One of the tools I like to use in my Bible is the cross-references. Whenever a verse is a quote from another part of Scripture, there is a small letter in my Bible next to the verse. The letter corresponds with a footnote telling me what other verse this one is referencing.
Easy-peasy.
Except when you come to John 7:38.
In John 7, Jesus is in Jerusalem for the Feast of Booths. All feast long he had been teaching the people. Some looked forward to his teachings and others shouted at Him that He had a demon. The Pharisees tried to arrest him but did not succeed. At the end of the festival, Jesus stands up in view of the temple and invites the people to believe in Him.
John 7:37-39 says:
On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.”39 By
this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not beengiven, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.
I noticed the words, “as Scripture has said” and looked for a cross-reference. It turns out that this promise of rivers of living waters is not a direct quote from anywhere. Why did Jesus say it this way–as if it were a direct quote?
Systematic Theology
Some truths that we know about God and His plan come from direct quotes of Scripture.
Other truths about God are known because we put the pieces of the puzzle together from different parts of Scripture. This way of studying God’s truth is called systematic theology.
The truth of the Trinity is an example of systematic theology. The word “Trinity” does not appear in Scripture. But the truth is there. We see God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit all at work throughout Scripture. We see each person referred to as God. We see them work together to create the world. All three appeared at the baptism of Jesus.
When I teach the Trinity to the kids at my church, I tell them “the Bible says that God is three in one.” I am not quoting an exact verse when I say it this way, but in a short way, I am telling the students that this truth is from God.
Since John 7:38 is not an exact
The Holy Spirit as Living Water
So my next stop to understanding the truth of the rivers of living water as describing the indwelling of the Holy Spirit was to find the phrase “rivers of living water” in the Old Testament.
It wasn’t there.
But there are two references to living, flowing water. Ezekiel 47:1ff and Zechariah 14:8. Both references are speaking of the future temple in the Millennial kingdom and
I tried to think. What other passages from the Old Testament connect water with the Holy Spirit? And what passages mention the Holy Spirit as flowing out of believers?
The Holy Spirit Flowing from the Believer
There is another passage in Ezekiel that talks about what life will be like after Jesus is crucified, rises again, returns to heaven, and believers are waiting for His return.
Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean; I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Here I see a connection between water and the Holy Spirit in a believers life. Salvation is pictured as people being cleansed with water and the Holy Spirit is in them.
At
The rest of Ezekiel 36 describes what will happen to the land after the Holy Spirit comes on the people. The land which used to be in a famine and desolate becomes a flourishing garden, cultivated and highly productive. The land is even compared to the garden of Eden (Ez 36:35).
What does it take for plants to grow? For a famine to end?
Water.
Water gives life. It was here that I saw the rivers of living water as a result of the Holy Spirit indwelling believers.
I also found Joel 2 which is fulfilled in Acts 2 when the Holy Spirit comes upon the believers in the upper room. How is the Holy Spirit given? He is said in this passage to be poured out. A watery image of the Holy Spirit poured from a pitcher. But the believers don’t bottle up the Spirit and keep Him for themselves. They instantaneously share the good news in the Holy Spirit’s power. The Holy Spirit poured into them is flowing out of them, a river of living water, a life-giving message to those who heard and received the gospel that day.
The Rivers of Living Water for Me Today
What can I learn from this passage for my life today?
It’s okay to do systematic theology. Don’t be afraid to say “the Bible says” and give a truth even if you don’t know or have a direct quote. I hear people say they hold back from sharing Jesus because they don’t have exact verses memorized. If you know truth from God’s word, even if it’s not an exact quote, share it. If the listener asks for more info then you can go back to the Bible and find exact Scriptures to share. Google can help you find the exact verse very quickly!
Let the Holy Spirit pour out of you. The Holy Spirit has been given to believers to guide us, direct us, refresh us, remind us. But He has also been given to pour out of us and be visible for all to see. It’s hard to miss a raging river. You and your church family can be that raging river of God’s truth in your community.
How does the Holy Spirit behave like a river of living water in your life? Can you think of other places in Scripture where the Holy Spirit is compared to water? Comment below!
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I’ve never noticed this before, Rachel…what you pulled out of John’s passage is great! We really don’t realize what the living water does for us until we look at it closer, as you have done. Thank you for this great post!
Thank you so much, Ann, for reading and commenting.
