Theological Commentary: Click Here
I have been
waiting for this chapter all of Ezekiel.
I vividly remember studying this chapter six years ago for the first
time and being fascinated by all the salvation imagery in the first half of the
chapter.
First, not
that the water is fresh water. Even when
it flows into the sea, it will make fresh water. Why is fresh water important, especially
since we know that there are plants and fish that have adapted to living in saltwater?
The answer
is simple. First, human beings require fresh water to live. Therefore, God is telling us that what comes
out of His temple is capable of sustaining us.
Second, most of the things that humans use for survival – cereal grains,
vegetables, most fruits, other mammals – require fresh water as well. Again, God’s point is that what comes out of
His temple can sustain life.
Also, notice
that the further you get away from the temple, the deeper the water gets. There are two parts to this analogy. The obvious part is that the temple is higher
than everything else. That’s why the
water gets deeper as it goes further away.
Why is it important that the temple is higher? God is at the pinnacle of creation. He is the top. There is a reason He is God and we look up to
Him.
The
secondary, and far more subtle, imagery is equally as neat. The water covers the earth as it flows out of
the temple. God is telling us that His
life sustaining ability will cover us. At
its core, it is a reminder of salvation.
We are quite literally covered by God’s life sustaining essence.
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