Water: November 2018
Table of Contents
Water
There are three principles of God’s actions in regard to man. The first is before us: “I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely” (Rev. 21:6). God is a giver [compare, “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of Him, and He would have given thee living water. ... Whosoever drinketh of this water shall thirst again: but whosoever drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:10,14)]. Second, He will give to every thirsty soul, and He will give him not only of the water of life, but of the fountain itself. The announcement is made in view of the full end of receiving it, namely, eternal satisfaction and blessedness. Third, He will give it freely, gratuitously—without money and without price. Truly our God is the God of grace!
E. Dennett (adapted)
Water in the Word of God
An old brother, long since with the Lord, once remarked that it would be very difficult to lay out all the typical meanings of water in the Bible. This is certainly true, but since water is mentioned so many times in Scripture and symbolizes different things, it is important for us to have at least some basic understanding of how it is used in the Word of God.
Water forms by far the greater part of our earth, especially that part of it contained in the oceans. Indeed, were the oceans to be emptied and the various rivers of the earth to continue to flow, it has been estimated that it would take 40,000 years for the oceans to be refilled. God has made almost all life on earth to be dependent on water, and we are all aware of how necessary it is for human life. The thought of water brings to our mind refreshment and cleansing, as well as a means of transporting ourselves and our goods from one point to another.
The Word of God
In the Word of God, we find that water is generally a type of the Word of God itself. The Lord Jesus Himself told Nicodemus that “except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God” (John 3:5). This same truth is given to us in the Old Testament, for we read, “I will sprinkle clean water upon you ... and I will put My Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in My statutes” (Ezek. 36:25,27 JND). It is clear from the context, and other scriptures, that water here does not refer to baptism, as some have taught, but rather that new life is imparted by the Spirit of God, using the Word of God. This is true today, and it was true right from the beginning of man’s history. God must begin the work by His Spirit, using His Word, if sinful man is to be given new life.
Cleansing
However, this is not the only work that the Word of God does. In Ephesians 5:26, we read of “the washing of water by the Word.” This is typified in the Old Testament by the water of purification used with the ashes of the red heifer in Numbers 19, and also by the laver, in which the priests washed their hands and feet before they went in to do the service of the tabernacle or temple. Here the water cleanses believers (not unbelievers), who typically have been in contact with defilement while passing through the wilderness of this sinful world. The Lord Himself is occupied with this work, and we also have the privilege of doing it for one another, as we read in John 13:1-17. While we never need a second application of the blood of Christ, it is most important for saints to have this daily application of the Word of God, to cleanse our feet from the defilement of this world, even if we have not been involved in known sin.
The Spirit of God
This brings us to another most important symbolical meaning of water. If water contained in something (the laver, the container alluded to in Numbers 19, and the basin of John 13) generally speaks of the Word of God, then flowing water usually speaks of the Spirit of God. This is brought out very clearly in John 4, where the Lord Jesus tells the woman at the well, “The water that I shall give him shall become in him a fountain of water, springing up into eternal life” (John 4:14 JND). Here we clearly see that the Spirit of God is in view, not at this time imparting life through the Word, but rather as the joy and energy of that new life already possessed by the believer.
However, this joy is not to be merely enjoyed by the believer. In John 7:38 we read, “He that believeth on Me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.” Once we have enjoyed the things of Christ and meditated on them (typified by the belly), the Spirit of God delights in an overflow of blessing of others, both unbelievers and believers. God is a giver, and He desires that the believer have the same heart toward others.
Rivers
This brings us to the thought of rivers in Scripture. In a general way, a river in Scripture speaks of a continuous, even flow of blessing. We see this brought out in the river of Eden (Gen. 2:10-14), which parted into four heads and flowed out to blessing in the world of that time. Two of these rivers remain today—Hiddekel (the Tigris) and the Euphrates, showing us that while the Garden of Eden has vanished, God still thinks of the blessing and refreshment of His creation. Then we have the earthly millennial river of Ezekiel 47, which will be an actual river, branching into two, and will bring blessing to this world in the millennial day. Finally, we have the “river of water of life” of Revelation 22, which, proceeding out of the throne of God, supports the tree of life on either side of it. Doubtless Christ is the tree of life, and thus He is on both sides of this river of heavenly blessing. This glorious river is symbolical of the enjoyment of Christ and the eternal enjoyment of life in the power of the Spirit of God, the portion of the heavenly saints. While only the leaves of the tree are needed for the healing of the nations, the fruit is no doubt typical of the higher portion of the heavenly saints, who share the glory of Christ displayed in that day.
There are other occasional and less prominent meanings of rivers in Scripture. For example, the Euphrates River has often been considered to be the boundary between east and west in this world, so that Revelation 16:12 speaks of “the sixth angel” pouring out his vial “upon the great river Euphrates ... that the way of the kings of the east might be prepared.” In another scripture, we read of “a nation meted out and trodden down, whose land the rivers have spoiled” (Isa. 18:2), no doubt referring to how other nations have taken advantage of Israel during her time of being set aside by the Lord.
