The Bible's use of symbolism and allegory is both interesting and instructive. It would be very easy for one to read this verse and not think any more of it. Well isn't that interesting. Four rivers there, coming from one. But with the help of other portions of the Bible, which gives us an understanding of types, this verse can become much more instructive than what it literally says. There is a great deal that is hidden here.
I have chosen this because I think it is something we all can relate to very clearly. First of all water, we all understand, is a symbol of God's Spirit. Remember John 7:37-39, where Jesus said, Out of this person's belly shall flow rivers of living waters. And then John went on to explain it. This spoke He of the Holy Spirit which was not yet given. Water is a symbol of God's Spirit.
Physical water is life giving, cleansing, refreshing, and it is also a great source of power if it is in sufficient volume and it is moving. Now think of all these things as you relate it to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has to be moving if it is going to do any work, any real work. The movement is from God's throne out to us, back out to others and back to God's throne. There is a circuit that is completed here.
Notice how God describes in this verse the water as having one source. The implication in its context is the place where one has access to God. Adam and Eve were there, the progenitors of all the human family, and where they had access to God was in Eden. In type, that is where God is dwelling and that is where the water was flowing out from. But, the water divided four ways (remember that) and then men could partake of this water's qualities and thus receive its benefits.
The verse in no way limits man's sources of water, nor does it state anything about quality of other waters. God is not saying that every river, every source of water had its source from this. It only says there was a river coming out of Eden and it divided four ways. We know that was not the only source of water that was available on earth. That is very important. We know, again from other sources in the Bible, that there were other rivers besides these that also offered benefits, but there was only one source of water that came from the place of God's habitation.
God compares His Word to water and spirit, manna and food. There is a great deal of teaching there. We have shifted the symbol (or the type) just momentarily from water to the Word. God compares His Word to water. He compares His Word to manna. He compares His Word to spirit. He compares His Word to food.
Let us summarize the lesson here that you can get from understanding types and symbols. We must be very careful of the source from which our water is to come, to make sure it comes from the place where there is access to God, so that we do not limit our true spiritual growth or even be poisoning ourselves to death.
There are four accounts of Jesus' ministry, but there is only one source. We need to ask this question: Is each of these accounts merely supplementary? Is the one just corroborating what the other has already written? They indeed do this, but is that their chief purpose? I think you understand I am talking about the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Let us begin here in the Scripture in Genesis 2. We are talking about a subject that is often good to see the first mention of a thing. But the idea of names and naming occurs immediately in the Garden of Eden. God shows first of all His example of naming and then he shows Adam being given the authority to name. Let us just take the first one.
This is the first mention of names and naming. Now, since they were the names of Eden's rivers, we can assume that God named them. This had to do with the place that He had chosen to put mankind to begin all humanity. And so He put them in the Garden and it was these rivers that ended up flowing out from God's place Eden or the Garden of Eden.
Now, He named them, these four rivers, descriptively. The Pishon means full flowing. The Gihon means bursting forth. Tigris or Hiddekel means darting, swift. And Euphrates means sweet. Now, as I explained so many years ago in my Imagining the Garden of Eden series, these can be understood, when you put certain verses together, as descriptions of the Holy Spirit. It is the water that comes out from God's presence. So He described right away how His Spirit flows from Him. It is full flowing, it bursts forth, it is darting and swift. We do not have to wait for His Spirit to start working. And it is sweet, it tastes good. It gives us the things that we need. And so we have here God naming things what they are and what they are to represent.