Yes I was just reading Ez. 47:10-12… that is a direct reference to the fruit and abundant life given by the rivers of living water( fresh streams). Amen!
Greetings, I believe Isaiah 58:11 is a good scripture to validate what Jesus said as well. Check it out. Shalom
Thank you, Thomas! What a great verse. Here it is for those who don’t know: The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
It is referring to john 3:16
Thanks for the comment, Terry. Do you mean that it is referring to John 3:16 because it is speaking of eternal life?
Hi Rachel,
It was a great read. I now have learnt a new area, systematic theology. Thanks to your article.
Is it possible we have not found a scripture/scroll that may contain a direct reference?
I am preparing for a sermon on the topic, “The River of the Water of Life”. I have read as much as possible from the Bible. Malcolm Muggeridge’s sermon in May 1968, Brother Yun’s Steams of Living Water, Your article on the Rivers of Living Water. Do you have any other suggestions? I could not get a copy of Ravi Zachariah’s on the same topic.
Thank you for your answers.
Jes Dayalan
I don’t think that we would later find a scroll with a direct reference because Scripture is complete the way it is. We are not missing any of God’s revelation to us. For more information on the passage maybe you could try John Piper’s sermon on the passage. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fY0afczuxjY Hope that helps and that your sermon goes well.
Hi Rachel,
I’m not sure why you assign the Ezek 47 and Zech 14 verses to `a future physical temple?
Many Christians believe there will be a future physical temple during the Millennial kingdom which is described in Revelation 20. Here is an article which is a great overview of the various viewpoints. https://www.gotquestions.org/Ezekiel-temple.html
Hi Rachel,
Thanks for your writing! It was very helpful.
As I was reading, Jeremiah 2:13 came to mind. The LORD said, “My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”
God’s children were seeking life in everything but Him, yet He is the very source of life. It begs the question for each of us: Where have we put our hope for finding life? Do we pour ourselves out looking for fulfillment and a quenching of our soul, only to feel empty and drained – never satisfied and never fulfilled – like a broken cistern?
God had to allow His children to experience hardship, a scattering of His nation in Jeremiah, to discover that only He could satisfy their deepest thirst and desires. It’s a type of thirst quenching that true believers in Christ experience through the Holy Spirit’s presence within our hearts. As scripture says, “rivers of living water will flow from within them.” And as Psalm 34:8 says, “Taste and see that the LORD is good.” The more we taste, the more we want Him.
The song “In Over My Head” starts with these lyrics, “I have come to this place in my life… I’m full but I’ve not satisfied this longing to have more of You. And I can feel it my heart is convinced… I’m thirsty my soul can’t be quenched”
Great thoughts! Thank you! I like the picture of a broken cistern.
Dear Rachel,
First, let me say that I really enjoyed your writing. Second,
I am teaching on the Book of Daniel and this week we are on Chapter 4. When Nebuchadnezzar is restored to his kingdom, this is a great example of renewal. That is what happens to a believer who is born again– they receive the Spirit and that is what renews them. So I have been thinking of a concrete example of this. I came up with a teapot.
1. The Handle — The system that coordinates and controls the body of the teapot.
2. The Vessel — the body of the teapot. Vessels are meant to be filled. Our vessels are supposed to be filled with living water.
3.The Spout — Where rivers of living water will flow from within them. (John 7:38).
As we continue in Christ, may our living waters increase for the profit of all.
Sincerely, Jan
Very clever, Jan! What a good visual picture of the concept. It reminds me of Paul in Philippians when he says he will be poured out like a drink offering.
Your comments are so very relevant to a subject I’ve been working on. I would love to be able to use what you wrote on a website and perhaps in a book one day, giving you credit of course, but I have no idea how to contact you other than leaving a comment here.
This took place during the Festival of Booths (Tabernacles). The water-drawing ceremony was an important activity at this festival. The priests drew water from the Pool of Siloam and with much solemnity would proceed to the temple and pour the water out on the altar. This was a graphic invocation of Ezekiel 47 and Zechariah 14 (among other passages), so it was appropriate and ingenious of Jesus to reference the image. Of course, Jesus turned the whole idea on its head (as he was known to do frequently) by insisting that the “rivers” would not actually flow out of the temple or Jerusalem, but out of the believer himself – and each believer is seen as a “temple” in which the Spirit dwells.
