RIVERS AND THEIR SOURCES
[p. 402] RIVERS AND THEIR SOURCES
Genesis 2: 10 - 12; Revelation 22: 1, 2; Ezekiel 47: 1 - 8
I wish to speak about river sources and about rivers themselves, but particularly of their sources. Rivers in Scripture are typical of influences, and hence the importance of enquiring into their sources, as to whether the influences are good or otherwise. There are many powers of influence in the world, especially such as run through educational institutions. These institutions are sources, ancient and renowned, and thus they are more likely to be influential for men generally. Women are more sentimental, and sentiment needs persons of educational bent to think and speak on that line. Those who read ancient writings called the classics would be ashamed to be found ignorant of them in society, for these matters are largely the theme of social gatherings of a certain class. Then there are other sources from which corrupting things issue, the whole world being corrupted from them; there are such centres in this continent and in Europe. So it is well to have these thoughts before us, specially in relation to our young, that we may be on our guard as to whence these influences come.
God furnishes us with these three rivers in Scripture: the first is in the beginning, the second in the end and the third in the middle. Other rivers are mentioned, but not so much their sources. The river of God, it says, is full of water. We are safe in drinking there; but these three given in the passages read have sources, and the first stands in relation to what is regarded as a privileged place. All the creation of God was a privileged place. We read of one who had fallen being in the garden of God, hence we know it was invaded by evil, but it is not presented thus in [p. 403] this scripture, which speaks of the primary condition of things coming from the hands of a loving and beneficent Creator. In six days He made the heavens and the earth, and created certain things, among which was man. His supreme handiwork, figure of Him that was to come; and in view of the end before Him, “Jehovah Elohim”, as it says, “planted a garden in Eden eastward”. So He was the first ‘landscape Gardener’; one speaks reverently in using that appellation; it is a profession that is honourable, and the basis is the earth. The earth is the Lord’s, we read, and the fulness thereof. Fulness includes the garden, what may be developed out of any part of it; the development is the fulness. It was planted eastward, and this implies hope, God dealing in such a way as to inspire hope in man, for we are to end gloriously. Then it says, “And there put Man whom he had formed”. It does not say the one created, but the one formed, an additional thought to creation, involving beauty, skill and symmetry. The divine fiat is conveyed in the words, “He spoke, and it was done; he commanded, and it stood fast”. Further, in Proverbs 8, wisdom says, “When he prepared the heavens I was there”, and “I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him; rejoicing in the habitable part of his earth, and my delights were with the sons of men”. Wisdom is a quality, personified. If Christ is called wisdom, it is in a very relative sense. It refers to a quality in the sense of skill employed by God as He operated; so here man is formed. This is the supreme thought of God in the creation, for man is a figure of Him that was to come — He created everything, even Adam — it was Jesus. As it says in John 1: 3, “All things received being through him, and without him not one thing received being which has received being”. The inscrutableness of Christ’s Person enters into it, and as built up on these lines we become worshippers.
[p. 404] God planted a garden. That was skill; then He put in the man that He had formed. How God would look down on what His own skill had formed and on that being that He had set there! He had said in Genesis 1, “Let us make man in our image, after our likeness ...” and it adds, “God created Man”. So man was there first, though not at his best as alone. Eve was to come in as his fulness, there was the building of the woman which contemplates skill.
These things are all intended to tax our minds, our renewed minds, as we so tend to group things together under one head. God does this, too, but He does not fail to open the thing up to make it clear. That is the position here, we are to receive impressions from the way the Spirit of God speaks of things, from the mode of phraseology employed.