Judgment
But there is one other typical meaning of water about which we have not spoken. God uses water to speak of judgment. The “deep” referred to in Genesis 1:2 may represent a judgment before the present creation, but the first real mention of water in judgment in Scripture is the flood of Noah, where the Lord said, “I ... do bring a flood of waters upon the earth, to destroy all flesh” (Gen. 6:17). This theme runs throughout the Word of God, including the awful judgment at the cross, where our Lord could say prophetically, “Save Me, O God; for the waters are come in unto My soul” (Psa. 69:1), and again in Psa. 42:7, “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts: All Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over Me.” Yet we are told in the Song of Solomon, “Many waters cannot quench love, neither can the floods drown it” (Song of Sol. 8:7), for surely at the cross, “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound” (Rom. 5:20). However, in a coming day, many will come under the judgments that will fall upon this world after the church is called home, and these are heralded by the voice of the Lord Jesus—“His voice as the sound of many waters” (Rev. 1:15).
Death
This same theme is used in the subject of baptism, and especially Christian baptism. Our Lord went into death (typified by water) and rose again. By this He “died unto sin once: but in that He liveth, He liveth unto God” (Rom. 6:10). We are seen as “buried with Him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). In going through Christian baptism, we are seen positionally as being on resurrection ground with Christ and reckoning ourselves to be dead to sin—that which characterized us as children of Adam. The water under which we go in baptism is again a figure of judgment—God’s righteous estimate that man in the flesh deserves nothing but death.
Other applications of water could be mentioned, such as the nations in this world, who are often characterized by the sea in restless motion—“the sea and the waves roaring” (Luke 21:25). Also, we read in Revelation 17:1 of “the great whore that sitteth upon many waters.” This is explained in verse 15 to represent “peoples, and multitudes, and nations, and tongues.”
The subject of water in Scripture—and its typical meanings—is broad, but a study of it well repays us, in our understanding of the Word of God.
W. J. Prost
The Path of Peace
Psalm 23:2 tells us, “He leadeth me beside the still waters.” Beside the still waters! What a place to lie in, beloved, in this world of trouble, of unrest, of aching, restless hearts! How many has the Shepherd so led through this valley and shadow of death and supplied them from an unseen source! Peter was told by the Chief Shepherd to feed the lambs and sheep, and he could say, “Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see Him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory” (1 Peter 1:8). Such is the sweet portion of those who are experiencing the trial of their faith.
Are you in trouble? Are your goods not increased enough? Do your friends lightly esteem you? Have you fears for tomorrow? Are you in debt or sick or bereaved? Is the thing come upon you which you feared? Does the Lord’s hand seem heavy upon you?
The Language of Faith
O beloved, for whom Christ died, God, by those very trials, is, in infinite love, opening a way for you of deepening joy, and Satan would enlist your doubts and fears only to close it against you. Which path will you walk in, that of faith or sight? “While we look not at the things which are seen,” says Paul (2 Cor. 4:18).
The language of faith is always brave language, because God is trusted and things seen do not occupy the mind. Shall I give all attention to my troubles or give heed to the Shepherd’s voice? There are trials in the path of faith, but, beloved, the trial is the door to lessons of joy and peace in Christ. Do not shrink back at the entrance. Our Lord Himself, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross. “Surely there is an end; and thine expectation shall not be cut off” (Prov. 23:18).
What were the things that men saw Paul passing through? They are recorded in 2 Corinthians 4, such as “troubled on every side.” Might he not have chosen an easier path? How many have done so, but before Paul’s eye there opened up, not the fear of fresh trials in the future, but the far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. In this way we make our calling and election sure, and the heart gets familiar with the prospect of glory. As the aged warrior Paul could say, “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed; for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” (2 Tim. 1:12).
The Trials
The trials are only to bring you beside the still waters in companionship with the Shepherd. If trouble has taken away your happiness in the Lord, on what was your happiness based? The place of quiet and refreshment is not found by freedom from trouble, but by a shorter, quicker path: “Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time: casting all your care upon Him; for He careth for you” (1 Peter 1:6-7).
Then will the song be raised, “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” The lessons of trial (it may be bitter) have taught the soul this sweet confidence, and a personal relationship is recognized between the individual and the Lord. It is not “the Lord is the shepherd,” as He is for all, but I have learned with delight that He is my Shepherd. It is no dry argument or reasoning, but a sweet assurance made good in the depth of the heart. What a stay for the soul! The Lord—the Almighty—is my caretaker. It is true that it is in weakness we have to learn this trust, for trusting is acknowledged weakness, and we shrink from that. The flesh cannot do it, but when the lesson is learned and the heart content to trust, what a source of strength the child of God has! “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee” (Isa. 26:3).
