God explained in this passage the difference between the Land of Egypt and the Land of Canaan by the source of water. In Egypt they drew water from the River Nile and through that water they had prosperity through raising crops and vegetation; this is called the water below. On the contrary, in the Land of Canaan there was no river. Therefore, they had to depend solely on the water from heaven.

The water from heaven above isn’t something we gain with our strength or ability by drawing water ourselves but it is God’s grace and blessing. This water from heaven comes down and gives prosperity, which is the physical blessings but it also gives us spiritual blessings.

During the Feast of Tabernacle for 7 days, they pray for water and they would pitch tents outside and remain there remembering how God has cared for them in the wilderness and brought them out of Egypt into the Land of Canaan.

The Israelites are to come before God at Feast days with their sacrifice and offerings of thanksgiving and celebrate, but especially during the Feast of the Tabernacle because one of the roles of these feasts is a prophetic role which foreshadows the coming of the Messiah at the judgement time. It foreshadows when we will enter into the eternal tabernacle, the New Jerusalem.

The separation and division of the waters were not only in Canaan and Egypt but it began in the 2nd day of creation in Genesis chapter 1. God created the expanse and divided the waters above and below the expanse. But even before that in Genesis 1:2, we see the Spirit of God hovering over the surface of the deep waters. And from there, God starts doing the work of creation, He creates light. And on the 2nd and 3rd day, the changes that take place as a result of God’s work of creation took place in the waters. The waters were separated above and below, and also the waters moved away and the land appeared. And that is how important water is in a biblical sense.

1. Let us understand the meanings of waters in the Bible.

i) Water represents God’s Words and teachings and God Himself.

Deuteronomy 32:2 tells us that God’s teachings, His Word, is like the rain. Psalm 29:3 tells us that the sound of waters sounds like the voice of God (Revelation 1:15). And deep waters are like words of wisdom in Proverbs 18:4.

In Jeremiah 2:13 and 17:13, God refers to Himself as the fountain of living waters. This tells us that God is the source of living water.

There are two different kinds of waters. In contrast, satan’s schemes, his words or his influence are also represented by water (water below).

Revelation 12:15 shows us something that comes out from the mouth of the serpent, his words are like water that kills. So in the end time, there are two kinds of waters that we need to be aware of which influences us through its teachings or words. Which water will we drink or live by?

ii) Waters represent people and the world.

Psalm 148:4 mentions waters above the heavens and this water is told to praise God as if referring to the people as waters above the expanse. The expanse is called the heavens.
Revelation 17:15 on the contrary says, “The waters which you saw, where the harlot sits, are peoples, multitudes, nations, and tongues.” Thus, the waters above the heavens and the waters below where the harlot sits, in the end, are all people.

iii) Water is something that washes or renews us, like baptism.

Water baptism represents something that washes our sins away, something that renews and regenerates us. Baptism is something that allows us to be spiritually born again through us putting away our old sinful selves, and going forward, walking with Jesus.

In the Temple, we see the water basin where the priests are to wash themselves from the blood and sins before they enter into the Holy Place. Jesus washed the feet of the disciples, representing all the wrong places that we went to and the wrong things that we did. And so Jesus washing the feet foreshadows and represents that He will wash away all of their sins, the feet that would run away from Jesus.

Water represents the grace and blessings of God that washes away and allows us to be born again into a new life. This is the spiritual renewal (John 3:3-6).

iv) Water represents material blessing and also the absolute blessing which is eternal life.

The water Jesus provides gives us eternal life and it satisfies us spiritually and physically. And this water connects us to the Kingdom of Heaven (John 4:19, Is 55:1).

In Ezekiel 46, water flowing out from the temple represents the Temple of Heaven. And that water gives life even to the Dead Sea and makes it fresh. It makes our life fresh and renewed. And if we follow that water upstream to its source then we would reach the Temple of Heaven. The water is the river that gives us life and its stream brings the message from the center of that heavenly temple where God’s throne is, the New Jerusalem (Revelation 21:6, 22:1-2).

John 7:37-39 tells us that the water Jesus wants us to receive signifies the Holy Spirit, which allows us to receive and understand the true Word of God.

