On Sunday morning I was reading a bit of scripture and felt like I should read from Ezekiel 47, which is the story of the prophecy of water flowing from the throne, and I decided to do a little research, to really understand that vision a bit more.
Here are the verses - Ezekiel 47:1-12 NIV:
[1] "The man brought me back to the entrance to the temple, and I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was coming down from under the south side of the temple, south of the altar. [2] He then brought me out through the north gate and led me around the outside to the outer gate facing east, and the water was trickling from the south side.
[3] "As the man went eastward with a measuring line in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and then led me through water that was ankle-deep. [4] He measured off another thousand cubits and led me through water that was knee-deep. He measured off another thousand and led me through water that was up to the waist. [5] He measured off another thousand, but now it was a river that I could not cross, because the water had risen and was deep enough to swim in---a river that no one could cross. [6] He asked me, “Son of man, do you see this?”
"Then he led me back to the bank of the river. [7] When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. [8] He said to me, “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. [9] Swarms of living creatures will live wherever the river flows. There will be large numbers of fish, because this water flows there and makes the salt water fresh; so where the river flows everything will live. [10] Fishermen will stand along the shore; from En Gedi to En Eglaim there will be places for spreading nets. The fish will be of many kinds---like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea. [11] But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt. [12] Fruit trees of all kinds will grow on both banks of the river. Their leaves will not wither, nor will their fruit fail. Every month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.”
I was reading these familiar verses and trying to understand the geography that Ezekiel was describing, so I got out my bible with its maps in the back, and did some online research. I have always assumed the river flows down to the Mediterranean Sea, but in reading this carefully, He actually says the Dead Sea, and looking at the maps, I realized that was correct. The water flows east, and east of the Temple is the Kidron valley, and it seems to flow into the Dead Sea, which is East of Jerusalem. To make that clear Ezekiel spoke of En Gedi and En Eglaim, and both of those were found on the shores of the Dead Sea.
As I was thinking about this, I remembered that the Dead Sea is the lowest place on earth, maybe a few hundred feet below sea-level. When I went on line to confirm this memory, I found out that the surface of the Dead Sea is about 1400ft. below sea level! Now the interesting thing is that in Ezekiel's vision, he sees so much water that it makes the (Dead) sea fresh, and even flows down through the Arabah. Looking at ancient maps, the Arabah Wadi is to the south of the Dead Sea and actually looks like it is a low area that goes all the way to the Red Sea. If the water flows through this area labeled Arabah, we are now talking about a significant distance (about 100miles) that it flows. In addition, to flow to the Red Sea it would need to fill the entire Dead Sea up to more than sea level (1400ft plus) to flow to the Red Sea (sea level).
So if I am reading this correctly, there are two options. First, Ezekiel's vision could be about a miracle of a river of fresh water that flows from Jerusalem to the Dead Sea, that when it enters the Dead Sea makes it completely fresh, somehow negating all of the salt content that is there presently, and and it becomes so fresh that it supports a multitude of fish like the fish of the Mediterranean Sea (which would be strange for an inland sea). We would be looking at a complete transformation of the waters of the Dead Sea which is 31 miles long and 9 miles wide and almost 10 times as salty as the ocean. The second option is that the flow of water is so great that it fills up the Dead Sea valley so much that it flows out to the south and flows all the way down the Arabah to the Red Sea, and enters the sea there, which would actually explain how an abundance of fish like those found in the Mediterranean Sea could be found there.
With either option, we are talking about miracle of incredible proportions! I always thought this was a nice prophecy and imagery, but now that I have studied it in greater detail, I realize how much bigger God's perspective and plans are than we can think or imagine. I mean think about Ezekiel giving this prophecy to people who know the geography and topology of the region! I am sure they were thinking there is no way either of these options could ever happen!
My reflection on all of this, is that when God speaks about increase, or blessing, we often limit ourselves to thinking along logical progressions or scenarios that are actually potentially possible. In this case, neither option is either remotely possible, naturally. We are talking about a miracle that is way beyond splitting the Red Sea, or stopping the Jordan River during flood stage, maybe it is a miracle on the scale of turning the Nile to blood (Exodus 7:19-20), but It think it is bigger. Regardless, in this case it is a miracle of blessing and transformation so great that an entire nation, and region would be blessed and significant prosperity would follow! The whole land surrounding this flow of water becomes fruitful and blessed!
Recently at our church, the Lord has released a few words about increasing our vision, increasing our dreams, increasing His blessing and increasing our requests of the Lord. I was greatly encouraged by this historical perspective of Ezekiel's prophecy! I was encouraged to think bigger thoughts, to realize that God has a much larger perspective than can be explained by human logic or natural occurrence! He is about planning and doing things that absolutely defy explanation or understanding, and He is inviting us to allow Him to draw us deeper into understanding His purposes, even if that means radically altering the way we think (which I think is a good thing)!
So today, I encouraged to ask the Lord to expand my vision, to increase my faith, and to ask for blessing beyond human or natural possibility! I am reminded of the famous verses from Isaiah 55:8-9 NIV: “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. [9] “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts." Lord, help me to increase my thoughts and faith that they might be more in-line with Yours!
Amen!
Here are a few Maps of Israel for Reference.
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