Ezekiel 47
47
A Life-Giving River Flows from the Temple
1Then the shining man brought me back to the entrance of the temple, and I saw water flowing # 47:1 Today, the temple of God is the church, the Holy of Holies on the earth today (see 1 Cor. 3:16; Eph. 2:19–22). This river can be a picture of the life-giving flow of the Holy Spirit, who becomes “rivers” pouring through us, his temple (see John 7:37–39; see also Gen. 2:10–14; Pss. 1:3; 46:4; 65:9; Song. 4:12; Isa. 66:12; Rev. 22:1–2). This river heals as it flows; it brings life as it grows deeper. from underneath the temple threshold. It was flowing eastward (for the temple faced east). # 47:1 There is a vast water table beneath the Temple Mount in Israel. In the Letter of Aristeas, dated circa 100 BC, there is mention of a spring on the Temple Mount inside the enclosure of the temple area. The many sacrifices and purification rites (involving mikveh, immersion pools used for ceremonial cleansing of Jewish worshipers) required much water. It is also possible that past earthquakes have capped underground springs and reservoirs in Jerusalem. (See G. A. Cooke, A Critical and Exegetical Commentary on the Book of Ezekiel, The International Critical Commentary [Edinburgh: T & T Clark, 1985], 517–18; see also L. Ritmeyer, “Locating the Original Temple Mount,” Biblical Archaeology Review 18, no. 2 [1992]: 34–36, which includes various locations of cisterns [reservoirs] on the Temple Mount.) Water was trickling out from the south side of the temple, south of the altar. 2Then he took me out by the north gate and led me around the outside to the gate that faces east. And there I saw water flowing out on the right-hand side, south of the gateway. 3The man holding his measuring line walked east and measured off a thousand cubits. # 47:3 About a third of a mile (1,750 feet; 530 meters). Three times Ezekiel uses this phrase in vv. 4–5. Then he made me wade across the shallow water, and it was ankle deep. # 47:3 The river flowing “ankle deep” points to our walk in Christ. As we walk in the Spirit-River of life, our lives are changed. The first miracle of the apostles in the book of Acts helped a man lame in his ankles sitting at the temple’s Beautiful Gate, the gate through which this river flowed. He was immediately healed and was able to walk and enter the temple for the first time in his life. Ezekiel’s Temple began its process of being rebuilt as the lame beggar waded into the river of God pouring out from the apostles. See Acts 3:1–10. 4He measured off another thousand cubits and told me to wade across the stream again; the water was up to my knees. # 47:4 The knee-deep river of God points symbolically to a life of prayer. We bow our knees before the Father of Glory and enter into the flow of life through prayer (Ezra 9:5; Dan. 6:10; Luke 22:41; Eph. 1:14–21). He measured off another thousand cubits and made me wade across the stream again, and the water was up to my waist. # 47:4 The waist-deep river of God points symbolically to what we produce or give birth to, for the water soaks the reproductive organs. When the life-giving Spirit-River reaches our loins, we begin bearing the fruit of the Spirit, spiritual offspring, and enduring works that glorify God. 5He measured off another thousand; it was now a river over my head, which I was unable to swim across. It was a deep swollen river—a river no one could cross.
6The shining man said to me, “Son of man, do you see this?” # 47:6 No doubt Ezekiel was stunned by seeing a stream start as a trickle and end up becoming an impassable river. The rhetorical question that was posed to Ezekiel could be made into an emphatic statement, by saying, “Son of man, pay close attention to the miracle you just witnessed! Get this revelation!” A river over your head points to the revelation of the Holy Spirit that is deep and limitless, which cannot be humanly “crossed over” or understood without divine help. This deep river is flowing in us today and will cause us to go beyond the earthly realm into God’s life in the Spirit (see 1 Cor. 2:1–16). When the river is this deep, we will become totally dependent upon the Holy Spirit to teach, guide, and empower us. Human intellect will not be able to fathom the depth of this Spirit-River. Then he brought me back to the riverbank. # 47:6 The implication of this sentence is that Ezekiel was in the river and had to return to the bank.