2. The two main types of waters.

i) Separation of waters

The waters in Genesis 1:2 was formless, void and darkness but God created light and the expanse that separated the waters and there were waters above and waters below. During Noah’s time, the water outside the ark and waters inside the ark were separated. The barrier in the Ark was the pitch which represents the blood of Jesus Christ. Likewise, there was the water of Canaan and the waters of Egypt. In Ezekiel chapter 47, there was the water of life and the water of death, the Dead Seawater. And in Jesus’ ministry, we see the water of Jesus versus the Samaritan’s well water. Jesus differentiated the waters by saying, “The water that I give to you, you will drink and you will never thirst again.” There is also the water of life in Revelation and the water of death that comes out from the mouth of the serpent.

ii) Jesus’ work of changing waters and providing heavenly water.

In the wilderness, God changes the bitter water into sweet water. God also provided water. In Jesus’ ministry, He changes waters and He provides new and better water. In John chapter 1 Jesus is the Light and chapter 2 introduces the first miracle Jesus performed at Cana turning water into wine. At the presence of that life and light, water turns into wine and gives joy to all the people at the banquet.

In chapter 5 Jesus comes to Bethesda where the man who was sick for 38 years was waiting for the pool to be stirred to be healed. But Jesus comes and gives new water of healing, not the literal water, but Jesus became the water that healed him.

In John chapter 6 Jesus has that water, He has control and authority over the waters below. The disciples that did not have that authority and control were about to be swallowed up by that water. In our lives, if Jesus comes and takes control over the waters of this world, the waves and the storms that were about to swallow and destroy us will be calm and quiet. In chapter 7 Jesus comes to the Feast of the Tabernacle on the last day, and says, “If you believe in Me and receive My Word you will have water flowing out from your belly.” And he was referring to the Holy Spirit.

When Jesus gave that water from heaven, there was a person or people who changed, like the Samaritan woman who depended on the water below that well, but even though she kept drawing from it with her own strength, her life did not change, but when she received that spiritual water of Jesus, her life changed. She is like the water that changed.

And what divides the 2 kinds of waters? In Genesis chapter 1 it was the expanse. God creates and gives us something that will divide it. But we don’t like it when things are divided because we want to choose the fleshly things, but God wants us to come to the spiritual things (Romans chapter 8).

3. Where are the waters above?

It says that it was above the heavens. The Apostle Paul said that he was taken to the 3rd heaven. Heaven is described as Paradise in 2 Cor 12:2-4. Paradise is known as the Garden of Eden. On the Cross Jesus promised the thief that confessed his faith that he will be in Paradise with Him. This Paradise is also known as a well-watered garden (Isaiah 35:7, 58:11). The people of God are also a watered garden (Jeremiah 31:12). Paradise is where people of God are dwelling or sometimes it represents the people itself. Sometimes the Garden of Eden (a well-watered garden) represents Adam and his heart. But when he was kicked out of the Garden of Eden, he was like parched ground.

Hell is where there is no water of life. No water of life. In John 19:28, when Jesus was on the Cross He said, “I am thirsty.” Why? Because He is experiencing the fire of hell on behalf of us.

4. How does God deliver the water above to His people?

Job 26:8 says He wraps up the water in His clouds, and His cloud does not burst under them. So God packs the waters in the clouds and He lets the clouds deliver that water to us through rain and dew and mist (Job 36:27).

The Bible tells us that the Son of Man will come on the clouds in the sky. Matthew 24:30, 1 Thessalonians 4:16-17. Hebrew 12:1 says, ‘we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses,…’ A cloud of witnesses here is referring to the gathering or the multitudes of saints and believers.
But Jude 1:12 tells us says, ‘…They are clouds without water,…’ Since clouds are witnesses, and rain is the teaching of God’s Word, thus clouds without water are people without the Word. Clouds represent people that will deliver God’s Word or God’s blessing but they don’t have that water. So outwardly they look like messengers of God, but inside they don’t have the Word of God.

How are clouds formed? When the sun shines long enough, constantly, the water below changes its form from liquid to gas. In Psalm 84:11 tells us that the Lord is the sun and shield. And light is like Jesus, the Word, and the Word from the beginning (John chapter 1). So if the water below constantly receives that light which is the Word of God, then it will change into a cloud.

The water below that used to mingle with the dirt will change and will be able to let go of the dirt, it will change into an invisible form(gas), meaning the flesh will change to the spiritual, we will change into spiritual beings and we will go up. As it goes up, it will leave all the greed, all the material worldly things that they used to hold onto. and evaporates and goes up in the sky, we call that the heavenly realm, which is the church, it becomes clouds. And when there is enough of that water molecule gathered together, it comes down as rain which represents the teachings of God’s Word. May we all receive the blessings of the waters above, and become the people who are dwelling above the heavens.

AMEN