Skip to main content

339. The Promised Spring

Key Verse: "For I will pour out on the thirsty land, streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring, and My blessing on your descendants."
Isaiah 44:3

        There is an old gospel song that goes:
"There's a river of life flowing out through me.
It makes the lame to walk and the blind to see,
It opens prison doors and sets the captives free.
There's a river of life flowing out through me!
Spring up oh well within my soul.
Spring up oh well and make me whole!
Spring up oh well and give to me
That life so abundantly.

In truth, the song refers to an incident during the wanderings of the Israelites in the desert when the Lord led them to a well near Beer.  (Numbers 21:16-18).  The desert, however, serves as a useful picture to describe all of us in our wanderings through the ravages of sin.

The people of Jesus’ day were, in a sense, no better off than their ancestors who wandered outside the Promised Land.  They were all suffering in sin in one way or another.  Galatians 3:22 says, "The scripture declares that the whole world is a prisoner of sin, so that what was promised, being given through faith in Jesus Christ, might be given to those who believe."  The Jews were oppressed by the Romans.  The Romans were oppressed by their government. There was corruption and religious oppression everywhere. Immorality was rampant.  It was a desert of hopelessness.  Yes, Jesus had come, but He had also left and now the festival of Pentecost was coming.  The religious calendar, same old, same old, marched on. The disciples were praying, but for what?

Yet, the stage was being set.  The poor and the alien alike were invited to this festival.  The oppressed of the world were invited to come and bring their offering and to give thanks for what the Lord had done for them despite their oppression.

"I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour out my Spirit on your off spring, and My blessing on your descendants.  They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.  One will say, "I belong to the Lord," another will call himself by the name of Jacob; another will write on his hand, "The Lord's," and will take the name Israel."  (Isaiah 44:3-5)  "There is neither Jew nor Greek, slave nor free, male nor female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus.  If you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham's seed, and heirs according to the promise."  (Gal. 3:28-29)

The feast of Pentecost invited the world to come.  Come from the desert.  Come out of your struggle and receive the Lord's blessing.  He will restore what the locust of sin has eaten.  (Joel 2:26)  He will bless with His water from which you will never thirst again.  (John 4:14)  Yes, the world was poised to receive a new thing and they couldn't have even imagined just how wonderful it could be!


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

211. The Sons of Thunder's Request

Matthew 20:20-28 , Mark 10:35-45 , Key verse: "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all." Mark 10:43B-44 In our readings for yesterday, in which Jesus outlined what was about to happen to Him, for His disciples, the passage in Luke ends: "The disciples did not understand any of this. It's meaning was hidden from them, and they did not know what He was talking about." ( Luke 18:34 ) Now, we see just how truly clueless they were. Jesus had laid out a plan before them of pain and suffering and death and now James and John are focused on a promotion. The disconnect is so obvious. It's really not important to know whether James and john came up with this request on their own or if their mother put them up to it. The request was made and James and John thought that they could handle the responsibility that would come with it. What is that saying, "Fools rush in where angels fe...

204. Come Like a Child

Psalm 127 , Matthew 19:13-15 , Luke 18:15-17 , Mark 10:13-16 Key Verse: Jesus said, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these." Matthew 19:14 The attitude of the disciples isn't much different than the attitude of many people, even Christians, today. Instead of seeing children as a blessing from the Lord, too many regard them as a burden to bear that gets in the way of our own selfish happiness. Family size is determined by what we think we can afford rather than openness to God's blessing, trusting God to provide. Satan hates children. Children represent innocence. The sooner he can corrupt and or damage a child, the happier he is. This is why Jesus warned in Matthew 18:6: "If anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drown in the depths of the sea." To corrupt or damage ...

201. All for God's Glory

John 9 & 2 Corinthians 12:7-12 Key Verse: "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life." John 9:3 In this event John records my personal favorite from all four gospels. I love it for its detail. I love it because it demonstrates so much of our human frailty. It shows us how powerful our fears can be in the midst of God's amazing grace and glory. First, we have the disciples who are suffering under the misconception that sickness and unfortunate circumstances are the result of sin only. They are thinking like Job and his friends. If you obey you will always be blessed and if you sin, God will punish you for it. They couldn't imagine that God could have possibly designed this man, blind, for His own glorious purposes. Then we have the neighbors who are all amazed, but then what? What do you do when the mold has been broken? This man was blind and now he...