In the Holy Land: Water

The following is a paper I wrote for my Old Testament class here in Jerusalem. It's a bit long, but I felt like I should share it here:

Water

Water is one of the key necessities of life, and throughout Ancient Israel ready water sources were the deciding factor where people would settle. Visiting the desert, it’s clear the need and lack of water. Even to this day, water’s two main purposes are for drink and for cleansing. Because of this necessity and emphasis on water throughout the ages, it is not surprising that water has become a significant symbol.

Though the use of drinking water is used by Christ in His conversation with the Samaritan woman at the well to denote His own divine role as the source of eternal life, the Living Water, water as a symbol of cleansing is arguably more prominent in the scriptures.

Cleansing Water

In Jericho, we visited the spring of Elisha and read the following verses concerning this ancient spring of water: “And the men of the city said unto Elisha, Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant, as my lord seeth: but the water is naught, and the ground barren. And he said, Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein. And they brought it to him. And he went forth unto the spring of the waters, and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence any more death or barren land. So the waters were healed unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he spake” (2 Kings 2: 19-22). These waters were cleansed in order to provide nourishment and life, since water is required for life, to the surrounding inhabitants.

King David, in his plea for forgiveness, cries, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalm 51:10). Though not directly related to water, David uses the imagery of cleansing water to express his desire to be clean again through the Water that can truly cleanse. Doctrine and Covenants 88:74 reads, “…purify your hearts, and cleanse your hands and your feet before me, that I may make you clean.”

As we discussed in class, in biblical times, certain physical ailments were seen as unclean. One could easily become unclean in multiple ways and had to thus become clean through sacrifice and prayer. Sometimes, certain ailments were so great that the invalid would have little or no hope of ever becoming clean, such as these following two examples:

“And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment: For she said within herself, If I may but tough his garment, I shall be whole. But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour” (Matt. 9: 20-22).

An Old Testament story that is one of the epitomes of this cleansing use of water is when Naaman, a leper, seeks guidance and healing from the prophet. “And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean….And his servants came near, and spake unto him, and said, My father, if the prophet had bid thee do some great things, wouldest thou no have done it? How much rather then, when he saith to thee, Wash, and be clean? Then went he down, and dipped himself seven times in Jordan, according to the saying of the man of God: and his flesh came again like unto the flesh of a little child, and he was clean” (2 Kings 5:10-14).

It is important to note in both of these examples that Naaman and the woman with the issue of blood both not just cleansed from their uncleanliness, but this particular cleansing also involved healing and the powers of faith and the Atonement.

Healing Water

The Fall made at least one thing absolutely necessary for God’s children to survive mortality both physically and spiritually: to be healed. If one will necessarily die physically, as God tells Adam and Eve they will do if they eat of the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil, then one has to be healed physically in order to achieve the perfection of body we will gain upon the resurrection. Also, if they may, and probably will to some degree, die spiritually, then there must be a way for mankind to be healed spiritually to regain the body necessary in order to receive the highest degree of happiness and glory, which is God’s ultimate will. Thus, in order for the purpose of our life to be fulfilled, we must be healed.

John, in his gospel, tells us of a pool in Jerusalem called Bethesda, “In these [porches] lay a great multitude of impotent fold, of blind, halt, withered, waiting for the moving of the water. For an angel went down at a certain season into the pool, and troubled the water: whosoever then first after the troubling of the water stepped in was made whole of whatsoever disease he had” (John 5:3-4). Christ, upon seeing an invalid there, healed him. The man had hoped to, someday, be able to be healed in this pool, but lacked the help and strength. Instead he is blessed by the healing power of the Living Water.

Ultimately, only Christ can heal us both physically and spiritually. Physically, we are only able to be healed and granted a perfect body through Christ’s atonement and resurrection. Spiritually, “The only one who can accomplish the healing of a sick soul is the Great Physician Himself, our Father in Heaven, through His Son, Jesus Christ. Jesus promised those who will come to Him with full purpose of heart and repent: ‘I shall heal them.’ The Church cannot heal; priesthood leaders do not heal; only an omnipotent God can accomplish the miracle of spiritual healing” (Elder Malcolm S. Jeppsen, A Divine Prescription for Spiritual Healing, April 1994 Conference Address).

Isaiah 53:5 reads, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed” (emphasis added). Only through His wounds and sacrifice can we be healed and be made whole, and this truth is particularly clear in Numbers 21 when the Lord says, “Make thee a fiery serpent, and set it upon a pole: and it shall come to pass, that every one that is bitten, when he looketh upon it shall live” (v. 8). Many of the Israelites don’t bother to look. They either believe that they will be okay making their own way, or they find the act of looking up too simple. Either way, they lack faith that He can heal them and deliver them from the dangers all around.

Saving Water

Atonement (healing and cleansing synthesis…importance of water of life):

Under “health”, the Bible Dictionary says, “In old English this word denoted healing power, deliverance, salvation” (p. 699). Just as water is necessary to cleanse and heal us and provide us with life in mortality, Living Water is essential to cleanse us, heal us, and provide us with eternal life, and this Healing, Cleansing, and Living Water is the Savior and His Atonement for us. The Samaritan woman at the well understood this so well that she ran to her family and friends in order to invite their Messiah into their homes and their lives.

Robert D. Hales stated in a conference address in autumn of 1998, “Our Savior knows the heart of each of us. He knows the pains of our hearts. If we seek the truth, develop faith in Him, and, if necessary, sincerely repent, we will receive a spiritual change of heart which only comes from our Savior. Our hearts will become new again.”

This Saving Water, or Atonement, not only can clean and heal us, but can also deeply nourish and refresh us, just like a cold glass of water on a cold day.

Brad Wilcox, in a devotional address at Brigham Young University, stated, “The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can live after we die but that we can live more abundantly. The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can be cleansed and consoled but that we can be transformed. Scriptures make is clear that no unclean thing can dwell with God, but no unchanged thing will even want to. The miracle of the Atonement is not just that we can go home but that—miraculously—we can feel at home there” (36).

Talking of grace, the Bible Dictionary says, “The main idea of the word [grace] is divine means of help or strength, given through the bounteous mercy and love of Jesus Christ. … It is likewise through the grace of the Lord that individuals, through faith in the atonement of Jesus Christ and repentance of their sins, receive strength and assistance to do good works that they otherwise would not be able to maintain if left to their own means. This grace is an enabling power that allows men and women to lay hold on eternal life and exaltation after they have expended their own best efforts.” Elder David A. Bednar adds, “Thus, the enabling and strengthening aspect of the Atonement helps us to see and to do and to become good in ways that we could never recognize or accomplish with our limited mortal capacity.” If we truly put our trust and faith in Christ and endeavor to come unto Him, His atonement makes us capable of achieving all that we cannot do by ourselves, including the important steps of being cleansed and healed. When we are meek and submit to the will of God, enabling grace helps us through the process of changing, healing, and becoming who God would have us be.