Thirst-Quencher

It is one of the high-water marks of the Bible’s entire witness to water and the grace of God. It happened during the annual Jewish Festival of Tabernacles.

This late-summer festival looked back in history to Israel's exodus and God’s provision of water in the desert, and it looked ahead to the dream of Israel’s restored honor among the nations as predicted in Zechariah 14:16. Every year pilgrims came to Jerusalem from every direction in what Josephus called as “a most holy and most eminent feast.”
- Antiquities of the Jews, VIII, iv, 1.

* * * Feast of Tabernacles painting - Valerie R Jackson

Every day during this eight-day festival, priests marched in solemn procession carrying water from the Pool of Siloam up to the temple and pouring it out at the base of the altar in remembrance of God’s gift of water from the rock in the desert. On the highest day of the festival, the high priest poured out the water with a special prayer for rain, since the autumn rains are desperately needed to soften the soil for planting.

This water ceremony also recalled Zechariah’s tantalizing prophecy that “living water will flow out from Jerusalem” (14:8) and “a fountain will be opened to … the inhabitants of Jerusalem” (13:1). The prophets Joel and Isaiah had made similar prophecies about life-giving rivers of blessing that will flow among God’s people, depicting the abundance of God’s salvation, forgiving sins and healing the scars of sin and misery. This was all implicit in the ritual that evolved for the Feast of Tabernacles.

Throughout the centuries people in every culture have created rituals and practices that respond to the thirst in their parched souls. Western consumer culture works as hard as any other to quench this inner thirst, just as the temple-obsessed Jews of the first century did.

Where I live in Kitchener-Waterloo Ontario, we celebrate Oktoberfest – surpassed only by Munich as the largest beer-fest in the world.

Ostensibly Oktoberfest is a kind of German-Canadian harvest festival that indulges the desire to drink cheerfully and with impunity. Such is the spirit of the event. The reality is not always as jovial or innocent.

Jesus was deeply moved that year as he watched the water ritual unfold, knowing that he himself was God’s gift of living water sent from heaven to quench our thirst. He held back until he could restrain himself no longer. Then he shouted at the top of his voice, "anyone who is thirsty, come to me and drink!”  John 7:37-38

It sounds completely audacious that someone would claim that he personally is the answer to every human being’s inner thirst. Audacious, yes, but through the centuries, millions have come to him and found his promise completely true.

I'm convinced that Jesus is the great Thirst-quencher the whole world has been waiting for!

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Feast of Tabernacles painting by Valerie R Jackson