Thank you, Jack, for that background info on the passage. That’s very interesting!
Rachel, I just found your entry on John 7:38, I’m teaching on John Seven tomorrow at my bible Study and like you, could not find a specific cross reference. You did a wonderful job of connecting the Old Testament scriptures to this passage. I also like the way you told that person to not be afraid if they can’t quote chapter and verse at the time the are witnessing to someone. I tell them, Just say when they ask where it is, ‘I don’t know exactly, but I’ll find out and get back to you”, then do it. Great exposition. Thank you
Thank you very much, Ron, for your encouraging comment! I’m glad this was helpful to you. I enjoyed digging into this mystery.
Hello Rachel! LOVED this study. thx so much! i JUST saw this scripture on a mailer, and i thought you might like to add this to your research. -maybe this is another gold nugget :}
Is 58:11
The Lord will guide you always;
he will satisfy your needs in a sun-scorched land
and will strengthen your frame.
You will be like a well-watered garden,
like a spring whose waters never fail.
Blessings to you!
rita :}
Ooh! What a great verse for this discussion! I like the picture of God strengthening the frame and I can picture a vine in a garden needing support and water in order to grow. Thanks for sharing it, Rita, and thanks for reading and commenting!
Hi Rachel! i was just reading your reply – TY! so glad you liked it! – and then i noticed my post – that version was NOT Quite the one i found…i have no idea how that got copied in! user error Im sure lol.
so here’s the actual quote i found, same Isaiah chapter and verse:
“The Lord will guide you continually, giving you water when you are dry and restoring your strength.
You will be like a well-watered garden, like an everflowing spring.”
Everflowing Blessings and Discernment to you as you read and mine the Gold in the hard parts :}
rita
Thank you, Rita!
I needed three “water” passages to write on individual bottles of water given away in evangelism. I had Matthew 25:31-46, and John 4:4-42 . . . thanks for supplying my third passage: Ezekiel 36:25-27!
Aweseome! I will pray for the people who receive the bottles! That they would seek Christ to quench their thirst!
Thank you very much, Rachel and those who have replied. All the discussion was so helpful this morning as I was puzzling over the quote in that verse as well. My little study had begun with reading Psalm 46 and wondering about verse 4. Step by step I got to this article. Don’t you love how the Holy Spirit teaches and guides us to truth?! Thank, Lord!!
Wow! What a great rabbit trail to follow! A Holy Spirit-led rabbit trail LOL Thanks for reading and commenting, Sara!
Greetings from the UK! I came upon this site (thank the Lord!!) while doing a 21 day bible plan on discipleship where I became curious when reading John 7:38-39 re no referencing. I’m only just starting out on recognising the beauty & importance of cross-referencing where I’ve loved & valued all the imput, comments from everyone! I’m only just starting to read my bible in my late 50’s (never too late to start praise God!!) & also starting my first ‘reading the bible in a year’ (currently in Leviticus 25). I just wanted to thank God for guiding me thru what you shared & the feedback from others. I especially was encouraged that it’s ok to Google for answers, I wouldn’t have found you guys otherwise praise God!! Be continually Blessed as you bless & encourage others – me included!! ♡
Thank you, Catherine, for your encouraging note! I am SO excited for you reading through the Bible! If you come across any hard parts you want more info on and you can’t find a good answer on Google let me know! I’m always looking for ideas of what to dig into next! Praise the Lord! I’m thankful for technology and how it connects Christians across the world!
The rivers are the gifts of the Spirit
What an interesting perspective! Can you tell me more about why you say the rivers are the gifts of the Spirit?
Thank you. This is helpful.
I’m so glad! Thanks for reading and commenting!
Rachel, would you explain why the scripture reads “rivers” and not river? Would that have something to do with the gifts?
That’s a great question! I’ll look into it and get back to you! My first thought is that he says “rivers” because he is talking to a crowd so the “you” is plural. In other words there would be rivers since the Holy Spirit would be flowing from each individual believer. But I’d like to dig into the original language before I comment further.
I think you are right about a river of life flowing from each individual believer. I hadn’t thought of that. In Revelation 22:1 a “pure river of the water of life” proceeds “from the throne of God and of His Lamb.” It has occurred to me that the river of life which flows from the inmost being of a believer can flow only if God and Jesus are on the throne of our hearts. We are said to be the temple of God and that Christ lives in us, so that implies that He must be enthroned in that temple (and not us). Jesus must be Lord as well as Savior.
