Never Satisfied
(37) On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. (38) Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him”. (John 7:37-38)
The Feast of Tabernacles, which is referenced here, was the last and most important string of special days of the year for the Jewish people. Of course, the “Day of Atonement” was the most critical of all to the Jews, but as far as feast or special days goes, the Feast of Tabernacles hit the top of the list.
This feast lasted for a week every year. Every day there was a different remembrance of some special activity God had done with His people when He brought them out of Egyptian captivity and the feast was commanded in Scripture to keep them in mind of God’s activity among the nation.
(41) “Celebrate this as a festival to the LORD for seven days each year. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come; celebrate it in the seventh month. (42) Live in booths for seven days: All native-born Israelites are to live in booths (43) so your descendants will know that I had the Israelites live in booths when I brought them out of Egypt. I am the LORD your God”. (Leviticus 23:41-43)
Now, put yourself in their sandals. Jesus entered here on the last and greatest day of the feast. The people had feasted for six days and this one was going to be the greatest. I can tell you that Thanksgiving Day and Christmas day does most of us in, and for many, neither of them last the whole day, much less day and night. These people had been at it for six days and six nights and the feast before them was the “greatest” of them all. I would not think that any single person there, by this time, would be wanting another bite of anything.
Now get this picture. After nearly a whole week of celebration, eating and drinking in the various feasts, Jesus comes along and makes this statement. “If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink”.
Thirsty? Are you kidding? You and I would probably gag at the thought of putting another thing in our belly. If the Jews had the “pink stuff”, they were probably drinking a bottle a day.
This is a strange question to ask people who are sick of ingesting anything. But there is something to understand here. There is a point where we must realize that we can NEVER BE SATISFIED. No matter how much we have around us that fills our lives, it is never enough. Jesus offered Himself to quench their inner thirst. They had consumed wine by the barrelsful. They had eaten food enough to feed an army. But, all of that was not enough. You and I have drank our fill from every well of life and followed every quest, but there is still that thirst. And, it is a thirst that only Jesus can fill through the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus knows that full bellies can leave empty hearts.
No matter what it is that fills our lives, we must never be satisfied with those things alone. Solomon had any and everything the eye could see, but his life was empty. Read his writings and he will show you this truth. Jesus dealt with him on the same issue. The only filling that can possibly come to us must come through His Holy Spirit!
Jesus is still visiting your feast and mine looking for thirsty souls. For you and I, the phrase, “Enough is Enough”, is just a lie. There must always be a quest for more. Not more food or wine at a feast, but to drink deeply of the Spirit of God, letting Him fill us with the only thing that will truly “quench our thirst”!
Are you ready to party with Him?