Psalm 46:1–11
The River? Someone may say, “What river?” But we are going to see what God’s Word says about the River. Because there is a River…
The River in Psalm 46
Psalm 46 speaks of this River. And it tells us that it is different from the other rivers. It is different from the sea. It is different from every other body of water. What exactly is this river? It is the River that flows out from the throne of God. Look at what Psalm 46:1–3 says:
1 God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble. 2 Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea, 3 though its waters roar and foam and the mountains quake with their surging. (Psalm 46:1–3)
The second and third verses of this psalm paint for us the picture of one enormous wave, of a terrifying tsunami. I don’t know if you remember, but there was such a tsunami in Indonesia a few years ago. These are massive waves, set off by the shifting of the earth’s plates during a strong earthquake. And here we read of just such a shaking of the earth — an earthquake. Mountains falling into the heart of the seas, the earth’s layers heaving… the roar… and the waves. It says the waters “roar and foam.” The sea roars and its waves surge. So we have a raging sea, an angry sea. And this sea comes against us; these waves rise up against us to swallow us, to sweep us away. You know what happens during a flood in Bulgaria. Now picture these enormous waves rushing down to sweep everything away… But in verse 4 something more is said: “there is a river…” So there is a sea, there is an ocean, that stands against us. But there is also a “River.”
4 There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place where the Most High dwells. (Psalm 46:4)
This river has no connection to the sea. It does not depend on the sea. It flows out from the holy place, from the city of God. And about this holy place, this city of God, verse 5 says:
5 God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. (Psalm 46:5)
God is in the midst of this city of God, there where the river is. And this city of God will not be shaken.
Often in the sacred Scriptures, when the sea is mentioned, it actually stands for the pagan nations. In many places in the Bible, when the “sea” is spoken of, what is meant is the political situation — the nations and those who rebel against God and against His people. Because look at what verse 6 says:
6 Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall; (Psalm 46:6)
Notice, it does not say that the waves were in uproar; rather, as if to explain it, it says: “Nations are in uproar, kingdoms fall.” This is what the “mountains” are, this is what the “seas” are — the nations and the kingdoms that rebel against God’s rule, against His kingdom. They come against God, and God is at war against them. And the same verse continues:
He lifts his voice, the earth melts. 7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:6–7)
And see what the outcome of this battle is… Verses 8–9:
8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. (Psalm 46:8–9)
Do you understand? The “River” that this psalm speaks of actually represents God’s kingdom, God’s presence. It is the river of the Holy Spirit.
A Kingdom That Cannot Be Shaken
There is a collision between God’s kingdom and Satan’s kingdom. Satan’s kingdom is the nations. Satan’s kingdom is those who set themselves against God. In the book of Revelation we have similar pictures (Revelation 13:1). And as a result of the rebellion of the nations, led by Satan against God, in this psalm we see a shaking. In the book of the prophet Haggai we are told that God will once more shake heaven and earth.
21 Tell Zerubbabel governor of Judah that I am going to shake the heavens and the earth. 22 I will overturn royal thrones and shatter the power of the foreign kingdoms. I will overthrow chariots and their drivers; horses and their riders will fall, each by the sword of his brother. (Haggai 2:21–22)
The author of the letter to the Hebrews says something similar, in 12:25–29:
25 See to it that you do not refuse him who speaks. If they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, how much less will we, if we turn away from him who warns us from heaven? (Hebrews 12:25)
God is at war, and if we turn away from Him, we take our stand on the side of the sea and not on the side of the river. So today every one of us must ask himself the question: Am I on the side of the sea or on the side of the river? Because we are told that God will bring about an earthquake… (verses 26–27):
26 At that time his voice shook the earth, but now he has promised, “Once more I will shake not only the earth but also the heavens.” 27 The words “once more” indicate the removing of what can be shaken — that is, created things — so that what cannot be shaken may remain. (Hebrews 12:26–27)
And so, in Psalm 46 we read about the mountains, about the things that are shaken… And suddenly, in the midst of this whole scene of earthquake, of tsunami, of things being shaken, we see a picture of the city of God. There is a river there that flows quietly. It is not affected by the waves of the sea. There is the presence of God. This fact reminds us that if God is with us, then we will be victorious; or to put it another way, if we are with God, then He will fight for us. He will go out and fight, and we will have the victory (Psalm 46:7–11)!