W. Graham Scroggie in “Know Your Bible” has an interesting perspective on why he believes that John wrote Revelation before he wrote the Gospel of John and his epistles. That would put even more weight on the fact that it was crystal clear. And why we should not let any corrupt word flow out of us but only what ministers grace to the hearers. Grace and truth came by Jesus Christ. Jesus said it’s what comes out of a man that defiles him, not what goes in (what we eat). Oh, this is leading me on other interesting trails. I think the Bible must be one huge linking chain!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts, Vicky! I love your picture of the Bible as one huge linking chain! It reminds me of my college professor telling me “when one passage of Scripture reminds you of another one, roll with it!”
Proverbs 14:27 says, “The fear of the Lord is a wellspring of life, to swerve from the snares of death.”
Another great Bible verse with the picture of a wellspring! Thank you!
Thank you for your study and article, Rachel! I, too, always like to know where to find the referenced Scripture. As I wrote John 7:37 in my journal, I stopped to look up where the original Scripture reference came from (I was confused because there’s almost always a footnote that tells you what Scripture it is, but as you said, there isn’t one in this particular verse). So I popped the verse into Google to see what I could find, and your article was the first result. 🙂 As a Religious Studies major and someone who reads the Bible continuously (I’ve lost count, but I’m somewhere on my fourth lap through it, lol), your article was very enlightening.
Thanks for teaching me another method of theology (if my professors mentioned that, it slipped out one of the holes in my brain), and encouraging me to share God’s Word even when I don’t have the particular passages memorized. 🙂
A great article, great replies (thank you all!), and lots to think about! I’m definitely going to save your page for future research!
May God bless you all! 🙂
Thank you so much, Jessica, for taking the time to comment. I am so glad that my article was helpful to you. If you ever get stuck with any hard questions, let me know! I’d be happy to research it and write a blog post on your question:)
What a great discovery! I originally came upon this from the “Book of Mysteries” 365 day devotional by Johnathan Cahn. His initial reference to John 7:37 came from Is 12:1-3 with emphasis on 3 saying “In joy you shall draw water from the wells of salvation” But the word for salvation here is “yeshua” where the name of Jesus comes from.
That Jesus in John 37 was in affect saying I am the salvation Isaiah spoke of. And if you believe in me, the temple of the Spirit will live in you and like in Ez 36, 47 and Zec 14 flowing rivers come from the temple but one now within your newly cleansed heart (Ez 36) Jonathan Cahn referenced one old testament scripture so I investigated further and came to your blog. It helped to take me so much deeper into this great mystery revealed. Oh the depths of His wisdom! Thanks for inviting us all to go deeper.
Hi Michael, thanks so much for digging deeper and for reading and commenting 🙂 That sounds like an interesting devotional!
Hi Rachel,
I happened upon your post on the rivers of living water as I was composing a related blog post based on Revelation 22: 1-3. The passage in John is essential for the Christian believer to understand, as are others in John, where Jesus explains the role of the Holy Spirit. I’m trained as a botanist, and wrote a manuscript about 15 years ago which I never got around to publishing. Instead, during COVID-19, I started a blog, and decided to use this manuscript to post a blog series on the Tree of Life, which involves the same river. You end your post exhorting Christians to let the Holy Spirit pour out of you. Indeed – that’s why the leaves of the tree of life are for the healing of the nations, as indicated in the Revelation 22 passage.
Wow! Thanks for commenting, Tim. The Tree of Life series looks fascinating. I went over and subscribed to your blog. Right now I am doing a Read through Revelation, one chapter a day, on my YouTube channel, Facebook page, and IGTV channel. It’s amazing to me that the more I read the rest of the Bible, the more Revelation makes sense.
Hi Rachel,
I was getting very excited when I got to this part: “It’s hard to miss a raging river. You and your church family can be that raging river of God’s truth in your community.” But then suddenly I was at the end.
I would be keen to read more about what this looks like for you and your church family. Can you share some stories from your “rivers of living water” please?
