are told that Ezekiel eventually does notice the source. Verse 1 of Ezekiel Chapter 47 tells us, “Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward:”
In Ezekiel 47 the Google further explains: “The house” refers to the temple in Jerusalem, specifically the threshold of the temple from where a river of living water is depicted as flowing out towards the east, symbolizing the restoration and life-giving power of God’s presence and blessings.” (The Google, somewhat surprisingly, is becoming an oft-used Bible commentary for me.)
The Google further explains about the water’s source: “The water flows from under the right side of the house, signifying that the source of this life-giving water is from God’s dwelling place.”
And: “This river represents spiritual renewal, healing, and abundance, signifying God’s promise to restore Israel and bring life to his people.”
And: “The water flows eastward, which is often interpreted as signifying the spread of God’s blessings to all nations.”
Ezekiel, in his commentary, likens the water to the New Testament Gospel as it flows first to the apostles and then from the apostles down through the ages toward us as believers. It’s a great and very encouraging analogy.
He also goes to great trouble to point out something else about the water. It gets deeper the closer you get to the source. Reading again from Chapter 47.
“2 Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northwsrd and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and behold, there ran out waters on the right side. 3 And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. 4 Again, he measured a thousand and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees. Again, he measured a thousand and brought me through; the waters were to the loins. 5 Afterward, he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. 6 And he said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me and caused me to return to the brink of the river.”
Here, that great analogy becomes a great challenge. Do you find yourself in ankle-deep water, or are you in deeper water, closer to the source?
If you find yourself in water clear up to your ankles, maybe you need to be moving a little closer to the source.
I’m now going to leave you with my friend Matthew. Understand he is writing in 17th Century England. You may have to read things a couple of times to get his “drift.” He is fond of long sentences. His “notes” many times are numbered as they are here. Keep in mind Matthew wrote with a quill which required sharpening with a penknife and ink from an inkwell on paper made from rags or, possibly parchment. It would have been a laborious process. There was no deleting and starting over as I have done several times on stringing together these few words.
“Note, 1. The waters of the sanctuary are running waters, as those of a river, not standing waters, as those of a pond. The gospel, when it was first preached, was still spreading further. Grace in the soul is still pressing forward; it is an active principle, plus ultra — onward still, till it comes to perfection. 2. They are increasing waters. This river, as it runs constantly, so the further it goes the fuller it grows. The gospel-church was very small in its beginnings, like a little purling brook; but by degrees it came to be to the ankles, to the knees: many were added to it daily, and the grain of mustard seed grew up to be a great tree. The gifts of the Spirit increase by being exercised, and grace, where it is true, is growing, like the light of the morning, which shines more and more to the perfect day. 3. It is good for us to follow “these waters and go along with them. Observe the progress of the gospel in the world; observe the process of the work of grace in the heart; attend the motions of the blessed Spirit, and walk after them, under a divine guidance, as Ezekiel here did. 4. It is good to be often searching into the things of God, and trying the depth of them, not only to look on the surface of those waters, but to go to the bottom of them as far as we can, to be often digging, often diving, into the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, as those who covet to be intimately acquainted with those things. 5. If we search into the things of God, we shall find some things very plain and easy to be understood, as the waters that were but to the ankles, others more difficult, and which require a deeper search, as the water to the knees or the loins, and some quite beyond our reach, which we cannot penetrate into, or account for, but, despairing to find the bottom, must, as St. Paul, sit down at the brink, and adore the depth, Rom. xi. 33. It has been often said that in the scripture, like these waters of the sanctuary, there are some places so shallow that a lamb may wade through them, and others so deep that an elephant may swim in them. And it is our wisdom, as the prophet here, to begin with that which is most easy, and get our hearts washed with those things before we proceed to that which is dark and hard to be understood; it is good to take our work before us.”
Have a great day.