Now it is said, “A river went out of Eden”. It describes a spontaneous movement, and spiritually that is so. Spontaneity is the antitypical thing, alluding to the Holy Spirit come down, sent down, we may say, yet as here moving of Himself — it is the essence of christianity to understand this — then the thought was to water the garden. Refreshment was in view, for as yet no rain had been spoken of in Scripture. Water is spoken of very early in the Word, plenty of it, too, and the garden must be watered; God’s handiwork must be refreshed. The source of the river is Eden, meaning the very best possible environment. As it says of the Spirit, this thought of environment being transferred to christianity, “Who goes forth from with the Father”. The Holy Spirit is viewed as subservient to the Father and the Son, but the environment is “with the Father”. He has come out from such a source, though with us and in us. He is a Person distinctly by Himself, but He proceeds from with the Father. Think of the Son being down here, think of the holy converse that took place as heaven was opened.
A voice from heaven came, “This is my beloved Son, in whom I have found my delight”. Think of the environment that the voice emanated from — the Lord spoken to, and of, then the Spirit coming out, speaking of the greatest things, from such an environment and active in regard of Christ here below. You get the first mention of the Spirit in Genesis 1: 2, where it says, “The Spirit of God was hovering”, or brooding, “over the face of the waters”. It meant He was there. Now Christ is here. Think of the stimulation afforded Deity by the Son in His position here below, the Spirit having part in it; no brooding of anxiety now, but coming on Christ in the form of a dove and abiding on Him. What thoughts enter into this, as our minds are enlarged to apprehend Christ here, and the Spirit in relation to Him, proceeding from with the Father.
Then we read that this river in Eden was parted from thence, and “became four main streams”. Redemption having been accomplished, we have the idea at Pentecost of parting — “parted tongues”, the meaning being that henceforth language is no barrier in the testimony of God. Then this river becomes four heads, the testimony is to be carried east and west, north and south. There are four heads and four governing thoughts, it speaks of the operations of the Spirit under these principles. Everything is definite; what results we ought to have! We do not get all the details, but enough to convey the impression that each head implies a lot in the way of results. Pison gives these particularly, so no doubt the other three also. The first is gold. The antitype is a matter of great interest, whether dispensational, or viewed as in the different ministries the Lord gave from heaven, as through Paul, there is a distinct river under distinct control. If Peter ministers, or any other, there must be control. A great difficulty is want of control, partisanship breeds where it is not [p. 406] present. Spiritual leadership means the withering up of all party feeling. With these streams there is one great governing idea, but each is functioning by itself, though in a sense not by itself. Thus each gathering among us is self-contained, yet not independent. Elders were to be chosen in each assembly, meaning each was to stand on its own feet, and yet eldership is there, and the assemblies are thus kept in right channels, and moving in the unity of the Spirit. Christ has gone above all heavens and has given gifts to men, pastors and teachers are one, they are not independent of each other or antagonistic; so there is unity, but the spirit of control in each subdivision. Each moves in relation to the whole, but stands upon its own feet realising the “one faith”.
Now this source is to have wonderful results. Gold is the first thing mentioned; it is the prime thought, speaking of the representation of God. The bdellium, a fragrant thing, and onyx stone, precious, reminding us that numbers are not everything in our gatherings; we want quality in the numbers. So we see how the river is brought in primarily, and then how it branches out into the other streams.
When we come to Revelation, we find the throne of God is the source. “A river of water of life ... going out of the throne of God and of the Lamb”. Let us not omit “the Lamb”. It is an economy thought, that is, God is one great glorious thought, and the Lamb another. One’s mind reverts to David and Solomon on the throne together. As David is about to die, we find the father and son on the throne together, and there is a wonderful development in the thoughts relating to the service of God. If you read 1 Chronicles 23, inclusive of what follows, you discover that it is the richest of all the historical writings, and it all flows out of a father and a son being on the throne together. There is the vast experience of David combined with the lovely character [p. 407] of Solomon — his young and tender son, “an only one in the sight of my mother”, and “a son unto my father”, as we have in Proverbs. In no position do these relationships shine out more than when Solomon was king jointly with his father; how affectionately and reverentially he would sit side by side with David! In the last chapter of 1 Chronicles, he is spoken of as sitting on the throne of Jehovah.
