In Ezekiel 47, Ezekiel saw something that never
existed in the temple before: a river flowing directly from the temple. The
river does not come from a king’s palace or a government building. It doesn’t
come from a marketplace, a place of business, or an athletic arena. It comes
from God’s house.
The divine messenger shows Ezekiel water flowing from
the Temple towards the east. As it flows, it grows wider and deeper until
finally it becomes a river so great that it can't be crossed. Moreover, this
little stream from the Temple is flowing southeast out of Jerusalem towards the
Dead Sea, twelve miles away. We all know that the area near the Dead Sea is a
wasteland where nothing can live. But this river has a marvellous effect. Trees
grow on both sides and the waters of the Dead Sea suddenly come bursting with
life. It is full of fish and people come to drop nets there (vs 9-10).
And, of the trees, Ezekiel says: “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” (vs 12, ESV).
Unlike most great cities, Jerusalem was not situated
on a great river. And definitely, there was no river that passed though the
Temple. Yet, in this vision, the prophet Ezekiel saw a river coming out of the
Sanctuary. The scene was magnificent.
It is hard not to identify this beautiful vision that
Ezekiel saw with the birth of the church. Ezekiel 47 describes the beginning of
the church that occurred at Pentecost right there in the city of Jerusalem Acts
2:1). The church started with twelve apostles. That little "puddle"
of believers very soon became 3000 (Acts 2:41). Like Ezekiel’s river that gets
deeper and wider as it stretches, the disciples continued to grow and multiply
that it could not be counted anymore (Acts 6:1, 7).
Yes, Ezekiel’s vision of the water flowing from the
Temple is fulfilled in the New Testament. What are some of the characteristics
that we see in Ezekiel’s vision that resembles the New Testament Church?
1. GROWTH IN ABUNDANCE. Ezekiel’s river keeps
getting deeper and wider. The New Testament church started with a few apostles
but she has not stop growing (Romans 1:8; Colossians 1:6).
2. LIFE. Ezekiel’s river turns a lifeless
wasteland into a green oasis springing up with life. Christ came and give us
not only the abundant life here (John 10:10), but also the eternal life to come
(John 3:16).
3. HEALING. In describing the trees, Ezekiel
wrote: “whose leaf shall not fade… and the leaf thereof for medicine”
(vs 12). Malachi prophesied that the Messiah shall come with healing in His wings
(Malachi 4:2). Christ came and He healed not only all manner of physical
sickness, but most importantly, He healed the souls of men (Luke 19:10). The
healing of the waters of the Dead Sea here answers to “there shall be no
more curse” in heaven (Revelations 22:3)
4. BLESSINGS. The result of the river is
blessings to all – fishes and fruit trees. We have all spiritual blessings in
the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3). God has blessed us richly and
given us all things that pertain to life and godliness (2 Peter 1:3). O, what a
blessing it is to be in Christ Jesus!
Brethren, we are the partakers of the blessings that
Ezekiel saw in the Temple. Let us be ever thankful to God for His unspeakable
love towards us and let us love Him till the end: “Blessed
are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of
life, and may enter in through the gates into the city” (Revelations
22:14).
Jimmy Lau
Psa
119:97 Oh how love I thy law! It is my meditation all the day.
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