The Lord’s Love
Are your circumstances such that you cannot get comfort in them? Then know that the Lord is hedging you in, that you may be forced to look up, since you cannot see beyond or through the difficulty. If it hurts your pride and disappoints your expectations, be assured that the Lord has a better thing for you. We may distrust Him, but He does not rest until He has opened the eye to see His love.
It is a great thing to be persuaded of the Lord’s love. This indeed fills the heart and gives quietness in every moment. Because He loved me, He gave Himself for me. The springs are in Himself. I may forget myself, then, and dwell upon His love alone.
Let us not seek then to walk by sight. Let us not be wearied of faith, for to faith all is bright, and the feet stand firm upon the solid, everlasting basis of God’s promise. So long then as we are in this life, we remain so by “the will of God.” Is there anything then to which we cannot submit, seeing it is His will? Only for a little while is the trouble, “for yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry” (Heb. 10:37). Beloved, He it is who leads, not we, and He it is who restores the soul. Not one bit of care belongs to you, but let the heart be free to enjoy His love and speak His praise.
Christian Truth (adapted)
The Well of the Oath
Abimelech’s servants violently took away Abraham’s well of water, and then shortly after this Abimelech wished to enter into a covenant with Abraham (Gen. 21:22-27). Abraham was willing to make the covenant on one condition only — the well of water must be returned to him. We too have a “well of water” in Christ — a place of refreshment for our thirsty souls which the enemy will take away with violence, if he can. Let us be careful not to make any “covenants” to “dwell” with those who would rob us of our joy in the Lord. Perhaps they may not intend to do it, and like Abimelech they are ignorant of it, but nevertheless Abraham did not make his covenant until the well was returned to him.
The covenant which was made was founded on Abraham’s giving seven ewe lambs, which would speak of the perfection of the work of Christ, God’s Lamb. It is only through His finished work on Calvary that we have possession of our well of living water. The Lord Jesus said, “The water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life” (John 4:14).
Abraham planted a grove (or tree) there. This tree would be a constant reminder of the seven ewe lambs and of the covenant made there, for God would never have us forget the cost of our redemption. It was in that place, too, that Abraham called on the name of the Lord. The work finished on Calvary’s tree is the groundwork of all true worship. He called the place Beersheba (the well of the oath), and so we now have God’s own pledge that we have everlasting life through faith in His Son.
G. H. Hayhoe
Refreshing Waters
From time to time different assemblies are able to act on the Lord’s word to Moses. “Gather the people together and I will give them water” (Num. 21:16). Being so gathered, the saints are dependent on God and need to cry, “Spring up, O well” (Num. 21:17). This is a wilderness scene, and the nobles stand there with staves in token of their pilgrim character, and at the command of the lawgiver they dig the desert sand. This would be utterly futile under ordinary circumstances, but in the goodness of God the refreshing waters spring up and a song breaks forth.
Achsah was a woman of expectant faith, such faith as God delights to own by giving abundantly above all we ask or think. She moved her husband, Othniel, to ask of her father a field. Caleb gave them a goodly portion of south land. But a south land without water would soon be dried up, so she asks further. “Give me also springs of water” (Josh. 15:18-19). So he gave her the upper springs and the nether springs.
Upper Springs
God has brought us into the sunshine of His favor, and He gives also upper springs and nether springs to maintain our souls in freshness and fertility in the enjoyment of that favor despite all that would come in to wither them. We drink of the upper springs when we look up and find everything in God. The psalmist in Psalm 87:7 says, “All my springs are in Thee.” He was drawing unreservedly of the upper springs which are inexhaustible. So was also the Apostle James when he wrote, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning” (James 1:17).
Nether Springs
May God give us to drink deeply into our eternal springs, that we may “joy in God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:11). But we are in a world that is contrary to us, where sickness, sorrow and suffering abound and sometimes affect ourselves and our loved ones. Then we need to fall back upon the nether springs and find God in everything. Paul was assured of this when he wrote in Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose.” Our hearts should draw from that same blessed assurance. These things that seem most painful and sad, and that might seem so unlike Him, are among the “all things” in which He is, and which He is working together for our good.
Hezekiah learned that his sickness and bitter tears were among the things “by [which] men live,” and in which was the life of his spirit (Isa. 38:16). We think so much of our temporal blessings, but God, while supplying our necessities, has specially in view our spiritual welfare. He would have us find, in trying and sorrowful circumstances, those nether springs whereby our spiritual welfare is maintained and increased. This is blessedly evidenced in Psalm 84:5-7, for the man whose heart is in God’s ways, while passing through the valley of Baca, or weeping, makes it a well. Being refreshed thereby, he goes from strength to strength, making the trials and sorrows, as it were, stepping stones to greater nearness to God.
