SPRING OF FRESH WATER
11 No other nation has ever changed its gods, even though they were not real. But my people have exchanged me, the God who has brought them honor, for gods that can do nothing for them. 12 And so I command the sky to shake with horror, to be amazed and astonished, 13 for my people have committed two sins: they have turned away from me, the spring of fresh water, and they have dug cisterns, that can hold no water at all. (Jeremiah 2:11-13 Good News Bible - GNB)
Here is the same scripture passage as recorded in the New Living Translation (NLT) version:
11 Has any nation ever exchanged its gods for another god, even though its gods are nothing? Yet my people have exchanged their glorious God for worthless idols! 12 The heavens are shocked at such a thing and shrink back in horror and dismay, says the LORD. 13 For my people have done two evil things: They have forsaken me—the fountain of living water. And they have dug for themselves cracked cisterns that can hold no water at all! (Jeremiah 2:11-13 NLT)
The Lord God Almighty is “the spring of fresh water”. He is alternatively referred to as “the fountain of living water.” Ever come across one of those nifty fountains that repeatedly sprouts water? Some of these fountains are located in large shopping area or square. It’s a common knowledge that the water from such fountains are not suitable for drinking no matter how clear they may appear. The reason is not far fetched. They are fountains of not-so-fresh waters. The water being sprouted is stale. It’s being recycled. Our Lord Jehovah the Most High God does not fall into such category of fountain. He is “the fountain of living waters” – “the spring of fresh water.”
Mentioned was made about fountains of not-so-fresh waters. The water springing from such fountain is stale. Our God is not like that. He is “the spring of fresh water.” He will ensure that freshness is maintained in your life. He wants you to remain fresh in every facet of your existence.
Freshness: in terms of new and fresh anointing of the Holy Spirit.
But my horn You have exalted like a wild ox; I have been anointed with fresh oil. (Psalm 92:10 NKJV)
But you have made me as strong as a wild bull. How refreshed I am by your power! (Psalm 92:10 NLT)
Freshness: in terms of the flowers of His grace and mercies that flourish each day:
22 The unfailing love of the LORD never ends! ........ 23 Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each day. (Lamentations 3:22,23 NLT)
Freshness: in terms of constant renewing of your strength
31 But those who wait on the LORD will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint. (Isaiah 401:31 NLT)
But those who wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; .......... (Isaiah 401:31 NKJV)
Freshness: in terms of rejuvenating your health
2 “But for you who fear my name, the Sun of Righteousness will rise with healing in his wings. And you will go free, leaping with joy like calves let out to pasture......... says the LORD Almighty. (Malachi 4:2 NLT)
Needless to say, the sun rises each morning at the spring of the day. Its bright rays extend across the horizon like the feathers that makes up the wings of an eagle. It breaks forth each morning and shines to herald the dawn of a new day. Its rising and brightness summon the uplifting and refreshing of a person’s mood – just as the Sun of Righteousness rises to rejuvenate your health.
Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of LORD shall be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:8 NKJV)
Though we journey through a world that is filled with trials and turbulence, our deliverance spring forth as our triumph is always assured.
Now thanks be to God who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every place. (2 Corinthians 2:14 NKJV)
Jehoshaphat called upon “the LORD, the spring of fresh water. LORD, heal me and I will be completely well; rescue me and I will be perfectly safe. You are the one I praise!” The rest is history:
1 After this, the armies of the Moabites, Ammonites, and some of the Meunites declared war on Jehoshaphat. .......... 3 Jehoshaphat was alarmed by this news and sought the LORD for guidance. He also gave orders that everyone throughout Judah should observe a fast. .......... 6 He prayed, “O LORD, God of our ancestors, you alone are the God who is in heaven. You are ruler of all the kingdoms of the earth. You are powerful and mighty; no one can stand against you! ........... 12 O our God, won’t you stop them? We are powerless against this mighty army that is about to attack us. We do not know what to do, but we are looking to you for help.” 13 As all the men of Judah stood before the LORD with their little ones, wives, and children, 14 the Spirit of the LORD came upon one of the men standing there. .......... 15 He said, “Listen, King .......! Listen, all you people ........! This is what the LORD says: Do not be afraid! Don’t be discouraged by this mighty army, for the battle is not yours, but God’s. 16 Tomorrow, march out against them. ......... 17 But you will not even need to fight. Take your positions; then stand still and watch the LORD’s victory. He is with you, O people ......... Do not be afraid or discouraged. Go out there tomorrow, for the LORD is with you!” 18 Then King Jehoshaphat bowed down with his face to the ground. And all the people ....... did the same, worshiping the LORD. 19 Then the Levites ......... stood to praise the LORD, the God of Israel, with a very loud shout. 20 Early the next morning the army of Judah went out ......... 21 ......., the king appointed singers to walk ahead of the army, singing to the LORD and praising him for his holy splendor. This is what they sang:
“Give thanks to the LORD;
his faithful love endures forever!”
