“Then he said to me, ‘This river flows east through the desert into the Jordan Valley, where it enters the Dead Sea, The waters of this stream will heal the salty waters of the Dead Sea and make them fresh and pure.’”
- Ezekiel 47:8
Having been to the Dead Sea, I can tell you it is the saltiest water and ground. Scattered throughout the black water and charcoal colored mud are chunks of pure salt. On top of that you are literally below sea level so it is incredibly hot, the ground was also a black rock that absorbed heat, so you had to wear foot wear other wise you would not burn but scold and sizzle the bottom of your feet.
The salt levels make the water incredibly dense to where anyone can float without trying. You almost become a human buoy as you bob up and down in the water. But be careful not to splash or dive in, or go entirely submerged, the salt will sting your lips, nose, ears, eyes, and any other openings the salt can contact. Though I did not submerge, there was a small splash that resulted in salt stinging my lips until I washed my face.
The mud was amazing for the skin too, you can pick up clumps of it and rub it all over and wash it right off in the water after you let it dry a bit, I do not think my skin had ever been softer or clearer than those couple days after the Dead Sea.
That sounds fun and like a great time, and it is as a tourist because you know you get to leave, drink and bath in clean fresh water, and sleep with AC blasting. But besides tourism, no one lives out there, not on the northern end of the Dead Sea at least, which is the area being described in Ezekiel. Remember, it’s hot, no clean and fresh water, and it’s only desert around there.
Yet, it is this very desolate location that in Ezekiel’s vision becomes the ground of restoration, holiness, and purity.
What’s going on:
Here in Ezekiel the prophet is describing a vision of the future, even future to us, where God re-established Jerusalem, but this time it’s a New Jerusalem, where all who are saved will dwell, a new temple of sorts in placed and in it is the throne of God with streams of water flowing in various directions. One stream heads to the east leading to the Jordan Valley and then the Dead Sea.
The amazing thing is that once this stream reaches the Dead Sea, it nearly entirely transforms it. All along its coasts fishermen will be fishing and drying their nets, the waters will be fresh, new, and living because that is the glorious restoration that is to come when God does His creating work in this world. Where once there were no fish, no life, nothing and no reason to survive out there, God will purify, creating reason for live, filling it with sustenance, making there be life, and forming fish in the waters where no fish could be before.
Purifying Us:
In a similar manner, through the life, death, resurrection, and ascension of Jesus Christ we to are empowered to live pure lives. It is so hard to picture what that looks like sometimes. It feels like often even the people we look to as the best examples, either led a double life, or hid the sins and corruptions from others entirely, keeping secrets form the closest people to them. Many leaders seem to fall flat when it comes to the tasks or the people. Coworkers who just don’t pick up their slack and do the bare minimum.
Whatever it may be, purity, seems like a far-off thing to achieve.
Far-off as it may be, we should not allow that to detract from our pursuit of it, which comes by our pursuit of following Jesus. Thankfully in our pursuit of Jesus, we do not have to achieve purity by our own strength, in fact, we can’t. If one were to try without the grace of God and the power of the Holy Spirit, the literal presence of God with us, than one would still ultimately be failing in some way. Because purity of mind, heart, soul, and strength means the purity of every bit of who you are, the way you think, treat others, seek God, and act.
Purity and peace are not something you just unlock within yourself and achieve through meditation, yoga, or some other spiritualism. Purity and peace are only found in Jesus Christ, who is the Son sent by the Father, who now sends to the Church, the Holy Spirit to be a guide and source of strength. Purity then is not found in the world or unlocked by one’s self but be receiving the grace and assurance of grace from God. Purity in that sense is the grace that is transforming us to be the individuals God has always intended us to be.
Final Blessing:
Some of the amazing imagery here is that while these waters purify the Dead Sea, the blood of Christ purifies us, hence the significance of Baptism with water which is a symbol of dying and rising with Christ. We do not have to wait around for such purifying work to be done though, for we are called to be holy and can embody the purifying in our selves. The way we treat others and go about our days and thinking are huge indicators of pursing Christ in that purity.
Now may the Lord of Life and Redemption be with you every step, every breathe, and every heartbeat of your journey.
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