Living Water

Invitation and Promise

We encounter living water in both the Old and New Testament. In this study guide we are going to look at what that phrase means, where this living water comes from, and what its impact is.

We encounter living water in Isaiah:

“They will neither hunger nor thirst,

nor will the desert heat or the sun beat down on them.

He who has compassion on them will guide them

and lead them beside springs of water.”

Isaiah 49: 10

It is Matthew Henry (Henry’s Bible Vol 3, p812) who comments here about the timeliness of God’s provision.

As Isaiah is prophesying about the restoration of Israel he declares that those rescued by God and restored to Him will neither “hunger nor thirst”. These are extreme positions of need:

• Hunger - rā’ēh which means to be famished or starving

• Thirst - sāmē which means to suffer thirst

What this means is God is providing for His people before the extremity of need, this provision acts as a protection.

As an example of this, and how we need to drink, think about exercise. When I run or ride I am continually taking in water and fuel. I do not let myself get to the point of hunger or thirst. If I reach that point during a long run then it is already too late.

As we follow Jesus we need to eat and drink regularly, to wait until we are spiritually hungry and thirsty is to leave it too late. It can be so easy to get satisfied and then forget to come back for more. I know I can let spiritual hunger and thirst creep in . The offer, as we read here, and as we will see in this study is to come, eat and drink.

In this verse in Isaiah 49 we see God's provision is there, that we do not need to wait; “they will neither hunger nor thirst”. Isaiah 55 backs this up:

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you who have no money,

come, buy and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost.”

Isaiah 55: 1

This is God’s invitation to come and eat and drink. Not only that, but as we read on through the chapter it is an invitation to enter a covenant with God.

Chapters 40-55 are prophecies about God being Israel’s Holy One, and His rescue of His people. It is in this context that we see these promises and provisions made.

We see this promise again when Jesus speaks with the woman at the well in John 4: 9-10. Jesus is promising living water. Today God makes the same invitation, offers the same protection and provision to us all. We can come and drink and not be thirsty.

Personal Question

• Where have you let yourself get hungry and thirsty?

• Spend time with Jesus now, and let Him satisfy you

• Declare your intention to trust God and to keep coming to Him.

What is Living Water?

Having looked at the promises of living water and seen a glimpse of its availability we need to ask the question: what is living water?

In Ezekiel 40 we get a detailed description of Ezekiel's vision of the temple and in chapter 47 we encounter the water flowing out from the temple. So we see the source of this living water is the temple. We also see, in this chapter, the impact this has but we’ll look at that later.

What we don’t see in this description is as important as what we do see.

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.

Ezekiel 47: 1

As we read on in the chapter this river grows, but there are no extra tributaries feeding into it, no talk of other water sources converging. This river widens and deepens and its only source is God’s temple.

This living water flows from God, the source is Him. We see this in the teachings of Jesus:

“Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.””

John 4: 10

Living water here is, according to Vine’s Expository Dictionary 1996, the ongoing source of spiritual life. This ties in with what Ezekiel sees, a river flowing from the temple that brings life.

Jesus is our source of living water, our access to the river of life flowing from the throne of God. In Revelation 7: 17 we see Jesus as the shepherd leading the great multitude to the springs of living water. There are overtones here of Psalm 23: 2, and the statement from Jesus that we just read in John 4. As Revelation comes to a close the promise and availability of living water is made once again, echoing that of Isaiah 55:

“The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.”

Revelation 22: 17

There is living water available for us all, and all we need to do is come, ask, drink.

Personal Question

• Do you trust Jesus to lead you to living water? What areas of your life do you need to hand over to Him again, and trust Him to lead you in?

• Are you drinking deeply every day?

Personal Impact

“But blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord,

whose confidence is in him.

They will be like a tree planted by the water

that sends out its roots by the stream.

It does not fear when heat comes;

its leaves are always green.

It has no worries in a year of drought

and never fails to bear fruit.”

Jeremiah 17: 7-8

Here we see the benefit of trusting in the Lord. Jeremiah likens those who trust God to trees planted by water. When we read verses 5-8, the full poem, it is strikingly similar to Psalm 1. Both of these passages speak of the personal impact of living water.

Most commentators believe that the passage in Jeremiah was written before Psalm 1, the importance of this is that it makes it prophecy, not just a saying ( Interpreter’s Bible Vol 5 1978, p 950-951)

When we consider the source of living water we see that this prophecy is speaking of a deep, intimate relationship with God. Not only that but verses 4-6 speak of the folly and danger of trusting man. Matthew Henry considers this passage as practical advice (Henry’s Bible Vol 4 p950) and for us it certainly is. So let’s consider the impact of living a life of trust in God, rooted firmly in Him and drinking of living water.

The first thing to note, from verse 8, is we are not guaranteed a trouble free life:

“... It does not fear when heat comes;...”

Jeremiah 17: 8

Heat without water can kill plants, that’s the implication of verse 6. Yet heat with water can bring new growth. Consider the grass or the flower bed in summer. When we have many warm dry days in a row the grass and the flowers start to die if we do not water them. When we do water them the combination of the heat and the water results in almost frenetic growth, we see rapid growth. I’ve seen this with my snap dragons this year. It’s incredible.

The garden freshly planted and after 2 months of sun and watering

In this passage the one trusting in the Lord still experiences the heat, but is rooted in God and drinking from the river of life. The result is green leaves and bearing fruit.

It is a mistake to think that as a follower of Jesus there will be no adversity, no heat. The Bible tells us the opposite. What we do see promised is fruitfulness if we remain in Jesus, if we trust Him we will drink from streams of living water.

The personal impact of living water is also what Jesus teaches in John 4:

“...​​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: 14

In Jeremiah we see trusting God as being planted by a stream of living water, shooting roots out and being secure. In John 4 we see that in Jesus the water of life can well up inside us, a spring that does not run dry, that is there for us to drink and not be thirsty. In both cases the impact is the same; while the burning sun may beat down, those who trust in Him will not thirst.

Personal Question

• Where do you need to experience the living water again?

• Spend time bringing that to Jesus, drink of Him through worship and declaring the truth of who He is

Wider Impact

Returning to Ezekiel 47 we can see that living water, flowing from God’s throne, is not just for personal impact. There is a wider impact.

“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’ ”

Ezekiel 47: 8

In the context of the Dead Sea the salt water becoming fresh indicates healing and restoration; leading to new life. As we read the next verses in Ezekiel 47 we get that description of the area teeming with life, wherever this river flows creatures live, fish abound, and trees grow. Perhaps this is linking back to Genesis 1: 9-13 or Genesis 2: 10 with waters and land producing fruit.

This is about something more, something bigger than just my life. This is about God bringing new life and new abundance to the world. The vision in Ezekiel talks about fishing, harvesting fruit, and provision of healing. Living water, flowing from the throne of God, is going to have a larger impact on the wider world.

We see this prophetic picture again in Revelation 22: 1-2. While many believe Ezekiel’s vision was pointing to the coming Christ (Interpreter’s Bible Vol6 1978, p326-327), which we see Jesus point to in John 4, there is a sense, as we read Revelation, that more is still to come.

Because we know Jesus we can have the living water welling up inside us. We can be carriers of this water, bringing new life wherever we go, no matter how stale, or lifeless the situation may seem.

Personal Question

• How can you take this life to the world around you?

• Ask Jesus to put situations on your heart and trust Him as you then carry this living water into those places