7 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. 8 Come and see what the Lord has done, the desolations he has brought on the earth. 9 He makes wars cease to the ends of the earth. He breaks the bow and shatters the spear; he burns the shields with fire. 10 He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” 11 The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress. (Psalm 46:7–11)
One way or another, there will be war. And it is being waged even now, because Revelation also says: “And there was war in heaven…” (Revelation 12:7). And God says that the things made by man, the things that are shaken, the worldly things, will be swept away, so that the things that cannot be shaken may remain. What are “the things that cannot be shaken”? It is said: “since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken…” (Hebrews 12:28). So this river, this holy place, is a symbol of God’s kingdom, a symbol of God’s presence, a symbol of God’s harmony, a symbol of God’s order. The river means life. It is the River of Life. But it is in fact the kingdom of God, because “the Spirit is the one who gives life.” For God’s kingdom is a kingdom of life. For Christ died so that we might have life. And this is a kingdom that cannot be shaken. That is why verses 28–29 say:
28 Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our “God is a consuming fire.” (Hebrews 12:28–29)
Look — this same God, in whom there is peace and harmony, goes out and makes war, and Psalm 46 says that when He goes out and lifts up His voice, the earth melts, because He is a consuming fire. So woe, woe to us if we turn away from this God. But blessed and favored are we if we have the River, the River of Life, if we are in that river.
The River in Genesis
It is striking that a “river” is spoken of both at the beginning and at the end of the Bible. In Genesis 2 a river is mentioned. When God created the heavens and the earth, when He made man, we are told that He placed him in a garden. And there in the garden was a river. In Genesis 2:7–14 we read:
7 Then the Lord God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. 8 Now the Lord God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 The Lord God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground — trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. 10 A river watering the garden flowed from Eden; from there it was separated into four headwaters. 11 The name of the first is the Pishon; it winds through the entire land of Havilah, where there is gold. 12 (The gold of that land is good; aromatic resin and onyx are also there.) 13 The name of the second river is the Gihon; it winds through the entire land of Cush. 14 The name of the third river is the Tigris; it runs along the east side of Ashur. And the fourth river is the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:7–14)
Look, if we trace these rivers, we notice that it is almost as if the author of Genesis deliberately describes a place that cannot be pinned down geographically. Because we know where the Tigris and the Euphrates are, but where are the Pishon and the Gihon? The Pishon winds through the land of Havilah. Where is “the land of Havilah”? Some say it is Arabia; others suggest a location in Mesopotamia, but nothing is certain. Then there is the river “Gihon,” which winds through “the land of Cush.” In the Bible “the land of Cush” lies in the territory of present-day Ethiopia — in Africa. For Cush was a son of Ham (Genesis 10:6), and the sons of Cush — Sheba and Dedan (Genesis 10:7) — were the ancestors of the Sabeans. Look at what the Dictionary of Holy Scripture says about the Sabeans:
“Sabeans — this is the name given to two different peoples:
I. The inhabitants of the land of Seba. It lay on the peninsula of Meroe, between the rivers Nile and Astaboras, the present-day Atbara. In Genesis 10:7 it is said that their forefather was a son of Cush, the ancestor of the Ethiopians. In Isaiah 43:3 and Psalm 72:10, Seba is mentioned as a distant and wealthy land, and Meroe was one of the most important trading cities in Africa. Herodotus describes the Sabeans as people of unusual stature. Compare Isaiah 45:14. It is thought that a part of this family settled by the Persian Gulf. See Cush and Raamah.
II. The inhabitants of the land of Sheba. This appears to be Strabo’s Saba, situated in the southern part of Arabia, not far from the Red Sea, whose capital was Mariaba (or Marev). This land, which is also called Yemen, was probably settled by Sheba, the son of Joktan, of the tribe of Shem — Genesis 10:28; 1 Chronicles 1:22.
