The man came with a measuring reed in his hand to measure the flowing of the river (47:3-5).
When this man first measured the river, there was only a trickle coming out from the house. Then he measured a thousand cubits, and the flow became deeper, up to the ankles (v. 3). Again he measured a thousand cubits, and the flow became deeper, up to the knees (v. 4). After this the man measured yet another thousand cubits, and the flow became even deeper, up to the loins (v. 4). When he for the fourth time measured a thousand cubits, the flow became a river which could not be passed over, and the river became waters to swim in.
In the Bible the number one thousand signifies a complete unit. For example, in Psalm 84:10 the psalmist says that a day in the Lord’s courts is better than a thousand outside. Since one thousand signifies a complete unit, to measure a thousand means to measure a complete unit; it is a complete measuring.
If we want to enjoy the flow out of the house, we need to be measured completely. If we want to enjoy a flow that is deeper, we need to be measured, that is, tested, examined, judged, and taken over by the Lord. Our motives, our intentions, our aims, our goals, our desires—all must be judged. Everything we possess and everything we are involved in must be judged. This will deepen the flow within us.
As we are judged by the Lord, we need to make a thorough confession. We need to allow the Lord to be our Judge and let Him bring us into His light and expose us. Then we should say to Him, “Lord, all that You have judged is now Yours. I ask You, Lord, to take me over, to take full possession of me.”
The Lord’s judging and testing of us are not once for all. In Ezekiel 47 the man measured not once or twice or even three times; he measured four times. In the Bible four is the number of the creature. The four measurings here indicate that as a creature we need to be thoroughly judged and tested by the Lord and then be fully taken over by Him.
To be taken over by the Lord completely is not easy to experience. We may think that we have been fully taken over by the Lord, but after a period of time we will realize that we still have some reservation. Then we will be tested and judged again, and after this we will have a further consecration to the Lord, saying, “Lord, take this and possess it.” We may think that the Lord has taken over everything, but the Lord knows that He has gained us only to a certain extent. Therefore, some time later we may again realize that we have reserved and preserved very much for ourselves. Once again we will make our confession to the Lord and experience His testing and judging. Even after a number of years, we still may have not been fully possessed by the Lord, and thus we will again need to be measured, tested, judged, and possessed by Him.
You may be wondering how we can determine how much we have been measured and possessed by the Lord. We determine this by the depth of the river. If the river is only up to our ankles, this proves that we have not been measured fully by the Lord. The depth of the river depends on how much we have been measured by the Lord. There is no need for us to argue and justify ourselves. Instead, we should simply consider the depth of our flow. How deep is your flow? Is it up to the ankles? To the knees? To the loins? Has the flow become a river that cannot be passed over? Has the flow become waters to swim in? We need to consider our personal situation in this way.
The same principle applies to the local churches. There is no need to argue concerning the church in your locality. You may say that the church in which you are is the best. Your church may be the best according to your concept, but it may not be the best according to the flow. You may claim to have a flow, but how deep is this flow? Consider the depth of the flow in the church where you are. The flow may be only up to the ankles or the knees or the loins. Perhaps the flow is a river that cannot be passed over, and thus it may be waters to swim in. The depth of the flow in every local church depends on the degree of the Lord’s measuring and possessing. Concerning this, we can fool others, but we cannot fool the Lord. He knows the depth of the flow where we are.
We all need to be measured and taken over by the Lord. For His measuring the Lord needs our cooperation. It is difficult for the Lord to measure us, judge us, possess us, and take us over without adequate cooperation on our part. May we look to the Lord for His mercy that through His measuring in all the local churches there will be a river that no one can pass over.