Such is the mediatorial state of things, the deity of Christ maintained, yet in subjection. So now you have the throne of God and of the Lamb. In view of all that is said, one is impressed with the necessity of a throne. God and the Lamb are there in the city. Think of the influence of a Lamb, a suffering Ruler, now on the throne. Presently He will wield a rod of iron, but as a Shepherd, He never loses His character of grace and consideration. Then, following on the river going out of the throne of God and of the Lamb, it says, “In the midst of its street, and of the river, on this side and on that side, the tree of life, producing twelve fruits, in each month yielding its fruit; and the leaves of the tree for healing of the nations”. The tree of life is Christ but not on the throne. The latter denotes authority, but the tree of life is subservient to need, we can get at it anywhere — on either side — and it bears twelve manner of fruits. Let us open the door to Christ in this way; it is a, great unifying thought. Partisan feelings wither us up, making too much of some, and not enough of others. Here there is a variety of fruits, every month has its own fruit. See what a thought this is as applied to us. Then there is virtue even in the very leaves, speaking of what we are as coming to the meeting room and in it. The leaves shed their healing in the street of the city, at a man’s shop or workplace. The principle is that the leaves have a virtue, what we call profession, in our public capacity. It is what I am in my business or walk of life, how I [p. 408] affect people under me or over me. You go where a godly man is, and you find something there that has virtue. I could cite countries affected by the profession of christianity. I could cite remarks in this connection made by those not christians. In some of the biggest cities of the world, bad as they are, there is some good influence, and that arises from the saints. God is looking for this, and He is afforded more room in a city affected in this way. I have observed these things. One looks for the effect of virtue existing in professors of christianity. The captain of a ship, if a christian, affects the whole ship. A brother we all know, who is the head of a business, affects the whole business. God is thinking of public virtue, and I ought to think of it in my ways. I am indicating what christianity is.
Now in Ezekiel we have not simply the source of the river, but its relation to the house of God. In Revelation you have the thought of a city and kingdom and a river and the tree of life accessible from all directions with a great variety of fruit and leaves efficacious for healing. But here you have the house and waters issuing from it eastward, pointing our minds to the scene of hope, the coming in of Christ as the Daystar or Sun. This river is seen in a small way because the house, or those who form it, consists of a “little flock”. The prophet here sees waters come down from the right side, but a river is in mind and it is wonderful how quickly it increases. When Paul got the Spirit how rapidly things increased on that line, as scope was given. The Spirit of God soon showed that a river was there. How quickly the apostle comes to an ordered state of things! He links himself with the brethren in Jerusalem, and then the river flows, and flows and flows. So here, after the depths were ascertained, we come to a river that “could not be passed through”; it could not, the prophet says. Then he is brought back to the [p. 409] bank, and trees were on each side. As we follow the increase, beginning with the waters issuing forth, and then the river going out toward the east, how our hearts are filled with hope, and we go forward with courage; dolefulness has no place there. Then there is this measuring man reaching into infinitude; and in such an environment. Then men in principle come to light, not one man merely to hold everything in his own hands. Paul found a lot of men around him. He was wonderful, but there were others. See the list of names of those who waited for him at Troas. Why are they given? They are all round Paul, so it says, “We being assembled to break bread”, they are all dignified men. You might not have seen that at the beginning if you met Paul, but they have grown up around him. As there is the full acknowledgment of the Spirit of God you come to infinitude, and you say, There must be more results than one. The gifts are numerous and of great variety. So, in order that Ezekiel should not miss this, he is asked, “Son of man, hast thou seen this?” and he is brought back to see trees, very many on the one side and on the other. It is very interesting. We are not told what trees they were, but all drew from that river and Ezekiel might have missed them. We are all the product of that river, drawing our sap from the same root. At first Ezekiel appears not to have seen them; they were not like Simon Magus who would advertise himself, they had to be shown to him. These trees grow there, they do not show themselves, so to speak. When Peter’s converts said, Men and brethren, what shall we do? they were recognising the trees — not only Peter, though the others evidently did not say a word. A certain character distinguished these persons, healing was there and the work of God went on, as suggested here.