Thursday, October 03, 2013

The city without a river

Jerusalem is a capital city without a river. Rome has the Tiber, Paris has the Seine, London has the Thames, but Jerusalem doesn't have a river.   

But it will have.

Says Zechariah:

And in that day it shall be
 That living waters shall flow from Jerusalem,
Half of them towards the eastern sea (the Dead Sea)
  And half of them towards the western sea (the Mediterranean); 
In both summer and winter it shall occur.  Zech 14:8.    

The prophet Ezekiel describes it:

Then he brought me back to the door of the temple; and there was water, flowing from under the threshold of the temple towards 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. . . 

Then he said to me: "This water flows towards the eastern region, goes down into the valley, and enters the sea. When it reaches the sea, its waters are healed.

"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.

"It shall be that fishermen will stand by it from En Gedi to En Eglaim; they will be places for spreading their nets. Their fish will be of the same kinds as the fish of the Great Sea, exceedingly many.

"But its swamps and marshes will not be healed; they will be given over to salt. 

"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."  Ezek 47:1 - 12.

Joel mentions it too:

And it will come to pass in that day
 That the mountains shall drip with new wine,
The hills shall flow with milk,
 And all the brooks of Judah shall be flooded with water;
A fountain shall flow from the house of the Lord
 And water the Valley of Acacias.  Joel 3:18. 

Jerusalem, of course, is where Jesus died and rose again. It's where He will reign when He returns, and it's where the nations will go up to worship:

Now it shall come to pass in the latter days
 That the mountain of the Lord's house
Shall be established on the top of the mountains,
 And shall be exalted above the hills;
And peoples shall flow to it. 

Many nations shall come and say,
 "Come, and let us go up to the mountain of the Lord,
To the house of the God of Jacob;
 He will teach us his ways,
And we shall walk in his paths."
 For out of Zion the law shall go forth,
And the word of the Lord from Jerusalem.

He shall judge between many peoples,
 And rebuke strong nations afar off;
They shall beat their swords into ploughshares,
 And their spears into pruning-hooks;
Nation shall not lift up sword against nation,
 Neither shall they learn war any more.  Mic 4:1 - 3.
  
We are exhorted to "pray for the peace of Jerusalem" (Psa 122:6).  Next Sunday, October 6, is the Day of Prayer for the Peace of Jerusalem. You can find details at www.daytopray.com.

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