THE RIVER OF HEALING
EZEKIEL 47:1-12
TREY HARRIS
Rivers have always been places of interest to me. Recently, I heard the Chalmette (LA) ferry horn blow and I realized how much I missed living two blocks from the Mississippi River. I used to take long walks along the levee watching the ships come in and out, see the ferry carrying people from east to west and back again. The wildlife along the river, while somewhat hidden, is numerous and plentiful. I’ve seen many objects washed up on the river’s shore. From trash to treasures, from dead fish to live snakes, I’ve seen it all. I’ve even seen driftwood gnawed by a beaver’s sharp teeth.
Rivers are places that teem with life and draw all manner of life to them. The Bible is filled with River stories. From the River Jordan to the Euphrates to the Jabbok to the Nile , rivers have always been central in human history as places where living creatures gather to drink and feed and be washed clean.
No wonder then that God used a river in Ezekiel’s vision to communicate a great message for all people.
As with any river the one in Ezekiel’s vision have many characteristics and attributes. I want us to see three in particular this morning as they have to do with the central meaning of the vision.
I) The Further it Goes the Wider and Deeper it Gets (v 5)
Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to cross without swimming.
The river begins in the room known to the people of Israel as the Holy of Holies. Where else would the Good News of God’s love for all the world begin but in the place where God’s presence was thought to have resided. It was from the heart of God that the River of God began.
In the original language there is a word picture created here by the author. The water began as a trickle, like water being poured from the neck of a small flask or bottle. It flows out of the temple it issued from the right side of the altar, the right side, the anointed side, the side of power and strength. As it runs from under the Temple threshold the trickle became a stream, then the stream became a creek, then the creek became a river then the river became a torrent, a mighty flow of water to deep and strong to wade across.
The river represents the Gospel. Not the Gospel of the New Testament, represented by four books recorded by human beings for God, but rather the whole scope of the Gospel, in the New Testament it’s called euaggelion, the Good News, the message of God’s love to all people offered through His Son Jesus Christ.
The Good News was, from before its inception, intended to draw all humanity unto God. Jesus spoke often of the Kingdom of God, the culmination of the Good News, in terms of something that grows and spreads and attracts and cultivates life. Jesus said: “The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the largest of garden plants and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter in its branches.” (Matthew 5:31-32)
He also said: He also asked, “What else is the Kingdom of God like? It is like yeast used by a woman making bread. Even though she used a large amount of flour, the yeast permeated every part of the dough.” (Luke 13:20)
When we read these words of Christ we begin to get the feeling that the Kingdom of God, brought about by the coming of the Good News, is much larger and more inclusive than most of us have ever considered.
Notice, if you will how the river flowing from the Temple gets wider and deeper the farther away from the Temple it gets. We might be tempted to think the Gospel needs to be preserved and guarded by the church so it remains pure and unspoiled. We might be tempted to hold it close so only those who are a part of our group or a member of our particular fellowship will be able to experience the Gospel’s deepest message.
But that is not the image we receive from Ezekiel’s vision. As the river moves and flows away from the Temple, it gets wider and deeper. How can that be? Isn’t the church supposed to be the vehicle by which the Gospel is spread? Didn’t Jesus tell his disciples, “But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”? (Acts 1:8)
Yes, and that’s just the point. Notice carefully what Jesus said. “…you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” The Good News will begin in Jerusalem, the seat of the church in the Jewish people’s mindset. The Good News is first told to the people of God. The Jewish people had become so wrapped up in preserving an antiquated, outdated form of religion that they had forgotten to be the city built on a hill for all to see. They had long-since stopped being salt and light to the world. So the Good News would begin to be told in the Temple and the synagogues of Jerusalem herself.
My call to preach has always been to the people in the United Methodist Church first. The Holy Spirit impressed upon me early in my call that there were many people just like me who had been sitting in church all their lives but had never actually heard the Good News. God said to me, “Go tell them. Tell the people in the Methodist Church about how much I love them. Tell them they are forgiven their sins and washed in the blood of the Lamb!”
God’s people need to know that they are forgiven and loved and free. If God’s people don’t know and understand and experience the depths of the Good News then how can we possibly by Christ’s witnesses.
As the river moved away from the Temple it got deeper and wider. Jesus said the Good News would travel throughout Judea, in the cities and towns and villages that surrounded Jerusalem. Those cities would be filled friends and relatives of the people who lived in Jerusalem. So the next step in the Good News being heard across the globe might be the sharing of God’s love with our friends and families. I wonder if we have told everyone we know how much God loves them. I wonder if there are people living right next door to your house who, if the Lord were to come tonight and demand of them their souls would spend eternity separated from God because none of their friends or neighbors cared enough to share the Gospel with them.
I believe it was Eddie Fox, one of the authors of the Book “Faith Sharing”, who told the story of having a neighbor who played golf each Sunday morning. Every Sunday Eddie would see his neighbor leaving for the golf course as Eddie was leaving for church. Each Sunday, the neighbor would say, “Hey Eddie, why don’t you join me today?” Eddie would simply smile and say, “You know I go to church.”
