The River of God

There is a River

  

There’s a Gaither song I particularly like –“There is a river, and it flows from deep within; There is a fountain, that frees the soul from sin; Come to this water; there is a vast supply; There is a river, that never shall run dry.” The song reminds me of the passage in Ezekiel 47:1-12

The Healing Waters and Trees

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.  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.
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.  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.  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.  He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.
When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other.  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.  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.  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. But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.  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.”

This whole passage speaks, among other things, of God’s provision for us. Provision of food, health, and work – all the basic ingredients of life. That is one of God’s names – Jehovah Jireh – the Lord will provide. He is our provider of every need we have in life. He doesn’t provide our wants but our needs. In the wilderness, God provided food for the Israelites – manna and quail. OK so quail was a bit of a ‘want’ rather than a specific need, but God provided anyway. Sometimes He does acquiesce to our wants rather than just our needs.

The real point is that He knows all our needs from food on the table to money to pay the bills. He knows our needs before we even ask – and as our provider, He provides for His children.