Water Flowing from the Temple

 

Ezekiel 47:1-12

 

February 27, 2024

 

Water Flowing from the Temple

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar.  Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.

Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep.  Again, he measured a thousand and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again, he measured a thousand and, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep.  Again, he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through.   And he said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?”

Then he led me back to the bank of the river.  As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other.  And he said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea;^] when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh.  And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so, everything will live where the river goes.  Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.  But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.  And on the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither, nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for 

food, and their leaves for healing.”

It should not amaze me at the detail God is showing Ezekiel, but it does, and as I read this to my wife, it became apparent to me that this water coming from the Temple was not your normal water, no it was like the Spirit of God moving, where it went it and those it touched it gave them food, and it brought about new life, and it change those it touched.  People were drawn to that water, for it was a water that touched those who encountered it.

 

When I entered into Christ, I knew that it was like the water from the temple, it was just a trickle, I was a new creation in Christ, but without the boldness to share what had happened.  I recall putting my Bible on the dash of my car, and my boss riding with me asked if I had gone to church.  I said yes, and did not tell him about how in a hotel room I had met the living God and that He had come into my life.  But that living water became more than a trickle in my life as I read the Scriptures and had men, like Jack Archer, and Ken Ryan, Greg Hood, invest in my spiritual growth, the living water of God's Holy Spirit began to get deeper, and deeper.  And God is faithful, in that His Word instructs us to invest in faithful men who will also invest in others.  2 Timothy 2:2, “and what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men,^[a] who will be able to teach others also.”

 

Much like the water flowing from the temple, a follower of Christ's life should draw others to the Spirit living in them, and if not, we need to examine ourselves.  2 Corinthians 13:5, ^“Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”  

 

From the Back Porch,

 

Bob Rice