The water from the sanctuary flows and brings new life and abundance Ezekiel 47:1–12

Key Verse 47:9: “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.”

Good afternoon! This week was very busy for me. While studying for seminary, I also had to repair the deck at my house. Many parts of the deck were rotten, and I heard it would rain next week, so I had to fix it within this week. When I was working alone, the process was slow and boring. However, when Deborah began to help me, we were finally able to finish it yesterday. I experienced the saying, “Two heads are better than one.” God’s work is the same—I cannot serve Him alone. The meaning of church is that Jesus is the head and we are the body of Christ. When each of us fulfills our role well, the church will be built up.

In this chapter we see the vision of the holy waters—their source, extent, depth, and healing. The water flowing out from the temple brings new life, healing, restoration, and abundant fruit wherever it goes. Even though its starting point at the threshold of the temple was small and seemingly insignificant, it grew larger and larger until it became a mighty river where all kinds of fish lived. Today’s passage is a very hopeful vision for the Israelites in captivity, given through the prophet Ezekiel.

What does this water mean? What does it teach us? May the Holy Spirit give us new hope and vision through today’s passage!

Part one-The Vision of Flowing Water Becoming a River (1–6)

Chapter 47 of Ezekiel is the climax of the book, written while the Israelites were exiles in Babylon. What was life like for the captives? Lamentations 1:5–8 describes their grief:

“Her foes have become her masters; her enemies are at ease. The LORD has brought her grief because of her many sins. Her children have gone into exile, captive before the foe. All the splendor has departed from the Daughter of Zion. Her princes are like deer that find no pasture; in weakness they have fled before the pursuer. In the days of her affliction and wandering Jerusalem remembers all the treasures that were hers in days of old. When her people fell into enemy hands, there was no one to help her. Her enemies looked at her and laughed at her destruction. Jerusalem has sinned greatly and so has become unclean. All who honored her despise her, for they have seen her nakedness; she herself groans and turns away.”

This describes how miserable the life of the captives was. The cause of this misery was their sin. Sin separates us from God and leads to death. However, God is merciful and gracious. He did not give up hope for them. Instead, God gave them vision and hope in the darkest time.

The LORD Almighty revealed a vision of restoring the temple in chapters 40–46. These chapters describe the structure of the temple, how God would dwell there, and the regulations for service. The temple was the center of their lives, the place where the Almighty LORD dwelled. From Exodus to Malachi, the temple of God was the heart of Israel’s life and worship. There they offered sacrifices for their sins to be reconciled to God. The Almighty LORD was with them. But when the temple was destroyed, they were exiled, and God’s presence departed from them because of their sins.

The promise of restoring God’s temple implied both the restoration of their faith toward God and the restoration of their lives.

Look at verses 1–2:“Then he brought me back to the door of the temple, and behold, water was issuing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east). The water was flowing down from below the south end of the threshold of the temple, south of the altar. Then he brought me out by way of the north gate and led me around on the outside to the outer gate that faces toward the east; and behold, the water was trickling out on the south side.”

This vision has a mystical and spiritual meaning. Ezekiel saw water gushing out from under the threshold of the temple. It flowed eastward, south of the temple, past the altar, and toward the outer gate facing east.

Where was the water coming from? It came from the threshold of the temple.

What is the symbol of water? Let’s look at several references in Scripture.

Revelation 22:1–2 describes the pure water of life that the apostle John saw in his vision:“Then the angel showed me the river of the water of life, as clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of the great street of the city. On each side of the river stood the tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, yielding its fruit every month. And the leaves of the tree are for the healing of the nations.”

The river of life comes from the throne of God and of Christ Jesus. It represents the glory, joy, and grace that flow from God.

In John 7:37–39, the living water seems to indicate the power of the gospel:“On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.’ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.”

The gospel is the good news of great joy. Ultimately, the gospel refers to Jesus Christ Himself, who is the true temple.

How did this fountain of water grow? Look at verses 3–6:

“Going on eastward with a measuring line in his hand, the man measured a thousand cubits, and then led me through the water, and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was knee-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and led me through the water, and it was waist-deep. Again he measured a thousand, and it was a river that I could not pass through, for the water had risen. It was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be passed through. And he said to me, ‘Son of man, have you seen this?’”

At first, the fountain of water was insignificant, flowing from the temple eastward, only ankle-deep. Then it became knee-deep, waist-deep, and finally a mighty river deep enough to swim in.

What does this teach us?

Firstly, it teaches us the nature of the gospel—it begins small, like a mustard seed.

When God called Abraham, an old and hopeless man, it seemed insignificant from a human perspective. But from God’s perspective, He would bless the whole world through Abraham’s descendant, Christ Jesus.

When Jesus called the twelve disciples, they were uneducated and weak, like reeds shaken by the wind. As Jesus approached His death, they still did not understand His words and were only concerned about their own positions in His kingdom. When He was arrested, they all ran away. Jesus’ three years of discipleship ministry seemed like a failure.

However, when the Holy Spirit came, they became warriors of the gospel. The first church was established under their preaching, and the gospel spread throughout the world. Think about Simon Peter—weak, unstable, and impulsive. Yet after learning from Jesus and receiving the Holy Spirit, he was used powerfully as the leader in establishing the first church and spreading the gospel among the Jews.

