Reading Ezekiel 29 this morning reminded me of our family’s month-long trip out west this Spring. I’ll blog more about that trip at some point for sure, but as we traveled up Route 66 to the Grand Canyon, through Las Vegas, to the beaches of the LA and San Diego areas, back up to Moab, Utah and landing in the Rocky Mountains, one common thread we saw that tied them all together was the Colorado River.
We were mostly at National and State Parks, where they taught that the Colorado River is the life-blood of the West. And it is! Not only do they get their water from it, millions of people receive their electricity from the power of the water through the Hoover Dam. Honestly, I didn’t know before this trip how important that river was.
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| Rafting the Colorado and Canyonlands National Park |
The sad commentary on our time in this great country, however, was that although the people we spoke to recognized their need for this essential supply source, we didn’t hear them credit their Creator for making the river to begin with. For sending the snow to the tops of the Mountains so that it would melt and flow down and provide this very important resource.
At one Nature Center, the video’s tagline was “We are the Colorado River.” It said, “As the Colorado River has created itself over time…”
They had to get pretty tricky with their wording to deny the existence of an amazingly loving Designer who has provided what they need.
So in reading Ezekiel 29, God is speaking against Egypt. There are many similarities between the Nile River and the Colorado River. Before the dam, the Colorado river had its flood stage and its dry stage, and it gave life to the people who settled around it.
In this chapter, twice God says, “The land of Egypt will become a desolation and waste. Then they will know that I am the LORD. Because you said, ‘The Nile is mine, and I have made it.’”
Who made the Nile? Who made the Colorado River?
I think of Psalm 104:10-13
He sends forth springs in the valleys;
They flow between the mountains;
They give drink to every beast of the field;
The wild donkeys quench their thirst.
Beside them the birds of the heavens dwell;
They lift up their voices among the branches.
He waters the mountains from His upper chambers;
The earth is satisfied with the fruit of His works.
I pray that people turn from their sin of denying the God who made us. That we stop worshiping the things He made and start giving Him the praise that is due.