The queen of Sheba, who visited Solomon — 1 Kings 10; 2 Chronicles 9; Matthew 12:42 — and presented him with gold, ivory, and spices, was probably the ruler of this land; and indeed these Sabeans were a people famous for their trade in these goods — Job 6:19; Isaiah 60:6; Jeremiah 6:20; Ezekiel 27:22, 38:13; Psalm 72:10, 15; Joel 3:8. Among the Arabs a tradition is preserved about this visit of the queen of Sheba, whom they call Balkis, and they maintain that she married Solomon.”
So then, where are the Tigris and the Euphrates, and where are Arabia, the Persian Gulf, Yemen, and Ethiopia? The Dictionary of Holy Scripture offers two probable locations for Eden, but it stresses that for neither is there sufficient evidence:
“Eden — a region in Asia where paradise was: ‘Now the Lord God had planted a garden in Eden, in the east, and there he put the man whom he had formed’ — Genesis 2:8. Here is the description of Eden: ‘A river flowed out of Eden to water the garden, and there it divided into four heads. The name of the first is the Pishon,’ and so on. These obscure lines the interpreters explain in various ways, but not one of their interpretations is satisfactory, because no one can say with certainty where Eden was.
Some biblical interpreters suppose that Eden lay in Armenia, west of Mount Ararat and five thousand feet above sea level. There, from a very narrow circle, four great rivers spring — the Euphrates and the Tigris, which flow south and empty into the Persian Gulf; the Araxes, which flows northeast into the Caspian Sea; and the Phasis, or Halys, which flows northwest and empties into the Black Sea. The last of these may have been the Edenic river Pishon, and the Araxes may have been the Gihon, for both names mean the same thing — swiftness. This elevated country, still beautiful and fertile, may have been the land of Eden, and in its most beautiful part, to the east, the Garden of Paradise may have lain.
Other biblical interpreters, however, maintain that Eden was by the rivers Tigris and Euphrates, there where the two rivers join, a hundred and twenty miles north of the Persian Gulf, and where the stream Ulai flows in from the northeast. This land, although it has changed over the course of several thousand years, even now bears witness to its original fertility. Holy Scripture tells us that after the flood the sons of Cush settled in the plain of Shinar — Genesis 10:8–10; 11:2.
Since two of the rivers of Eden are the well-known rivers Tigris and Euphrates, it is probable that the Garden of Paradise lay in one or the other of the above-mentioned places. Be that as it may, since the fall no explorer has been able to discover where paradise was. The first chapters of the Bible show us a paradise that vanishes before our eyes, and the last chapters open before us a far more glorious and enduring paradise: ‘Blessed are those who keep his commandments, that they may have the right to the tree of life.’”
Perhaps by this indeterminate location of Eden, God wants to tell us something. Where is Eden? Eden is in the Spirit. Eden is not by the river Euphrates or the river Tigris. Eden is in the presence of God. And where is the River of Life? The River of Life is in God’s dwelling place; it flows out from His sanctuary. So it is quite possible that what is really in view here is not geographical concepts but spiritual things — things that we must grasp with our spirit. So then, what is the river? The river… is… the River of Life, the River of God’s presence, the River of God’s kingdom. The river is the river that waters and gives life.
The River in Revelation
In Revelation chapter 22 it says:
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life (Revelation 22:1)
Notice the progression… At first we have simply a river. Then this river is said to have living water. And living water means flowing water. A river is different from a swamp. In a swamp there is no movement of water; the sun beats down on it, there is mud, and bacteria and diseases breed there. In a swamp there is death — nothing thrives there. But in a river there is life. Because it is constantly washed clean, constantly purified. Its water is “living,” because it is always moving. And here things go a step further, and it is said that the river not only has flowing water, or living water, but that it is “the water of life” — water that gives life.
That water gives life is a truth that holds even for the natural world. About 70% of the human body is water. But in these verses in Revelation it is not natural water that is spoken of, but spiritual water, the Holy Spirit.
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. (Revelation 22:1)
Whenever we have a picture of the Father and the Son in the book of Revelation, we also have the Holy Spirit there. In the earlier pictures, how is the Holy Spirit portrayed?
