Look today at the water which flows from the temple of God. Ezekiel sees it coming out, first a trickle, then a stream, then a mighty river. This water, flowing from God's altar, is water which takes that which is unclean and unusable and makes it clean, pure, a blessing to every nation, the hope and sustenance of all people who come in contact with it. It brings food and water in the desert places. It cleanses the people. It is mightier than the other water it contacts, even purifying the sea water.
What is the point of this narrative in Ezekiel? What have we seen? Most obviously we see that throughout Ezekiel salvation is of the Lord, by his plan, according to his qualifications. It begins and ends with the proclamation of God. So how are we saved? Our Lord Jesus Christ gave his life to appease the wrath of God against unrighteousness. He lives so we might live only by trust in his work. And he has commanded his apostles to go, discipling by baptizing and teaching. It is difficult to avoid the idea of a washing with water here. God has appointed a washing with water to heal his people.
Have we been baptized into the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, according to the Scriptures? We can have confidence that our Lord has claimed us. We can live confidently in the hope of the resurrection, knowing that our resurrected Lord has died for our sins. We can look to this cleansing of baptism as something which will affect our entire life as we will be reminded of our Lord's work to purchase a people to himself.
What of people who have believed but have not been baptized? We have every confidence that they too are Christ's people. But we would ask why they have not been baptized. That is the pattern we see in the New Testament. All people who realize Christ has died for their sins are baptized. It is something our Lord and Savior has given us. It is not to be neglected.
Rejoice that the Lord has given himself for the cleansing of the world!
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