Digging Wells
We get words of warning and encouragement in Genesis 26:15-20. Isaac found that the wells which his father had digged, the Philistines had stopped with earth. The world would seek to occupy the believer with earthly things so as to choke up the wells of refreshment and instruction in the truths of God which saints, now home with the Lord, have dug for us as recorded in their writings. Dig them again, so that we may get the good out of that which the Spirit unfolded to them. But do not stop at digging again the old wells; Isaac dug fresh ones. The enemy sought to oppose and hinder him, as he always does, but spiritual energy triumphed, and the well Rehoboth gave him peace and plenty.
Let me urge my young brothers and sisters not only to read the valued writings of men taught of God, but to study the Word diligently with the Spirit’s guidance. The water of these fresh wells opened up by you, in dependence on and communion with God, will be even sweeter and fresher than those others have dug for you.
Springs of Water
“A spring shut up, a fountain sealed” (Song of Sol. 4:12): Such is the spouse to the bridegroom. Hitherto we have been considering what God is for us and what springs of living water He provides for us, but this verse gives us what we, as the spouse, are to Christ. The thought in “shut up and sealed” is similar to that of the “garden enclosed” — something reserved for His special delight, something to be partaken of and used when and how He pleases. In John 4:14 our Lord Jesus speaks of the well of water springing up into everlasting life. Here the well-spring that He has put within the believer is opened, or unsealed, and in the power of the Holy Spirit springs up to God its source, in worship in Spirit and in truth which He seeks for and which gives refreshment to His heart.
What a privilege that the overflowing of such hearts as ours, filled by Himself, can thus rise up in that which gives joy to Him, even our praises, worship and thanksgiving! In John 7:37-38 the Lord Jesus promises to give the thirsty one who comes to Him, living water in abundance. When He opens the floodgates, “rivers of living water” flow outward to thirsty ones around in the power of the Holy Spirit that He was going to give them when He had been glorified. Thus, in the springing upward and flowing outward, the Lord is refreshed and glorified.
Outflowing Rivers
In connection with rivers flowing from one center, see how in Genesis 2:10 we are told that Eden’s river flowed out, parting into four heads, carrying blessing and refreshment universally. This is the opposite of earth’s rivers where several small ones unite to form a large one. With God’s wells or rivers, the fullness is so infinite that it may part and yet flow with undiminished fullness and power. May we learn increasingly to rejoice in all that God is to us and for us. Thus we find in both the upper and the nether springs, the satisfying and sustaining portion of our souls. As a result, Christ may receive the up-springing waters of adoring worship and be glorified by the outflowing rivers in service for Him at His bidding.
W. H. S. Fosbery
Waters of Judgment
We have seen elsewhere in this issue that water is used a number of times in Scripture as a figure of judgment. Sometimes it is used in connection with God’s judgment against man, but at other times, it brings before us the judgment of God against sin at the cross. At least once it typifies man’s hatred of Christ.
The Flood
If we pass by, for the moment, whatever may have caused the earth to be covered with water in Genesis 1:2, then we find the first real mention of judgment by water in the flood of Noah. Water in judgment has two characters in Scripture—its depth and its violence. In the flood of Noah, it is the depth of the water that is prominent, for we read that “the waters prevailed exceedingly upon the earth; and all the high hills, that were under the whole heaven, were covered. Fifteen cubits upward did the waters prevail; and the mountains were covered” (Gen. 7:19-20). These waters were God’s direct judgment on man for his wickedness — for filling the earth with violence and corruption (Gen. 6:11). All flesh died — all “in whose nostrils was the breath of life” (Gen. 7:22). It not only destroyed the world of that day, but God intends it as a warning to man today, for we read in 2 Peter, “This they willingly are ignorant of, that by the word of God ... the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished: but the heavens and the earth, which are now, by the same word are kept in store, reserved unto fire” (2 Peter 3:5-7). But as in Noah’s day there was an ark prepared for those who had faith, so today men may turn to Christ for salvation; there is no need to fall under that awful judgment that will come upon this world.
The Depth of Judgment
But if God, in His holiness, had to judge the wickedness of man in the flood of Noah, there was, in type, a depth to the waters of another judgment—a depth that could not be measured. At the cross, all of the depths of God’s judgment against sin rose up against the Lord Jesus. We read in Joshua 3:15, “Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest.” Later, in Psalm 42:7, we read prophetically of our Lord’s sufferings, “Deep calleth unto deep at the noise of Thy waterspouts; all Thy waves and Thy billows are gone over Me.” Also, in Psalm 88:16-17, “Thy fierce wrath goeth over Me; Thy terrors have cut Me off. They came round upon Me daily like water.” All this reminds us of the words of a hymn, “The depth of all Thy sufferings, no heart could e’er conceive.” We will never know the depth of our Lord’s sufferings during the three hours of darkness, when God dealt with Him about the whole matter of sin. The best imagery that human language can use is that of the depths of water in the sea.
