"When I arrived there, I saw a great number of trees on each side of the river. He said to me, “This water flows toward the eastern region and goes down into the Arabah, where it enters the Dead Sea. When it empties into the sea, the salty water there becomes fresh. 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."

Ezekiel 47:7-9

Ezekiel’s vision turns to the healing of the land as a segue into its division and boundaries. Fresh water is an apt symbol of life in arid Israel, and its origin in the sanctuary points to God as the source (v. 1). It is imagery that Jesus will reapply to himself and to those who belong to him.2 Within just over 2 km, the original trickle miraculously, without tributaries, swells to a river that cannot be crossed (vv. 2–5). It is a picture of God’s renewing work that often grows from small, insignificant beginnings into a mighty force. For the exiles, it offered great hope in their devastation and barrenness, and it can encourage us in our circumstances too.

Usually, fresh water from rivers is absorbed into seas, but this river turns the Dead Sea, devoid of all life because of its minerals and saltiness, into a lake teeming with fish that will provide ample food for fishermen (vv. 8–10). Life from God swallows up death and turns back the process of decay. Against the odds, life and flourishing may come out of a barren existence destroyed by sin.

The trees that line the riverbank with healing leaves and constant fruit (v. 12) evoke a return to Eden-like conditions.

Closing Prayer

Thank you, Lord, that you can reverse the power of sin in my life. Help me become a source of hope for others through your life-giving Spirit (edited from Encounter with God).