Ezekiel 47, 1-12.

River of God

Let’s step into the middle of this vision and see what Ezekiel saw. We see a new temple,
with greater glory than the previous. In this chapter we just arrive at the end of the description
of the new temple. The most important thing we need to know about it that God’s glory is in
the temple once again. And now we start at the temple but everything happens outside. It’s
interesting that if God is in the house things will going to change outside. God leads out
Ezekiel and we can follow him in his vision.
Let’s step outside of the temple. If we step out we find ourselves in a desolate place. We
see no trees and no life. You would not want to live there. If it was our land it would be
painful to see this lifeless desert. It may seem hopeless, but a glimmer of hope appears on this
dry land. It comes from the temple. A small stream flows from under the threshold of the
temple. It goes East through the land. The water is so precious in places like this. Especially a
fresh, sweet water. If we follow Ezekiel in his vision soon we will discover that this is a
miraculous river. It grows without other rivers fall into it. As we walk down near the river
after Ezekiel we are challenged to believe the impossible. We are challenged to believe that
God’s river can do something other rivers cannot. At first God let Ezekiel measure it. But
after a while it can not be crossed anymore. It’s just too big and too deep. It becomes
unmeaserable. It starts from an incredible narrow stream and becomes a huge river. It’s
bigger than Ezekiel. It’s bigger than us. Whatever this river is it is abundant and we cannot
control it. Whatever this is, God gives it generously. To let all the vision sink in Ezekiel is
asked: “O Mortal, have you seen this?” He does not have to say anything just believe the
unbelievable. We can also ask ourselves: Have you seen this? Have you seen God’s work?
Have you recognized what happened when God brought life into the desert? But there is
more…
When Ezekiel walks back everything is changed. We can see that life springs near the
riverbank. Trees grow, fishes swim and the water heals the sea. With God’s river this place is
not a desert anymore. Beauty conquered ugliness, life conquered death.
But seeing all these changes of the terrain our suspicion may grow stronger: Is it a real place?
Is this a new paradise recreated by God? Or is this the geographical location between
Jerusalem and the Dead-Sea which is transformed into a beautiful oasis? Is it the Heaven the
place where all the saints go after they die? Where is this temple and where is this desert? I
cannot help myself identify this river with the one in Heaven as we can read about it in
Revelations. If that is the case we have to imagine heaven in a new way. Have you ever
wondered about why is that tree next to the river with all the power to heal nations if
everyone is healed and healthy and alright in Heaven? My only explanation is that Heaven or
the Kingdom of God exists in the now and affects us and our reality. The river is in the
Kingdom of God, but the Kingdom of God is closer than we may think. The river of God
flows into our dry, deserted realities just as naturally as a stream flows through the land. Our
world is without hope. If it’s without God. But if God is not the God of the dead but the
living, then His Kingdom should surely affect us.
I invite you to see this world through this vision. We will see that both the outer world
and our inner world in this picture. It is like our inner dryness is mirrored in the world around
us.
First this land exists in us. The forsaken dry landscape mirrors our lonely selves. We
know what it is like being forsaken. We know what it is like to be dead – like this land – and
hopeless. We see it in other peoples’ eyes but we also know it from the inside. Just like the
Samaritan woman at the well addressed by Jesus. Longing for such an intimacy no man can
give. We all long for something. But other people are also dry and have not got enough water
for themselves. What others can give us is never enough. We might try it again and again like
that woman tried with her husbands. But we are longing for a spring instead of a well with a
bucket. And when we taste God’s living water we change. That’s because the river of God is
unlimited. That’s because God can be our intimate friend and a friendship like that changes
our other relationships. (Reference here to my marriage and the fact that we cannot be God
for each other. Cannot be close enough.)
I saw a video on YouTube recently which was about Cardboard testimonies. It was at the end
of a service when members came to the front and showed on a cardboard what they were like
before getting to know Christ. They wrote their sins or their sorrows or their disbeliefs on it.
And then they turned the cardboard and showed what they become after becoming followers
of Jesus. It was like seeing first a desert and then seeing a beautiful green oasis full of life.
We need to experience this healing. We can only bring healing to this world if we are
healed. We have to be washed in God’s river, drink from the living water in order to show
our source of healing – God – to others. The river of God can empower us to go outside and
be instruments in God’s hand and heal the wounded, help the poor, set the captives free…
The problem is that God’s people sometimes trying to tame this flow and build dams to
control the water. Sometimes it is a judgmental attitude which blocks the way to the source of
healing. Or sometimes it is just conformity with the “world” while the life-changing
difference disappears. Sometimes Christians slip into their looking for their own convenience
and do not see the connection between their spiritual life and the responsibility for others and
their environment anymore. If we take seriously that God’s Kingdom is near, we have to let
God’s river overflow. We have to have a holistic understanding where our world and the
Kingdom of God are close to each other. They belong to each other. We need this vision of
God’s river to see God’s work in our present reality.
That is because we live in this land of no water. It is our land. Once we experienced the
Kingdom of God we are called to step outside of the temple and witness God’s work in the
world. You may ask how does this river change our world? If the Kingdom of God and the
river in it are purely spiritual how does it bring water, food and healing to our world? We
may ask a different question to answer this: who separated the worship of God and all
spiritual things from helping the poor, feed the hungry and heal the sick? I think doing this is
just as spiritual as reading the Bible, praying, “fishing souls” and so forth.
There is a missional community called InnerCHANGE who live intentionally among poor
people. They live out their faith authentically when they step out of their comfort-zones and
“submerge” themselves into their poor neighborhood to make a difference. Contemplating
their work among the poor empowers them spiritually. It makes real changes in them and in
the society.
Let us live out this vision by let God’s river flow through us. Let this river make a change in
us. Let us accept the healing power of God. And then let us step out to the wilderness to the
desert and be agents of change. Let God’s river overflow and bring life to death, water to the
thirsty, food to the hungry, and healing to the sick. Amen.