Judgment From Man
But the Lord Jesus also suffered from the hands of man, for we read, “Save Me, O God; for the waters are come in unto My soul. I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow Me” (Psa. 69:1-2). Here it is man’s hatred of Christ, energized by Satan, that reproached and insulted that blessed One—that dared to spit in His face, to crown Him with thorns, and to offer Him vinegar to drink when He was thirsty. The Lord felt all this keenly, as any man would. But we want to make it clear that none of this, awful though it was, had anything to do with putting away sin. No, it was only in the three hours of darkness that the work was done, whereby our sins were put away. His sufferings from the hands of man rather showed us how much He loved us and enabled Him to be a merciful and faithful High Priest.
The Violence of Water
In addition to depth, the waters of judgment are often spoken about as having violence. We have already seen the expression “waves and billows” in Psalm 42. In Psalm 88, already referred to, we read, “Thy wrath lieth hard upon Me, and Thou hast afflicted Me with all Thy waves” (vs. 7). Also, we read in Jonah (who, among other symbolical meanings, is a type of Christ), “All Thy billows and Thy waves passed over me” (Jonah 2:3).
Man is very familiar with the violence of water, whether it is in a mighty river, during a storm on a lake, or at sea. How many stories could be told of the fierceness of waves, against which man has no power! Recent events, such as the tsunami in the Indian Ocean in 2004 or the earthquake/tsunami that struck Japan in 2016, caused untold damage and loss of life, while hurricanes and storms that have struck the Caribbean islands and the coast of the U.S. in the past few years have done the same. Man can only try to get out of the way and then proceed to clean up the damage afterwards. All this, in type, can give us only a small idea of what took place during the three hours of darkness on the cross, when God’s wrath against sin was unleashed against His beloved Son.
Grace Terminated
But will God not have an answer to all this? Today is the day of God’s grace, but as He could say in the days of Noah, “My spirit shall not always strive with man” (Gen. 6:3), so the present day of His grace will not go on indefinitely. There is a day coming when our Lord Jesus Christ will appear as the Son of Man, ready for judgment, and even the Apostle John, who had previously leaned on Jesus’ bosom, fell at His feet as dead when he saw Him in that character. In that day, we read that His voice was “as the sound of many waters” (Rev. 1:15)—the waters of judgment about to fall on this world. This will begin with disturbances among the nations on earth, with “distress of nations in perplexity at the roar of the sea and the rolling waves” (Luke 21:25 JND). Then later the wrath of God will be directly poured out on those who have rejected Christ and continue to rebel against God. No doubt the epicenter of this judgment will be in the prophetic earth, and especially in the land of Israel, for we read, “Judgment also will I lay to the line, and righteousness to the plummet: and the hail shall sweep away the refuge of lies, and the waters shall overflow the hiding place” (Isa. 28:17).
As the Waters Cover the Sea
However, when this judgment is over, water is used finally in a positive sense. In the millennial day, when our Lord Jesus reigns in righteousness, we read, “They shall not hurt nor destroy in all My holy mountain: for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea” (Isa. 11:9). God will have the victory in the end, and His beloved Son, who once suffered under the waters of judgment at the cross, will be known throughout the world in His glory, as the waters cover the sea.
W. J. Prost
Feet Washing
The action of the Lord in John 13 is very precious and significant, for it sets Jesus before the heart in the present activities of His love for His own. What Peter at the moment did not understand, we do understand by the power of the Holy Spirit. Let us follow this action of the Lord in the simple and touching way in which it unfolds itself.
The hour was come for Jesus to “depart out of this world unto the Father.” Those He so loved, He would have to leave behind Him in the world, but they would still be the objects of His love. “He loved them unto the end.” He also knew that all their blessing depended on Himself. He knew that “the Father had given all things into His hands.”
Fellowship With Him
His labor of love for them in redemption was soon to be completed. The supper was the witness of it. But this was only part of what was given into His hands; another part remained. “He was come from God, and went to God.” He must bring them to God also—bring them into that fellowship and glory into which He was Himself about to enter.
He had just set before them the abiding memorial of His dying love. Whenever they saw that broken bread and poured out wine, they would think of that love. But how should He make them realize their association with Himself in the place He was about to take for them? “He riseth from supper, and laid aside His garments; and took a towel, and girded Himself. After that He poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded” (vss. 4-5).
What a sight for their wondering eyes! They saw the Lord, whose power they had witnessed so often, and the One whom they knew to be “the Christ, the Son of the living God,” stoop to wash their feet. Well might Peter call out, “Lord, dost Thou wash my feet?” Peter loved his Lord, but he knew little at that time of the mystery of that love which had come down to serve him. Little did he know how low that love would have to stoop and how constant the service of that love would have to be.
Understanding
The Lord tells him this: “What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.” But this was not enough for that ardent heart; therefore he exclaims, “Thou shalt never wash my feet.” Here Peter, through mistaken zeal for the Lord’s own honor, would have stood between the Lord and his own blessing, so the Lord merely tells him, “If I wash thee not, thou hast no part with Me,” that is, he would not enjoy communion with Christ in the heavenly blessedness in which He was about to enter.
