Swimming in the Spirit
Soul Snack 100/10 ... WaterWorld
Ezekiel has been captured (40:1-40) by a vision of The New Temple (chs. 40-48). In Chapter 47 Ezekiel is led by a celestial man on a tour of the river that flows from the southern side of this New Temple.
Read the passage below with great care please. Jesus uses the water metaphor to describe the Holy Spirit (Jn 7:37-39). This passage dances in light, if the water flowing from the Temple is understood as the Holy Spirit.
The man brought me back to the entrance of 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. 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 flowing from the south side. 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. 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. 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. (Ez 47:1-5)
Have you ever reflected that the further water flows from its source, the thinner the stream becomes? (Without tributaries or other additions entering.
Curiously, in this passage, the further the water travels from its source, the wider and deeper it becomes, until it is simply unnavigable by a man.
Below are some brief points of reflection:
- The Holy Spirit will always be beyond man's ability to fathom or navigate.
- The further from the dwelling of God (the Temple) the Spirit moves, the greater the depth/the influence, the nourishment and refreshment the Holy Spirit brings.
- Even those a long way from God, far from His Temple, can be reached by the goodness of the Holy Spirit. In fact His influence is greater for those further away. They simply need more of Him.
To conclude then, there is no one too far from the reach of God. The further someone is from God, the greater the Spirit's depth to abundantly deliver, in fact the more the Holy Spirit has to give them.
Have you ever felt far from God? Well don't worry, His Spirit has never been far from you.