- As seven blazing lamps (Revelation 4:5)
5 From the throne came flashes of lightning, rumblings and peals of thunder. In front of the throne, seven lamps were blazing. These are the seven spirits of God. (Revelation 4:5)
- As seven horns and seven eyes (Revelation 5:6)
6 Then I saw a Lamb, looking as if it had been slain, standing at the center of the throne, encircled by the four living creatures and the elders. The Lamb had seven horns and seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God sent out into all the earth. (Revelation 5:6)
But here we have God and the Lamb, and out from the throne flows the river of life. Where is the Holy Spirit in this picture? He is “the river of the water of life.”
1 Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. 2 On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations. (Revelation 22:1–2)
A Spiritual Drink?
This is actually a picture drawn from the book of the prophet Ezekiel. There this river is spoken of. And this river… this water… is the Holy Spirit. Is this possible? Is it possible for the Holy Spirit to be presented as the water of life? Why not, if in 1 Corinthians 10:4, for example, a “spiritual drink” is spoken of (1 Corinthians 10:1–4)?
1 For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers and sisters, that our ancestors were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. 2 They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. 3 They all ate the same spiritual food 4 and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. (1 Corinthians 10:1–4)
What is this spiritual drink? It is the Holy Spirit. And see where this spiritual drink comes from… from a spiritual rock. Christ is the Rock. And what does Christ give? …The Holy Spirit. It is that simple. In fact the drink, the water, the living water, is the Holy Spirit. I am not saying that everywhere in Scripture where water is spoken of, it means the Holy Spirit. But the River of Life, which flows out from the throne of God, the water of life that comes out from the spiritual Rock who is Christ — this is the Holy Spirit, who proceeds from the Father and from Christ. It says that this rock accompanied them. The Rock was Christ, and this Rock accompanied them. In Exodus 17:1–7 we read of the first occasion on which the “Rock” “accompanied” Israel.
1 The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. 2 So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” 3 But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” 4 Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” 5 The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. 6 I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. 7 And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?” (Exodus 17:1–7)
The Blow Upon the Rock
Notice, here it says that Moses was to take with him “the staff with which he had struck the Nile,” and this staff was a staff of judgment. For with it Moses brought the ten plagues upon the gods of Egypt. And when God said to him, “Take your staff,” Moses may have thought that God was going to judge His people. For He said to him, “Take your staff and go.” And Moses may have said to himself, “Now, just as God punished Egypt, so He will punish His own people too, and repay them with judgment for their rebellion and their sins.” For they quarreled, they grumbled, they rebelled. And all of this is a symbol of sin.
But did God tell Moses to strike the people? No. He told him to strike the rock. And here we see the picture of the crucifixion. Christ took our sin upon Himself, and God laid our transgressions upon Him. On the cross Christ bore the wrath of God that should have fallen upon us. And when He was crucified on the cross, out of Him, out of Christ, flowed life. There is a hymn that goes: “There is a fountain, blood flows…”
In fact, this water, which is the water of life, which is the Holy Spirit — in order for it to be poured out upon us and bring us life — blood had to gush forth, and sinless blood at that. For elsewhere in the Word it says that the life of a person is in the blood. The life of the body is in its blood. And here we see this picture in which Christ is struck for our sins, and out of Him, for us, flows the spiritual drink of eternal life and the Holy Spirit.
Living Water
One could say that the water which flowed on this first occasion pictures for us the working of the Holy Spirit in us, when He gives us new life. Do you have this water in you? What did Jesus say? Unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot see the kingdom of God. So in fact Jesus Christ said that the water is the Spirit. Some take this verse and say that the water is the Word of God. There are verses that do liken water to the Word of God. But can we separate the Spirit from the Word, since both come from God? Yet in this particular verse, from John chapter 3, when water and Spirit are spoken of, one could say that the water is a metaphor for the Spirit. The Spirit is the one who gives us new birth. The Spirit is the one who gives life. And this happens at the new birth. Do you remember what Jesus said to the Samaritan woman? She came to the well and wanted to draw well water. But this water is not living, flowing water. It gathers in the well, but it is not spring water. The Samaritan woman came to the well, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink” (John 4:9–10):
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.) 10 Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” (John 4:9–10)
For the Samaritan woman, living water meant flowing water. For us, “living water” is water that gives eternal life. But this is already the spiritual meaning, which the Holy Spirit reveals to us. Yet the Samaritan woman marveled at Jesus’ words about “living water”: “How will You give me ‘living water’ — there is no river here?” She may have thought, “There is only a well here. It is a desert. Where will this stranger get living water?” (verse 15).
