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Water for the Thirsty, April 9
In the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried,
saying, If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
John 7:37
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Once a year, at the Feast of Tabernacles, the children of Israel called to
mind the time when their fathers dwelt in tents in the wilderness, as they
journeyed from Egypt to the land of Canaan. The services of the last day
of this feast were of peculiar solemnity, but the greatest interest centered
in the ceremony that commemorated the bringing of water from the rock.
When in a golden vessel the waters of Siloam were borne by the priests
into the temple, and, after being mingled with wine, were poured over the
sacrifice on the altar, there was great rejoicing.... On this occasion, above
all the confusion of the crowd and the sounds of rejoicing, a voice is heard:
“If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.” The attention of the
people is arrested. Outwardly all is joy, but the eye of Jesus, beholding the
throng with the tenderest compassion, sees the soul parched and thirsting
for the waters of life....
The gracious invitation, “Come unto me, and drink,” comes down
through all the ages to our time. And we may stand in a position similar
to that of the Jews in the time of Christ, rejoicing because the fountain of
truth has been opened to us, while its living waters are not permitted to
refresh our thirsty souls. We must drink....
As the children of Israel celebrated the deliverance that God wrought
for their fathers, and His miraculous preservation of them during their
journeyings from Egypt to the Promised Land, so should the people of God
at the present time gratefully call to mind the various ways He has devised
to bring them out from the world, out from the darkness of error, into the
precious light of truth.... We should gratefully regard the old waymarks,
and refresh our souls with memories of the loving-kindness of our gracious
Benefactor....
As we journey onward, what a blessed privilege is ours to accept the
invitation of Christ, “If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink.
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14
The Review and Herald, November 17, 1885
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