A drink from some cool spring

"The high mountains of Lebanon rise in a series of steps, with sharp edges facing generally south or south-east," explains an encyclopedia of the Bible. "The lower steps in the 'staircase' were and are fertile basin lands, separated from each other by the barren limestone edges. In the time of Jesus, these basins were known for their grain, fruit and olives. They formed a prosperous, well-populated area. But the higher steps rise to a bleak and windswept upland. This is isolated and infertile, and lacks the forests of the higher mountain slopes further north."

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“The mountain of Lebanon derived its name from the white crown of snow, which it wore all the time," writes Bible commentary author Cora MacIlravy, circa 1916. "Streams of pure, cold water flowed down its sides or found their way through underground channels to the thirsty valleys below. These mountain streams never failed, never became stale and tasteless, warm and unrefreshing. From a higher source than any earthly mountain, comes the living water with which we are refreshed; though the Channel through which it flowed, appeared so lowly when upon earth.

“This Fountain of gardens was so uncomely in His human body, this Well of living water was so weak and despised as He hung and died on the Cross, that He appeared no greater than any other man as they laid His lifeless body away in the tomb. But this Fountain had its source in the Holy Mountain of God, it issued from the throne of God. It came from the everlasting hills in Heaven and flowed down to earth, bringing life wherever it flowed, watering the wilderness and making the desert to blossom as a rose.

“He is the Fountain of gardens; every garden and every part of God’s great Vineyard must receive all its refreshment from Him and Him alone. All our fountains are in Him, He waters the vineyard of your life and mine. It matters not how fierce the wind may blow, nor how hot the valley is through which we are passing, if we keep the connection opened between our souls and the great Fountain of life, the Well of living streams will ever flow from the throne of God. Sometimes they are like rivers, sometimes like hidden underground springs, but they never run dry.”

When the Bible gives the picture of "rivers of living water flowing" out of the Believer, it’s really talking about God the Holy Spirit. Living water and rivers are two symbols of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus Christ promises in John 7: 38, "He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water."

“You can have water as dew or as rain, but here it’s living water in the sense it is flowing,” says Jordan. “Water represents the effectiveness and efficiency of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. The living water represents the life that’s in Christ; the life the Messiah will provide.

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“Rivers are often used in Scripture to demonstrate the mission of the Spirit of God. Isaiah 48:18 says, ‘O that thou hadst hearkened to my commandments! then had thy peace been as a river, and thy righteousness as the waves of the sea.’

“The peace of God comes from your faith resting in the truth of God’s Word, which then allows the Spirit of God to produce the fruit of love, joy, peace.

“Isaiah 41:17-18 says, ‘When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue faileth for thirst, I the LORD will hear them, I the God of Israel will not forsake them.
[18] I will open rivers in high places, and fountains in the midst of the valleys: I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water.’

“He’s going to quench the thirst of the thirsty, meaning He’s going to satisfy the hearts of Israel. You see the descriptions there that kind of match what Christ says in John 7?

“Look at Psalm 36:8 and Psalm 42:1. The blessings God gave Israel will flow Israel out to the needy and it will be like a river, and when someone comes and drinks of the river, he is satisfied and finds peace. You can go on and on and on with the (analogies).

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“Jeremiah 2:13 says, ‘For my people have committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water.’

“The fountain is sort of like an artesian well; it flows naturally, you can’t stop it. A cistern is a bucket you hold water in, but their bucket’s got a hole in it. They’ve forsaken God and they got buckets that can’t hold water.

“That’s a description of the spiritual condition the nation is in. But who is ‘the fountain of living water’? God is; He’s the source.

“What Jesus Christ is doing in John 7 when He talks about how ‘out of his belly shall flow living waters,’ He’s literally reaching back into Jeremiah, taking a symbol and describing what they’ve forsaken.

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“I once wrote down every verse in the Bible about rivers. Rivers start out in Genesis 2. There are four named in Eden and each one has a specific relationship to the land.

“The better known rivers include the Nile, the Euphrates, the Tigris, the Jordan. There’s the rivers of Babylon and Chadar and every river in the Bible has something specific, something special connected with it. There’s a spiritual identity connected with it.

“Rivers are used to represent spiritual truth. Psalm 1 says the godly man ‘shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.’

“One of the things a river does in the Bible is help a godly man produce fruit. Well, isn’t that exactly what the Holy Spirit does? He produces ‘the fruit of the Spirit.’

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“Hebrews 4:12 tells us ‘the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.’

“When it says it’s powerful, that means it’s energetic; it’s got a transforming, dynamic in its life that will transform you from the inside. It changes your attitudes, which changes your actions. It transforms your heart and renews your mind.

“The word ‘quick’ in the verse means it’s alive, but don’t be so quick to jump over the ‘quick’ concept because the word ‘alive’ means it’s functioning in every part. The Word of God doesn’t function lethargically. It’s not that it functions eventually.

“What’s in view is that it’s in a state of activity. The word function has the idea of being able to respond without hesitation and delay. God’s Word will respond to your faith quickly. It’s alive, and when you believe it, it works!

“It doesn’t take six months to work. It will work the moment you believe it. That’s why it says ‘quick.’ It’ll do it NOW! The part about the ‘quick’ I like is I didn’t have to do anything but believe it and it worked!

“God isn’t waiting on me to do something; He’s just waiting on me to BELIEVE it! The Word becomes the sustaining internal compulsion with the life of Jesus Christ that gives VICTORY.”

“The biblical definition of the word ‘submit’ is ‘to give your heart over to another person’s will. Sub is under. You put yourself under them. You give your heart over to another’s will. That’s the challenge; that’s the dare of love. It’s the dare of faith. And if you dare to do it by faith, because God said to do it, you’ve made the decision based upon the truth of what God’s Word is.”

(new article tomorrow)