The gospel is like a mustard seed—so small you can barely see it. But it grows and grows until it becomes a great tree. Jesus said in Matthew 13:31–32:“The kingdom of heaven is like a grain of mustard seed that a man took and sowed in his field. It is the smallest of all seeds, but when it has grown it is larger than all the garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and make nests in its branches.”

When the gospel came to Korea, the land was a spiritual desert. Missionaries like Thomas, Underwood, and others sacrificed their lives, seeing little hope. Their sacrifices seemed meaningless at the time. But God blessed their work. Today, Korea has become the second-largest missionary-sending nation in the world.

The gospel may appear invisible, small, and weak like a mustard seed. But it carries God’s almighty power to save every soul who hears and accepts it. Such a person is transformed from a slave of sin into a child of God, from being cursed to being blessed. Whoever accepts Jesus as Savior and Lord becomes a new creation.

Part two-The Vision of Receiving New Life and Abundant Blessing Through the Water (7–12)

Look at verses 7–10:

“As I went back, I saw on the bank of the river very many trees on the one side and on the other. And he said to me, ‘This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, and enters the sea; when the water flows into the sea, the water will become fresh. And wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish. For this water goes there, that the waters of the sea may become fresh; so everything will live where the river goes. Fishermen will stand beside the sea. From Engedi to Eneglaim it will be a place for the spreading of nets. Its fish will be of very many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea.’”

Water gushing from the temple makes things fresh and brings new life wherever it flows. Wherever the river goes, swarms of living creatures will live. Even the salt water becomes fresh (v. 8).

What does this represent?

1. The power of the gospel

Ezekiel’s vision teaches us the power of the gospel. Wherever the gospel is preached, revival comes—both to individuals and to communities. Wherever the water flows, life is revived and new creation springs forth.

When Jesus touched the paralytic, he was healed though he had been sick for 38 years. When He touched the leper—an incurable disease at that time—the leprosy disappeared. When He rebuked demons, they fled immediately. When the dead heard His voice, they rose to life. He is the source of life and the answer for every human being.

In Luke 4:18–19, Jesus declared the purpose of His ministry:“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.”

Think about people in our time. Many are spiritually poor even though they may be economically rich. They are prisoners of their own pleasures, worries, and sins. They are spiritually blind and desperately need freedom. Many think money, sex, or leisure is the answer to life, but the Scriptures clearly teach that sin cuts us off from God, the true source of blessing. Just as a broken electrical line cannot bring light to a bulb, so sin cuts us off from the living water.

Jesus came to solve our fundamental problem of sin and reconnect us to God, the source of blessing. Though He was without sin, He was horribly crucified for our sins. On the cross, He fully paid for our past, present, and future sins. When He declared, “It is finished,” He opened the way for us to have a blessed life. Anyone who repents and believes in Jesus, who died and rose again, will be forgiven, and the living water of the Holy Spirit will flow within them.

God is generous. He gave His one and only Son to save us from eternal curse, as John 3:16–17 tells us:“For God so loved the world, that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.”

2. The abundance of God’s blessing

Ezekiel also saw an abundance of fish in the river—representing prosperity and fruitfulness. In God, there is no limit to blessing.

Ephesians 3:17–20 says:“That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.”

The God who created the universe owns everything. What limitation could there be to His blessing? Yet His focus is not merely on material things but on giving us Himself through faith in Christ, and with Him, eternal life.

Through the Spirit, believers already taste eternal life here and now. Galatians 5:22–23 shows the fruit of the Spirit: “love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.”

In Christ, we experience abundant life.

3. The warning of rejection

But what about those who reject His invitation? Verse 11 says:“But the swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt.”

The swamps and marshes represent those who stubbornly cling to sin or rely on their own righteousness. The gospel cannot penetrate them, and they remain unhealed. Whole nations or individuals who reject the gospel—or who profess faith but refuse to obey—remain in a state of death.

4. The fruitfulness of God’s kingdom

Verse 12 says:“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.”

This represents abundant, continual provision. The trees never wither, their fruit never fails, and every month they produce food and healing. The true healing is spiritual—the restoration of God’s reign and the daily experience of His kingdom.

Galatians 3:13–14 explains:“Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: ‘Cursed is everyone who is hung on a tree.’ He redeemed us in order that the blessing given to Abraham might come to the Gentiles through Christ Jesus, so that by faith we might receive the promise of the Spirit.”

Jesus bore the curse so that we could receive blessing—the blessing of Abraham—by faith in Him.

Conclusion

We desperately need Ezekiel’s vision of hope in these fearful and uncertain times. His vision was fulfilled in the promised Messiah, Jesus Christ, and it is still being fulfilled today in all who believe in Him.

If we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord:

1. Our souls will be restored. Our relationship with God will be healed, the Holy Spirit will dwell in us, and we will experience the kingdom of heaven.

2. Healing will come to us. Before sin, there was no sickness. After sin, death and disease entered. But in Jesus, our souls and even our bodies can be strengthened and renewed.

3. We will be freed from oppression—fear, anxiety, and poverty. If God is our protector and provider, why should we worry?

4. God will abundantly provide for our true needs—not just physically, but spiritually and eternally.

May God bless each of us to see this vision and live in the hope given through faith in Christ Jesus!