Years past and one day the neighbor stopped long enough to ask Eddie a question that would change his life. He said, “Eddie, we’ve lived next door to each other for years. Every Sunday I go to the golf course and I always ask you if you want to come along. But Eddie, you’ve never invited me to go to church with you. Why is that?” Eddie had no answer but to apologize profusely and offer a much belated invitation to the neighbor. What else did Jesus say? “Love your neighbor as yourself?”
As the river moved away from the Temple it got deeper and wider still.
“…in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Christ’s prophetic challenge to the infant church is really in four parts, but for brevity’s sake I’ll lump the last two together. Samaria and the ends of the earth. Jews hated Samaritans. Jesus said, in essence, “You will tell the people you hate the most how much the God of Israel loves them.”
Here’s the hardest part for most of us. The Good News is for everyone. The people it’s easiest to invite and the ones we find hard to love. In fact, if history serves as a witness, I think one of the main reasons the religious establishment hated Jesus so is that he called them out of their comfort zone by associating with people who didn’t look, act, believe or dress like the religious establishment.
And friends, when the rest of the world sees a church defying what the religious establishment has always promoted and practiced and beginning to reach our in unfettered love to its community the river will grow deeper and wider to the ends of the earth.
II) It Transforms Everything and Everyone it Touches (v 8-10)
Everything that touches the water of this river will live.
“This river flows east through the desert into the Jordan Valley, where it enters the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will heal the salty waters of the Dead Sea and make them fresh and pure. 9Everything that touches the water of this river will live. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will be healed. Wherever this water flows, everything will live. 10Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea, fishing all the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim. The shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea, just as they fill the Mediterranean!
A little history lesson concerning the Dead Sea.
It lies about 16 miles in a straight line to the east of Jerusalem. Its surface is 1,292 feet below the surface of the Mediterranean Sea. It covers an area of about 300 square miles. Its depth varies from 1,310 to 11 feet. From various phenomena that have been observed, its bottom appears to be still subsiding. It is about 53 miles long, and of an average breadth of 10 miles. It has no outlet, the great heat of that region causing such rapid evaporation that its average depth, notwithstanding the rivers that run into it, is maintained with little variation. The Jordan alone discharges into it no less than six million tons of water every twenty-four hours.
The water of the lake is not less remarkable than its other features. Its most obvious peculiarity is its great weight. Its specific gravity has been found to be as much as 12.28; that is to say, a gallon of it would weigh over 12 1/4 lbs., instead of 8 lbs., the weight of distilled water. Water so heavy must not only be extremely buoyant, but must possess great inertia. Its buoyancy is a common theme of remark by the travelers who have been upon it or in it. A Bible professor named Dr. Robinson "could never swim before, either in fresh or salt water," yet here he "could sit, stand, lie or swim without difficulty." (B.R.i.506.)
The remarkable weight of the water is due to the very large quantity of mineral salts which it holds in solution. Each gallon of the water, weighing 12 1/4 lbs., contains nearly 3 1/3 lbs. of matter in solution --an immense quantity when we remember that seawater, weighing 10 1/4 lbs. per gallon, contains less than 1/2 a lb. Of this 3 1/2 lbs. nearly 1 lb. is common salt (chloride of sodium), about 2 lbs. chloride of magnesium, and less than 1/3 a lb. chloride of calcium (or muriate of lime).
What does all this mean? It means nothing living can exist in this sea. “The fish carried down by the Jordan at once die, nor can even mussels or corals live in it.” The sea was and is as dead as any body of water could ever be, and yet, says Ezekiel’s vision, the River of God can bring life to even its dead waters.
Friends, there is no spirit so dead, no life so sin-filled, there is no soul so depraved, there is no life so separated from God that it cannot be revived by encountering the life-giving love of God.
Paul wrote to the Corinthians church: What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
And to Titus Paul said: He washed away our sins and gave us a new life through the Holy Spirit. (Titus 3:5)
There is no life that cannot be restored to life by being washed in the River of God’s love. Everything that touches the water of this river will live. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will be healed. Wherever this water flows, everything will live.
III) Its Purpose is to Bring Nourishment and Healing (v 12)
“The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
Geof Steiner is a Vietnam veteran whose life took the stereotypical downfall after his return to civilian life. He struggled financially, suffered a divorce, battled addiction to alcohol and attempted suicide. Finally, he gave his life to Christ and experienced transformation. In 1980 he was planting a tree, and he decided then to plant one for every one of the dead and missing.
The result was a forest in Cushing, Minnesota consisting of almost 60,000 trees, roughly one tree for every American lost in Vietnam. Steiner paid for the early trees out of his $235 monthly disability check.
Now, trees are being donated by the state forestry service. The forest is now recognized as an official memorial to veterans of Vietnam. Steiner says, "This is the only living form of remembrance in the nation. People can come here and experience healing."
“The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
Nourishment and healing, food for our souls and rejuvenation for our lives can be found in the River of Healing. Sounds like a church I’d want to join.
