In today’s first reading we hear from the Prophet Ezekiel. It is from the end of his prophetic writings and there is a lot of “water under bridge” that has led to this amazing vision of a new temple being the source of restorative and living water, water that is so inevitable, so powerful, that even the Dead Sea valley will be restored. The language used echoes that of the story of creation from the Book of Genesis, which portrays paradise as a garden, rendered fruitful by a river flowing out of Eden and dividing into four branches, and which Yahweh visits daily (3:8). The imagery Ezekiel provides finds later echoes in the prophets Joel and Zechariah. Ezekiel’s vision of the stream also lives on in the NT. One may recognize a veiled allusion in Jesus’ words in John 7:38: “As the scripture has said, ‘Out of the believer’s heart shall flow rivers of living water,’” presumably as a life-giving agent of divine grace and blessing. There are other NT references for which the use of specific Greek words might connect to Ezekiel 47, but without doubt the clearest references are found in the last book of Scripture:
Then the angel showed me the river of life-giving water, sparkling like crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb down the middle of its street. On either side of the river grew the tree of life that produces fruit twelve times a year, once each month; the leaves of the trees serve as medicine for the nations. (Rev 22:1-2)
Because of this, many people equate Ezekiel’s imagery with a new Jerusalem – a term Ezekiel never uses. They also then assume it is another earthly Temple finally replacing the one destroyed by the Babylonians – something Ezekiel never infers. But the prophet does have a name for the new paradise garden in the heart of the promised land: “the Lord is there.”
This passage is from the final 12 chapters in which Ezekiel is speaking to the exiles in Babylon who wonder how they got into this situation, where is God in all this, and what God is going to do about this calamity. The prophet’s message is that God will restore the faithful remnant to be His covenant people, defeat the nations who stand in opposition to the people, and restore creation. The reading is part of that restoration vision.
In a way the first reading is a response to the movement within the Gospel. Ezekiel’s “the Lord is there.” has become “the Lord is here!” and restoration is being accomplished. As with many healing stories, especially in the Gospel of John, they serve as signs that point to the larger purpose and promise of God to watch over and heal his covenant people. Encountering the man who is lame at the “pool called in Hebrew Bethesda” Jesus asks the man: “Do you want to be well? The sick man answered him, “Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up.’”
The man does need to go “there” to be healed because the One who can restore in “here,” right in front of the man.
Perhaps the restoration is not as grand and all encompassing as Ezekiel’s vision, but the divine mercy of restoration is flowing from the One who is the Temple, the very presence of God. And that person flows from one person to the next.
I hope that both readings echo in your memory when the time comes that you find yourself wondering how you got into this situation, where is God in all this, and what God is going to do about your calamity. It is in prayer and grace that you will find the garden nourished by the living water. The garden whose name is “the Lord is here.”
Image credit: “Vision of Ezekiel” by Paul Falconer Poole, c.1875; Tate Museum Creative Commons CC-BY-NC-ND (3.0)
If you are interested in short video overview of Ezekiel you can find it here: Book of Ezekiel Summary: A Complete Animated Overview (Part 2)