The River of Life

In a previous post, I reiterated the story of the Bible using the geographical imagery found within it, relating primarily to rivers, trees, and mountains. In this post, I wish to focus in more detail on what is often termed ‘the River of Life’, which, although never referred to by that exact phrase, appears throughout the Bible in one form or another. Some of the material covered here is repeated from the original post, but there are distinct insights and deeper levels of meaning to be garnered by elaborating on this fascinating symbol, which should in fact be conceived not as a symbol in the conventional sense of mere representation, but rather as a literal description of a spiritual reality.

In the very first book of the Bible, we are told that “a river flowed out of Eden to water the garden”, diving into four streams (Genesis 2:10). After the Fall, however, this life-giving water no longer seems to feature so profusely in either the physical or spiritual landscape. For example, in Genesis 13, when Abraham and Lot decide to part ways, the latter chooses the well-watered, fertile territory, leaving the former with the dry land of Canaan. With that said, in line with God’s everlasting covenant with His People, it seems that the Water of Eden could still be accessed in those times, albeit sporadically and problematically: Abraham goes on to dig a number of wells, which his son Isaac recovers in Genesis 26 after they were stopped up by the Philistines. Interestingly enough, these wells were located in Gerar, which is where Isaac, the son of promise, was conceived (see Genesis 20-21).

The use of water as a symbol for promise and covenant reappears in a different, more explicit way in Deuteronomy 8 (Verse 7), where the Hebrews are told: “the Lord your God is bringing you into a good land, a land of brooks of water, of fountains and springs, flowing out in the valleys and hills” (cf. Psalm 36:8). Indeed, throughout the journey of the Hebrews through the desert towards this Promised Land, water sources continued to represent God’s faithfulness and grace. In Exodus 15 (Verses 22-27), for example, God makes palatable the bitter waters of Marah and then provides twelve springs of water and seventy palm trees at Elim. Two chapters later, in Exodus 17:5-6 (cf. Numbers 20:2-13), God draws forth water from the Rock of Horeb at Massah/Meribah.

While wells and springs in the Old Testament represent what we normally term ‘the Old Covenant’, it is interesting to note that they feature in God’s dealings not only with the promised son Isaac, but also with the bastard child Ishmael, conceived illegitimately and disobediently through the maidservant Hagar. In Genesis 16, God meets with Hagar in the wilderness at a spring, which becomes “the well of the Living One who sees me”, and in Chapter 21 provides another well for Hagar to nourish Ishmael. The inclusion of Ishmael in the imagery of wells points to an ‘Older’ Covenant, originally established with Noah and reiterated to Abraham, that included all people – and indeed, all of creation.

The foundational grace embodied in wells was therefore universally accessible – but only intermittently, by tapping into a latent reservoir. The Prophets (as well as the Psalmist – see, e.g., Psalm 104:10-13) thus foresaw a time when Jerusalem would become the New Eden, with the River of Life once again flowing freely and openly. Zechariah (14:8), for example, refers to a day when “living waters shall flow out of Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea”, while Ezekiel (47:1-12) similarly tells of four rivers fanning out from the Temple in alternative directions, one of which transforms the land into a lush paradise. Employing a more personal register, Isaiah expands on the image of the River of Life bursting forth to irrigate a barren wilderness. It is worth observing the numerous references concerned:

• “With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.” (12:3)
• “Waters break forth in the wilderness, And streams in the desert; The burning sand shall become a pool, And the thirsty ground springs of water” (35:6-7)
• “When the poor and needy seek water, And there is none, And their tongue is Parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, And fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, And the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, The acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, The plane and the pine together ...” (41:17-20)
• “Behold, I am doing a new thing; Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness And rivers in the desert … For I give water in the wilderness, Rivers in the desert, To give drink to my chosen people, The people whom I formed for myself That they might declare my praise.” (43:19-21)
• “I will pour water on the thirsty land, And streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, And my blessing on your descendants. They shall spring up among the grass Like willows by flowing streams.” (44:3-4)
• “The Lord will guide you continually And satisfy your desire in scorched places And make your bones strong; And you shall be like a watered garden, Like a spring of water, Whose waters do not fail.” (58:11)
• “Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river, and the glory of the nations like an overflowing stream” (66:12)

From the Isaiah 44 passage, we learn that the River of Life is an illustration or embodiment of the Holy Spirit, which is of course a key part of God's Promise. The prophet Joel reiterates this: while echoing Ezekiel and Zechariah by foretelling of a time when “all the streambeds of Judah Shall flow with water” and when “a fountain shall come forth from the house of the Lord And water the Valley of Shittim” (3:18) – itself a highly symbolic reference – he includes the prediction that God will “pour out [His] Spirit” (2:28-29). However, while Isaiah mentions the Promise of the Spirit in the context of one particular lineage (or "offspring"), Joel informs us that the Spirit, though emanating from a spiritual Jerusalem, will in fact be poured out "on all flesh" (ibid.). The prophecy of Jerusalem-as-Eden therefore depicts the fulfilment of the Covenant that is normally associated with Isaac but in fact extended to Ishmael and beyond.

This fulfilment, of course, arrives with Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of John (4:14), Jesus pronounces of Himself: “whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Some three chapters later (7:37-39), He elaborates on this message: “On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, ‘If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, “Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water”’.” The passage goes on to inform us that “He said about the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were to receive”.