Only by the washing of their feet could Jesus have His own, while in the world, enjoy fellowship with Himself in heaven. From the glory Jesus would serve them ceaselessly in that way, and thus, in company with the supper, He gives His disciples this precious presentation of Himself as the girded servant washing their feet with water. In realizing His ceaseless service for them, they would enjoy His presence and share in His own joys.
State and Standing
Peter, in eagerness to possess himself fully of the blessing proposed in the Lord’s words, replies, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.” His desire was that not only his feet might be clean, but his whole person fitted for association with his Savior. He had the consciousness not merely that his feet needed washing, but that his whole nature and being required cleansing. Occupied with his own feelings, he was in ignorance of the work of grace that had already been wrought by the Lord. He was confusing standing with state.
Peter’s reply becomes the occasion for the Lord to state plainly this difference: “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and ye are clean.” One whose body is washed all over (or bathed) needs only to cleanse his feet during the day, for where sandals only are used, the feet become defiled with walking. The spiritual significance of the Lord’s reply to Peter is very plain. As to the washing of the person, the disciples were clean. They were already possessed of a new life and standing before God. “Born of water and of the Spirit,” they possessed a “divine” nature which had fitted them once and forever, as to their persons, for God’s presence. But in order to enjoy practically this fellowship, they needed to have their feet washed from the defilements contracted in their walk through an evil world. This would be done not by the application of the Word to their persons, but by the application of the Word by the Spirit to their hearts and consciences, so that they would practically judge and separate themselves from that in their thoughts and walk which was inconsistent with the nature and character of God. Thus they would be enabled to have part with Jesus in the heavenly blessedness into which, as man, He had entered for them.
Washing by Water
We would note here that it is not with blood that either the person or the feet are washed. In both cases it is “the washing of water by the Word” (Eph. 5:26). In the one case it is for standing — a once completed act that cannot be repeated. In the other, it is for state, which, being a question of communion or enjoyment, would need to be repeated as often as any defilement in the walk was contracted.
A reference to the typical consecration of the priesthood in connection with the laver, of which this is clearly the blessed antitype, will make this clear. We read in Exodus 29:4, “Aaron and his sons thou shalt bring unto the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, and shalt wash them with water.”
Preparation for Ministry
Their standing as priests was complete, but their practical ability to enter the holy place and minister at the altar before the Lord depended upon the daily use of the laver, as described in Exodus 30:19-21: “Aaron and his sons shall wash their hands and their feet thereat: when they go into the tabernacle of the congregation, they shall wash with water, that they die not; or when they come near to the altar to minister, to burn offering made by fire unto the Lord: so shall they wash their hands and their feet, that they die not.” At their assumption of the priests’ office, there was the washing of their persons at the time of consecration; when they exercised their office practically, there was the washing of their hands and feet at the laver on every occasion of service.
Christ’s Present Service
The present living service of Jesus from the glory separates “His own which were in the world,” through the action of the Word on their consciences, from defilement which they have contracted in their walk. Thus they may have part with Him in the service and worship of God, as priests with Himself inside the holiest.
Christ is the One who applies the water; believers do not wash their own feet. He does it for them. It is according to His knowledge of what suits the presence of God that He washes their feet. Christ does, however, give us the privilege of washing one another’s feet, for He says, “If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet” (John 13:14). This action, in love and intelligence, is all from Himself. When we are restored to communion and power for service when it has been lost through carelessness, we know who has restored us. Unhappy when out of communion, we feel that our feet lack washing; we look to Jesus and find Him at our feet, washing them; we realize His grace in this action, and again our hearts are happy; we have “part” with Him.
Christian Truth (adapted)
Rivers of Living Water
In John’s Gospel we read, “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink. He that believeth on Me, as the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38). The feast referred to in this lovely scripture was “the feast of tabernacles,” called at the opening of the chapter “the Jews’ feast.” It could no longer be called a feast of Jehovah, for it had become an empty formality—something in which man could boast, while God was entirely shut out. Thus it was with Israel of old, and thus it is with the professing church now. We all have to watch against this snare of the devil. He will use a positive ordinance of God as a means of deceiving the soul and shutting out God altogether. But where faith is in lively exercise, the soul has to do with God in the ordinance, and thus the power and freshness are maintained.
The Feasts of the Jews
In John’s Gospel the feasts are designated as feasts of the Jews, and we find the Lord Jesus displacing one after another of these feasts and offering Himself as an object for the heart. Thus at the opening of chapter 7 we find the Lord Jesus refusing to show Himself openly to the world; He refused to exhibit Himself at the feast of tabernacles. Eventually He did go up to the feast, but for what purpose? He went up to serve. He went up to glorify His Father and to be the willing servant of man’s necessity.
