GENERAL USES OF WATER
The imagery associated with water is likewise present in the Scriptures, particularly so in the Old Testament. Thus Lot chose for himself the “whole region of the Jordan” because he saw that “all of it was well-watered … like the garden of the LORD”(Gen. 13:10).5 The Scriptures teach that water in its various forms is under divine control (e.g., Job 38:16, 22-34; Ps. 29:3, 10). It is God who set the water in place in the original creation and supervises its placement and boundaries (Gen. 1:9-10; Ps. 104:6-12; Jer. 5:22). God uses water in accordance with his own purposes. These include the floodwaters of judgment (Amos 5:8), such as the flood of Noah’s day (Gen. 6-9).6 God’s control over water is also in evidence in the parting of the Red Sea at the time of the exodus, an act that allowed the Hebrews safe passage through the surrounding walls of water, but after their passing through it, brought the judgment of death by water to the pursuing Egyptians (Exod. 14:21-31; 15:4-12; Ps. 78:13).7
The beneficial aspect of the Hebrews safe passage through the Red Sea is a reminder that God’s control over water could also provide positive results for His people. For example, He brought water from a rock for the Israelites as they traveled through the Desert of Sin on the way to Mount Sinai (Exod. 17:1-7; cf. Isa.48:21) and did so again many years later (Num. 20:1-13). He also assured His people that He would bring them into a land of an abundant water supply so as to insure the fertility of the land and to meet the people’s needs (Deut. 8:7-10; 11:11-12). Therefore, He could justly describe His relation to Israel metaphorically as “the fountain of life-giving water” (Jer. 2:13).
The above references to water as a metaphor serves as to introduce the basic thrust of this study, which is to explore the figurative and symbolic uses of water in the Bible in its various forms. As in the case in the Scriptures where literal water is present,8 so also the figures under which water is presented may be viewed as to whether they are used in a negative or positive sense. Although both aspects of the use of water will be considered, special emphasizes will be directed toward the manifold uses of water in its positive perspective. After noting the scriptural imagery associated with water, several conclusions will be drawn, followed by suggested applications relative to Christian living.
FIGURATIVE USES OF WATER
As in its literal understanding, so when used figuratively God is clearly seen as being in control of the waters. It is He who is a “fountain of life giving water” (Jer. 2:13; cf. Isa 55;1). He Himself is the One who provides safety and a refuge in times of life threatening troubles (Ps. 32:6-7). At other times, however, He allows trials and testings to come. Yet even then God provides rays of hope and the certainty that He can be trusted to bring deliverance (Ps. 42:5-11). Therefore, it was so foolish of God’s people in Judah to turn away from God the source of “life giving water” and turn to idols, which are nothing more than “cracked cisterns, which cannot even hold water” (Jer. 2:13). Nor does it do any good to relate to nations so as to “drink water from the Sihor” [i.e., a branch of the Nile River] or “drink water from the River” [i.e., the Euphrates] (Jer. 2:18, MT).
Indeed, Judah should not expect help from the likes of Egypt or Assyria. Political alliances were thus not the answer for the problems that God people faced, for in the final analysis it was their own wickedness and abandonment of Yahweh, the Ruler of all, which was the reason for their desperate situation. As Huey remarks, “Judah was committing the same sin that had brought about the earlier destruction of the Northern Kingdom because of its idolatrous practices (cf. Ezek 16:44-52; 23:1-48).”9
As in the case of God’s corporate nation, so also can be the case with individuals, for they, too can be likened to water in a negative sense. Thus Joshua’s forces suffered a setback at Ai and their “courage melted away like water” (Josh. 7:5). The words and ways of a foolish man can make him appear to drink “derision like water” (Job 34:7). It is a foolish man who can be enticed into sexual immorality with words such as “stolen waters are sweet” (Prov. 9:17).
In a more positive sense water is viewed as that which is both a source and sustainer of life and of refreshment. In a graphic simile the reception of good news from a distant land is likened to cold water to a weary person (Prov. 25:25). That which water provides to seeds so that the plant may grow is compared to the ministry of people who provide spiritual nourishment to those who have been exposed to the gospel (1 Cor. 3:6). Indeed, water can symbolize the salvation that brings new life:
Husbands, love your wives just as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her to sanctify her by cleansing her with the washing of the water by the word (Eph. 5:25-26).
Thus Hodge, observes “God is pleased to connect the benefits of redemption with the believing reception of the truth. And he is pleased to connect these same benefits with the believing reception of baptism. That is, as the Spirit works with and by the truth, so he works with and by baptism, in communicating the blessings of the covenant of grace.”10
Further, spiritual productivity makes the believer to be “like a tree planted by flowing streams; it yields its fruit at the proper time, and its leaves never fall off” (Ps. 1:3). Moreover, the believer’s life should be characterized by integrity, honesty, and purity: “Justice must flow like torrents of water, righteous actions like a stream that never dries up” (Amos 5:24). Such will prove to be a boon to the believer’s prayer life (cf. Heb. 10:22-23). Water can symbolize the life that God blesses (Ps. 23:2) or even life that has been renewed: “At that time … joyfully you will draw water from the springs of deliverance” (Isa. 12:1-3).
Isaiah’s prophecy ultimately looks on to God’s future dealings with His covenant people. It is a time when the nation itself will be regathered, renewed, and restored to the Promised Land. Indeed, “Yahweh assures his chosen people that he will intervene on their behalf in their future return from exile (Isa 48:20-21). His provision for them is compared to his making an oasis out of the desert (35:6-7; 41:17-18; 43:20). When his elect nation returns to him, Yahweh will make them like a well-watered garden (27:2-3; 58:11; Jer 31:10-14).”11
God’s prophet Ezekiel (Ezek. 34:11-16) cites the Lord as promising that, unlike Israel’s leaders of his day who were only self-serving, God Himself will shepherd His sheep in accordance His righteous justice. Indeed, “Yahweh likens them to the strongest sheep, who fed on the best pasture and drank from the clear water. After they drank their fill, they tramped through the water and stirred up mud, demonstrating their lack of concern for the other sheep.”12
Ezekiel also prophesies a day when water will “flow from under the threshold of the temple to the east,” while “water was flowing down from under the right side of the temple, from south of the altar” (Ezek. 47:1, 2; cf. Joel 3:18; Zech. 14:8). Having left the south side of the eastern gate, those waters will become a mighty river that will empty into the Dead Sea and transform it into fresh water, which will house various forms of marine life (Ezek. 47:3-9). The Apostle John adds to the future scene by foreseeing a “river of the water of life—water as clear as crystal—pouring out from the throne of God and of the Lamb, flowing down the middle city’s main street. On either side of the river is the tree of life producing twelve kinds of fruit, yielding its fruit every month of the year” (Rev. 22:1-2).13
Although many understand these prophecies to refer to literal water (e.g., Seiss, Walvoord),14others view them as metaphorical and symbolic, so typical of apocalyptic language (e.g., Aune, Beale, Ladd).15 However one interprets and relates these prophecies to the future scene(s), one thing is certain: they harmonize well with the biblical perspective that from creation to consummation it is God who is in charge of the life giving water.
from:Bible.org