RR “Living Waters of the Spirit” by Jerry Miller

Shavuah Tov,

John 7:37-38 On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Yeshua stood up and cried out loudly, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture says, ‘out of his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’”

The “Feast” during which Yeshua made this declaration was, of course, Sukkot, as John tells us earlier in the chapter.  The “greatest day” referred to here would have been the 7th day of Sukkot, also known as “Hoshana Rabbah,” which for us this year, begins this evening.

Remember that Sukkot was (and is) a time of great thanksgiving, specifically for the harvest of the coming year.  In biblical times, connected to that, prayers would be offered to God, thanking Him in faith for the upcoming winter rains that would be necessary for the next year’s harvests.  In relation to this, there was a custom developed during the time of the Jerusalem Temple.  A priest would take a water pitcher down to the pool of Siloam, dip the pitcher into the water, and bring it back to the Temple.  This was part of a major celebration, as crowds would form a huge processional behind the priest, dancing, singing & chanting the Psalms as they entered the Temple mount.  For each of the first six days of Sukkot, the processional would circle the Temple altar one time.  But on the 7th day, Hoshana Rabbah, there would be seven processionals, to magnify the joy of the occasion.  At the same time this was happening, another group of Levites would be having their own processional, while waving in the air 25-foot-long palm branches.  We can only imagine the sound made by these branches being waved.  It would have been a “whooshing” sound, evidently giving those present a dramatic sense of loudly blowing wind.

But coming back to the water ceremony, the highlight of the ceremony came when the priest would pour the water at the altar of the Temple.  The response of the gathered multitude was so great that it was described as being beyond imagination.  This event was known as the rejoicing in the drawing of water.  The Talmud indicates that anyone who has not been in Jerusalem for this specific ceremony, has not truly experienced real joy.  But why was there such joy for the occasion?  It had to be pointing to something more than simply rejoicing for future rain God would bring, as important as those rains would be.  But rabbinic writers point to Isaiah 12:3, as speaking of a deeper truth related to this ceremony.  That verse reads, “with joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.”  We know, of course, that the Hebrew word here for “salvation” is Yeshua.  With that in mind, let’s “connect the dots” here.

The ceremony was intended to prophetically illustrate the expectation for Messianic redemption, when the water of the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all Israel.  Thus, as the water was poured from the pitcher, and the people prayed for rain, they were also looking ahead in faith to the latter rain, when God would pour out His Spirit on the people of Israel.  It is with this in mind that we can really appreciate the scene described in John 7.

Imagine the scene.  It was the last day of Sukkot, the day of Hoshana Rabbah—the day of the ultimate celebration at the Temple.  Of course, that is exactly where Yeshua was at the time He made this proclamation.  The joy of the first six days would have certainly reached a peak of exuberance.  The crowds would have been filled with expectation that, perhaps the coming of Messiah Himself was imminent.  Perhaps this was to be the time when God would pour out His Spirit in great power.  And then, in the midst of this ceremony of drawing water, with all the implications this carried, Yeshua makes the dramatic proclamation, as if to say, “if you really want the living waters of the Spirit…if you want to understand the real meaning of this ceremony…you must believe in Me, and living water will flow from your inner being.”  There can be no doubt that Yeshua here was claiming to be the Messiah—the source of the living waters of the Spirit.

Yeshua made a point of communicating in a very dramatic way, this great truth of His Messiahship.  He communicated dramatically that there are living waters of the Spirit, to which every Yeshua follower has access by faith.  My encouragement to us all, as we move into this year of 5786, is that we not allow ourselves to be satisfied with anything less than the living water that Yeshua has offered to each of us.  May there be a cry arising from our hearts, for fresh encounters with the presence of God in this coming year.  May our lives be energized by the power of His Spirit in fresh ways, launching us into a year of greater joy and greater fruitfulness than we’ve previously known.  I believe God desires to do a fresh work in our hearts in this season.  May our expectation grow as we seek the Lord for fresh outpourings of rivers of His living water.

Daily Bread, reading plan by Lars Enarson (https://www.thewatchman.org/)
Sun12 Oct 202520th of Tishrei 5786 Sukkot VI
De 33:1-7, Nu 29:26-31   Mal 32 Ch 35Rev 21(Ac 27:21-44)