“About the midst of the feast Jesus went up into the temple, and taught. And the Jews marveled, saying, How knoweth this man letters, having never learned? Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not Mine, but His that sent Me” (John 7:14-16). Here His moral glory as the self-hiding servant shines out. Such was His answer to those who wondered where He received His learning. His motives and His objects lay far beyond the reach of carnal and worldly-minded men. They measured Him by their own standard, and hence, all their conclusions were utterly false. “If any man will do His will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of Myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but He that seeketh His glory that sent Him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in Him” (John 7:17-18).
The Person of Christ
But we must turn for a moment to the words which form the special subject of this paper. “In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto Me, and drink” (John 7:37). Here we have set before us a truth of infinite preciousness and immense practical power. The Person of Christ is the divine spring of all freshness and spiritual energy. It is in Him alone the soul can find all it really needs. It is to Him we ourselves must come for all our personal refreshment and blessing. If at any time we find ourselves dull, heavy and barren, what are we to do? Make efforts to raise the tone? No, this will never do. What then? Our Lord says, “Let him come unto Me, and drink.”
Notice the words. It is not, “Come unto Me, and draw.” We may draw for others and be dry ourselves, but if we drink, our own souls are refreshed, and then there will be “rivers of living water.” Nothing is more miserable than the restless efforts of a soul out of communion with the Lord. We may be very busy, our hands may be full of work, our feet may run hither and thither, the head may be full of knowledge, but if the heart is not livingly occupied with the Person of Christ, it will all be barrenness and desolation so far as we are personally concerned. There will be no “rivers of living water” flowing out for others. If we are to be made a blessing to others, we must feed upon Christ for ourselves. We do not “drink” for other people; we drink to satisfy our thirst, and as we drink, the rivers flow. When a heart is filled with Christ, the hands are ready for work, and the feet ready to run, but unless we begin with heart communion, our running and our doing will be a miserable failure. There will be no glory to God, no rivers of living water.
Drink at the Fountainhead
Yes, we must begin in the very innermost circle of our own moral being, and there be occupied, by faith, with a living Christ, or else all our service will prove utterly worthless. If we want to act on others, if we would be made a blessing in our day and generation, if we desire to bring forth any fruit for God, if we would shine as lights amid the moral gloom around, if we would be a channel of blessing in the midst of a sterile desert, then we must listen to our Lord’s words in John 7:37; we must drink at the fountainhead. If I say, I must try and be a channel of blessing to others, I shall only prove my own folly and weakness. But if I bring my empty vessel to the Fountainhead and get it filled, then, without the smallest effort, the rivers will flow.
Christian Truth (adapted)
Ezekiel's Vision
In Ezekiel 47:1-11, we read a description of a river that will flow out from the millennial temple in Jerusalem. A wonderful stream of water flows from the altar under the threshold of the house eastward, reminding us of its heavenly counterpart, the “pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1). But there is this difference; the heavenly river is purely symbolical of the stream of spiritual blessing that will flow from God and the Lamb through the church, while this earthly river is an actual river with a symbolical meaning. That it is an actual river is clear from its description. Its source is from the altar, speaking of the ground on which God alone can bless His people—the ground of the death of His well-beloved Son.
The Waters Flow
That the waters flow from under the threshold of the house eastward speaks of the glory. It was by the east gate that the glory returned, and it is from the east that the refreshing, healing waters flow. The altar thus speaks of the righteous channel of the death of Christ; the threshold eastward speaks of the glory of His person and presence. It is all connected with Christ.
The waters deepen as they go; first, ankle-deep, then up to the knees, then up to the loins, then waters to swim in, a river that could not be passed over. What a stream of blessing (our apprehension of it deepens as we contemplate it) it is that which flows from the death of Christ!
Whether spiritually or actually considered, the stream will be a blessing. What an outward and visible sign, carrying its own fertilizing influence, will this beautiful stream be to Israel and the nations in a day to come! Its source, its course, and its terminus will all proclaim loudly Jehovah’s bounty and presence, and all blessing depends upon Him.
By the banks of the river grow “very many trees” (Ezek. 47:7), whose leaf shall not fade, nor their fruit be consumed. The fruit shall be for meat and the leaf for medicine, reminding us again of the tree of life blooming in the heavenly city. As the waters flow they carry healing virtues. Where the truth and light of God touch the soul they carry a healing and blessed result, but here, even its material effect will be life-giving and healing.
The Dead Sea
The Dead Sea, which has stood as God’s witness to His abhorrence of sin (for it is commonly believed that the guilty cities of the plain—Sodom and Gomorrah—are sunk in its depths), will be healed. At present no fish can live in its super-salted waters; no bird flies over its dreary waste. At that day, “It shall come to pass that every living thing which moveth, whithersoever the double river shall come, shall live. And there shall be a very great multitude of fish; for these waters shall come thither, and [the waters of the sea] shall be healed; and everything shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that fishers shall stand upon it; from Engedi even unto Eneglaim shall be [a place] to spread forth nets; their fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many” (Ezek. 47:9-10 JND). (Note that the expression “double river” refers to the two streams that shall flow eastward and westward from the holy city.)