Boy, that’s a great question! One way I can think of is that our church is known in our community for our Wednesday night Awana program for kids. Lots of kids come that don’t go to our church or any church. We are the only church in our town that has a Wednesday night kids church kids program. When my husband (who is the pastor) visits my kid’s school for an Open House, the teachers know that he is the pastor in town since so many kids say “there’s Pastor Tim!” And I know this sounds like a small thing, but to me it feels like a raging river of kids who are hearing God’s truth and telling others. I’m sure there are other churches that do this well, too, in different ways. I’d love to hear about them.
I appreciate your curiosity. Most people skip over words like this while reading. However, I wouldn’t discount this referencing Genesis 1-3 (garden of eden, rivers, temple of God in the garden), Ezekiel 47, as well as Revelation 21-22. All three have the same elements. Also the pouring out of the Spirit is referenced in John 7:39. And we are his temple so it seems the River coming from the temple is the Spirit of God in the saints. I don’t have a problem saying Ezekiel 47/Revelation 22 is talking about our current situation since both have trees that bear fruit and leaves that provide healing. If this is happening after the consummation of all things, after Jesus has reigned in a future millennium, then why do we need trees that have leaves for healing the nations? Why do the Spirit and the Bride say “come” if nobody can come after the consummation of all things?
Also, Ezekiel 47 talks about fishermen casting nets to capture fish from the salt sea. In Matthew 4 Jesus calls his first disciples and they are fishermen casting nets.
Something to consider.
Thanks for sharing all these connections. I wrote this post several years ago before I really knew the depths of the eschatological possibilities of these passages. The temple at the end of Ezekiel is tough. Is it talking about the Millennial Kingdom? Or eternity? I lean towards it referencing the Millennial Kingdom. I believe the temple in Ezekiel will be literally fulfilled, yet what will this literal fulfillment look like? That’s hard to know. The literal fulfillments of Jesus’ first coming were completed in some unexpected ways and I am willing to loosely hold my guesses of the literal fulfillment of Ezekiel’s temple, too, since the fulfillment could happen in unexpected ways.
As far as Revelation 22 when the Spirit and the Bride say “come,” I believe that is a pastoral alter call, so to speak, to wrap up the book of Revelation. So the call to “come” is not taking place after the consummation of all things, but is a call for those listening to the book of Revelation in John’s day to come to Christ. John has just given this long message of what will happen in the end of time. The message is given to the first readers of Revelation and to all people who have read Revelation since then. Coming to Jesus is a big theme in Revelation. That’s one of the main points of Revelation that knowing the end, people will accept God’s invitation to come to Him. The call to “come” highlights the pastoral nature of the book of Revelation.
Thank you for sharing your thoughts and I will keep prayerfully considering these passages. The leaves for the healing of the nations is a wonder for sure!
WOW!! So I’m doing a Song of Songs study and found this message looking into SOS 4:15 . I’m undone by the weaving together of all these passages and the picture of Jesus and the Bride and the Holy Spirit! Revelation 22:17 did me in !!!
Thanks for reading and commenting. Song of Songs is also a hard part of Scripture. I haven’t studied it in depth yet, but I’ve been thinking about it since I’ve been studying Revelation so much.
An amazing little book focusing on the Song of Solomon from a very personal and devotional perspective (from a Bride of Christ point of view and not from a “commentary” point of view) is a small volume by Jessie Penn-Lewis, not intended to become a published book, but written as her personal reflections on who Jesus was to her during a time when she was bedfast for many weeks. Later, the Lord led her to, rather reluctantly, share these meditations with the body of Christ. They are gold. I’m not in a position right now to look up the name of the book, but I know it’s on Kindle. I also found an original edition on eBay.
Thanks for the suggestion! I’ll look it up.
Ezekiel 36:25-27
I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you will be clean;
I will cleanse you from all your impurities and from all your idols.
I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be calling reful to keep my laws.
What I see in this is what I see as the Gospel of Yahushua the Christ / Anointed.
God – The I does ALL the work and we are the recipients of that work. Jus Like Mary, Yahushua’s human mother.
We as the Ego i can’t claim anything. The only thing we can do is prepare a place for God to dwell.
It revels the true Gospel, God’s Spell on us, Spelling, Writing, The Laws are Written into our very soul so that we ACT from the Imprint of the Consciousness of God Himself.
Yahushua didn’t operate in full power until after he was filled with the Holy Spirit after the Water ritual of ceremonial cleansing , a Jewish tradition. He prepared a place for the Consciousness of God within him.
