Water is Love Part 3

This week’s blog wraps up the three part series on water and all its different meanings from an unconventional perspective.

Today I want to give the gift of revealing the vastness of our Creator’s love, and the gentleness that accompanies it without losing my audience, so if you haven’t read either of my last two postings, start there. It will give you a greater understanding and allow you to enjoy this posting more.

Last week we looked at the tetrahedral structure of water with regard to the Judaic Tetragrammaton. The week before we looked at the structure of a single water molecule and the symbolism present with regard to the Christian Trinity.

This week I want to tie them together with Biblical stories from both the Old and New Testament that provide examples of the importance of water. Noah, Moses and Jonah all played significant roles in Judaic tradition and all of them experienced major life changes because of water.

Noah witnessed the “washing of the world” through water (Genesis 7:11-23). Moses held his arms up to part the Red Sea and lowered them to initiate the Egyptians’ fateful drowning (Exodus14:15-31). Jonah tried to ignore God’s call, but was caught in a terrible storm on the sea, thrown overboard and swallowed by a whale (Jonah 1 & 2).

The New Testament also contains examples where the importance of water is crucial to the meaning of the story. First and foremost is Jesus’ own baptism in the Jordan River (Matthew 3:13-17). But then there are many miracles associated with water including the wedding at Cana (John 2:1-11)), the washing of the blind man’s eyes (John 1-7), the calming of the storm at sea (Matthew 8:23-27), walking on water (Matthew 14:24-33), and the special meeting with the Samaritan woman and Jesus’ expression of the “living water” (John 4:13-14).

Jesus talked to the Samaritan woman and said: “Everyone who drinks this water (from Jacob’s well) will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:13-14)

Jesus is not the first to talk about living waters. Jeremiah also talks about the source of life in the following, “O hope of Israel, O Lord! All who forsake you shall be in disgrace...they have forsaken the source of living waters [the Lord]. (Jeremiah 17:13)

Further evidence is drawn from Jewish tradition that holds that the Torah (the Word of God) is called the living waters. They even have a special blessing when drinking water that is all encompassing: “Blessed art Thou, our Lord our God, King of the Universe, by whose word all things exist.”

Water is thoroughly intertwined with both Judaic and Christian Biblical tradition along with the symbolism that comes from the properties of a water molecule.

How do we apply these symbols to ourselves? Our bodies need water just as we need God. And as water washes away pain, so can God wash away our pain. God can heal us, just as water cleanses us. Through the symbol of water, our Creator loves us and cares for us daily.

So much to learn, so much to discover! May you never look at a glass of water the same way again!

One last note, I want to thank my dear friend, Dr. William Elefant, for all his help in maintaining the integrity of Judaic tradition that is presented here. Thank you!

Questions on information presented here? Just leave a comment and I’ll respond! Thank you!