Living Waters From Jerusalem
This wonderful river evidently starts from the temple, and flows in increasing volume southward, through the part of the land designated for the priests. That it will flow through Jerusalem is proved by Zechariah 14:8 — “It shall be in that day, that living waters shall go out from Jerusalem; half of them toward the former sea [namely, the Dead Sea], and half of them toward the hinder sea [namely, the Mediterranean]; in summer and in winter shall it be.”
Leaving Jerusalem, the stream divides into two, traveling east into the Dead Sea (no longer the Dead Sea), and west into the Mediterranean. But even in the Millennium the land will not be left without some witness to God’s abhorrence of sin. Still speaking of the Dead Sea we read: “But its marshes and its pools shall not be healed; they shall be given up to salt” (Ezek. 47:11 JND). That this is necessary, even in the millennium, is evidence that while righteousness will reign in that day, sin is not yet fully purged from this world. It will not be until the final judgments are executed that the full effect of John the Baptist’s pronouncement will be seen, “Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). Only in that eternal day will there be “a new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness” (2 Pet. 3:13).
A. J. Pollock (adapted)
Restoration to Communion:
The Red Heifer
In Numbers 19 we learn the excessive jealousy of the Lord about sin, not in the sense of guilt, but defilement. This He measures by His sanctuary. We have to do with it, and nothing unclean can be allowed. Once we are truly saved, we are “clean every whit” (John 13:10), but the feet-washing is needed. We belong to the sanctuary and yet are in the world, though not of it (John 15:19; 17:14); we need to have a just estimate of both. Even if we only slightly touch evil, a remedy is required. Still the remedy is not the question of justification, but of communion. Sin hinders that—hinders my coming boldly into the holiest. How was this possible? The blood of the unblemished heifer, representing Christ who knew no sin and could not be brought under its power, was sprinkled before the tabernacle seven times; that is, before the place of communion, not of atonement. The sin offering was burnt without the camp, but the blood of the red heifer was sprinkled seven times where we meet God in intercourse. This marks the full efficacy of Christ’s blood when I meet God. The body was reduced to ashes, as Christ was judged and condemned for what I am apt to be careless about; but God is not careless, and would make me sensible of sin. Christ had to suffer for it, and it is gone; but the sight of His suffering shows me the dreadfulness of it.
Defilement
When one had become defiled, then we read, “And for an unclean person they shall take of the ashes of the burnt heifer of purification for sin, and running water shall be put thereto in a vessel: and a clean person shall take hyssop, and dip it in the water, and sprinkle it ... upon the persons” (Num. 19:17-18). The water here speaks of the Word of God, applied by the Spirit, not to give new life, but to restore to communion. It New Testament terms, it is “the washing of water by the Word” (Eph. 5:26).
God has an eye that discerns the thoughts and intents of the heart; He would have us discern them too, and without this there can be no communion. But we do not get back into communion as quickly as we get out of it. Seven days elapsed in the type before there was full restoration. The Spirit takes and applies the ashes in the water of purification (that is, the remembrance of Christ’s agony, and what occasioned it), and makes us feel practically the horror of sin.
When I look at my sin with horror, even in the sense of the grace which has met it, it is a right feeling, but this is not communion; it is a holy judgment of sin in the presence of grace. Hence, there was a second sprinkling, not on the third day, but the seventh, and then there is communion with God. We see that perfect grace alone maintains the sense of perfect holiness. The result, in the end, is that we increase in the knowledge of God, both as to holiness and love. We must have been out of communion before we sinned, or we should not have yielded. How did I come to fall? Because of the carelessness which left me out of God’s presence, and exposed me to the evil without and within.
J. N. Darby. (adapted)
The River of Mercy
Praise, praise ye the name of Jehovah our God;
Declare, oh, declare ye, His glories abroad;
Proclaim ye His mercy from nation to nation,
Till the uttermost islands have heard His salvation!
For His love floweth on, free and full as a river,
And His mercy endureth forever and ever.
Praise, praise ye the Lamb who for sinners was slain,
Who went down to the grave and ascended again;
And who soon shall return, when these dark days are o’er,
To set up His kingdom in glory and power;
For His love floweth on, free and full as a river,
And His mercy endureth forever and ever.
Then the heavens and the earth and the sea shall rejoice;
The field and the forest shall lift the glad voice;
The sands of the desert shall flourish in green,
And Lebanon’s glory be shed o’er the scene;
For His love floweth on, free and full as a river,
And His mercy endureth forever and ever.
Her bridal attire and her festal array,
All nature shall wear on that glorious day;
For her King cometh down with His people to reign,
And His presence shall bless her with Eden again;
For His love floweth on, free and full as a river,
And His mercy endureth forever and ever.
Things New and Old