God’s gift of water Part 2 – Water in the Bible
Water is mentioned many times in the Bible and teaches important spiritual lessons to us. There is a particular focus on Israel as this was where God’s people lived.
The blessing of water
Israel and the land around it is a part of the world where water is in short supply, so it of course will feature in a big way in the lives of the people there.
For half the year, beginning with the former rains of September – October (Tabernacles), and ending with the latter rains of March – April (Passover), the Israelites usually received all their water supply. With the passing of winter, however, the rains cease entirely, and apart from the heavy summer dews, draught falls on the land.
In these circumstances it isn’t difficult to see rain being seen as evidence of their Heavenly Father’s blessing. This is what is recorded in Deuteronomy Chapter 28 verse 1 and 2 and verse 12 as well.
“And if you faithfully obey the voice of the Lord your God, being careful to do all his commandments that I command you today, the Lord your God will set you high above all the nations of the earth. And all these blessings shall come upon you and overtake you, if you obey the voice of the Lord your God.
And verse 12:
The Lord will open to you his good treasury, the heavens, to give the rain to your land in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. And you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow.
Water as punishment – absence of water
Water, or in other words rain, is being called His good treasure. And this is indeed what it is.
But, as giving water was a sign of God’s blessing, the withholding of it was a symbol of His displeasure. Nothing is more serious to the Israelites than the absence of water, just look at these examples in the Old Testament:
I Kings chapter 17 and verse 1:
Now Elijah the Tishbite, of Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the Lord, the God of Israel, lives, before whom I stand, there shall be neither dew nor rain these years, except by my word.”
We see here that because Ahab had provoked the Lord God’s anger, more than any of the kings of Israel before him, God inflicted on him and his people the worst punishment that could be inflicted on them.
Another example of water being precious to the peoples of that area can be found in Jeremiah Ch.14. We will read from verse 27 chapter 13 through to verse 7 of chapter 14.
I have seen your abominations, your adulteries and neighings, your lewd whorings, on the hills in the field. Woe to you, O Jerusalem! How long will it be before you are made clean?” The word of the Lord that came to Jeremiah concerning the drought: “Judah mourns, and her gates languish; her people lament on the ground, and the cry of Jerusalem goes up. Her nobles send their servants for water; they come to the cisterns; they find no water; they return with their vessels empty; they are ashamed and confounded and cover their heads. Because of the ground that is dismayed, since there is no rain on the land, the farmers are ashamed; they cover their heads. Even the doe in the field forsakes her newborn fawn because there is no grass. The wild donkeys stand on the bare heights; they pant for air like jackals; their eyes fail because there is no vegetation. Though our iniquities testify against us, act, O Lord, for your name's sake; for our backslidings are many; we have sinned against you.
What a bleak picture!
In a similar way to Ahab, we see here that because the people had sinned, water was taken away from them. It was God’s way of punishing the people for their iniquities and their utter rejection of Him.
Once again we can see God’s judgement inflicted against the peoples in Joel Chapter 1 verses 19 to 20.
To you, O Lord, I call. For fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness, and flame has burned all the trees of the field. Even the beasts of the field pant for you because the water brooks are dried up, and fire has devoured the pastures of the wilderness.
Joel, in previous verses, had warned the people to repent of their sins so that these terrible judgements may not be inflicted against them.
Water as punishment – too much water
Therefore, water was used as a instrument of judgement. However God didn’t always inflict judgement by restricting the amount of water, sometimes he would inflict judgement by going to the other extreme of giving too much water.
There is the obvious example of this in the story of Noah, where all the wicked people of the earth were destroyed because of their sinful lives, yet those who were righteous were saved from the flood waters by way off a boat (called the “Ark”). We see that God always supplies a way of escape. In those days the way of escape from sinfulness and death was by way of the ark, these days the way of escape from the bondage of sin and death is by baptism. God’s people are those who make a covenant with Him in the waters of baptism and so enter the “ark of safety”, which is Jesus. We use baptism like Noah used the ark to leave those days of certain death to enter a new life where we can start over again devoting our lives to our God.
The flood wasn’t the only instance of God using too much water to inflict judgement on the people. There was also the case of the drowning of the Egyptians in the Red Sea. Here there is a similar symbolism to that of the flood.
In this case, the Israelites were freed from the influence and wickedness and bondage of Egyptian rule and this was signified by Moses when he said to the people waiting at the edge of the Red Sea with the Egyptians close behind them “Stand still and see the salvation of the Lord” (Exod.14:13).
When Israel passed through the waters of the Red Sea, they were free to start a new life. Likewise believers must pass through the waters of baptism to obtain freedom from the bondage of sin and death. The believer needs to escape that sinful man (woman) from the family of Adam to enter a new life in the family of Christ. An interesting point that we should remember in our study of water is that the Israelites were not only symbolically baptised by the water in the Red Sea but they were also baptised by the water in the cloud which had led them to the Red Sea.
