Genesis 1:6-8 Then God said, “Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters.” 7 Thus God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament; and it was so. 8 And God called the firmament Heaven. So the evening and the morning were the second day.
Ephesians 5:26-27 that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, 27 that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish.
Yesterday, we began our series of devotions focused on the birthing of the Kingdom. Continuing to develop these insights, let’s look at day 2 of creation and its focus upon water.
So much can be said: associated with creation itself, life, cleansing, purification, the Word of God, and the Holy Spirit, water, whenever it was made, was there at the beginning and carries tremendous meaning and significance in God’s creation.
And just as this world was conceived in and from water, our earthly life begins in the darkness of our mother’s womb, surrounded by water. Shortly before the final stage of birth, a critical event takes place which signals that there is no turning back now, as the increasing labor contractions leading to birth either have already begun or will begin shortly. The breaking of the amniotic sac, releasing the water in which the baby resides, precedes her soon coming passage through the birth canal.
In our personal spiritual journey, water baptism is a sacramental expression of our death to the self-life and resurrection to the new life in Messiah. It parallels our natural birth from water, a truth which is mentioned by the Lord in John’s gospel, “Except a man be born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God”; [John 3:5]. Our baptism is a moment of truth and revelation closely associated with the receiving of God’s Holy Spirit, a defining moment in our life, publicly expressing our new faith, [Luke 3:21-22], and it happens in and with water.
We can thus draw a close connection between water and commitment. When the water breaks, the mother becomes committed to the labor leading to birth. When a soul enters baptism, she commits to a life of death to sin and resurrection to new holy life. Since, in fact, our Lord predicted birth pangs leading to His coming, we might expect a defining moment when “the water breaks” and the labor begins in earnest, which leads to the second Advent. This would be a defining moment which expresses commitment; i.e. the Lord’s commitment to His promised return in judgment, and our commitment to endure to the end by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Labor is painful, as must be the birth pangs of the end of the age. This seems obvious. But what about the association between water and life, water and cleansing, water and purification, water and the Holy Spirit? We see a potential in the water breaking moment that involves tremendous blessing: purification of our lives through trials, an increase in our need for and dependance upon the Holy Spirit, and the resulting great potential for a harvest, a birthing of souls, as our lives become more profoundly committed and authentic to the Lord’s image. And perhaps this water breaking moment will signal a second fulfillment of Joel’s prophecy, “I will pour out my spirit on all mankind…”. We will see…
But, we do see what seem a lot like birth pangs now. Has the “water broken” yet? Maybe, maybe not, but we have never seen a greater need for true commitment, amidst these “contractions”. And one of the greatest promises ever delivered to mankind was also about water: “He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.” [John 7:38] So, the water-breaking moment, whatever and whenever it happens, signals that God will be with us, for purification, cleansing, and empowerment, through hard contractions, right up until the end. And with His indwelling we can make it through, be more than conquerors, and participate in what may be the greatest harvest ever, at the end of the age.
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[worthy_plugins_devotion_single_body]The Lord (YHVH) commanded the grain offering on Shavuot, (known as Pentecost among Christians), to be made of the finest flour, baked with yeast, that is, leaven. Leaven, in the Bible, is almost universally, a symbol for “sin”, and in the OT is strictly forbidden on the altar of YHVH., yet here, in the Feast of Weeks it is commanded as part of the offering. Just six weeks prior to this festival, Israel had spent a week eating unleavened bread, a clear picture of the connection between the Passover Lamb and the removal of sin from our lives. Now the grain offering for Shavuot contains yeast; two loaves with it. Why? A common interpretation of this for NT believers is that the loaves represent Jews and Gentiles, the two types of redeemed people, who, of course, still contain sin in our lives.
We've just returned to Israel and the region seems to be nothing but a boiling cauldron ready to erupt. In just a few days, we will celebrate the Feast of Weeks, or Shavuot, in Hebrew. Most Christians recognize this holiday as the Feast of Pentecost -- the time when the Holy Spirit descended and empowered His saints to accomplish the mission of global witness to Yeshua (Jesus).
Three thousand years ago, when Solomon dedicated the Temple to God, the priests offered up thousands of sacrifices. After the sacrifices were offered up — then the glory of God fell! The glory of God was so thick and heavy that the priests could no longer minister! Do you see the connection? First the offerings — THEN the glory fell!
In the beginning of Psalm 2, David points out that the kings of the earth are against the Lord and his "anointed" [Mashiach "Messiah" in Hebrew]. David recognized the true authority of God and advises the kings and rulers of the world, as well as their subjects, to "kiss the Son, lest he be angry." The act of "kissing the Son" would be one of homage to a king, and would indicate submission to the kingship of the Son. Those who are wise will do so before the Son, the Messiah, comes to judge the world!
When the twelve spies were sent into Canaan to spy out the land, ten returned with a bad report. Their assessment was that it was impossible to conquer the land that God had promised them. Forgetting how God had led them with a pillar of fire by night, and fed them manna from heaven during the day, brought forth water out of a rock, and parted the Red Sea, they saw the situation with only their natural eyes, failed to walk by faith, and succumbed to fear.
When we moved into this place five months ago, the bushes in front looked terrible. The yard hadn't been cared for in so long that the bushes had grown into the trees, pulling down the branches, creating a thick wall of dry, dusty and intertwined shrubbery and blocking out the sunlight. Almost everything in the front yard was dead from lack of sun and sometimes even rain.
Since we returned to our home in the Negev Desert in Israel, we've noticed that the usual "desert scene" we are so accustomed to, has completely blossomed with grass and flowers -- what an amazing difference! It suddenly occured to me, as we were delighting in the beauty of it all, that the seed was already there! No one planted it. All the hills, now rolling endlessly with green -- they are not owned by anyone. Miles and miles of grass and wild flowers suddenly shoot forth where there was nothing but brown before! It was just waiting for someone to water it! And God brought the rains.