TNP - IS ANYONE THIRSTY?

TNP – March 29, 2012-Ezekial 47 “The River of GOD”

David Smith - Shared that the theme for the week was “is anyone Thirsty? 

Jesus raised his voice and cried out Is anyone thirsty?

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

³⁷ On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. ³⁸ He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” ³⁹ But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. John 7:37

As part of the Feast of tabernacles they would carry water from, the pool of Siloam and pour it out against the corner of the altar and they were symbolically, prophetically, acting out the scene referred to in this scripture in Ezekiel 47.

47 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.    … 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.”

Jesus said this on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles. The Feast of Tabernacles is indicative of our temporary dwelling on this earth, corresponding to the wilderness for the Israelites which was between Egypt (a type of this carnal world) and the promised land Beulah land, or heaven.  The wilderness a place was a place of freedom and total dependence on God experiencing his provision and his goodness.

Joel chapter 2 says in the last days I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh. So Jesus waiting until the last day is talking about the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in the last days. Confirmed by Peter in the book of Acts 2 when he says, “this is that” which was spoken by the prophet Joel…

¹⁷ ‘And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God,
That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh;
Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
Your young men shall see visions,
Your old men shall dream dreams.
¹⁸ And on My menservants and on My maidservants
I will pour out My Spirit in those days;
And they shall prophesy.
¹⁹ I will show wonders in heaven above
And signs in the earth beneath:
Blood and fire and vapor of smoke.
²⁰ The sun shall be turned into darkness,
And the moon into blood,
Before the coming of the great and awesome day of the Lord.
²¹ And it shall come to pass
That whoever calls on the name of the Lord
Shall be saved.’

Don Millican - Shared out of the Eric Johnson book on living out of inheritance rather than performance. Amos 3:7 God doesn’t do anything without first revealing to his servants the prophets.  We prayed the Hosea passage out over Kevin and in our lives.

Doug Kriegbaum stayed over unexpectedly and preached on Sunday morning about the river of God and quoted both passages John 7 and Ezekiel 47.

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Background Materials 

*This was taken from reading about the Feast of Tabernacles and the Beit ha Shuavah (the Water Pouring Ceremony) on the last day of the festival. The water for the libation ceremony was drawn from the Pool of Siloam (Hebrew: Breikhat HaShiloah‎) in the City of David and carried up the Jerusalem pilgrim road to the Temple. The joy that accompanied this procedure was palpable. (This is the source for the verse in Isaiah: "And you shall draw waters with joy from the wells of salvation" (Isa. 12:3).

Rejoicing in the House of the Water Pouring

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink.  He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water."   ^NKJJohn 7:37-38

What prompted Yeshua to say these words? Was He just using a metaphor, or was he referring to a custom His followers as well as His detractors were very familiar with? What would be the connection between living water and the 7th day, the last great day of the feast, Hoshana Rabbah- The Great Salvation. 

Each day (except for the first day) of the festival, a group of priests would set out to gather large willows that they would wave back and forth as they proceeded toward the temple, thus making a "swooshing" sound, the sound of the wind or the Ruach, Holy Spirit. While this was going on, another group of priests would proceed to the Pool of Siloam from which the High Priest would gather a flask full of "living water". Both groups would then return to the Temple, and while the group with the willows would circle the altar waving their willows, the High Priest with his flask of water and his assistant with a flask of wine would both empty their pitchers on the southwest corner of the altar, thus picturing the coming of the Holy Spirit as living water.

Shortly after the end of the first day of Sukkot, the priests would light four huge lamps in the Court of the Women, each with four huge bowls on each. Each bowl held 7 – 8 gallons of oil and had wicks made from "swaddling clothes", the worn-out undergarments of the priests. When the lamps were all lit, it was said that they lit up the entire city of Jerusalem. All the men would then begin dancing and singing in a great celebration. This rejoicing would last late into the night.

These ceremonies and celebrations continued throughout the festival. On the last (7th) day, a change was made to the ceremony. On this day the priests, instead of circling the altar one time, would circle it seven times; this time singing with a loud voice a song of redemption and salvation - Save now, I pray, O Lord; O Lord, I pray, send now prosperity. Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord . . . (Psalm 118:25-26)

These ceremonies are nowhere commanded in the Torah (or the Tenakh), but the rabbis believed that because of some spelling inconsistencies in Numbers 29 that seem to spell the Hebrew word Mayim (water) there was an underlying justification for them.

It appears that Yeshua had no problem with this additional ceremony and celebration.  From His childhood, He would have become very familiar with these festivities as His parents made the pilgrimage from Nazareth to Jerusalem to observe the Festival of Sukkot. It seems evident that He used the occasion of the seventh or last day (the 8th day is a separate festival) of His last Feast of Sukkot to teach that He was the light of the world and the source of the Living Waters of salvation for all Israel and ultimately all mankind.

According to Jewish historical records, those who kept the festival in first-century Jerusalem observed a special ceremony on each day of the festival in addition to the various sacrifices and libation offerings commanded in the Torah (Num. 29:12-40). Sometime prior to the first century of this special ceremony, the water libation offering was added to the festival offerings in order to give thanks for the previous year's rain, petition God for more rain, and picture the great outpouring of God’s Spirit that was to come during the 1000 year reign of The Messiah. This ceremony was connected to a very joyous evening celebration, the Festival of Lights. This evening festival was so joyful that it was said that He who has not witnessed the rejoicing at the water-drawing huts has, throughout the whole of his life, witnessed no real rejoicing.“ (Sukkah 53b).

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