There is Hope

And God called the dry land Earth; and the gathering together of the waters called he Seas: and God saw that it was good.

Genesis 1:10 (KJV)

The gathering together – The word here in Hebrew is mikveh ( מקוה ) which you may recognize. It is often used in reference to a pool of water for ritual immersion leading to ritual purity. Here in Genesis, it is used to describe the waters (mayim) out of which the earth grew.

This word has so many layers of depth, it’s amazing. While a mikveh is commonly used for ritual immersion similar to the Christian baptism, Scripture references it here for the gathered waters during Creation. Is there a relationship here?

The commonality is the hope that is revealed through each of these scenarios. First, from the shapeless world covered in water, land arises giving hope to life. Second, after a ritual immersion in water, there is hope of a spiritual awakening and a renewed life afterwards. Why do you think I reference hope?

In Hebrew, this same word, mikveh, also means “hope,” and stems from the root qavah meaning “to wait.”

O LORD, the hope (mikveh) of Israel, all that forsake thee shall be ashamed, and they that depart from me shall be written in the earth, because they have forsaken the LORD, the fountain of living waters.

Jeremiah 17:13

How fitting that Jeremiah first describes YHVH as the hope of Israel, and then later calls Him the fountain of living waters. The two go hand in hand. The waters are the birthplace of hope. Imagine the first sign that a new child is about to be born. It is when the woman’s water breaks. And from the water comes hope of life.

My friends, it does not end there. The Bible closes with another reference of water and hope for mankind.

And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.

Revelation 22:17

Again, the hope of life is found in the water of life… or water of hope. The mikveh is a small representation of this today. It is no wonder why the two are so intertwined. Just as the water brought forth life in the beginning, it will also provide life in the end. And who is the spiritual representation of this water of life? Yeshua, the Son of God. He is the hope of Israel and He is the living waters.