22 At the moment they began to sing and give praise, the LORD caused the armies of Ammon, Moab, and Mount Seir to start fighting among themselves. 23 The armies of Moab and Ammon turned against their allies from Mount Seir and killed every one of them. After they had finished off the army of Seir, they turned on each other. 24 So when the army of Judah arrived at the lookout point in the wilderness, there were dead bodies lying on the ground for as far as they could see. Not a single one of the enemy had escaped. 25 King Jehoshaphat and his men went out to gather the plunder. They found vast amounts of equipment, clothing, and other valuables—more than they could carry. There was so much plunder that it took them three days just to collect it all! 26 On the fourth day they gathered in the Valley of Blessing, which got its name that day because the people praised and thanked the LORD there. It is still called the Valley of Blessing today. 27 Then they returned to Jerusalem, with Jehoshaphat leading them, full of joy that the LORD had given them victory over their enemies. 28 They marched into Jerusalem to the music of harps, lyres, and trumpets and proceeded to the Temple of the LORD. 29 When the surrounding kingdoms heard that the LORD himself had fought against the enemies of Israel, the fear of God came over them. 30 So Jehoshaphat’s kingdom was at peace, for his God had given him rest on every side. (2 Chronicles 20:1,3,6,12-30 NLT)
Did the scripture not state:
LORD, heal me and I will be completely well; rescue me and I will be perfectly safe. You are the one I praise! (Jeremiah 17:14 GNB)
12 You will not leave in a hurry, running for your lives. For the LORD will go ahead of you, and the God of Israel will protect you from behind. 13 See, my servant will prosper; he will be highly exalted. (Isaiah 52:7-15 NLT)
Instead of your shame you shall have double honor, and instead of confusion they shall rejoice in their portion. Therefore in their land they shall possess double; everlasting joy shall be theirs. (Isaiah 61:7 NKJV)
Jehoshaphat was not the only one who benefited from the sip of “the LORD, the spring of fresh water”. Naaman too was in line to testify about how the “LORD, heal me and I will be completely well; rescue me and I will be perfectly safe. You are the one I praise.”
1 The king of Aram had high admiration for Naaman, the commander of his army, because through him the LORD had given Aram great victories. But though Naaman was a mighty warrior, he suffered from leprosy. 2 Now groups of Aramean raiders had invaded the land of Israel, and among their captives was a young girl who had been given to Naaman’s wife as a maid. 3 One day the girl said to her mistress, “I wish my master would go to see the prophet in Samaria. He would heal him of his leprosy.” 4 So Naaman told the king what the young girl from Israel had said. 5 “Go and visit the prophet,” the king told him. “I will send a letter of introduction for you to carry to the king of Israel.” So Naaman started out, taking as gifts 750 pounds of silver, 150 pounds of gold, and ten sets of clothing. 6 The letter to the king of Israel said: “With this letter I present my servant Naaman. I want you to heal him of his leprosy.” 7 When the king of Israel read it, he tore his clothes in dismay and said, “This man sends me a leper to heal! Am I God, that I can kill and give life? He is only trying to find an excuse to invade us again.” 8 But when Elisha, the man of God, heard about the king’s reaction, he sent this message to him: “Why are you so upset? Send Naaman to me, and he will learn that there is a true prophet here in Israel.” 9 So Naaman went with his horses and chariots and waited at the door of Elisha’s house. 10 But Elisha sent a messenger out to him with this message: “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River. Then your skin will be restored, and you will be healed of leprosy.” 11 But Naaman became angry and stalked away. “I thought he would surely come out to meet me!” he said. “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me! 12 Aren’t the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” So Naaman turned and went away in a rage. 13 But his officers tried to reason with him and said, “Sir, if the prophet had told you to do some great thing, wouldn’t you have done it? So you should certainly obey him when he says simply to go and wash and be cured!” 14 So Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times, as the man of God had instructed him. And his flesh became as healthy as a young child’s, and he was healed! 15 Then Naaman and his entire party went back to find the man of God. They stood before him, and Naaman said, “I know at last that there is no God in all the world except in Israel. .........” (2 Kings 5:1-11 NLT)
