Water…we just can’t live without it. We usually don’t drink enough of it (did you get your 8 glasses yesterday?). In dreadful places around the earth, desperate people are crying out for it right now.
“Behold, God is my salvation,
I will trust and not be afraid;
For the LORD GOD is my strength and song,
And He has become my salvation.”
Therefore you will joyously draw water
From the springs of salvation.
And in that day you will say,
“Give thanks to the LORD, call on His name.
Make known His deeds among the peoples;
Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things;
Let this be known throughout the earth. Isaiah 12:2-5
Water is a running theme in the Bible. It cleansed the Earth in Noah’s time. It cleansed the feet of the disciples at the Last Supper. John baptized with it; Jesus walked on it. But to live we must take it in, fill ourselves up with it; and it will nourish and strengthen us.
When we read the story of Aaron in our last Book Club assignment, I noticed that the Israelites seemed to live in constant thirst and distress. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” But the people thirsted there for water, and the people grumbled against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and our livestock with thirst?” (Ex 17:2-3). God did provide for them. He gave them water to drink and food to eat whenever they needed it, but it was never enough for them. They did not learn to trust in Him. Every time they thirsted but could not see the water, they doubted God and complained against Him.
Jesus told the Woman at the Well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14). Later He attended the Feast of Booths, also called the the Feast of Tabernacles, which was a Jewish celebration commemorating the time when the nation of Israel had wandered in the Wilderness living in tents and worshipping in the Tabernacle, which was actually a large tent. This feast was to serve as a reminder about the way the God provided for them during their time in the desert (bible-truth.org). Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘˜From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’ (John 7:37-38). There is never a coincidence in the Word of God or in the the ministry of Jesus. He said these words, at this festival, to send a message. Jesus promised to provide the answer to Israel’s thirst in the same way God provided for them in the Wilderness, only these springs of living water would never run dry and would always be available wherever they wandered. And what He spoke that day, to them, is still true today, for us.
The image of the Israelites being rescued from slavery in Egypt, experiencing difficulties along the journey, complaining against God, and refusing to follow His chosen leader is an amazing metaphor for man’s relationship with God. In the end, only those who trusted in the Lord, Joshua and Caleb, were allowed to enter the Promised Land (Num 14:6-9). Jesus provides for us freedom from the slavery of sin and comfort in the desert times as we travel life’s journey. He gives us the Water that will not run out. He places His Holy Spirit within us. This is the Divine Strength that we studied in this week’s bible study lesson. The relief of our own rescue, the ability to keep on going in difficult times, the nourishment for our souls as they start to feel weary, and the hope of the Promised Land…Jesus is the remedy for what ails us.
Praise the LORD in song, for He has done excellent things; let this be known throughout the earth. Isaiah 12:5
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