7When I got there, I was astonished to see # 47:7 Or “behold, I saw.” an enormous number of trees on each side of the river. # 47:7 See Rev. 22:2. 8He said, “This water flows east, down to the Jordan Valley # 47:8 Or “Arabah,” which in the time of Ezekiel referred to the rift valley through which the Jordan River flows until it empties into the Dead Sea. and to the Dead Sea. As it flows into the stagnant waters, that water becomes fresh water. # 47:8 See 2 Kings 2:21. 9Wherever the river # 47:9 Or literally “two rivers.” See Zech. 14:8. flows, all living creatures will live and thrive. Schools of fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the river goes, it brings healing, and everything will come alive! 10Fishermen # 47:10 This healing river of God’s Spirit brings life. It points us to the gospel being preached by the Lord’s “fishermen,” his kingdom evangelists (see Matt. 4:19 and footnote). will crowd its banks and spread their nets from En-Gedi # 47:10 En-Gedi means “the fountain of the kid.” to En-Eglaim. # 47:10 En-Eglaim may possibly be Ain-el-Feshkah, a village on the northwest end of the Dead Sea. En-Eglaim means “fountains of two calves” or “fountain of two pools.” They will catch as many species of fish as there are in the Great Sea. # 47:10 That is, the Mediterranean Sea (see vv. 15, 19, 20). 11However, its swamps and marshes will not become healed but will be left for salt. # 47:11 This verse illustrates a significant interpretive feature of this vision, namely, that it is not a picture of ecological perfection. The statement that the swamps and marshes will not be purified by the remarkable river flowing down from the Jerusalem temple but will be left as stagnant pools, polluted by excessive salt, reflects a less than perfect renewal. Now, while this vision describes a truly remarkable transformation of the land of promise, and the ecological purification of the Dead Sea, it is incomplete. The language of this vision is couched in terms of revived natural vegetation, ecology, and wildlife—marine creatures in particular—but the full realization of this divine transformation will not come about until the return of the Lord Jesus. And that vision is given to us in the final two chapters of Holy Scripture—Rev. 21–22. It is there—and only there—that the full and perfect consummation of God’s redemptive plans and purposes for his people is revealed. And significantly, while explicit images of Ezekiel’s vision are retained in Rev. 22:1, the full import of John’s vision is profoundly spiritual and transcends the physical realities of a fallen world that will one day be renewed and transformed forever.
12“Along both banks of the river, every kind of fruit tree will flourish. And their leaves will never wither, and abundant fruit will always be on their branches. Each month they will bear a fresh crop of fruit because this life-giving water comes from inside the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat, and the leaves will bring healing.” # 47:12 See Rev. 22:1–2 for the fulfillment of this phenomenon.
The Boundaries of the Holy Land
13Lord Yahweh says: “Behold, here are the territorial boundaries for your distribution of land among the twelve tribes of Israel. Joseph shall receive a double portion. # 47:13 Joseph’s two portions would remind Israel’s tribes that Joseph’s family line divided into two tribes, Manasseh and Ephraim. There was no “tribe of Joseph” but of his two sons. 14You will each have a fair share of it since I swore to your ancestors that I would give it to them. So now, this land will belong to you as family property.
15“These will be the borders of the land. # 47:15 Verses 15–20 are similar to the division of the land under Moses in Num. 34:1–12. It will help to compare these two passages, especially in light of the textual difficulty in understanding exact locations found here in Ezekiel’s account (see the footnotes for Ezek. 47:15–18). The northern border starts at the Mediterranean Sea and stretches east along the road to the town of Hethlon, # 47:15 Possibly modern Haitela. through Hamath Pass, to the town of Zedad, # 47:15 As translated from the Septuagint. The Hebrew is “the entrance of Zedad, Hamath.” Zedad is possibly modern Sadad, southeast of Homs. 16and then on to the towns of Berothah # 47:16 Berothah is possibly the same as Berothai (see 2 Sam. 8:8), modern Bereitan. and Sibraim. # 47:16 Sibraim may possibly be modern Ziphron (see Num. 34:9). These two towns are on the border between Damascus and Hamath. It will extend as far as Hazer-ha-Tikon, which is on the border of the region of Hauran. # 47:16 Hauran is sometimes equated with Bashan, the mountainous region east of Lake Galilee. 17So, your northern frontier will extend from the sea to Hazer-Enon, # 47:17 Most scholars identify Hazar-Enon with modern Qaryatein. which is north of Damascus and the border of Hamath on the north. # 47:17 The Hebrew of v. 17 is uncertain.
18“The Jordan River will serve as your eastern border between Hauran and Damascus, between Gilead and Israel, down to the Dead Sea as far south as Tamar. # 47:18 The Hebrew of this last clause is uncertain.
19“Your southern border stretches west from Tamar southward to the waters of Meribah-Kadesh, following the dry riverbed to the Mediterranean Sea; that will be your southern border. 20And your western boundary will follow the coast of the Mediterranean Sea from the southern border north to the point opposite Hamath Pass; that will be the western frontier.
21“Divide this land among the tribes of Israel. 22You must distribute it as an inheritance for yourselves and the resident aliens who live among you, who have their children among you, since you must treat them as citizens of Israel. They must receive a share of the land for their inheritance with you among the tribes of Israel. 23In whatever tribe the resident alien resides, that is where you will assign his share. I, Lord Yahweh, have spoken.”
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Ezekiel 47: TPT
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