Have you ever been so exhausted and wearied by the everyday
“grind” of things that you just want to run?
There are so many demands on our time and “things”
we feel we need to do. And there are those times of battle
when we just feel worn down and worn out. We need that
refreshing that only God can provide. A foundational truth
to receive all God has for us in this next season is to
stay refreshed in the Lord’s Presence.
There is a place in Israel known as En Gedi. This wadi
oasis is found on the western shore of the Dead Sea
just 100 feet away from the desolate Judea wilderness.
It is a lush green, jungle-like oasis with a gorgeous
waterfall flowing from a fresh water spring. It provides
a place of cool refuge from the heat and desolation
surrounding it.
Scripture says in 1 Samuel 23:29: “Then David
went up from there and dwelt in the strongholds at En
Gedi”. The word “dwelt” means
“to sit down; to remain; to settle; to
marry; to abide; to continue to dwell; to tarry.”
1Samuel tells the story of how En Gedi served
as one of the main places of refuge for David as he
fled from Saul. David and his men were able to drink
of the pure waters of En Gedi, water their animals and
enjoy the “peace” of the oasis.
En Gedi
is what the bible refers to as “living water”.
“Living water” is water that flows constantly,
offering clean and cool refreshment. The opposite of “living
water” is “dead water” or what the bible
refers to as “cistern water”. In Israel you
can see the remains of cisterns in many of the archeological
sites. Jeremiah
2:13: “For My people have committed two evils;
they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters,
and hewn themselves cisterns – broken cisterns
that can hold no water.”
What
is “Cistern Water”?
In Israel, the rainy season is only five months long
– from November through March. Because springs,
like those found at En Gedi, are very rare, most cities,
and even households, used cisterns to catch and store
rain run off from the rooftops, courtyards and even
streets. Because of that, cistern water was not like
the clean, fresh, flowing water of a spring. Cisterns
were filled with muddy, stagnant water that had to be
filled by human hands. They were usually stale and dirty
– some even had dead animals in them.
Cisterns
were dug by hand out of solid rock and were plastered
so they would hold water. They needed constant care
because the plaster tended to fall off, which allowed
the precious water to leak out, creating a desperate
situation for the people who depended on it.
The prophet
Jeremiah warned God’s people about the foolishness
of forsaking God’s “Living Water”
and trusting “in their own strength” to
dig cisterns for their water. They were turning to “dead
waters” to satisfy their thirst in pagan religions
and their own self-centered plans. They were trying
to quench their thirst in broken cisterns.
En Gedi water
represents the “Living Waters” that scripture
often refers to. It is the refreshing and pure “water”
of God that provides encouragement to our souls. As
we face the battles of our wilderness, we can grow weary
of the troubles that we face. We long for the refreshment
and strength of God that can only be found at En Gedi.
The Bible
refers to that need for refreshment in God as “thirsting”.
Psalms
63:1: “O God, You are my God; Early will I seek
You; My soul thirsts for You… in a dry and thirsty
land.”
Psalms
42:1: “As the deer pants (thirsts; longs) for
the water brooks, so pants my soul for You, O God. My
soul thirsts for God, for the living God.”
In John
4:13-14: Jesus spoke of “living
water”. As He talked with a Samaritan woman, he
offered her “Living Waters” that would be
even better than the springs and rivers of the land.
That water, from Jesus, would become a spring inside
of her, ending all of her thirst.
As you step
into this next season I encourage you to find your En
Gedi daily. This is the only way to stay refreshed and
equipped to accomplish all that God has called you to.
We waste a lot of time digging our own cisterns and
we find our selves paying a high price if we try to
drink of those “dead waters”. We need to
drink of the “Living Waters”
on a consistent basis. We need to do as David did and
“sit down in, remain in, settle, marry,
abide in, continue to dwell in, and tarry in”
the Presence of God and receive the refreshment and
encouragement that only God can provide.
..........................................................................................................-
Bea Tapparo |
