Ezekiel 47 Devotional

Where the River Flows

“Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of all kinds will grow. Their leaves will not wither, and their fruit will not fail. Each month they will bear fruit, because the water from the sanctuary flows to them. Their fruit will be used for food and their leaves for healing.””Ezekiel 47:12 (BSB)

Water trickles out from under the threshold of the temple and runs east (47:1-2). The guide measures off a thousand cubits and leads Ezekiel through it, ankle-deep. Another thousand, and it reaches his knees, then his waist, and then it is a river too deep to cross (47:3-5). It grows the farther it goes from its source.

Where it reaches the Dead Sea, the water becomes fresh, and fishermen line the shore (47:8-10). The river brings life to everything it touches (47:9). Trees on both banks bear fruit every month, their leaves always green, because the water comes from the sanctuary. Their fruit is food and their leaves bring healing (47:12). John saw this kind of river again at the close of the Bible, flowing out from the throne shared by God and the Lamb, with the tree of life beside it and leaves that heal the nations (Revelation 22:1-2). Life flows out from where God dwells. Wherever his presence reaches in you, dead places can begin to live.

To think about: What dry or lifeless place in your life do you most need God's presence to flow into?