Spiritual Strength For Each Day
“And Elisha sent a messenger unto him, saying, Go and wash in Jordan seven times, and thy flesh shall come again to thee, and thou shalt be clean. But Naaman was wroth, and went away…” (2 Kings 5:10-11).
The Jordan is a strange and wonderful river. The leprous man is told to go and wash himself in it. Only there can he be healed of his leprosy. The natural man resists this, of course. The Jordan is a picture of Jesus Christ, the crucified One Himself. Jesus, the One who came from the Father, the sinless One, descended to the lowest depth. He debased Himself and became a cleansing river for all who want to wash themselves in it. The name Jordan means “the descender.” In this is a picture of the humiliation of Jesus. He also descended. But through humbling Himself in this way, by descending, He opened up a river that will flow in all eternity. If you follow Jesus into this “Jordan” in His death, then you will also descend. He said, “If any man serve me, let him follow me” (John 12:26). Then it will be for you as with the Jordan, whose waters never dry up. Those who follow the Lamb in going downwards will become more and more deeply humbled. But for this very reason such a person is, according to the Scriptures, “…like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters fail not” (Isaiah 58:11).
