Rain, Rain

“If any man thirst, let him come unto Me and drink.  He that believes on Me, as the scripture hath said, from within him shall flow rivers of living water.”  This spoke He of the Spirit, which they that believed on Him were to receive.

~John 7:37-39 [ARV]

It is raining this morning.  The sky is filled with various shades of gray clouds, with the rain falling softly on the welcoming ground.  It must have rained much harder during the night – my glass storm door is a panoply of scattered droplets and everything on the porch is soaked.  It isn’t cold, however: the Internet weather proclaims it to be 64◦ outside – wonderful walking weather if it wasn’t so wet. 

Water, in the form of rivers, streams, or rain, is another Biblical symbol of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus called out the invitation of our scripture during the Feast of Tabernacles – the last of the three annual feasts of the Jews.  This festival was 8 days in length and celebrated God’s protective care during their days of wandering in the wilderness.  The people of Jerusalem built little booths of branches to commemorate the tents of their sojourn, and lived outdoors for the first seven days of the festivities.  On the eighth day, they returned to their homes, symbolizing their entrance into the Promised Land.

Each day at dawn, the priests would lead a vast procession to the Valley of Kidron, where they filled a ceremonial pitcher with water from the living springs of the Pool of Siloam. The High Priest then led the way back up to the Temple, where the water was poured out before the altar.  On the eighth day of the feast, however, no water was offered.  Instead, the priest lifted up an empty vessel, expressing the unfulfilled promises and longings of the Jewish nation.  It was at this emotional high point in the ceremony that Jesus proclaimed, “You are thirsty?  Come to me, believe on me, and I will give you living water.”

It was the same offer that was He extended to the Samaritan woman at the well of Sychar: “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me drink,’ you would have asked Him and He would have given you living water.”   The power of the Holy Spirit is available to each of us.  All we have to do is ask.

There shall be showers of blessing, precious reviving again;

Over the hills and the valleys, sound of abundance of rain.

Showers of blessing, showers of blessing we need;

Mercy drops round us are falling, but for the showers we plead.