This is what the apostle Paul says in I Corinthians Chapter 10 verses 1 and 2.
For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, and all were baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea,
They were baptized both by the cloud and the Red Sea.
Drowning in the cares of this world
Moving on to other examples of too much water being used as an instrument of judgement we go to the book of Psalms. The psalmists, in particular David, always had a great fear of the sea and deep waters, maybe because of what happened in the flood. This I what it says in Psalm 18 verse 15 to 21:
Then the channels of the sea were seen, and the foundations of the world were laid bare at your rebuke, O Lord, at the blast of the breath of your nostrils. He sent from on high, he took me; he drew me out of many waters. He rescued me from my strong enemy and from those who hated me, for they were too mighty for me. They confronted me in the day of my calamity, but the Lord was my support. He brought me out into a broad place; he rescued me, because he delighted in me. The Lord dealt with me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands he rewarded me. For I have kept the ways of the Lord, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
Here we see David using the symbolism of being saved from the deep waters in verse 16 to show that he had been saved from the hand of all his enemies especially Saul. David was comparing being in deep water with being caught by his enemy. So we see here that David used the symbolism of being removed from those waters, as God delivering him from sin and death.
We, too, sometimes feel that we are drowning in the deep waters of this world’s temptations. We should reach out for God’s saving hand. A similar idea of drowning in the deep waters of sin is found in Psalm 32 verses 5 to 7.
I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters, they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance.
David is here saying that God will deliver him from drowning in those deep waters of sin which we all struggle in from day to day.
David repeats this message in Psalm 69 verses 1 to 5.
Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God. More in number than the hairs of my head are those who hate me without cause; mighty are those who would destroy me, those who attack me with lies. What I did not steal must I now restore? O God, you know my folly; the wrongs I have done are not hidden from you.
David was in a similar situation to the prophet Jonah where he was surrounded by the waters. It was clear that only God good save him.
God reassures the people of Israel in Isaiah that he would help them gain salvation when they found themselves going through these deep waters of trouble. Look at Isaiah Ch.43 verses 1 to 3.
But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you. For I am the Lord your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior. I give Egypt as your ransom, Cush and Seba in exchange for you.
and Isaiah Chapter 59 verse 16 to 19.
He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation, and his righteousness upheld him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. According to their deeds, so will he repay, wrath to his adversaries, repayment to his enemies; to the coastlands he will render repayment. So they shall fear the name of the Lord from the west, and his glory from the rising of the sun; for he will come like a rushing stream, which the wind of the Lord drives.
So we see from all the verses quoted above from Psalms and Isaiah, that provided we stay faithful to our Heavenly Father, He will deliver us from the deep waters of trouble that we all find ourselves in when we are faced with those day to day temptations of this world. We can escape that feeling of drowning in this world, which we live in, by reaching out and grabbing hold of our Heavenly Father’s hand so that He can lead us to salvation.
Jonah is another example of deep water-being used as a way of God punishing those who have sinned.
Rain: God’s gift of grace
Despite water being used in some instances to inflict punishment on the people it was also in certain circumstances used as a way of God showing favor on his people. When there was rainfall it was seen by the Israelites as being a sign of God’s favor.
Rain in the spiritual sense is grace which is given freely by God.
To see this concept have a look at Deuteronomy Chapter 32 verses 1 and 2
“Give ear, O heavens, and I will speak, and let the earth hear the words of my mouth. May my teaching drop as the rain, my speech distill as the dew, like gentle rain upon the tender grass, and like showers upon the herb.
Rain didn’t fall on some but miss others, it fell on all inhabitants. Likewise when God’s grace falls to the earth it doesn’t fall on some but miss others, it falls on all. In other words, it doesn’t just fall on the Jews, it falls on both Jews and Gentiles.
To some Jews, salvation was wrongly regarded as a matter of inheritance, but to the Gentiles the way of salvation was by grace. For example, in the letter to the Ephesians, Paul greets the brethren with the words “Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ”.
Throughout the letter, Paul reminds the Ephesians of this great gift from God. Read Paul’s words – he says God is “rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He hath loved us. For by grace are ye saved : (and that not of yourselves) : it is the gift of God”.
Rain is a link between the clouds and the earth, between God and man, a link that gives us life. It is God’s way of giving us grace. This is the way that we can let the grace of God rule our lives. To reinforce this point, listen to these words found in Psalm 72 and verse six:+
May he be like rain that falls on the mown grass, like showers that water the earth!
Every time we see rain let us think of it as being the grace of God coming down upon us.
