The Healing Stream          

   This a continuation of my last blog, this is taken from Ezekiel 47:6-12. This post will explain why I entitled this "The Healing Stream".  Let's read from Ezekiel 47:6-12. It says, "And said unto me, Son of man, hast thou seen this? Then he brought me, and caused me to return to the brink of the river. Now when I had returned, behold, at the bank of the river were very many trees on the one side and on the other.  Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed. And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh.  And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from Engedi even unto  Eneg-laim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; their fish shall be spread according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many.  But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given to salt. And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side, shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according to his months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary: and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for medicine."
    Like I said in my previous post, the river represents our relationship between us and our Heavenly Father. The angel is telling Ezekiel that these waters go through the desert, then finally flow into the sea. Along the way, the river brings everything around it, to life. Lots of green, healthy trees grow along the river bringing forth various fruits that heals everyone that eats them.
  What does the text mean when it says, " But the miry places thereof and the marishes thereof shall not be healed; they shall be given over to salt."? Well, what do you think of when you think of a marsh or swamp? I think of stagnant, muddy water that doesn't move anywhere, that is perfectly satisfied with where it is.  Are we growing in the depth of our walk with Christ, or are we content to stay where we are? I hope that we are like the deep,moving river.  What are the consequences for being like a swamp? It says that they shall become salt marshes. That doesn't sound very good, does it? Salt stifles plant growth, or will even kill plant life, and if the water has enough salt it, it will have a detrimental effect on marine life. I pray that  we would be like the river that nourishes the thirsty, desert land,and turning it into a lush garden,and not like the salt marsh that refreshes no life whatsoever.  Let us keep moving toward the Heavenly Kingdom.
  
 

                                             The Healing Stream

This is an interesting message that I heard from the Iowa-Missouri camp meeting. I have never heard a message based on this passage, Ezekiel 47:1-12. And I have often wondered what it meant. Let's start out by reading the passage. Ezekiel 47:1-5 says "Afterward he brought me again unto the door of the house; and behold waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward: for the forefront of the house stood toward the east, and the waters came down from under from the right side of the house, at the south side of the altar. Then brought he me out of the way of the gate northward, and led me about the way without unto the utter gate by the way that looketh eastward; and behold, there ran out waters on the right side.  And when the man that had the line in his hand went forth eastward, he measured a thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the waters were to the ankles. Again he measured a thousand, and brought me through the waters; the waters were to the knees.  Again he measured a thousand, and he brought me through; the waters were to the loins (waist).  Afterward he measured a thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass over: for the waters were risen, waters to swim in, a river that that could not be passed over. Let's stop there. The  water was flowing from under the temple much like a spring,and flowing eastward,which developed from a very thin layer of flowing water to a very deep river.  It got deeper and deeper as you went down the river not across it.  That point proves that the Christian walk doesn't end, in the way that you as a Christian could say, "I have now become perfect, and I'm now on the other side."  The Christian life is a step by step experience that gets deeper and deeper until it is only God's Holy Spirit that governs us.
   Let's think of this passage in literal terms.  If you go to a river that is only ankle deep, even though it may be flowing rather swiftly, it still has very little effect on your ability to stand still. But if the water depth comes to the knees, it is fairly difficult to stand still, but is still possible.  However, when the flowing water reaches the waist, it is nearly impossible to stand your ground; and it takes the most determined effort to stay where you are.  But when the flowing water goes much above the waist it is impossible, to stand or walk in the current, that is what the passage means when it says "it was a river that could not be crossed, ... waters to swim in".
      So this river represents our walk with the Lord.  It is up to us, as to how much influence the Christian life has on our daily lives.  When we first accept Jesus Christ into our lives, (if it is sincere), other people will see a noticeable difference in the way we carry our lives.   We can decide to continually go deeper and deeper into our walk with God until we never let "the old man" govern us, or we can decide to just do some Christian deeds, like going to church and paying tithe,  but we still are hanging on to some old sins, and we prefer to just stay where we are.  But 2 Corinthians 5:17 says,  "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.
     So let us continue to grow deeper in our Christian life, and not be satisfied with where we are.  Hebrews 12:1b says, "let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us,"  I will post more about this subject from Ezekiel 47: 6:12 later, which will explain the title.