John 7:37-39 - Rivers of Living Water

John 7:37-39

37 Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, "From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water." 39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified. 

Message: Rivers of Living Water

Time: John most likely wrote between A.D. 85 and 90. John's purpose in writing was, "that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing you may have life in His name (John 20:31)."

What the Lord is Saying: Jesus is still in Jerusalem and the Feast of Booths is happening and this verse mentions the last day of that festival or the 8th day. This means we can think of Chapter 7:10 till now to be 8 days. On this last day Jesus says words that he has spoken previously from John 4 about being the living water but He also seems to quote from Scripture. And John comments in verse 39 that Jesus is speaking of the Spirit, the Spirit that was coming to indwell in people. 

As a reminder, the Feast of Booths celebration was focused on remembering God's faithfulness in sheltering the people of Israel while in the wilderness. In Numbers 11, God promises through Moses that the Spirit will come upon the people of Israel. And the provision of water was also characteristic of God's work with the Israelites. 

And so Jesus, as He has spoken before, declares that the provision of water or the source of water is He Himself. One is to believe in Jesus. The quote that Jesus gives here is nowhere found in Scripture. And yet the thought is present in the Old Testament:

• Exodus 17:6 - “Behold, I will stand before you there on the rock at Horeb; and you shall strike the rock, and water will come out of it, that the people may drink.” And Moses did so in the sight of the elders of Israel.
• Numbers 20:11 - Then Moses lifted up his hand and struck the rock twice with his rod; and water came forth abundantly, and the congregation and their beasts drank.
• Psalm 114:8 - Who turned the rock into a pool of water, The flint into a fountain of water.
• Isaiah 44:3 - For I will pour out water on the thirsty land And streams on the dry ground; I will pour out My Spirit on your offspring And My blessing on your descendants;
• Isaiah 55:1 - “Ho! Every one who thirsts, come to the waters; And you who have no money come, buy and eat. Come, buy wine and milk Without money and without cost."
• Isaiah 58:11 - “And the LORD will continually guide you, And satisfy your desire in scorched places, And give strength to your bones; And you will be like a watered garden, And like a spring of water whose waters do not fail.
• Joel 2:23 - So rejoice, O sons of Zion, And be glad in the LORD your God; For He has given you the early rain for your vindication. And He has poured down for you the rain, The early and latter rain as before.
• Joel 3:18 - And in that day The mountains will drip with sweet wine, And the hills will flow with milk, And all the brooks of Judah will flow with water; And a spring will go out from the house of the LORD To water the valley of Shittim.
• Ezekiel 47:1 - Then he brought me back to the door of the house; and behold, water was flowing from under the threshold of the house toward the east, for the house faced east. And the water was flowing down from under, from the right side of the house, from south of the altar.
• Ezekiel 47:12 - “By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
• Zechariah 13:1 - “By the river on its bank, on one side and on the other, will grow all kinds of trees for food. Their leaves will not wither and their fruit will not fail. They will bear every month because their water flows from the sanctuary, and their fruit will be for food and their leaves for healing.”
• Zechariah 14:8 - And in that day living waters will flow out of Jerusalem, half of them toward the eastern sea and the other half toward the western sea; it will be in summer as well as in winter.

And so it is fitting that Jesus calls Himself the living water and yet He shows that He is the source of the living water. Water that everyone needs and wants and provides for us. And yet today, maybe it is hard for us to be affected by these words, especially in the western world, in which we have water in abundance and perhaps take it for granted. Because of that provision that is already overflowing, do we struggle comprehending the full meaning of this or maybe we miss the full impact because of all that we have? I wonder. 

The Rivers of Living Water is the abundant provision that will not come about until the Spirit descends into people's lives following Jesus' ascension. And it speaks in verse 38 that this provision of living water will be from his innermost being. Or in King James, from his belly. As such there will be spiritual blessings that will flow forth from the believer in Jesus. There will be good works of abundance coming from this person in Christ. We will be a people full of blessings, overflowing generosity. We will be a people helping other people in many ways, providing for their needs, their health and well-being. As in birthing hospitals and aiding people when disasters hit. While Christ is the source, the people of God will be the conduits. The people of God will be the working on this earth of all of this flowing river. Rivers are incredible to me because they are constantly in flow. The source is not always apparent but under the ground and yet it keeps coming. 

Summary: Jesus is the source of living water, providing life to those who believe in Him and the waters will flow in the form of blessings to many people, continually. 

Promise: We ourselves are not sources of living water, but Christ empowers us by His Spirit and works through us to bless others. 

Prayer: Lord, I want to be eager for You to use me in this way, blessing others, from the source of living water that You provide. I see rivers and streams and waterfalls that flow with power and flow continually and it reminds me of the power of giving and helping those in need. And providing others what they need. You are the source of giving and life and all that is good. Even as my atheist friend shares of the way he helps a young man with learning difficulties, you are still the source of all of this. Our spirit enjoys this and is impacted by this. Help him to realize the source of this giving. You work God, not only in believers, but continually in people's lives. May more people recognize You as the source of Life and believe in You. 

Note: If you are interested in other studies/devotions, check out my index of Bible Study's.