Was he the son of God ? Yes, Was he the son of humans? Yes. If we believe in the Virgin Birth we are admitting that his presence on earth did not require a Man only a Woman. God did not need a human man to get his work done. That should make oour mind stop.
All of Yahushua’s human DNA came from his Mother. God saw a Holy vessel in Mary to impregnate , Did God create a physical sperm ? Or was a fully formed embryo instantly manifested in Mary’s womb?
Was her DNA in Yahushua ? was Yahushua a blend of Human historical DNA and Divine pure DNA?
When a baby is born a mother’s “water” breaks and a baby flows out of her very narrow vaginal canal.
The Narrow Way is the Birth canal and what did Yahushua say “ You must be born Again” The way to the Kingdom is Narrow, If you knew who I Am you would ask me for the water I give – Remember the Woman at the well.
Rivers of Living Water.
God does Everything , we receive the Consciousness of God and that Consciousness makes us The Christ of God – Anointed and because We allowed God to do His work in us we demonstrate His perfection as us.
We can’t give birth to ourselves. Being Receptive – Make a place for God’s Spirit in you – Letting go of the past – Surrender is the Key
This should cause a huge celebration in everyone – It’s ALL GOD!
Praise the Lord! Salvation IS all of God’s work 🙂 And so much about water in the scriptures. Thanks for pointing out some more references.
Thus John was not exiled to a physical Island of Patmos. John, like Ezekiel, was caught up in a Holy Ghost induced coma. A flowing river of living water. Greek: Potos Patamos. Potos is the Greek word for drinking bout. Potamos is the Greek word for river. The Apostles where caught up too on the Day of Pentecost in this flowing river of living water.
Thanks for sharing your perspective, Eric. However, I think we will just have to agree to disagree. I see no reason in the book of Revelation to think that Patmos isn’t the actual island of Patmos. Like you said, in Ezekiel, when he is caught up by the Holy Spirit to see inside the temple of Jerusalem while being bodily in Babylon, the text makes that spiritual reality clear. Similar language does not appear in Revelation regarding Patmos.
Hi Rachel, As others have commented , Jesus said this during the last day of the feast of Sukkoth;
latter in the same gospel we read the event of the woman caught in Adultery bought before Jesus by the Pharisees in the temple courts, trying to trap him into judging her to be stoned to death. He stoops down and starts writing and one by one they all leave and no one is there to condemn the woman .
seems like a separate incident to the preceeding story of jesus crying out during te last day of the feast. about him giving rivers of living water , but in reality What happened was a fulfilment of Jeremiah 17:13 .
“O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed
… because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters”
Those who forsake (rejected) Jesus (the Pharisees) as the fount of living waters, had their names written in the dirt (earth) as a judgement against them.
I discovered this from a paper taken from commentaries and the talmud and Mishnah see https://members.cogwa.org/uploads/COGWA-The_Last_Great_Day_-_Study_Paper.pdf
that during 2nd temple period one of the scriptures recited during the festivities of the water libation , where the Priest would go down to the well of Siloam and draw water in a silver jug and take it up to the temple to pour on the Altar as they prayed for rain was the reading of This passage from Jeremiah.
A highly authoritative Jewish source for this subject, among many others, is called the “tradition
of the elders” (Mark 7:3), also known as the Talmud. Before delving into specific examples from
this source, let’s briefly consider some additional background information to see why this source
was, and still is, so important in the Jewish society.
These traditions are also known as the oral law, as Jews believe they were passed down orally
from Moses through the rabbis. Jesus had to correct Jewish leaders for placing too high a priority
on these traditions: “For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men”
(verse 8).
Today the written version of this is often called the Talmud (“instruction”) or the Mishnah
(“study by repetition”). The Talmud is “the collection of Rabbinic writings that make up the
basis of religious authority for traditional Judaism” (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary,
“Mary”).
According to JewishHistory.org, “The Mishnah is the first written record of what was the Oral
Law” (www.jewishhistory.org/the-mishnah/). Jesus attended God’s Feast of Tabernacles, but in
John we have a reference to the “Jews’ Feast of Tabernacles” (John 7:2). The Jews of that day
had several traditions that gave a unique Jewish flavor to the festival but were not in conflict
with God’s instructions.
Now let’s consider the timing of one of those traditions, the water ceremony, during the time of
Jesus Christ, in light of the Talmud. First, the duration is noted: “[The dwelling in a] SUKKAH
AND THE WATER LIBATION SEVEN [days]” (Sukkah 42b, Hebrew-English Edition of the
Babylonian Talmud, London, The Soncino Press, 1990).
