Ezekiel 47:1  “… I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east …”

Whatever these waters may refer to, either in the historical past or in the prophetical future, one thing is very clear: in a latent sense they are a remarkable parable of spiritual possibilities in the Christian life. In many places in the Bible, water is used to symbolise the Holy Spirit; so these waters in Ezekiel 47 may well speak to us of His gracious out-flowing toward the Lord’s people.

Notice first the source of these waters in verse 1: “from under the threshold of the temple.”Unlike many other ancient capitals, Jerusalem had no natural river; but here, in vision, a supernatural river is seen proceeding from under the house of God. And does not the Holy Spirit now flow down to us as “rivers of living water” from the heavenly sanctuary, even from “the throne of God and of the Lamb” (Rev. 22:1)? And then there are the words of Jesus here:

John 7: 37-39  “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them. By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”

Notice, next, the course of the waters. They issued “… from under the threshold of the temple toward the east.” Why was that? Verse 8 tells us:

Ezekiel 47:8  “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh.”

So these waters were directed toward two places of barrenness and bitterness, i.e. the wilderness of Judea and the Salt Sea. Both were places of deadness; but the barren was to become fruitful and the bitter to be healed by these crystal waters from the sanctuary.

Those heavenly and spiritual waters which our glorified Lord released at Pentecost are seeking to channel their course through all believers, so as to communicate new life and abundance amid surrounding spiritual death and sterility.

Now notice the force of the waters. First they were a mere trickle (v.2). Then, a thousand cubits further (1,500 feet), they were ankle-deep (v.3). Next, another thousand cubits, and they were knee-deep (v.4). Next, another thousand, and they were waste-deep (v.4). Still one more thousand, and they were waters deep enough to swim in. (v.5). In just over a mile the trickle had become a river at least six or seven feet deep! This was no merely natural river! No river normally grows at that rate. This was the river of God.

This certainly speaks to us of the Holy Spirit. When you come to Christ and embrace His wonderful gift of salvation, do not think you have to wait for years before the Holy Spirit may be to you as waters deep enough to swim in. You may know His abundance now. And if you have been a believer for years, yet are still only ankle-deep, the fulness of God’s Spirit is for you, just down-stream a little.

In other words, the deeper you and I make the channel through our hearts and lives, the more deeply the Holy Spirit will flow through us.