Received on February 2023

Gerhard Weich

Ezekiel 47:1-12
“I saw water coming out from under the threshold of the temple …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. He asked me, ‘Son of man, do you see this?’ Then he led me back to the bank of the river. When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river.

“He said to me… ‘When it empties into the Sea, the water there becomes fresh. 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.

“‘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 Great Sea. But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they will be left for salt.

“‘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, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will serve for food and their leaves for healing.'”

I was reading Ezekiel 47 about the river that flows from His presence. It became so strong it could not be crossed (vs.5). What stood out was that the trees were on the banks (vs.7). The river was for fishing (vs.10) and it flowed to the dry places. In vs. 11 it says the marches and swamps will not be healed.

We, as believers, love the presence and move of God but miss its purpose. Yes, it is to refresh us, but when we desire to plant ourselves in the middle of God’s glory, we block the flow of the river, and swamps and marches form.

The river is not for our bathing, but for fishing. The trees will not wither and have healing fruit, but they must remain on the banks, otherwise marshes will form. In the vision, Ezekiel was in the river and then led back to the bank (vs. 6).

I was also reminded of Nehemiah 13, where under Eliashib’s leadership, Tobiah literally moves in with his furniture into a room in the temple. Those that were rightfully meant to minister from there were displaced. Nehemiah threw him and his furniture out, realigning it again to its purpose.

Our love for God is one with the command to love others. It requires discipline to position ourselves in such a way that we are filled up by God AND positioned to reach out to others.

May we not monopolise God’s move by “moving in” or planting ourselves right in the centre and then be astonished when it clogs up. May we not be marsh makers, but fishers of men.

Take some time to ask Holy Spirit how this applies to you in your context. Take a step today to align with Him.