Their dwelling in booths and the water libation ceremony lasted for the seven days of the Feast
of Tabernacles. The specified time of day for this ceremony was “after the offering of the regular
daily morning offering during the Feast” (footnote b5).
The activities of the seventh day were the most spectacular of the Feast. This is vividly described
in the Babylonian Talmud (footnote comments in parentheses, lowercase):
Sukkah 51a: “ONE WHO HAS NOT SEEN THE REJOICING AT THE PLACE
OF THE WATERDRAWING HAS NEVER SEEN REJOICING IN HIS LIFE.
AT THE CONCLUSION OF THE FIRST FESTIVAL DAY OF
TABERNACLES. …(read the paper for more fascinating details link shown at beginning of this comment)
so in conclusion
The phrase as the Scripture has said (John 7:38) points to an Old Testament quote or principle.
His audience understood the healing principle of running or living waters. For example, Isaiah
58:11: “You shall be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.”
Also Numbers 19:17: “And for an unclean person they shall take some of the ashes of the heifer
burnt for purification from sin, and running water shall be put on them in a vessel.”
So it appears that Christ used the water ceremony as a powerful object lesson for what He would
do for mankind. Zechariah 14:8 says, “And in that day it shall be that living waters shall flow
from Jerusalem.” A few verses later we have the most descriptive prophecy of the Feast of
Tabernacles (verse 16). Jeremiah twice spoke of God in this context:
Jeremiah 2:13: “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” (KJV).
Jeremiah 17:13: “O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed
… because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters” (KJV).
Jeremiah wrote about “living waters.” It would be easy to connect the waters from the pool of
Siloam taken during the Feast of Tabernacles with the concept of “living waters.” And even
though the Jews knew of this reference in Jeremiah they would not accept that Christ was the
source for this water.
Thanks
Ian Worby
Christians for Israel Australia
Wow. Thank you, Ian, for sharing all this background from a Jewish perspective. Very helpful!
Thanks for this post.
I liked the part about it being ok to share truth from the Bible even if you can’t remember a verse on the spot.
There’s a video from BibleProject that I found useful to understand the Water of Life theme as it flows through the stories from Genesis to Revelation.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgmAkM39Zt4
God bless!
Great! Glad this was helpful. I’ll check out the Bible Project video. Their videos are so helpful. I especially appreciate their book of the Bible overview ones.
Great teaching and great discussion🙏 Thank you! I came across this while searching for “fountain of living water”.. connecting from Sri Lanka 🙂
Wow! Sri Lanka! That’s a long way from my home in Pennsylvania, USA. Thank you for reading and commenting!
wow this was really helpful Ezekiel 36 has a clear understanding… thanks a lot may Yaweh bless you ma…
thank you, glad it was helpful
Thank you, Rachel, for your thoughtful ideas on this “hard part”. I am reading about the “last and greatest day of the feast” because today is that day. As a Messianic Jew, we don’t necessarily celebrate the way some in the Jewish community do. But the imagery of the joy that occurred in Jerusalem during Yeshua’s time is an impetus to me to make Yeshua’s living water more real. I’ve been thinking more and more how Yeshua was all about the Scriptures, connecting them with daily life, while the religious leaders then and now are about the tradition. I don’t know that I’ll ever get into a debate with an orthodox Jew about the passage and the OT origins of the living waters phrasing, but it’s good to have an idea of the composite Scripture reference that can be discovered through systematic theology.
God bless you
Alex Citron
Lee, MA
Thank you so much for sharing, Alex!
Hello Rachel,
This is one of the most beautiful verses in the Bible, and one of my favorites. I personally interpreted it slightly differently. I felt the Scripture reference was referring us back to believing in Jesus as scripture says (or instructs us to do), rather than the Rivers of flowing water being what the scripture was referring to. So in other words: “Whoever believes in Me as scripture has said” [then as a consequence of believing in Christ the way Scripture has told us] “rivers of Living Water will flow from within them”. Just my own understanding of it. ❤
Thank you for sharing!
Hey there, I am studying for a sermon on this topic and love the revelation here. Thank you for sharing! I will be referencing your points. Wow!!!!
Thank you! Praise the Lord!