In Patriarchal times the Jordan Valley was "well
watered everywhere, . . . even as the garden of the
Lord." It was in this fair valley that Lot chose to make
his home when he "pitched his tent toward Sodom." Genesis
13:10, 12. At the time that the cities of the plain
were destroyed, the region round about became a desolate
waste, and it has since formed a part of the wilderness
of Judea.
A portion of the beautiful valley remained, with its
life-giving springs and streams, to gladden the heart of man.
In this valley, rich with fields of grain and forests of date
palms and other fruit-bearing trees, the hosts of Israel had
encamped after crossing the Jordan and had first partaken
of the fruits of the Promised Land. Before them had stood
the walls of Jericho, a heathen stronghold, the center of the
worship of Ashtoreth, vilest and most degrading of all
Canaanitish forms of idolatry. Soon its walls were thrown
down and its inhabitants slain, and at the time of its fall
the solemn declaration was made, in the presence of all
Israel: "Cursed be the man before the Lord, that riseth up
and buildeth this city Jericho: he shall lay the foundation
thereof in his first-born, and in his youngest son shall he
set up the gates of it." Joshua 6:26.
Five centuries passed. The spot lay desolate, accursed of
God. Even the springs that had made residence in this
portion of the valley so desirable suffered the blighting effects
of the curse. But in the days of Ahab's apostasy, when
through Jezebel's influence the worship of Ashtoreth was
revived, Jericho, the ancient seat of this worship, was rebuilt,
though at a fearful cost to the builder. Hiel the Bethelite
"laid the foundation thereof in Abiram his first-born, and
set up the gates thereof in his youngest son Segub, according
to the world of the Lord." 1 Kings 16:34.
Not far from Jericho, in the midst of fruitful groves, was
one of the schools of the prophets, and thither, after the
ascension of Elijah, Elisha went. During his sojourn among
them the men of the city came to the prophet and said,
"Behold, I pray thee, the situation of this city is pleasant,
as my lord seeth: but the water is nought, and the ground
barren." The spring that in former years had been pure and
life-giving, and had contributed largely to the water supply
of the city and the surrounding district, was now unfit
for use.
In response to the plea of the men of Jericho, Elisha
said, "Bring me a new cruse, and put salt therein." Having
received this, "he went forth unto the spring of the waters,
and cast the salt in there, and said, Thus saith the Lord, I
have healed these waters; there shall not be from thence
any more death or barren land." 2 Kings 2:19-21.
The healing of the waters of Jericho was accomplished,
not by any wisdom of man, but by the miraculous
interposition of God. Those who had rebuilt the city were
undeserving of the favor of Heaven; yet He who "maketh His
sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain
on the just and on the unjust," saw fit in this instance to
reveal, through this token of compassion, His willingness
to heal Israel of their spiritual maladies. Matthew 5:45.
The restoration was permanent; "the waters were healed
unto this day, according to the saying of Elisha which he
spake." 2 Kings 2:22. From age to age the waters have
flowed on, making that portion of the valley an oasis of
beauty.
Many are the spiritual lessons to be gathered from the
story of the healing of the waters. The new cruse, the salt,
the spring--all are highly symbolic.
In casting salt into the bitter spring, Elisha taught the
same spiritual lesson imparted centuries later by the Saviour
to His disciples when He declared, "Ye are the salt of the
earth." Matthew 5:13. The salt mingling with the polluted
spring purified its waters and brought life and blessing
where before had been blighting and death. When God
compares His children to salt, He would teach them that
His purpose in making them the subjects of His grace is
that they may become agents in saving others. The object
of God in choosing a people before all the world was not
only that He might adopt them as His sons and daughters,
but that through them the world might receive the grace
that bringeth salvation. When the Lord chose Abraham, it
was not simply to be the special friend of God, but to be a
medium of the peculiar privileges the Lord desired to bestow
upon the nations.
The world needs evidences of sincere Christianity. The
poison of sin is at work at the heart of society. Cities and
towns are steeped in sin and moral corruption. The world
is full of sickness, suffering, and iniquity. Nigh and afar
off are souls in poverty and distress, weighed down with a
sense of guilt and perishing for want of a saving influence.
The gospel of truth is kept ever before them, yet they perish
because the example of those who should be a savor of life
to them is a savor of death. Their souls drink in bitterness
because the springs are poisoned, when they should be like
a well of water springing up unto everlasting life.
Salt must be mingled with the substance to which it is
added; it must penetrate, infuse it, that it may be preserved.
So it is through personal contact and association that men
are reached by the saving power of the gospel. They are
not saved as masses, but as individuals. Personal influence
is a power. It is to work with the influence of Christ, to
lift where Christ lifts, to impart correct principles, and to
stay the progress of the world's corruption. It is to diffuse
that grace which Christ alone can impart. It is to uplift,
to sweeten the lives and characters of others by the power
of a pure example united with earnest faith and love.
Of the hitherto polluted spring at Jericho, the Lord
declared, "I have healed these waters; there shall not be
from thence any more death or barren land." The polluted
stream represents the soul that is separate from God. Sin
not only shuts away from God, but destroys in the human
soul both the desire and the capacity for knowing Him.
Through sin, the whole human organism is deranged, the
mind is perverted, the imagination corrupted; the faculties
of the soul are degraded. There is an absence of pure religion,
of heart holiness. The converting power of God has not
wrought in transforming the character. The soul is weak,
and for want of moral force to overcome, is polluted and
debased.
To the heart that has become purified, all is changed.
Transformation of character is the testimony to the world
of an indwelling Christ. The Spirit of God produces a new
life in the soul, bringing the thoughts and desires into obedience
to the will of Christ; and the inward man is renewed
in the image of God. Weak and erring men and women
show to the world that the redeeming power of grace can
cause the faulty character to develop into symmetry and
abundant fruitfulness.
The heart that receives the word of God is not as a pool
that evaporates, not like a broken cistern that loses its treasure.
It is like the mountain stream, fed by unfailing springs,
whose cool, sparkling waters leap from rock to rock, refreshing
the weary, the thirsty, the heavy-laden. It is like a river
constantly flowing and, as it advances, becoming deeper and
wider, until its life-giving waters are spread over all the
earth. The stream that goes singing on its way leaves behind
its gift of verdure and fruitfulness. The grass on its banks
is a fresher green, the trees have a richer verdure, the flowers
are more abundant. When the earth lies bare and brown
under the summer's scorching heat, a line of verdure marks
the river's course.
So it is with the true child of God. The religion of Christ
reveals itself as a vitalizing, pervading principle, a living,
working, spiritual energy. When the heart is opened to the
heavenly influence of truth and love, these principles will
flow forth again like streams in the desert, causing fruitfulness
to appear where now are barrenness and dearth.
As those who have been cleansed and sanctified through
a knowledge of Bible truth engage heartily in the work of
soulsaving, they will become indeed a savor of life unto life.
And as daily they drink of the inexhaustible fountain of grace
and knowledge, they will find that their own hearts are
filled to overflowing with the Spirit of their Master, and
that through their unselfish ministry many are benefited
physically, mentally, and spiritually. The weary are refreshed,
the sick restored to health, and the sin-burdened relieved.
In far-off countries thanksgiving is heard from the lips of
those whose hearts are turned from the service of sin unto
righteousness.
"Give, and it shall be given unto you;" for the word of
God is "a fountain of gardens, a well of living waters, and
streams from Lebanon." Luke 6:38; Song of Solomon 4:15.