Even Better Than Eden by Nancy Guthrie
Week 4: Chapter 3 — The River
Read Chapter 3 of Even Better than Eden. Primary passages: Genesis 2:10–14; Psalm 46:4; Ezekiel 47:1–12; John 4:10–14; 7:37–39; Revelation 22:1–2.
Previewing Week 4 of Even Better Than Eden
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 12-week guide when you’re ready.
Water runs through the entire Bible as a sign of life, blessing, and the very presence of God — and Guthrie shows how the trickle that left Eden becomes, in the new creation, a mighty river of life flowing from the throne of God.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Genesis 2 describes a river flowing out of Eden and dividing into four rivers that watered the whole earth. What does it suggest about Eden — and about God's intentions — that life and blessing were meant to flow outward from the garden to the whole world?
2.Ezekiel 47 describes a river flowing from the temple that grows deeper and wider as it flows, turning desert into flourishing land and dead water into living water. What aspects of God's salvation does this image capture that more abstract or legal language might miss?
3.In John 4, Jesus tells the Samaritan woman that he can give her 'living water' that will become in her 'a spring of water welling up to eternal life.' And in John 7:38–39, he promises rivers of living water to those who believe — a reference to the Spirit. How does Jesus position himself as the fulfillment of the river theme in the Old Testament?
a.What does this mean for how we receive and experience the Spirit's work in us now?
b.How does this connect to the river in Revelation 22, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb?