May 31, Ezekiel 47
And he said to me, "Son of man, have you seen this?" Then he led me back to the bank of the river. - Ezekiel 47:6
The Mississippi River is one of the largest and longest rivers in the world. From its traditional origin point out of Lake Itasca in Minnesota, it flows south for 2,340 miles to the Gulf of Mexico. Many tributaries flow into and converge with the river along its path. The river is more than a mile wide and over 200 feet deep in many places along its route. But when that route begins up in Minnesota, the stream is quite shallow and can be crossed on a footbridge made from a single log.
Ezekiel's tour guide of the vision temple took him outside the door of the temple and showed him water coming from the threshold. When he went out of the temple gate, the water was trickling out on the south sides of the temple compound. The guide showed Ezekiel the depth and breadth of the stream at points where it was ankle-deep, knee-deep, waist-deep and then over Ezekiel's head, too deep and too wide to cross. Then the guide asked the prophet, "Son of man, have you seen this?"
The vision continued, and Ezekiel saw lush vegetation, many trees along both sides of the swelling river. His guide told him that the water flowed on to the east and made the water fresh and brought life to dead, barren places. The river finally flowed into the Dead Sea, where it infused the dead, salt-poisoned water. The river turned the murky brine of that dead body of water into fresh water, and life thrived again in and around it.
This picture of a life-giving stream flowing out from Jerusalem is like Zechariah's prophecy that looked ahead to the times of Messiah, and proclaimed, "On that day there shall be a fountain opened for the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem, to cleanse them from sin and uncleanness." The reviving, revitalizing power of the river reminds me of how Paul said we were dead in our trespasses and sins, until God made us alive together with Christ. And of course, it makes us think about some things Jesus said about himself. He told the thirsty Samaritan woman at the well, "But whoever drinks of the water I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." And as our Lord Jesus cried out to a feast-day crowd in Jerusalem, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture as said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'"
Satellite photos show that the fresh water of the Mississippi flows through a channel in the Mississippi and Louisiana deltas without mixing with the salty water or the surrounding swamps and marshes. Even so, Ezekiel's freshwater river of life did not refresh and enliven every place it flowed. There were swamps and marshes that were left for salt along it. Sadly, the life-giving power of the gospel left many Jews and later Gentiles who heard it dead in their trespasses when they rejected Jesus as their Messiah, and declared the gospel to be foolishness.
And speaking of those Gentiles, the last paragraph of Chapter 47 says that Gentiles among the Israelites would share in the inheritance when the land was divided among the tribes. The promise of living in the land God gave to the Jews was symbolic of the eternal life they could know when Messiah's kingdom came. And not only the Abrahamic bloodline Jews, but their Gentile neighbors would be included in the blessing of life in Messiah's kingdom.
Dear reader, I don't want to be that salty marsh or dank swamp that remains unchanged when we come in contact with the life-giving, life-nourishing power of the gospel of Christ. The gospel calls us to answer its call in trusting, obedient faith. As we turn from sin in repentance and are baptized into Christ, we are transformed and enabled to live forgiven, fruitful lives. Let's resolve to be alive and fruitful in the Lord Jesus Christ and the grace he brings to us.
Copyright © 2024 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—May 2024
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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