In this chapter we will learn how to have the flow of the Spirit in our inward parts. In Numbers 20 the smitten rock, which typifies Christ as the One who was smitten and riven on the cross, flowed with living water (Exo. 17:6; 1 Cor. 10:4). Then in Numbers 21 the well dug by the people of God sprang up with water (vv. 16-18). Therefore, in these two chapters of the same book there is first a rock that had to be smitten for the living water to flow out, and then a well that had to be dug for the water to spring up.
If we read the Scriptures carefully, we will realize that both the rock and the well are types of Christ, revealing Him in two different aspects. The rock typifies Christ crucified on the cross, smitten by God so that the living water, which is the Spirit of life, may flow out into us (John 19:34; 7:37-39). The well shows a different aspect. Whereas the rock is Christ crucified on the cross, the well is Christ within us (4:14). For believers it is not a matter of the rock but of the well. Christ as the rock has already accomplished His work on the cross, which issued in the water of life flowing into us; but today Christ as the well of living water springing up continuously within us is a different aspect of Christ and has much to do with the present process of digging.
The purpose of this chapter is not to give further teaching but to encourage us to go to the Lord to be dug. We must not talk too much about doctrines, about circumstances, about future steps, nor about guidance concerning the Lord’s will. We ourselves must be dug, because I believe that even up to the present moment most of us do not have the free flow of living water. Our prayers are not so free. Our testimonies are not so strong, and in many ways we have been defeated and are not so victorious. This is due to one thing: the flow of the spiritual life, or the spring of the living water, is not free within us. There is much dirt within us that must be dug out. You may ask, “What is this dirt?” It is the dirt in our conscience, our emotion, our will, and our mind. Our heart has much dirt that needs to be dug out, and even in our spirit there is some dirt that must be dealt with.
By using the word dirt, I mean that our conscience is not purified. Perhaps at this very moment some accusations that we have not confessed to the Lord are still on our conscience. These accusations are the dirt that needs to be dug away. The reason we do not sense much liberty within is that there are accusations in our conscience. What are the accusations in your conscience? You must ask yourself this question; only you know. You know what is within you that is wrong with others. When you are not right with others, the accusations persist. When you refuse to do what the Lord demands, this becomes an accusation in your conscience. Then you wonder why you are bound and without freedom. It is simply because there is a demand of the Lord that you will not answer, and it has become an immediate accusation in your conscience. Your conscience is not free from accusation and without offense.
If we would experience a free, inward flow of the Spirit, our conscience must first be dealt with and purified. We can dig the dirt away only by going to the Lord several times each day. I would suggest that during this week we go to the Lord again and again, even while we are walking along the street. We need to go to the Lord in our spirit and be dug in His presence. By the help of the Holy Spirit we must dig away all the dirt.
After dealing with the accusations in our conscience, we must also dig away the many things condemned by the Lord in our heart. Not many brothers and sisters have a pure heart in seeking only the Lord Himself. On one hand, many are seeking the Lord and His way, but on the other hand, they are still seeking many things other than the Lord Himself. Their heart then becomes complicated and is not free and pure. We must go to the Lord once again to dig away all the things other than Christ in our heart.
We may ask, “What things need to be dug away?” Perhaps one of the first things is our concern about the future and the leading of the Lord. We should not be bothered by this; the future is not in our hands but in the Lord’s. In fact, we should not have any future—the Lord Himself is our only future. We do not know how “sticky” our heart is. Many years ago fly paper was used to catch flies, and it was very sticky. Whatever touched it stuck to it. Our heart is just like fly paper; it is very sticky. Whatever touches our heart sticks to it. These things must all be cut off. It seems that we are all seeking the Lord. Many of us are living only for the Lord and have given up our homes and our jobs. Day by day we are seeking the Lord’s leading, but we do not know how many things complicate our heart. We need to forget these things. To dig away the dirt from our conscience is easy, but to dig away the dirt from our heart is not easy. In many things we are kind to ourselves; we do not like to dig our heart severely. It is easy to dig away the accusations from our conscience, but it is not easy to dig away the things that we love from our heart. We are stuck to the things that we hold dearly. Because of this, the Scriptures tell us that we need a good conscience and a pure heart. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matt. 5:8).
There is no doubt that we love the Lord and are seeking Him, but our loving and seeking the Lord are with a complicated heart. The aim and the goal of our heart are not pure. We do not know how many goals are within our heart. What about our family? Our job? Our degree? What about this year, and next year? There are many things still in our heart. All this dirt is frustrating the flow of living water within us and must be dug away. Since the day we received the Lord Jesus as our Savior, He has come into us as the springing well of living water. But the problem today is that there is too much dirt in our conscience and in our heart.