God has always spoken healing and wholeness to His people. “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. (Malachi 4:2)
The Bible tells us: …Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him. (Acts 10:38)
Once, when Jesus was eating with some of the unsavory people of his community, the religious leaders came around to check him out. You see, Jesus didn’t do church the way church had always been done, so the religious folk were upset with him. “He hangs out more with those people than he does with us. Why does he do that?”
Jesus answered them, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call sinners to turn from their sins, not to spend my time with those who think they are already good enough.” (Luke 5:31-32)
Our passage says: All kinds of fruit trees will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, without fail! For they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
Those trees are representative of the Body of Christ. They are, in essence, you and me. Our leaves are always green, our limbs are always extended, heavy with ministries that reach into our communities to touch lives and turn hearts towards God. Notice there is a new crop every month; in the Kingdom of God we can’t do things the way we’ve always done things.
How is it possible to be these trees of nourishment and healing season after season, year after year, generation after generation? For they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The trees are planted and rooted firmly along the banks of the River of God. Notice that the trees are along the banks. You can’t always just swim along in the River of God. There comes a point when you have to step out and be planted in the Kingdom of God.
CONCLUSION
Two fly-fishing sons of a Presbyterian minister--one educated, one rebellious--grow up in rural Montana. Based on the novel by Norman Maclean, A River Runs Through It is a true story about two boys Norman Maclean (Craig Sheffer) and Paul Maclean (Brad Pitt) growing up in Montana. One is rebellious of his father, Rev. Maclean (Tom Skerrit), while the other has his feet on the ground. Norman goes to Dartmouth to study. After six years he returns and gets involved with a nice girl named Jessie (Emily Lloyd) and he is invited to teach in Chicago. Paul has become a reporter and is known as the "fishing reporter". He is famous and it seems he has a nice life, but he drinks a little too much and gambles too much.
The differences between the two sons causes friction and heartbreak and family upheaval. The movie portrays how families can be both loving and spiteful, caring and cold.
The one love they both have is Fly Fishing along the Black River. Through out the movie the river brings the boys home, it centers them, frees them, and renews them.
Richard C. Halverson wrote:
There is nothing you can do to make God love you more!
There is nothing you can do to make God love you less!
His love is Unconditional, Impartial, Everlasting, Infinite, Perfect!
The River of God’s love runs deep and wide. It matters not that you or I decide to stand on its banks and be rooted in its healing and live, it matters not whether we share it with others or try to keep it all to ourselves, it matters not that some believe and some do not…the River of God flows on.
THE RIVER OF HEALING
EZEKIEL 47:1-12
TREY HARRIS
I) THE FURTHER IT GOES THE WIDER AND DEEPER IT GETS (V 5)
Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to cross without swimming.
“The Kingdom of Heaven is like a mustard seed planted in a field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but it becomes the
largest of garden plants and grows into a tree where birds can come and find shelter in its branches.” (Matthew 5:31-32)
“But when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, you will receive power and will tell people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
II) IT TRANSFORMS EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE IT TOUCHES (V 9)
Everything that touches the water of this river will live.
What this means is that those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone. A new life has begun! (2 Corinthians 5:17)
III) ITS PURPOSE IS TO BRING NOURISHMENT AND HEALING (V 12)
“The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
“But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture. (Malachi 4:2)
Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the Devil, for God was with him. (Acts 10:38)
EZEKIEL 47:1-12
1Then the man brought me back to the entrance of the Temple. There I saw a stream flowing eastward from beneath the Temple threshold. This stream then passed to the right of the altar on its south side. 2The man brought me outside the wall through the north gateway and led me around to the eastern entrance. There I could see the stream flowing out through the south side of the east gateway. 3Measuring as he went, he led me along the stream for 1,750 feet and told me to go across. At that point the water was up to my ankles. 4He measured off another 1,750 feet and told me to go across again. This time the water was up to my knees. After another 1,750 feet, it was up to my waist. 5Then he measured another 1,750 feet, and the river was too deep to cross without swimming.
6He told me to keep in mind what I had seen; then he led me back along the riverbank. 7Suddenly, to my surprise, many trees were now growing on both sides of the river! 8Then he said to me, “This river flows east through the desert into the Jordan Valley, where it enters the Dead Sea. The waters of this stream will heal the salty waters of the Dead Sea and make them fresh and pure. 9Everything that touches the water of this river will live. Fish will abound in the Dead Sea, for its waters will be healed. Wherever this water flows, everything will live. 10Fishermen will stand along the shores of the Dead Sea, fishing all the way from En-gedi to En-eglaim. The shores will be covered with nets drying in the sun. Fish of every kind will fill the Dead Sea, just as they fill the Mediterranean! 11But the marshes and swamps will not be purified; they will be sources of salt. 12All kinds of fruit trees will grow along both sides of the river. The leaves of these trees will never turn brown and fall, and there will always be fruit on their branches. There will be a new crop every month, without fail! For they are watered by the river flowing from the Temple. The fruit will be for food and the leaves for healing.”
