‘And he brought me back to the door of the house, and behold, waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward, for the forefront of the house was towards the east. And the waters came out from under, from the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.'
The heavenly visitant now brought Ezekiel to the door of the house. This was probably the door of the sanctuary itself. And from underneath its threshold issued out water moving towards the east gate, which was natural as the door faced east (thus not towards Jerusalem which was south). The water flowed from the right side of the threshold and past the south side of the altar as it made its way to the permanently closed east gate. It was at present but a streamlet, a day of small things. This was the path that Yahweh had taken in the reverse direction when His glory had returned to the house previously. It is clear that we are to see in this life from God as He now reaches out to His people with spiritual water, for to Israel waters spoke of life.
‘Waters issued out from under the threshold of the house eastward.' Water is regularly a picture of spiritual life and growth, whether in terms of river or rain. ‘The righteous man' is ‘like a tree planted by the streams of water,' (Psalms 1:3). The man who trusts in Yahweh is like ‘a tree planted by the waters, which spreads out its roots by the river,' (Jeremiah 17:8). The coming transforming and reviving work of the Spirit is likened to men being sprinkled with water and made clean (Ezekiel 36:25-27), and to water being poured out on those who are thirsty, and streams on the dry ground (Isaiah 44:3). A Man is coming who will be a hiding place from the wind and a covert from the tempest, like rivers of water in a dry place (Isaiah 32:2). A fountain is to be opened for sin and uncleanness (Zechariah 13:1). Those who take refuge in God will drink of the river of His pleasures, for with Him is the fountain of life (Psalms 36:8-9). There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High (Psalms 46:4). The earth being filled with the knowledge of Yahweh is likened to the waters covering the sea (Isaiah 11:9).
‘From the right side of the house, on the south of the altar.' Every Israelite knew that at the right side of the house had stood the seven branched golden lampstand (Exodus 26:35; Exodus 40:24). This primarily represented the presence of Yahweh as a light of divine perfection among His people, but it also represented the resulting witness of Israel and was later seen as a symbol of the witness and work of Zerubbabel and Joshua the high priest (Zechariah 4). But as God's anointed ones they were fed from the golden lampstand, as God worked through His Spirit in the day of small things (Zechariah 4:10). Possibly this was seen by Zechariah as the first initial fulfilment of the flowing water from the south side of the sanctuary, from He Who is the light of the world.