Scripture Daily

Context No. 991 of 4322 · Ezekiel

Context · Reflection

Ezekiel 47:1-5: in context

1He brought me back to the door of the temple; and behold, waters flowed out from under the threshold of the temple eastward, for the front of the temple faced toward the east. The waters came down from underneath, from the right side of the temple, on the south of the altar. 2Then he brought me out by the way of the gate northward, and led me around by the way outside to the outer gate, by the way of the gate that looks toward the east. Behold, waters ran out on the right side. 3When the man went out eastward with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the ankles. 4Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through the waters, waters that were to the knees. Again he measured one thousand, and caused me to pass through waters that were to the waist. 5Afterward he measured one thousand; and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the waters had risen, waters to swim in, a river that could not be walked through.

In Ezekiel's vision of the restored temple, his guide brings him back to the door, and he sees water trickling out from under the threshold, flowing east, past the altar. The guide leads him out and begins to measure. At a thousand cubits the water is ankle-deep; at another thousand, knee-deep; at another, up to the waist; and at the fourth thousand it has become a river too deep to cross, waters to swim in, a river no one can wade through.

The picture is of something that starts as a trickle and becomes an unstoppable flood, and where it starts matters: from under the threshold of God's house, from the very presence of God. The river of life begins at the sanctuary and grows the farther it flows from its source, which is the opposite of how rivers usually work. And the way the guide measures it out is worth noticing. Ezekiel is led into the water in stages, ankles, knees, waist, until it is over his head, each step deeper than the last, until at last he cannot touch the bottom and can only be carried by the current. That is a picture of how life with God tends to go. It rarely begins as a flood; it begins at the ankles, a shallow trickle you can still control and stand in, and then it deepens, step by step, until you reach the place where you can no longer keep your footing and must simply let the river carry you. The invitation buried in the vision is to keep wading deeper, past the depth you can manage, into the water only God can hold you up in.

Am I content to stand at the ankles where I can still touch bottom, or am I willing to wade deeper with God until I am out past my depth, carried by a current I cannot control?

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