Just as the River of Life springs from Eden/Jerusalem to flow East and West, so too it springs from Christ and flows through both Old and New Testaments. Indeed, it is impossible to resist seeing in the four rivers of Eden/Jerusalem a picture of the Cross, from which our life is restored. Christ gives us the source of life itself – that is, He gives us Himself, who is the Life (John 11:25; 14:6). He is the Rock of Horeb, as we are told in 1 Corinthians 10:4 (cf. Psalm 78:16), for it is through Him that God’s promises are fulfilled. He is the Well of the Living One and the well of salvation, for it through Him that we experience the grace of eternal life. He is the spring in the wilderness, the overflowing stream, and the fountain of living water, for it is through Him that we receive the Holy Spirit (cf. Acts 2:16-21) and are thus created anew. He is the River of Eden and Jerusalem, for He is the Firstborn of All Creation and the Heavenly Temple (Colossians 1:15; John 2:18-22)

Speaking of which, the book of Revelation (22:1-2) tells us that the story is not yet finished: in the New Jerusalem, “the river of the water of life flow[s] from the throne of God and of the Lamb through the middle of the street of the city” (cf. Psalm 46:4). One day, when Heaven and Earth are reunited, the River of Life that issues from Eden, Jerusalem, and ultimately Christ – the same River that flows through us, renews us, and recreates us – will encompass all of creation, making all things new (Revelation 21:5). On that day, we will thirst no longer (7:16), for He Himself will “guide [us] to springs of living water” (7:17), from which we will imbibe “without payment” (21:6; cf. 22:17).

The picture painted in Revelation indicates a significant property of water, namely that it is necessary for life – not only in a physical sense (Song of Songs 29:27; 39:31), but also in a spiritual sense. That is why we thirst for the living water (Psalm 42:1). As established by many of the passages that we’ve surveyed, moreover, God is the source of this water. Life has to begin somewhere, and just as Mary was impregnated by the Holy Spirit, we too are filled with new life, which comes directly from God in abundance (John 10:10; Psalm 36:8-9; 65:9; 104:16). By contrast, the rivers of the world are bitter, poisoned, and fruitless, and eventually dry up (Jeremiah 2:18-19; 8:14; 9:15; 23:25; 50:38; Exodus 15; Deuteronomy 29:18; 2 Kings 2:19-22). Those who reject Christ will therefore die of thirst (see, e.g., Ezekiel 29:10; 30:12; 31; 32:6; Isaiah 8:5-8; 19:5-8; 34:9; 50:2; Psalm 74:15; 78:44; Revelation 16:4,12).

To be sure, God is able to make even the bitter waters sweet; indeed, in a way, this is the transformative power of the Cross. We have already referred the miracle at Marah, whereby Moses throws a "log" - clearly a type of Cross - into the bitter pool to make it potable (Exodus 15:22-27). Elisha performs a similar feat on two occasions, once by adding salt (2 Kings 2:19-22), and once by adding flour (2 Kings 4:38-41) - again, obvious allusions to Christ. These events also reveal that the transformation from bitter to sweet necessarily produces fruit: directly after the Marah episode, the Hebrews stumble across the palm trees at Elim; similarly, directly after Elisha purifies a deadly stew at Gilgal in 2 Kings Chapter 4, a mystery man appears bringing the "bread of the firstfruits". The same image emerges from many of the passages we have already studied, with trees of life budding on the banks of the River (cf. Psalm 1:3; 107:33-38). From Galatians 5 (Verses 22-23), we know what form this fruit should take in our own lives: "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control".

As the John 7 passage makes clear, however, if we are to bear such fruit the Spirit must flow - not only within us, but also from us (cf. Proverbs 4:23). Although he who has the Spirit will never thirst, and will one day be fully satiated, it is possible to “quench the Spirit” (1 Thessalonians 5:19) – to obstruct its natural course by channeling it into neat, manageable reservoirs which however become stagnant and dry. This point is clearly explicated in the book of Jeremiah, Chapter 2. On the one hand, God restates that it is “bitter” to “forsake” Him by drinking from the tainted waters of the world (Verses 18-19). He emphasises, however, that His people have actually “committed two evils” – in addition to ”forsak[ing] … the fountain of living waters”, they have “hewed out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Verse 13). Thus, if we do not let the Spirit flow out of us, we will not be filled with the Spirit. Conversely, as Proverbs 11:25 puts it, “he who waters will himself be watered” (cf. Proverbs 10:11, 18:4).

The River of Life, long concealed underground, is now freely and universally available. By watering the barren wilderness of our souls, it changes us from within, gushes out of us, and will one day flow through all levels of reality. It is, in a way, a mirror image of the great flood of Genesis. Indeed, it seems no coincidence that it was with Noah that the Ancient Covenant was first issued. Nor does it seem a coincidence that God painted a rainbow in the sky after that terrible judgement, since we are told in Revelation Chapter 4 (Verse 3) that a rainbow - but this time a full, circular rainbow as opposed to the incomplete semi-circles that we normally observe - encompasses the Throne of God.

On that note, it seems apt to conclude this post with two passages to which I seem to constantly return in both this blog and own devotions. The first is from the 'beloved' chapter of 1 Corinthians 13 and the second is from my personal favourite, Romans 8:

"...now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I have been fully known." (1 Corinthians 13:12)

"...the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons..." (Romans 8:22-23)