“It will become fresh and everything will live where the river goes. People will stand fishing beside the sea from Engedi to Eneglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea”. Everything will live where the river goes”. Ezekiel 47:9-10
As a family we love days out in the countryside and our kids particularly love to go somewhere by water. Inevitably it means that they are going to come home soaked but we always have lots of fun! There is something about being beside the water that is life giving. A river is a place where we can be refreshed, it’s a place of adventure, it’s a place where we find life, nourishment, provision. People are drawn to the river. A number of years ago I had the chance to visit Israel and we took a trip to the Dead Sea and had the opportunity to bathe in it. Now I usually love to swim in the sea, but this experience was so different from any I had had before. Normally you look to be refreshed by going into the water but I was so preoccupied with trying to make sure I did not drink the water or get it into my eyes as it was so salty it was harmful. In fact if you were to drink a lot it would be very dangerous. In this prophesy from Ezekiel, however, he paints a picture of the dead sea teeming with life. He introduces the theme of water at the start of the chapter where he describes a river that will run out from the temple, flowing from Jerusalem and into the dead sea.
Now as you can imagine the dead sea is not a place where fish can survive and yet look at what happens where this river flows- all kinds of life shall spring into being. The waters that by nature are salty and unwholesome will be made new and will now produce life. Ezekiel paints a picture of a multitude of fish, filling the nets. This same image is also used by the prophet Joel in 3:18 where he states: “A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord.” And in Zechariah 14:8 “And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow from Jerusalem.” Let’s go back and put this all together in the context of who Jesus is revealing himself to be in the book of John. In chapter 2 Jesus declares that He is the temple, “Destroy this temple, and I will raise it again in three days.” John 2 v 19.
He came to bring the kingdom of heaven to earth. Jesus proclaims the good news of the gospel of grace for all people, the river which represents the Holy Spirit is poured out into the world. The living waters flow from his pierced side and what is the result? Those who are dead in sin are brought into a new life in Christ. Wherever the river of his love and grace flows people flourish and are revived.
What does that mean for us today you may ask?
Well start with the dead places in your life, where are you still living under the burden of the law, relying on your own performance to make you acceptable before the Lord. Draw close to Jesus and believe that His living water will heal you, refresh you and revive you. If you trust in Him and take Him at His word He will cause abundance to flow and you will find life.
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Who Do You Say I Am Series – Exchange Church Belfast 2020