Mayim Chayim: The Living Waters

That means, the promise of Living Water is in us! We have the same authority and Spirit living inside us. Nothing of the unclean world can overcome us. We are a source of Mayim Chayim. Like the mikveh pools, unclean things do not defile us, we are free to worship the Almighty without barrier or concern of being accepted by Him.

I am reminded of a personal experience several years ago. My sister-in-law was dying of AIDS related complications. Her parents asked me if I would go in and spend some time with her, to minister to her. I was somewhat fearful at first. I did not want to contract the unclean virus. But the Almighty reminded me that I am now a source of Living Waters, that I cannot be made unclean. With the Lord’s strength, I spent time with my sister-in-law, and she committed her life to Yeshua! Three days later, she was gone. Fear nearly kept me away, but the Mayim Chayim poured out from me, and she is now with her Creator.

What John the Baptist accomplished at the Jordan is crucial to our faith. Together Yeshua and John initiated the Messianic High Priesthood through mikveh, “to fulfill all righteousness” (Matthew 3:15). Yeshua could now begin the work of atonement, a work much greater than that of His Levitical brothers in the Temple (see Hebrews 7:11, 24; 8:6). Yeshua was to be the fulfillment of the shadow and rehearsal that the priests had been performing for centuries.

We must also remember what is said in Matthew 3:11. John prophesied, “As for me, I baptize you with water for repentance, but He who is coming after me is mightier than I, . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.”

There are some significant points here we should not miss. Throughout the Scriptures, the Holy Spirit and water are often found together, as in Genesis 1:2, “and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.”

Passages such as Zechariah 12:10, “I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication,” and Isaiah 44:3, “For I will pour water upon him that is thirsty, and floods upon the dry ground: I will pour My Spirit upon thy seed, and My blessing upon thine offspring,” join water and the Spirit of God. No wonder then, that in Hebraic theology the Holy Spirit (Ruach haKodesh: The Breath/Wind of God) and the Living Waters are synonymous.

The Prophet Joel (2:28, 29) wrote, “And it shall come to pass afterward, that I will pour out My Spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions: And also upon the servants and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out My Spirit.” This passage plays a prominent role on the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles (Shavuot). This last day, the great day of the feast, is the occasion when the Israelites would gather together in the Temple and pray for God to send the rains. They would read and declare the passages we have just mentioned: Zechariah 12:10, Isaiah 44:3, Joel 2:28, 29.

Tags: chayim, featured, living, mayim, waters

Category: Biblical Studies, Fall 1999