Wednesday, April 15, 2020
Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing. Three days later the Israelite officers went through the camp, giving these instructions to the people: “When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord your God, move out from your positions and follow them. Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you. Stay about half a mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark. Make sure you don’t come any closer.” Then Joshua told the people, “Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do great wonders among you.” In the morning Joshua said to the priests, “Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river.” And so they started out and went ahead of the people. The Lord told Joshua, “Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites. They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses. Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant: ‘When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.’” So Joshua told the Israelites, “Come and listen to what the Lord your God says. Today you will know that the living God is among you. He will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of you. Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River! Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. The priests will carry the Ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth. As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall.” So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho. Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground. Joshua 3:1-17
About forty years
prior to this account of crossing the Jordan, Israel had a similar experience. In the exodus from Egypt[1] the
fledgling nation was being pursued by Pharaoh’s army. They were trapped between mountains on two
sides, the Red Sea in front, and a professional killing force closing from the
rear. In panic the people cried out, and
God saved them by blowing a clear path through the deep waters; the people
walked to safety on dry land.
Fast forward forty
years and there was no imminent death threat from which to run, only the
challenge of God’s command to move forward.
They were to cross Jordan and begin possessing the Promised Land, and God
provided a dry walk across an overflowing spring-flooded river…again!
Generally
speaking, it is never the Red Seas that trip us up; it’s natural to cry to God
for salvation when pressed on either side, and no way out. Rather it is the Jordan Rivers of ease that make
us doubt. Obeying God to move forward
dredges up all sorts of excuses as to why we could just settle right here. The plague of today is like the Red Sea –
there are plenty of prayers going up!
The question becomes what will happen tomorrow when the Red Sea plague
is defeated?
For You Today
You chew on
that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day!
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