Genesis, Message 7: The River of Water of Life

My Great Delight in God's Word

Crystallization-Study of Genesis, Message 7

The River of Water of Life

There are 4 items that appear in both Genesis 1-2 and Revelation 21-22. They consist of the tree of life, the river of life, the precious materials and a couple. In the last message, we learned about the tree of life, which represents Christ as the only source of life. Here we are going to explore a little about the river of life with some spiritual implications which may benefit our spiritual walk.

¹⁰ Now a river went out of Eden to water the garden, and from there it parted and became four riverheads.
¹¹ The name of the first is Pishon; it is the one which skirts the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold.
¹² And the gold of that land is good. Bdellium and the onyx stone are there.
¹³ The name of the second river is Gihon; it is the one which goes around the whole land of Cush.
¹⁴ The name of the third river is Hiddekel; it is the one which goes toward the east of Assyria. The fourth river is the Euphrates. (Genesis 2:10-14 NKJV)

This 4-verse passage contains many specific names that tempt us to just read through it very quickly or just skip over it. It is reasonable, as the names sound strange and we cannot see any benefit from reading through them. Some of them do not exist anymore on Google Maps. Don't worry. I'm not going to talk about geography here. I'm really bad at it. But I think I have learned something about life from this passage.
Given that God's re-creation in Genesis 1-2 is all about life, this river is also about life making. Throughout the bible, we see that river is closely connected to life. Without river, the trees cannot grow and living creatures therefore cannot survive. We can live for many days or even weeks without food. But we will die much sooner without water. And of course, our spiritual life will immediately die without life supply from the river of the water of life.

1. God is the only source of life.

The bible indicates that there is only one river coming out of Eden to water the garden. There is no any other river from there. This indicates that there is only one source of life supply. Other parts of the bible indicate that this river closely associates with our Triune God. God the Father is the fountain. God the Son is the spring. And God the Spirit is the flow.

For My people have committed two evils:
They have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
And hewn themselves cisterns—broken cisterns that can hold no water. (Jeremiah 2:13 NKJV)
Jesus answered and said to her, "...but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life." (John 4:13-14 NKJV)
On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38 NKJV)

All we need to do is come to the Father, the only source of life, and receive God the Son by joyfully drinking Him. At first, we are just the drinker or receiver of the water of life. But as soon as we drink it, the water of life will become the fountain within us. Not only does this fountain bring us into eternal life, out of our innermost being will flow out the rivers of living water. We are going to be the vessel though which the rivers of living water flow to others. We are going to be the dispenser or minister of life, bringing life to others and bringing them to the very source of life.

2. The river becomes four riverheads.

Even though there is only one river come out of Eden, it divides into four riverheads, which go forth to 4 lands. This means that it is the desire of God's heart to reach man in every direction. Only one is not enough. God needs to surround and cover every area of our life and every corner of our heart. God needs our whole being to be filled with His life!
Is there any area in your life that you keep from God's loving care? Be open to Him and allow Him to take care of your whole life. God comes to us in every direction to provide us the abundant life supply that we can never resist.

3. The river issues precious materials.

Genesis 2:11-12 says that wherever the river goes, there will be the issue of precious materials, consisting of the gold, the bdellium and the onyx. This implies that whenever the river flows into our life, God is gradually transforming us to become like Him, represented by the precious stones. We are becoming the precious building blocks of God's precious building, the Church, which will be consummated in the New Jerusalem.

4. All the rivers flow to the same place.

One river comes out of Eden and divides into 4 riverheads. Just as all the rivers from different places run into the same pool of water, the sea or the ocean, all the 4 rivers are also flowing to the same place, the New Jerusalem, in which Christ and all believers dwell together forever.
There are many ministries and many Christian groups all around the world. But if they are really in the flow of God, they are included in the same ministry, the ministry of life. They are moving in the same direction towards the same goal - to build up the Body of Christ by ministering life to people.

5. The meanings of the four rivers tell us some characteristics of the water of life.

I'm sure that the names of the rivers are not just indicated for historical or geographical study. Like many other names in the Old Testament, their meanings are likely to teach us something.
The first river's name is Pishon, meaning "increase" or "full flowing." It teaches us that God does not supply us only a few drops of the water, or only fill us until we are nearly full. He is flowing into us with Himself until we are completely full of His life. The life that He gives is so abundant.

The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. (John 10:10 NKJV)

The second river's name is Gihon, meaning "bursting forth" or "gushing." God does not stop filling us when we are full. He continues to infuse us with Himself until the water is springing us up to the eternal life and overflowing us.

On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." (John 7:37-38 NKJV)

The third river's name is Hiddekel, meaning "swift" or "darting." Like a dart that is thrown towards a particular target, this water of life is flowing us to a particular goal. Our life will be precisely determined. The water of life will transform us be the man God created us to be. We are determined to be the man who glorifies Him and enjoys Him forever.
The last river's name is Euphrates, meaning "sweet" or "fruitful." This water is so sweet that we will not want to stop drinking it. It also nourishes us and makes our life more fruitful. The more we drink of this water, the more we will bear the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which consists of love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23), and the more we will glorify Him.

Further reading

• The Holy Word for Morning Revival: Crystallization-Study of Genesis, week 7.

• http://www.tonycooke.org/free_resources/articles-tony-cooke/rivers-of-eden.html

Thirayost Nimmanon (Tony)