Last summer at Old Orchard Beach, Emma ran straight into the water without fear. In her toddler excitement she didn’t realize the power of the ocean, the size, the depth, the pull.
It reminded me of Lydia’s first time seeing the ocean and her reaction. She ran the other way and held tight to Alastair as he tried to take her in….one step at a time.
We each are different even from a young age. How do you enter into the water? Ocean or pool? Big toe first? , ease in backwards….slowly down a ladder? Do you dive in the deep end head first? Our caution or lack of fear tells a little bit of who we are.
In Ezekiel 47 we enter into this portion of scripture more than half way through the vision of Ezekiel of the Temple in Jerusalem.
Now vision accounts, especially the symbolic and allegorical types, grasp the imagination and evoke feelings in ways that ordinary language cannot. Like poetry they present an interpretation of reality and invite the reader or listener to share it. Although they were originally experienced and recorded to address a particular historical situation of the past, their symbolic character gives them meaning and application beyond their original contexts. [1]
Ezekiel is being lead in this vision by a man whose appearance was like bronze ( 40:3) This man here in Chapter 47 has a measuring line and begins to measure the water that was flowing out from the Temple. In verse 3 we see that the water is only ankle deep, then in verse 4 it is measured as knee deep and then Ezekiel is lead through the water up to his waist. Vs. 5 then tells us that the water becomes so high that “it was deep enough to swim in – a river that no one could cross.”
Hebrew has a good many different words often rendered ‘river’, although this is not always an accurate translation of the original term.
The Hebrew word "nahal" is common, the meaning is a torrent-valley; in summer a dry river-bed or ravine, but a raging torrent in the rainy season. These river-beds could suddenly become raging torrents. (like flash floods) In Ezekiel’s vision it was a nahal that Ezekiel saw issuing from the Temple ( 47:5–12 ). It starts out shallow and then becomes so deep and strong that “no one could cross it.”
The rivers and waterways are where virtually all major cities in the ancient world were located, because they made transportation and commerce possible and provided irrigation for farming. Metaphorically, rivers or streams of flowing (living) water symbolize salvation or the Spirit of God
Jesus himself said “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”
So if we were to look at this passage of Scripture Ezekiel 47 in the light of the New Testament.
Understanding the historical content but also believing that this scripture has something to say to us today.
We can look at this river flowing from the temple as the Spirit of God.
We can see it comes from the Temple where the presence of God resides.
If we look into John’s book of Revelation Chapter 22 we see in the first verse “The river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.”
So God is the source of this river. We also see later in Ezekiel 47 that this river turns the Dead Sea to life and produces fruit and healing. These are also traits of the Spirit in the believers life. For when we are born of the Spirit we have new life and that new life brings forth fruit and healing.
So let us walk into the River with Ezekiel. Are you ready? Let us walk into the Spirit! Starting slowly…..only ankle deep----God does not throw anyone into the deep end! Then a little deeper …….knee deep. Will you go further? Up to your waist? Then what?? Do we stop? How deep will we go? How deep can we go into the Spirit?….into the things of God?
In the call of Peter in the book of Luke Jesus says to Peter ( Luke 5 :4) “ put out into deep water and let down your nets.” Jesus is always calling us into a deeper relationship with him. Peter’s obedience went against everything he knew to be true, going into the deep had not helped him a bit all night. They caught no fishes….but when Christ called him to “put out into the deep” and Peter obeyed he did not come back empty handed.
What stops us from going deeper? Why do we stand on the edge looking at the water? Why can some of us only bring ourselves to go ankle deep or knee deep?
Maybe it is the power of the river that scares us? If it was a torrent river as the Hebrew word suggest in this scripture, and we know that the Spirit of God is powerful………..maybe we stand on the banks or only go knee deep because we fear the water. We know it is more powerful than we are, we know that it could overwhelm us, sweep us a way….we could die.
But isn’t that in fact what living a Spirit filled life is all about? Dying…. dying to self!
By staying on the banks or only going so deep we feel like we are still in control. We are not trusting God fully, we have not completely abandoned ourselves to the Spirit.
God does not want us to be just symbolically be sprinkled or dipped into His Spirit. He wants us to be totally immersed in his Spirit! Baptized!
Like those old ice tea commercials that had someone falling into a pool and the man said “take the plunge” ----We need to fall into the Spirit of God. It is really a matter of trust and control.
The benefits of “swimming in over our head” in the Spirit are too many to count!
Once, I was playing in the pool with the girls and Heather realized, as we were being silly, that in the water she could pick me up! In water objects are lighter. :)
It is true of the Spirit as well! In the Spirit our burdens are not as heavy. We can lift things that normally would be too heavy for us to carry on our own.
Where are you in our walk with God? Have you gotten your feet wet? Have you been baptized in the river of life, baptized in God’s spirit? If so….how deep are you willing to go? God is calling all his disciples to “put out into the deep”……do not be afraid….take the plunge. You will not be disappointed!
Will you approach this opportunity cautiously or will you run towards God straight into the water--- no fear!
Give into the power, the depth, and the pull of God’s Spirit. Go deeper.
Imagine if everyone in your place of worship was totally immersed in the Spirit of God, having given up his or her own life to the flow of the Spirit.
His will not ours.
His ways not mine.
Imagine all that God could accomplish through us not only as individuals but also as a body of believers.
[1] Achtemeier, P. J., Harper & Row, P., & Society of Biblical Literature. 1985. Harper's Bible dictionary. Includes index. (1st ed.) . Harper & Row: San Francisco
