Ezekiel 47:8 Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country, and go down into the desert, and go into the sea: which being brought forth into the sea, the waters shall be healed
"The Dead Sea will be made wholesome and full of life. This was the location of Sodom and Gomorrah and so represents the healing of the world cursed for sin" The Reformation Heritage KJV Study Bible notes for Ezekiel 47:8
My anguish
This morning I had to go to God with my anguish. I had to be reminded of His redemptive plan while we witness first hand, the world writhing in death throes:
For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travailieth in pain together until now (Romans 8:22)
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows (Mark 13:8)
Ezekiel
Let's return to what I discovered in Ezekiel in just a few verses: what was dead and incapable of sustaining life God revives with living water:
And it shall come to pass, that every thing that liveth, which moveth, whithersoever the rivers shall come, shall live: and there shall be a very great multitude of fish, because these waters shall come thither: for they shall be healed; and every thing shall live whither the river cometh. And it shall come to pass, that the fishers shall stand upon it from En-gedi even unto En-eglaim; they shall be a place to spread forth nets; there fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many (Ezekiel 47:9-10)
Dear reader, what man pollutes and corrupts, God can cleanse and purify. I pray earnestly for Him to do so. While we are still on this earth, our hope must remain fixed on His redemptive plan, which brings me to love nets being cast out, starting with the fish Jesus caught as He walked the shoreline of the Sea of Galilee
Now as he walked by the Sea of Galilee, he saw Simon and Andrew his brother casting a net into the sea: for they were fishers. And Jesus said unto them, Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men. And straightway they forsook their nets, and followed him (Mark 1:16-17)
We return to Simon
God is some kind of wonderful, because He calls men to Himself, and the men that respond walk toward Him in faith, trusting that He will provide. But God is also pragmatically helpful, given our limited understanding past earthly needs. He knows we need practical examples in the flesh, to comprehend the vastness of His generosity. We return to Simon in his profession of catching, or not catching, actual fish, with Jesus aboard his ship:
And he entered into one of the ships, which was Simon's and prayed him that he would thrust out a little from the land. And he sat down, and taught the people out of the ship. Now when he had left speaking, he said unto Simon, Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught. And Simon answering said unto him, Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing: nevertheless at thy word I will let down the net. And when they had this done, they inclosed a great multitude of fishes; and their net brake. And they beckoned unto their partners, which were in the other ship, that they should come and help them. And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord. For he was astonished, and all that were with him, at the draught of the fishes which they had taken ... (Luke 5:3-9)
- Jesus enters the ship and asks Simon to go out from the land
- Jesus sits and teaches the people that are listening to him while on shore
- Jesus finishes speaking, and asks Simon to launch out into the deep to let down the nets for a catch
- Simon lets Jesus know, there are no fish to be caught, we tried all night
- Simon calls Jesus Master, and obeys
- The nets get so full of fish, they break
- They need help, and call out to their fishing partners
- Two ships get so filled with fish, they start to sink
- Simon falls at the knees of Jesus, asking Him to depart, because he is ashamed as a sinful man in the presence of deity
- He is astonished at the catch!
And so was also James, and John, the sons of Zebedee, which were partners with Simon. And Jesus said unto Simon, Fear not; from henceforth thou shalt catch men. And when they had brought their ships to land, they forsook all, and followed him (Luke 5:10-11)
Fishing for souls
Dear reader, with Jesus aboard, two ships were so filled with fish that they began to sink! Not only that, these sea fairing men were so astonished by Jesus, that they got the poignant point: catching fish is for eating which is of course, necessary. But fishing for souls as Jesus did on that Galatian Sea, caught the imaginations of manly men, with rough hands and salty lives! Recall, Jesus taught the people out of the ship prior to the deep sea fishing expedition. The sailors were listening, and I am confident they were captivated with what Jesus shared. This was a once in a life time experience.
Launch out into the deep
Dear one, what would it be like for us to launch out into the deep after Jesus has entered our ship? Simon and crew had fished all night and didn't even catch a tadpole! With Jesus aboard Simon's boat couldn't stay afloat because of the unusually massive catch, and he recognized that all his hard work meant nothing: it is God that provides what we need, when we need it.
Master, we have toiled all the night, and have taken nothing
And they came, and filled both the ships, so that they began to sink
When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying Depart from me; for I am a sinful man, O Lord
His redemptive plan
I shared above that I had to go to God with my anguish to be reminded of His redemptive plan. When I think of Simon toiling all night and catching not one fish, I think of how it currently feels to see so many fishes floundering, breathlessly running out of oxygen without the hope of being thrown back into living waters. This morning I was reminded of Jesus' words to His newly caught disciples, to Fear not. He is the living waters. He revives what is dead, and brings back to life what He cleanses.
... they shall be a place to spread forth nets; there fish shall be according to their kinds, as the fish of the great sea, exceeding many (Ezekiel 47:10)
I end on a playful note, because I have been moved from anguish to uplifted in the course of writing this piece.
"Ever bin to sea Billy?" (listen for an old seaman's drawl). I can hear this line from a Captain Highliner commercial from my childhood, back in 1979: I looked it up!
There are many fish in the sea and they are yet to be caught. We must first go out into the deep, obeying Jesus' command, and cast the love net of the Gospel. The Good News is God isn't done, and His redemptive plan is in place until this world is rolled up like a scroll:
And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places (Revelation 6:14)
As long as we are here, you and I, it is our duty to be fishers of men, after hearing Jesus say:
Launch out into the deep, and let down your nets for a draught
And
Come ye after me, and I will make you to become fishers of men
Putting our trust in the Lord is always the wisest choice to make.
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