15 The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water so that I won’t get thirsty and have to keep coming here to draw water.” (John 4:15)
We today have it good. At home we have taps — and not just one, but two. You turn the tap and the water flows, and not only cold but hot as well. But once it was not so: Hop! And you wash your dishes. Sometimes people had to walk for kilometers to fetch water. But what was Jesus actually speaking about here when He spoke of the living water? John chapter 4, verses 11–14:
11 “Sir,” the woman said, “you have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water? 12 Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did also his sons and his livestock?” 13 Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:11–14)
What is this water that wells up to eternal life? It is the Holy Spirit. Jesus was that spiritual Rock, out of whom flowed the living water, the Holy Spirit, who worked in us at the new birth. He is the true spiritual drink spoken of in 1 Corinthians 10:4.
Water from the Glorified Rock
But there was yet another occasion on which Moses brought water out of a rock. Only on this second occasion God told Moses not to strike it with the staff, but to speak to the rock. In Numbers 20:1–13 we read:
1 In the first month the whole Israelite community arrived at the Desert of Zin, and they stayed at Kadesh. There Miriam died and was buried. 2 Now there was no water for the community, and the people gathered in opposition to Moses and Aaron. 3 They quarreled with Moses and said, “If only we had died when our brothers fell dead before the Lord! 4 Why did you bring the Lord’s community into this wilderness, that we and our livestock should die here? 5 Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to this terrible place? It has no grain or figs, grapevines or pomegranates. And there is no water to drink!” 6 Moses and Aaron went from the assembly to the entrance to the tent of meeting and fell facedown, and the glory of the Lord appeared to them. 7 The Lord said to Moses, 8 “Take the staff, and you and your brother Aaron gather the assembly together. Speak to that rock before their eyes and it will pour out its water. You will bring water out of the rock for the community so they and their livestock can drink.” 9 So Moses took the staff from the Lord’s presence, just as he commanded him. 10 He and Aaron gathered the assembly together in front of the rock and Moses said to them, “Listen, you rebels, must we bring you water out of this rock?” 11 Then Moses raised his arm and struck the rock twice with his staff. Water gushed out, and the community and their livestock drank. 12 But the Lord said to Moses and Aaron, “Because you did not trust in me enough to honor me as holy in the sight of the Israelites, you will not bring this community into the land I give them.” 13 These were the waters of Meribah, where the Israelites quarreled with the Lord and where he was proved holy among them. (Numbers 20:1–13)
This happened after the Israelites had wandered forty years in the wilderness. And again there was no water. And again the people began to grumble. But here, compared with the first time, there were two essential differences. First, God told Moses to take the staff… But this was not the old staff with which Moses had struck the rock the first time. What was the second staff? It was the staff of Aaron, the High Priest, that had budded. And while the first was a staff of judgment, the second staff speaks to us of anointing and resurrection. For can you take a dead branch, cut off, a long time gone by, dried up, and in a single night have that same branch blossom — and not only that, but also bear ripe almonds? This speaks to us of the risen Christ. The second staff was a staff of anointing. It showed who was the Chosen and Anointed one to serve, who was the High Priest. Aaron was the High Priest. In fact, here we see Christ as the risen and glorified High Priest, who is in heaven. And He was not to be struck. He is to be glorified.
And second, this time Moses was to speak to the rock, not to strike it. Because of this disobedience of his, Moses did not enter the promised land. He saw Canaan, but he did not set foot in the land. In human terms we cannot understand why God punished His servant so. But the Holy Spirit shows us the spiritual reason why Moses was not to strike the rock. This rock was to become a type of Christ. And Christ had to be struck only once — on the cross. For the blow that was to fall upon the people (Isaiah 53:8) fell upon Him, so that the water of life might flow. But Christ cannot be brought back to the cross a second time. Having once borne sin and risen again, from that point on He is glorified, and He is only to be glorified (Hebrews 9:28). Perhaps this is why God told Moses not to strike the rock, but to speak to it. Because Christ’s sacrifice is finished and sufficient, and He is not to be crucified a second time. On the contrary, we are guilty when we sin deliberately, because in doing so we crucify Christ a second time.
