Meditation for the week of September 16, 2007
Psalm 46:4 There is a river whose streams shall make glad the city of God, The holy place of the tabernacle of the Most High. (NKJV)
This last summer, I was privileged to spend some time with some of my family in Estes Park, Colorado. While my wife and daughter went shopping in the quaint shops found there, I bought a good cup of coffee and found a seat by the little mountain brook that flows behind the shops. The water was clear and its sound was relaxing. It appeared that the water would have been refreshing to drink although I didn’t actually drink any (unless the water from the brook had been used by the coffee shop to make my coffee.) There were some families who had children wading in the water. That babbling brook was making a lot of people glad that afternoon.
There was a river that provided blessing in the Garden of Eden. It watered the garden and it became four rivers that went in four directions. Since the Bible says that there are four corners to the earth, this might suggest that the river that came from Eden produced universal blessing.
One day there will be a river of living water flowing from Jerusalem toward the Mediterranean Sea one way and toward the dead sea or salt sea the other way. According to Zechariah 14 and Ezekiel 47, these waters will make the land fertile, and the dead sea will be “healed†so that fresh water fish can thrive there.
A similar river is described in the book of the Revelation in connection with the city that is foursquare that descends out of heaven and appears to be the final dwelling place of the bride, the Lambs wife (Revelation 21:9-10, Revelation 22:1-2). That river is crystal clear and sustains the tree of life whose leaves heal the nations.
All of these rivers and streams remind us that the Lord knows how to satisfy and how to bless. He told a woman one day that He could give her living water that would quench her thirst forever (John 4:14). Living water is running water rather than water from a cistern. The Lord has provided this world water that cleanses and satisfies. That water is available to all, that is, it is available to the four corners of the earth. That water heals nations because one day when the Lord is given his rightful place on this rightful throne, the nations will no longer be fighting but will be at peace. That water is water that cleanses from the daily defilement of this life. That water doesn’t flow from Jerusalem but from the side of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. When He was crucified, a soldier took a sword and pierced His side (John 19:34). When the soldier did this, blood and water flowed from the Savior’s side. The blood represented the life of the Lord and saves us from the penalty that we deserve because of our sin. The water represents the Word of God that satisfies us and cleanses the believer from the defilement of sin in a practical way. The bride or church is set apart for the Lord and is washed by the water of the Word in Ephesians 5:26.
Pepsi-Cola has advertised that it has the “pause that refreshesâ€. But real refreshment comes when we find out that the world does not provide lasting satisfaction, but that Christ does. When we put our trust in Him, He forgives us and cleanses us and promises us a home in heaven. He tells us we will never perish. He fills that hunger in our souls with water that will quench our thirst forever. He is the one who really has the “pause that refreshes.â€
Those of us who have had a drink of the living water that the Lord provides have been satisfied and blest and have been made glad.
Bruce Collins