Recently the Lord blessed me with a thought about how walking after the flesh and walking after the Spirit are both foreshadowed, for purpose of greater clarity in our hearts, by two rivers in the Old Testament. By understanidng this, we can learn to walk in the Spirit and actually live the life Christ died for us to live.
He did more for us on the cross than to just save us from sin and hell.
The Jordan river was flowing towards the Dead Sea.
Ezekiel's visionary river in chapter 47 was also flowing towards the Dead Sea.
The Dea Sea is a common denominator in both accounts. So there is a message.
When Joshua led Israel to Cross Jordan, we read the waters backed up upon a heap
as far back as the city Adam which was near Zaretan. And the waters were cut off from flowing to the Dea Sea. Note the picture: Waters that normally flowed to the Dea Sea were cut off from doing so when Israel crossed Jordan.
In
Ezekiel 47, the river flowed from the Temple (House) to the east direction, and went to the Dea Sea where it healed the waters and many fish were there found to be fished. This is significant because the Dead Sea is presently DEAD. No life exists in it due to the high mineral content, and some believe this is where Sodom and Gomorrah used to exist.
The Jordan waters cut off and backed up to the city ADAM represent the walk after the flesh. Since ADAM's sin, man began walking after the flesh. And Zaretan, the city near which the city Adam stood, means literally THEIR DISTRESS. We certainly were in distress due to the walk after the flesh. For, just as the Jordan flowed to the Dead Sea, they who walk after the flesh SHALL DIE.
Quote:
|
Rom 8:13 KJV For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
|
Ther Dead Sea represents the destination of DEATH.
And in order to progress beyond just being Christians saved out of Egypt, we need to enter the promised land realm of mature spirituality. Canaan represents the spiritual mature state of believers. We take out enemies and pull down strongholds in that realm. But although we are saved from "Egypt" of the world, we still walk after the flesh until we grow spiritually. And until this walk stops, we cannot enjoy all the promises (represented by the PROMISED LAND) of God.
Ezekiel's river represents walking IN THE SPIRIT. Ezekiel walked in to the depth of his ankles, then knees and then loins. He followed a man with a measuring line, depicting LEARNING TO WALK IN THE LAW OF THE SPIRIT OF LIFE.
What is cool, is that Jordan was PASSED OVER, but Ezekiel's river became waters that COULD NOT BE PASSED OVER.
Holding up the ark of the covenant and stepping into the Jordan was the action that stopped the Jordan's flow to the Dead Sea. The ark speaks of atonement and remission of sins in Jesus Christ, our true atonement. It represents all the truths of
Romans 6, where we are instructed that we are dead to sin and sin shyould no longer rule over us, nor should we live in sin. That truth needs to be UPHELD so we can stop walking after the flesh.
If we understand the Ark as encapsulating all the truth of Romans 6, we can see how the way to stop walking after the flesh is to UNDERSTAND and act upon the fact that we are dead to sin. Until we understand that, and act upon it by presenting ourselves to God to use us, rather than try OUR best to serve Him in the flesh, we will walk after the flesh no matter how long we have been saved.
The river of Ezekiel continued to the Dead Sea and HEALED THE WATERS. They who live after the Spirit shall LIVE a RESURRECTION LIFE!
Threaded Mode