But Moses was angry and confused. That is why the Word says that human anger does not accomplish God’s will. And in his rage he struck the rock, not just once, but even twice. He was saved, but he did not receive the perfect blessing of entering the Promised Land. And yet it is said: “…and water gushed out.” Glory to God!
It is also interesting that the words used for rock in the two accounts are different. In Exodus 17:6 the word for “rock” is “tsur,” which means a sharp rock, something like a large stone, a low rock that can be struck from above. Moses only had to take his staff and strike the rock from above. But in the other account, in Numbers chapter 20, the word for “rock” is “sela,” which means high, lifted up, exalted, majestic. It means a high, towering, sheer rock that you cannot strike from above. That is why Moses was to speak to the rock, and not to strike it at its base. The one rock represents the crucified Christ, and the other, the risen, glorified Christ, exalted at the right hand of God. So He was not to be struck, but to be spoken to. And what was to be spoken to Him? What are we to say to Him? To glorify Him. In Revelation 19:6 it says that in heaven they sang a new song. They sang: “Hallelujah!”
Christ must be glorified. And this is in fact the way for us to have revival in our lives. And this is very important for the season of spiritual drought in which we live. We live in a dry time. We live in a time when there is no water. We say, “We are thirsty!” But if you have believed in Jesus Christ, you may drink from the water that flows out of the cross, and be saved. And if you have been saved, you may drink once more from the water of the Holy Spirit, which the Holy Spirit poured out at the baptism. At Pentecost the people heard the tongues; Peter explained to them what was happening, because at that moment the Holy Spirit was poured out upon the Church, and all of them were filled with the Holy Spirit. What does it mean to be filled? Something must be poured into something, so that it may be filled. Then the Spirit was poured out upon the church, and the church was filled with the Holy Spirit. This was the Water of life. And when Peter explains to the people what is happening, he says of Jesus in Acts 2:33:
33 Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear. (Acts 2:33)
Notice the metaphor — “poured out.” Once again it presses us to think that the Spirit is the Water of Life. And Jesus prophesied this even before it had happened. In the Gospel of John 7:38 Christ again speaks of water and of a river. Look at what He says (verse 37):
37 On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. (John 7:37)
Look, this is the way a person receives the baptism with the Holy Spirit. You do not go to some man. If you want water baptism, you must go to the pastor to baptize you. But if you want the baptism with the Holy Spirit, you must go to Christ. He is the Baptizer. Ministers cannot baptize with the Holy Spirit. Jesus baptizes. And nothing is required. You simply have to come to Him in faith. The apostle Paul says the same thing in the letter to the Galatians: “…did you not receive the Holy Spirit by faith?” You must believe. Believe that it is just as He says it is (John 7:38).
38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. (John 7:38)
Look, in the one case a spring is spoken of. A spring is something small, but here it is not merely a spring that is spoken of, but rivers of living water. And in the one case we see that the rock was low down, and was struck with the staff of judgment. But in the other case, we see the rock glorified, and one had to come to it with the staff of anointing, with the staff of resurrection, so that Christ from above might “pour out” His Holy Spirit. And this was no longer some little spring of living water. These were now rivers of life, rivers of living water. Here is the River, the River of the Holy Spirit. And see where it comes from… From within, from our hearts.
Usually rivers flow into the seas. Our River too flows into the sea, as we will see in Ezekiel. As we said, the river is a symbol of God’s kingdom. And this flowing of the river into the sea paints for us the picture of God’s kingdom breaking into the kingdom of darkness, and whoever receives it through faith — the Spirit begins to flow through him. So we become bearers of this water. We become part of the River. So then, the question is:
- Are you in the River?
- Are you in the Kingdom of God?
- Are you in the Holy Spirit?
- Are you filled?
- And is this river flowing through you, so that you may carry this good news to others as well, and they may be saved?
This is the River — “the rivers of living water” that flow out from the “innermost being” of believers are the Holy Spirit (verse 39).