When he was told to “Go and wash yourself seven times in the Jordan River,” “Naaman became angry and stalked away.” He said, “I expected him to wave his hand over the leprosy and call on the name of the LORD his God and heal me! 12 Aren’t the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together? Why shouldn’t I wash in them and be healed?” He seems to have forgotten that
25 This “foolish” plan of God is far wiser than the wisest of human plans, and God’s weakness is far stronger than the greatest of human strength. 26 Remember, dear brothers and sisters, that few of you were wise in the world’s eyes, or powerful, or wealthy when God called you. 27 Instead, God deliberately chose things the world considers foolish in order to shame those who think they are wise. And he chose those who are powerless to shame those who are powerful. 28 God chose things despised by the world, things counted as nothing at all, and used them to bring to nothing what the world considers important, 29 so that no one can ever boast in the presence of God. 30 God alone made it possible for you to be in Christ Jesus. For our benefit God made Christ to be wisdom itself. He is the one who made us acceptable to God. He made us pure and holy, and he gave himself to purchase our freedom. 31 As the Scriptures say, “The person who wishes to boast should boast only of what the Lord has done.” (1 Corinthians 1:25-31 NLT)
Naaman did not seem to realize that for one to receive from the Lord, one has to be willing to work hand in glove with Him.
"For he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6 NKJV).
"Humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and in his good time he will honor you. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you." (1 Peter 5:6-7 NLT)
Naaman sounded just like some of us who think we know everything and yet understands little. He has a problem; the Lord has the solution, yet he was getting upset with Him. According to Naaman, “Aren’t the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus better than all the rivers of Israel put together?” May be. May be not. Fact is: his healing is ordained in that murky, dirty, despicable river called Jordan, and not in the Abana River and Pharpar River of Damascus. Need someone be reminded of the prayer of Francis of Assissi as mentioned under the correlated topic CHOICE OF A LIFE PARTNER: LET GO AND LET GOD HAVE HIS WAY? Here is an excerpt from that topic:
Remember the well-known prayer? The one that is similar to apostle Paul's "therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is." It sounds something like this: God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, courage for the things I can and wisdom to know the difference. Someone ought to be reminded of that.
He seemed to have forgotten what the scripture states in Isaiah 55:8 NLT:
8 "My thoughts are completely different from yours," says the LORD. "And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. 9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts."
Also,
"Every way of a man is right in his own eyes, but the LORD weighs the hearts." (Proverbs 21:2 NKJV)
"There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death" (Proverbs 14:12 NLT).
He failed to see how fortunate he was: “And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Elisha the prophet, and none of them was cleansed except Naaman the Syrian.” (Luke 4:27 NKJV). Eventually, “Naaman went down to the Jordan River and dipped himself seven times”. Guess whose health “spring forth speedily”?
“ ......... And his flesh became as healthy as a young child’s, and he was healed!” (2 Kings 5:1-11 NLT)
Someone got cured of his leprosy - and his ego.
Even the man born without eyes in John 9:1-41 had new eyes springing forth out of nowhere!
Then your light shall break forth like the morning, your healing shall spring forth speedily, and your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of LORD shall be your rear guard. (Isaiah 58:8 NKJV)
3 LORD, you are Israel’s hope; all who abandon you will be put to shame. They will disappear like names written in the dust, because they have abandoned you, the LORD, the spring of fresh water. 14 LORD, heal me and I will be completely well; rescue me and I will be perfectly safe. You are the one I praise! (Jeremiah 17:13-14 GNB)
God bless
Yours
Adekunle Majek’
HIAFEM
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