Upon the Rivers
He will suck the poison of cobras; the tongue of a viper will kill him. He will not look upon the rivers, the streams flowing with honey and curds. He will give back the fruit of his toil and will not swallow it down; from the profit of his trading he will get no enjoyment. For he has crushed and abandoned the poor; he has seized a house that he did not build.
Job 20:16–19
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Upon the Rivers
For millennium rivers have been the life blood of society. Civilization rose and fell according to the flow of the rivers, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and Assyria, all relied upon the rivers to sustain them. Abraham, Moses, Joshua were all promised a land flowing with rivers of milk and honey. There was life to be found in the waters which flowed through the land. God, in His infinite mercy, blesses all His people, even those who would turn their back on Him. As we confess in the explanation to the 4th petition, “God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked people.” Yet we know that “man does not live on bread alone” (Matthew 4:4). We know that we need more than just physical substance, we need to be feed by the Word of God. A meal which we cannot obtain on our own. Therefore, our loving Father once again took it upon Himself to deliver us. Two-thousand years ago, God in the flesh, stepped into a muddy river in a backwater Roman province and transformed our relationship with our heavenly Father forever. The muddy water of the Jordan became living water, as we are connected to Christ’s Baptism upon the rivers of our own Baptism. The living water which flows from the font bring lifesaving faith as we are adopted into the family of God. We are feed though out our lives by the living waters of God’s Word and Sacraments, taking to heart our Saviors words, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38)
Job 20:16–19
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Upon the Rivers
For millennium rivers have been the life blood of society. Civilization rose and fell according to the flow of the rivers, Egypt, Babylon, Persia, and Assyria, all relied upon the rivers to sustain them. Abraham, Moses, Joshua were all promised a land flowing with rivers of milk and honey. There was life to be found in the waters which flowed through the land. God, in His infinite mercy, blesses all His people, even those who would turn their back on Him. As we confess in the explanation to the 4th petition, “God gives daily bread, even without our prayer, to all wicked people.” Yet we know that “man does not live on bread alone” (Matthew 4:4). We know that we need more than just physical substance, we need to be feed by the Word of God. A meal which we cannot obtain on our own. Therefore, our loving Father once again took it upon Himself to deliver us. Two-thousand years ago, God in the flesh, stepped into a muddy river in a backwater Roman province and transformed our relationship with our heavenly Father forever. The muddy water of the Jordan became living water, as we are connected to Christ’s Baptism upon the rivers of our own Baptism. The living water which flows from the font bring lifesaving faith as we are adopted into the family of God. We are feed though out our lives by the living waters of God’s Word and Sacraments, taking to heart our Saviors words, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37-38)
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