39 By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (John 7:39)
The Holy Spirit is a Person, a tender Person. And at the same time He is the River of Life. He is the Spirit. He is the Wind. He is the Fire. He is the Dove. The glorified Christ gives the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit is available today to everyone who desires Him. So then, if you are thirsty, if you are saying, “I have no revival…” — do not complain to the pastor. Go to Christ and drink. Shut yourself in your secret little room, pray, cry out to Him, and you will see that He will give you the water of life. He will give you rivers of living water to gush out from you toward others!
Look at the apostles. They were born again when Jesus breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit!” (John 21:22). But in Acts 2:4 the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them. So what was the difference? The one was a spring, and the other was a waterfall.
The River in Ezekiel
And I want to finish with Ezekiel chapter 47. It is interesting that in Ezekiel chapter 37 the Spirit is presented as wind, over a field of dry bones. And the prophet calls to Him, saying, “Come, O Spirit!” And the Spirit breathed upon the bones, and they came to life. This is the resurrection. In Ezekiel chapter 47 we see the Spirit again, but this time the Spirit is presented not as wind, but as a River.
1 The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. (Ezekiel 47:1)
Notice that this water was coming down from under the south side of the temple. And precisely there, in that place in the tabernacle and the temple, stood the lampstand.
And it says that the water was flowing… The water flows, the river flows, but that is not enough. In order to benefit from it, we ourselves must step into the water.
This water is a river. And its growth is very much like the dream of King Nebuchadnezzar, in which he saw a stone “cut out, but not by human hands,” which struck the image on its feet, and the stone itself filled the whole earth. This stone grew and became a great mountain and filled the whole earth (Daniel 2:34–35, 44). What did this stone symbolize? The kingdom of God. And here we see a river which at first is shallow, but gradually becomes deeper and deeper, until it becomes a river to swim in, and you cannot reach the bottom. A deep, full-flowing river (Ezekiel 47:2–6).
2 He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side. 3 As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. 4 He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. 5 He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in — a river that no one could cross. 6 He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?” Then he led me back to the bank of the river. (Ezekiel 47:2–6)
And what does this river do? It is said that by the river there were many trees.
7 When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. (Ezekiel 47:7)
What are trees a symbol of in God’s Word? Of people. For in Psalm 1 it says that the person who delights in the law of the Lord will be like a tree planted by streams of water. Here is the Holy Spirit. And of these trees by the river it is said that they bore fruit. And their fruit was for food, and their leaves — for the healing of the nations. I believe this speaks of the spiritual gifts that the Holy Spirit gives us. For where did this life in the trees come from? From the River. From the Holy Spirit.
That is why I tell you: There is a River. Step into this River. Swim in this River. Become part of this River. Drink from this River. Draw from this water, like a tree whose roots suck up this water of life. And it is said that this river flows into the sea. God’s kingdom flows into the kingdom of this world. And in verse 8 it says:
8 He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. (Ezekiel 47:8)
This sea, which was salty, which was sick, is changed and begins to become alive.
9 Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. (Ezekiel 47:9)
There will be fish there. (The fish is the sign of Christians. The fish does not fly in the air, but swims in the water. This reminds us that we must be humble and remain in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.) The fish speaks to us of a spiritual harvest of saved souls.
10 Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds — like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea. (Ezekiel 47:10)
Jesus said that He would make us fishers of men. We are the fishermen. Where the Holy Spirit is, there are evangelistic outreaches, there are fishers of men who gather fruit for the heavenly kingdom. All kinds of people, from every nation and tongue, will be before the Throne of God. Glory to God!
But further down it says:
11 But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. (Ezekiel 47:11)
Look, even in this case God said that not everyone will be saved. It depends on the person. If they are swamps and marshes, they will not become fresh, but will be left for salt. What does this mean? It means that they will be condemned. To be given over to salt means death. Salt preserves, but salt also kills. It kills the microbes, but also life. There is a sea called the Dead Sea, because there is no life in it. And why is there no life in it? Because it is very salty.
So then, choose today to be part of the River. Because,
- The River is the Kingdom of God;
- The River is the Holy Spirit;
- The River is the eternal life that God gives us;
- The River is being filled with the Holy Spirit.
That is why in Ephesians 5:18 the apostle Paul reminds us:
18 Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18)
He is not wine. He is the water of Life. He is the River. Therefore, let us be filled with Him and be part of the RIVER!