Flowing Down The River
of Love
Ezekiel 47:1-12 NKJV
1. Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the front of the temple faced east; the water was flowing from under the right side of the temple, south of the altar.
2. He brought me out by way of the north gate, and led me around on the outside to the outer gateway that faces east; and there was water, running out on the right side.
3. And when the man went out to the east with the line in his hand, he measured one thousand cubits, and he brought me through the waters; the water came up to my ankles.
4. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through the waters; the water came up to my knees. Again he measured one thousand and brought me through; the water came up to my waist.
5. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross; for the water was too deep, water in which one must swim, a river that could not be crossed.
6. He said to me, “Son of man, have you seen this?” Then he brought me and returned me to the bank of the river.
7. When I returned, there, along the bank of the river, were very many trees on one side and the other.
8. Then he said to me: “This water flows toward the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.
9. And it shall be that every living thing that moves, wherever the rivers go, will live. There will be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters go there; for they will be healed, and everything will live wherever the river goes.
10. It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many.
11. But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt.
12. Along the bank of the river, on this side and that, will grow all kinds of trees used for food; their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. They will bear fruit every month, because their water flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for medicine.”
This river that was shown to Ezekiel is the source of all life flow; which is the love that flows from God. God let Ezekiel see for himself that there is a river that flows from His heavenly threshold. Ezekiel saw that this life giving river could actually be measured. In some places it was ankle deep, some places it was knee deep, and some places it was deep enough to swim in. He also noticed that everywhere that the river flowed there was life.
Even though this river was shown to Ezekiel many years ago for a time that is yet to come - in fact God is revealing to Ezekiel "The Millennial Holy Land" - I believe that we can each measure today how deep the love we have for God and for one another by using this same module that was shown to Ezekiel.
It is evident by the quality of life we have, the quality of life those around us have and the presence of healing love that is present in each.
Is it ankle deep?
Is it knee deep?
Or is there enough that you can swim in it?
The river of God’s love flows to us and we are responsible to keep it flowing through our lives, flowing through our homes and finally directed out towards others. When we have anger, jealousy, bitterness and unresolved issues in our life, these issues create a log jam that blocks the flow of the river. Our own personal attitude towards life can be the log jam that blocks the flow so that those around us only receive a trickle of the abundant flow that God pours down to us each day.
Don’t let the sun go down before you deal with issues that affect your heart and effect those that are around you. Every relationship shall thrive and be healed wherever the river of God’s love flows. Get the log jam out and the river will flow freely though your life, into your home and finally out towards others again.
You'll see ....
