New King James Version (NKJV)
The Healing Waters and Trees
47 Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar. 2 He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.
3 And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles. 4 Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist. 5 Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed. 6 He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.
7 When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other. 8 Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed. 9 And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes. 10 It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt. 12 Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
I have five grandchildren, soon to be six. Our oldest granddaughters are eight years old. Our GK’s have been acclimated to the water from their very first summer since their grand arrival. We have watched as they have gone from wading in the water to swimming without aid over their heads. The older and more skilled they have become at swimming fear as dissipated and excitement for the water takes them over. In fact Saturday and Sunday they were in the water from the time they got up until they went to bed. They absolutely love playing and swimming in the water. When one child tries something new it is not long before they have all get on the swimming bandwagon of new adventures. I am thrilled the GK’s have a love for the water and do not fear it. We have all known adults who do not know how to swim and actually have a fear of water and that fear keeps them from enjoying what others have grown to love and take pleasure in. In fact it is hard to understand how a grown adult could have such a fear.
Spiritually speaking believers are like my grandchildren. When they first become saved because of lack of knowledge and experience they are content and feel safe just to wade around close to the shoreline where they are next to dry land and can see the bottom of the lake. As the new believer begins to mature in their faith, gain knowledge and watch other believers they may begin to venture out into deeper waters, little by little. Physical age does not restrict the spiritual maturing process. There are Christians out there that have remained in an infant stage much of their life as a believer and this is made evident in Hebrews chapter six (we will touch base on that shortly).
For those of you who swim, you can all attest to the fact that swimming while there is a certain amount of work involved is very refreshing and freeing, it’s as though no inhibition claims you and no boundaries hem you in. The more skilled you become at swimming the greater freedom and the longer you can spend in the water.
In Ezekiel 47 as this chapter advances he is first led out into ankle deep water (think of this as the point of salvation), then knee-deep, waist deep and until he is led into water where he can no longer stand, but he must swim.
Take notice he is led, he is not expected to venture off on his own. He is led through the waters. In verse 9 we are told where the water flows everything will live. In the Bible we are aware of the fact that water is symbolic of life and the Holy Spirit. As he is led into the water there is an order of progression. This progression is measured off in equal cubits of 1000. I began to ponder this. He measured off 1000 cubits and was led into ankle deep water – then another 1000 into knee deep water – another 1000 into waist deep water –another 1000 he was led into water so deep Ezekiel would have to swim and would not be able to cross. Ezekiel would not be able to skip the progression of each phase he had to pass through each phase and I found it interesting that each of these “4” steps of 1000 cubits were measured of equally - appearing to be of equal importance.
Today’s Christians want to run with this torch or swim pare say, without having made the years of preparation the saints of old had to put into place in their lives. The older saints have a fortitude that seems to be lacking in our generation and younger; a fortitude of pressing through into full maturity.
Just to give you a little more food for thought I want to you to read a short segment out of Ira Milligan’s book: UNDERSTANDING THE DREAMS YOU DREAM –Vol. #2. Now this is not the Bible this is a woman’s interpretation of the meaning of 1000. Thousands are interpreted in the same way that hundreds are. Thousand is a unit of measure like ten and hundred, and refers to “maturity”. So one thousand is the beginning of maturity, and two thousand is mature judgment. That’s the reason Joshua told the people to stay two thousand cubits behind the priest when they went to cross the Jordon and enter Canaan. They were to use mature judgment in following their leaders (see Joshua 3:4)…Three thousand refers to being maturely conformed, as Paul mentions in Ephesians 4:13. Four thousand refers to mature rule.[i]
We as believers are led by the Holy Spirit, it was the Holy Spirit that wooed us to salvation and it is the Holy Spirit that continues to lead us moment by moment, desiring us to mature as believers.
In the physical realm (world) none of us would want to jump into a stagnant swamp or marsh; we would know within those types of waters is death and disease. In fact if we were to fall into that type of water we would want to wash off as soon as possible so we would not catch a bacteria or virus of some sort. Verse 11 indicates the swamps and marshes would not become fresh, resulting in lack of life. I truly believe this is a clear representation of sin, rebellion and disobedience. 11 But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.
The Bible encourages spiritual maturity.
In Hebrews 6:1-8(NLT) it says: So let us stop going over the basic teachings about Christ again and again. Let us go on instead and become mature in our understanding. Surely we don’t need to start again with the fundamental importance of repenting from evil deeds and placing our faith in God.
You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.
For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,
who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—
and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.
When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing.
But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.
You don’t need further instruction about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgment.
And so, God willing, we will move forward to further understanding.
For it is impossible to bring back to repentance those who were once enlightened—those who have experienced the good things of heaven and shared in the Holy Spirit,
who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the power of the age to come—
and who then turn away from God. It is impossible to bring such people back to repentance; by rejecting the Son of God, they themselves are nailing him to the cross once again and holding him up to public shame.
When the ground soaks up the falling rain and bears a good crop for the farmer, it has God’s blessing.
But if a field bears thorns and thistles, it is useless. The farmer will soon condemn that field and burn it.
Let’s not become stagnant as a swamp, marsh or a field that bears thorns and thistles, it is time to walk out into deeper water and keep going until we must swim, no we will not be able to touch or see the bottom but if we matured and increase in faith we know we will not sink and it will be refreshing and life giving.
Hebrews goes onto say:
Hebrews 6:9-20(NLT) ....TO BE CONTINUED
[i] Ira Milligan, Understanding the Dreams you Dream, Vol. II, (Destiny Image Publishers, Inc. 2000), 25
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