Ankle Deep: Part 1

Bruce Gust
Welcome to a two-part series called Ankle Deep! We’re looking at a particular passage
in Ezekiel, first popping the hood to get an idea of what’s being said and then bringing it
back around in order to glean from it a call to action for the here and now as opposed to
the there and later. In short, I want to be moving forward and in over my head to ensure
that it’s a God-sized task being done and a God-sized life being lived! We don’t want to
leave room or time for staying ankle deep!

The World of Ezekiel

The Northern Kingdom of Israel was conquered by the Assyrians between 722 and 721
BC. In 612, the Babylonians overwhelmed Assyria, and a new power dominated the
civilized world. Initially, the Southern Kingdom of Israel continued to exist, but the
appetite of the Babylonians would not lie dormant for too long. Sure enough, after a
series of diplomatic platitudes and allegiances, the City of David along with the wall and
the Temple, were burned to the ground and the Israelites were exiled, transplanted to
various locations throughout the Babylonian Empire.

Among the Babylonian exiles was a man named Ezekiel, a very intelligent, very
articulate, very detailed man in the way he documented the things the Lord shared with
him.

The Book of Ezekiel contains more dates than any other Old Testament book
and subsequently can be verified with considerable precision using modern scholarship,
including archeology and Babylonian records of eclipses and such. Ezekiel’s prophecies
pertaining to Tyre and Sidon are especially fascinating, given their detail and the way in
which they were fulfilled to the letter (see Eze. 26:3-21).

Ezekiel’s format is very similar to other Old Testament prophets. In the first section, we
see God’s wrathful disposition toward a rebellious people, a series of prophecies
pertaining to neighboring nations, and finally a section that deals with Israel’s
restoration. In chapter 47, we see that restorative theme in a big way in the context of a
river that flows from the new Temple.

Water in the Bible

Water is used throughout Scripture to symbolize new life, not just a patched-up version
of a damaged entity, but something that has been made completely new and infinitely
superior to its original state. Consider John 4:14: “but whoever drinks of the water that I
shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a
spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

Living water is a phrase used frequently in the Old Testament (Jer. 2:13; 17:3; Zec.
14:8). It refers to water that is moving as opposed to stagnant, the result being
oxygenated water that is clean, good-tasting and medicinal in the way it could be used
to facilitate healing. Given the available sources of water in the ancient world (a well,
cistern or a lake/pond), God’s use of living water is strategic because of the way it
immediately conjured up images of something fresh and inviting. There’s nothing as
inviting or as substantial as the gospel, which is what is being referenced here.
In his vision, Ezekiel is being led from a particular point within the Temple where a
fountainhead is located. The angel, leading him on this tour of the symbolic fountain
that’s coming from the new Temple that begins in chapter 40, continues to lead him
through water that gets deeper and deeper.

In chapter 47, verse 3, it’s ankle deep. In verse 4, it’s up to his knees. A thousand feet
later, it’s up to his waist; a thousand feet after that, it’s no longer crossable.

In the verses that follow, the water that flows from the Temple is described as being the
home and source of all kinds of life and vegetation, which is significant given the fact the
river empties into the Sea. The fact the river is strong enough in its purity to make the
salt water fresh (see 47:9) is significant in that it points yet again to the strength and
life-giving nature of the river itself.

Zechariah 14:8 says, “On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of
them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea; it shall continue in summer
as in winter.”

Here again, we see a reference to a river flowing out of Jerusalem and into the world,
where its potency and purity is celebrated and revered. Similar to Ezekiel, Zechariah
was being given a glimpse into the future. This time the instruments of God’s immediate
wrath would be the Romans. However, once again there would be mercy and
restoration in a way that ultimately would go beyond the Jews themselves. In verse
14:4, we see the Mount of Olives split from east to west and the natural sentinel that
stood as the gateway to Jerusalem is reconfigured into a valley that provides access
rather than is a hindrance to not just a city but a new paradigm with God Himself as
King over all the earth.

We’ll conclude here, but stay tuned for part two.