Introduction
We first encounter water in Genesis where the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. Later on, in Genesis 1, God uses a river to water the garden of Eden. Water is a source of life both directly through drinking and indirectly through use by plants which provide food and other benefits to mankind. Let us revisit the beginning to understand the importance of water.
Glorious Eden
8 And the LORD God planted a garden eastward in Eden; and there he put the man whom he had formed. 9 And out of the ground made the LORD God to grow every tree that is pleasant to the sight, and good for food; the tree of life also in the midst of the garden, and the tree of knowledge of good and evil. 10 And a river went out of Eden to water the garden; and from thence it was parted, and became into four heads. Genesis 2
In the midst of the garden of Eden was the tree of life. As already alluded to in a previous study, “Exercise - Glorious Eden, God’s natural gym”, the central theme of Eden was life. Here, we see the importance of water being depicted. “A river went out of the garden, to water the garden”. To sustain life in the garden of Eden water was necessary. From the garden, this singular river parted into four heads, which are four rivers. Four in the bible is used as the symbol of completeness in direction.
And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. Revelation 7
In other words, the four rivers nourished all geographical points of the earth. Hence through this one river in Eden, the centre of life, the whole earth was supplied with water and nourished. This is in line with God’s intent at creation to ‘replenish the whole earth with mankind and life’.
28 And God blessed them, and God said unto them, Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it: and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth. Genesis 1
Man is Earthly
Now, let us recall that mankind was created from the dust of the ground, which is the earth.
7 And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul. Genesis 2
This is an important connection. If water sustained Eden and the earth, how about man who is created from the dust of the ground, the earth? What sustains him? From Leviticus 17, we know that, “the life of the flesh is in the blood”. But where is this blood coming from, what is its central source? It is from the heart. Interestingly, the heart is on the upper left side of man which is “eastward” by location. The garden of Eden was “planted eastward” according to Genesis 2. Further to its location, the heart has four chambers (atria and ventricles) leading to four vessels or rivers as it were. Two supply the body while the other two receive impure blood from the body. Blood plasma, which is 55% of the whole blood is itself composed of 90% water. These four vessels are comparable to the four rivers of Eden. However, there is a direction of flow difference between the two. This difference reflects the human anatomy difference before and after the fall of Adam. Before the fall, there was no sin and therefore no death. The wages of sin is death. Since there was no death, cells did not die and thus there was no waste to return through the veins. In Eden we see a perfect science compared to what we have now - after the fall.
Rivers of Life
Now let’s look at the four rivers of Eden. Using the Strong’s Concordance, we can understand more about them. In the Scriptures names have significant meaning speaking to character or purpose.
11 The name of the first is Pison: that is it which compasseth the whole land of Havilah, where there is gold; 12 And the gold of that land is good: there is bdellium and the onyx stone. 13 And the name of the second river is Gihon: the same is it that compasseth the whole land of Ethiopia. 14 And the name of the third river is Hiddekel: that is it which goeth toward the east of Assyria. And the fourth river is Euphrates. 15 And the LORD God took the man, and put him into the garden of Eden to dress it and to keep it. Genesis 2
Pison means “increase”, Gihon means “bursting forth”, Hidekkel means “rapid”, and Euphrates means “fruitfulness”. These references to the four rivers characterize the nature and purpose of Eden. There was an increase and bursting forth of life in a rapid manner. And this life was to be fruitful as God commanded Adam and Eve to be fruitful and subdue the earth.
In the World to Come
6 And he said unto me, It is done. I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give unto him that is athirst of the fountain of the water of life freely. Revelation 21
1 And he shewed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding out of the throne of God and of the Lamb. 2 In the midst of the street of it, and on either side of the river, was there the tree of life, which bare twelve manner of fruits, and yielded her fruit every month: and the leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. Revelation 22
17 And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely. Revelation 22
Concluding Thoughts
God is the Chief Designer and Planner. No other being can create or be as creative. None. The schematics of the garden of Eden are not by accident but a meticulous and wonderful work. A river whose source is the Fountain of Living Waters flowed through the garden of Eden.
13 O LORD, the hope of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters. 14 Heal me, O LORD, and I shall be healed; save me, and I shall be saved: for thou art my praise. Jeremiah 17
This river, through the four rivers, nourished the whole earth. As Eden and the water nourished the whole earth, so the heart and blood nourishes the whole body. As Eden was planted eastward, so the heart is located eastward. The life of the flesh is in the blood. If water was important even before the fall, how much more after the fall and the entrance of death? Now that we have learnt about the importance of water, let us therefore drink water freely to sustain life that our Benevolent Creator gave. For water, one of God’s remedies, is one of His choicest blessings!