Living Water

Isaiah 41 follows up one of the most well-known passages of the Bible. Is. 40:31 "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; thy shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk and not faint." While we could spend a lot of time studying this verse, it's the next chapter that's not talked about as much. There's a certain imagery described in this chapter that is a beautiful picture of the gospel! Found in 41:17-20:

When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear  them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers in high places, 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 plant in the wilderness the cedar, the shittah tree, and the myrtle, and the oil tree; I will set in the desert the fir tree, and the pine, and the box tree together; That they may see, and know, and consider, and understand together, that the hand of the LORD hath done this, and the Holy One of Israel hath created it.

 For some NT application, I would like to turn to John 7:38-39 " He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water (But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive; for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)" In this verse we see that the Christian is given a river of living water which spills out from them but only because the Holy Spirit lives in them. He is a life-giving source that flows from the Christian. (Note here- Jesus had not died and rose again yet at this point in the Scripture so the Holy Ghost had not come to live in any Christians at this point in Scripture)  Now let's look again at Isaiah 4.

Israel was to be this light to the Gentiles in OT times  because Jesus had not come yet to offer salvation. We as Christians are now part of this chosen race because we are adopted into His family since we have salvation available to us. The picture here is that the Lord is taking Israel through the wilderness of persecution surrounded by Gentiles steeped in sin and ignorance. The Lord himself produces water in the wilderness through his people, and the Gentiles are effected! Matthew Henry states in his commentary:

Our way to heaven lies through the wilderness of this world. The soul of man is in want, and seeks for satisfaction; but becomes weary of seeking that in the world, which is not to be had in it. Yet they shall have a constant supply, where one would least expect it. I will open rivers of grace, rivers of living water, which Christ spake of the Spirit, John 7:38,39. When God sets up his church in the Gentile wilderness, there shall be a great change, as if thorns and briers were turned into cedars, and fir-trees, and myrtles. These blessings are kept for the poor in spirit, who long for Divine enlightening, pardon, and holiness. And God will render their barren souls fruitful in the grace of his Spirit, that all who behold may consider it.

Gill states also in his commentary:

 ...Now by all these are figuratively meant converted persons in the Gentile world, in whom as great a change was wrought, as if, instead of briers and thorns, came up such trees as these; and who, by the grace of God, were made as goodly and beautiful as some of these trees were; as odorous and of as sweet a scent in their graces and duties as others; and as profitable and fruitful in grace and good works like others of them; and comparable to them, as being some of them evergreen, durable, and incorruptible; because of their perseverance in grace and holiness.

So the Holy Spirit is this water, and also symbolizes provision for his people through the wilderness. He then states His life-giving water will effect Gentiles to the point that they will grow up to be healthy, durable trees and will never be left the same!

So what does this mean for me? The Holy Spirit in my life is a literal life-giving source of water to me and all my needs are met in Him. This life-giving source should be allowed to flow uninhibited to others wandering and thirsty in the desert, and their life will be changed forever. This life-giving source will turn them into a strong, thriving tree in a wilderness of sin so that others will see and know that only God could accomplish this in them! He says they will see, know, consider, and understand that God is the only one true God and only person that can meet all their needs. Think about the wonderment of discipleship. The Lord meets your needs and fulfills you to the brim so that His glory is revealed to all and flows over into their lives so that they are saved and the cycle repeats. Praise God, our source of living water! 

"Good" Doesn't Mean Right

Isaiah is a sad book because the Lord calls Isaiah to be a prophet to his chosen people and then tells them "they're not going to listen to you!" That's a tough sale to have any motivation I would say. But the Lord had shown Isaiah his absolute holiness and made him aware of his own sinfulness and powerfulness without God. Preceding the passage I want to focus on, Isaiah is able to experience God in person Himself, and a seraphim (order of angel) comes to him and puts a live coal on his tongue representing the purging God must do in our lives to make us holy and sinless like Him. At the end of this encounter, Isaiah's response is "Here am I Lord, Send Me!" His motivation was based on the glory and will of the Lord, not what He would benefit from it.

Now to the passage of focus. Let me set the stage. Isaiah has just finished with this awesome experience and answering the call of the Lord on His life. Now he comes to the king, Ahaz, and tells him about a coming attack and the Lords plans for it. What stuck out to me most was not all the prophecies, but King Ahaz's response to Isaiah.

"Moreover the LORD spake again unto Ahaz, saying, Ask thee a sign of the LORD thy God; ask it either in the depth, or in the height above. But Ahaz said, I will not ask, neither will I tempt the LORD. And he (Isaiah) said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also? Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive, and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel." Is. 7:10-14

God commanded Ahaz to ask Him for a sign that God would keep his promise and keep Syria from destroying them. What was his response? "I will not ask, neither will I tempt the Lord!" What kind of answer is this? It sounds well enough. We could say he's in such awe of the Lord's goodness that he feels like he can't ask any more of God. We could say that as Christians we should have faith and not need a sign for God to prove Himself to us. Unfortunately, that is not the case here.

The fact of the matter is that God commanded Ahaz to ask Him for a sign. No other logic is pertinent in the light of this truth. Part of faith and yielding to God is obeying the black and white. He commands it- we do it. We try to make our Christian lives sometimes so spiritual and awe-inspiring that we miss the joy of everyday, practical Christian living- the kind that really helps us to grow. According to The Expositor's Bible Commentary, "There are situations in which outward piety and inward  unbelief are identical." Ouch- I know I've been there.

So what was his motivation for this answer? He really didn't care what God had to say. He knew the correct response that a so-called "righteous" person would give. Maybe you use a phrase like "It's God's will" when you want to reject or accept something but you don't really have peace about it. Maybe it's the culture of your church. Maybe the way you dress or the way you worship is influenced by the culture around you and not based in worship and honor of the Lord. Having set guidelines like standards of dress, which some call legalism, is not worship to the Lord. Convictions of your heart based on your personal relationship and leading of the Holy Spirit are. Having a praise band, mood lighting, and the in-style undercut while raising your hands every other minute is not worship to the Lord. A pure heart and a church who's purpose is to glorify God is true worship. Being so in awe of the glory of God that you raise your hands is true worship. Stop following the culture! Just because it's right for your pastor or your best friend, doesn't mean it's right for you.

Give God an opportunity to speak and lead. Don't just do "good" things- go to the college that everyone in your family went to, marry the person that all your friends say is best for you, etc. Christian fellowship has it's place but our goal is not to become clones of each other and say "good" things and do "good" things. Our goal is to allow Christ to consume our soul so that others can see Him. When others see you, they should see God instead. So don't limit yourselves to what you feel or think is right. Give God the chance to lead you and help you conquer great and mighty things which you know not!