The last day of the feast

Our water is back on!! Not sure how much damage to our Madrid apartment yet, but certainly nothing comparable to war-torn scenarios… The Scriptures in John 7:37-39 came strongly to Gayle with regard to the two-fold greeting we received last weekend that ‘all your water was pouring out’.

On the last day of the festival, the great day, while Jesus was standing there, he cried out, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me, and let the one who believes in me drink. As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water.’ ” Now he said this about the Spirit, which believers in him were to receive; for as yet there was no Spirit, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

The festival referred to is the feat of Tabernacles and is set in the context of Jerusalem. The wider section in John has Jesus being rejected in Jerusalem – he is labelled a sinner, demonised, not the Messiah. It ends in John 10:39 with the summary response:

Then they tried to arrest him again, but he escaped from their hands.

More on that in a mo…

The history of the Festival on this great last day was that water was drawn and then poured out. Jesus, never one to shy away from controversy, nor from confrontation (whenever religion was involved) puts himself at the centre. Water is not future, it is not tied to ‘when God acts to declare we were the good people all along’, come drink now!

The Scriptures that were read in this Jewish setting were:

With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation. And you will say in that day:
Give thanks to the Lord,
call on his name;
make known his deeds among the nations;
proclaim that his name is exalted (Is. 12:3, 4).

Then he brought me back to the entrance of the temple; there, water was flowing from below the threshold of the temple toward the east (for the temple faced east); and 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 the water was coming out on the south side.
Going on eastward with a cord in his hand, the man measured one thousand cubits, and then led me through the water; and it was ankle-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was knee-deep. Again he measured one thousand, and led me through the water; and it was up to the waist. Again he measured one thousand, and it was a river that I could not cross, for the water had risen; it was deep enough to swim in, a river that could not be crossed. He said to me, “Mortal, have you seen this?”
Then he led me back along the bank of the river. As I came back, I saw on the bank of the river a great many trees on the one side and on the other. He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah; and when it enters the sea, the sea of stagnant waters, the water will become fresh. Wherever the river goes, every living creature that swarms will live, and there will be very many fish, once these waters reach there. It will become fresh; and everything will live where the river goes. People will stand fishing beside the sea from En-gedi to En-eglaim; it will be a place for the spreading of nets; its fish will be of a great many kinds, like the fish of the Great Sea. But its swamps and marshes will not become fresh; they are to be left for salt. On the banks, on both sides of the river, there will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither nor their fruit fail, but they will bear fresh fruit every month, because the water for them flows from the sanctuary. Their fruit will be for food, and their leaves for healing (Ezek. 47:1-12).

On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer as in winter (Zech. 14:8).

So putting a few things together we are convinced that for us (and we suspect for many others) our beloved water being poured out signifies:

A change of location. By this I do not mean a geographical change, but where one is located. It is time to be outside of Jerusalem. The shift from Jerusalem is marked in John 10: 40-42

He went away again across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing earlier, and he remained there. Many came to him, and they were saying, “John performed no sign, but everything that John said about this man was true.” And many believed in him there.

I have added emphasis to the text. Geography, location repeated surely to give emphasis. Same people, same era… but with the shift of location there is a different response. (And tying in with what has gone on earlier – thanks to prayer, intercession, repentance, there are locations that are ready.)

The last water is over. It has been poured out. It might not be appreciated (!) but it will have its effects. Just if we continue as those Jews did year after year to enact the pouring out of the water we will forever be doing the act, the re-enactment. Into that context, Jesus says come! But seems we have to come not to preserve what is here but in our re-location to be ready for the flow.

Of the three passages that were read on that day I will simply draw our attention to Ezekiel. A Scripture quoted (understandably) many times in the heady days of the 90s. A Scripture that seemed to stir the spirits of the Qumran community (where the Dead Sea Scrolls were found). Abandoning Jerusalem they positioned themselves due East of Jerusalem as a prophetic sign that the waters were leaving the Temple and flowing East to the Dead Sea. (And prophetic they were with Josephus indicating that barely ever was one of their ‘predictions’ wrong.) I see that passage as also tying with the exit from Eden (Eastward)… wherever they went God went with them on that journey. A journey often of 2 steps forward and three back, until that era came to an end. Then steps in Jesus, drink, drink, drink…

The re-locating is away from Jerusalem – if some from there come out to the Jordan they too can ‘believe in him there’. The re-location is on in earnest. New languages are being formed, a mess is here, for we have to work out the ‘what then about the Gospel’ / ‘how then do we share our faith…’ but the trees that grow will be so varied, bearing fruit and healing (image repeated in Revelation).

With a fresh confidence that ‘from our innermost being…’; humility; listening; moving away from ‘to’, moving beyond ‘for’, and moving location to be ‘with’.

I suggest this could end the forced break of COVID. ‘With’ in the new location(s) will be ‘onward’ (from) not ‘back’ (to normal). The kind of break that Jesus always brought.