The Mission of God (3)

The Mission of God

The Step of Faith

Joshua 3:1–17 (ESV)

1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. 7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’ ” 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.” 14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

Big Ideas: God demonstrates his power so that people might believe that he is the living and true Lord God. [1]

You can’t know that God is faithful until you take a step of faith.

something you would do because you know he is God and that he has promised to be there for you

you can’t see how it is going to turn out and the only choice you have is to trust him

Introduction

Have you ever found yourself really uncertain about the Lord’s timing?

There’s simply no way around it: our schedule and God’s, more times than not, seem out of sync.

He either acts earlier than we had expected or later than we had hoped.

The result is that we are either impatient with God

or choose to act impetuously,

while on other occasions we are lazy and inactive.

In any case, we live our lives as if saying,

“Well, God has his schedule and I have mine.”

Sometimes it’s almost understandable.

After all, God often chooses to do things at the most awkward and inconvenient of times. It strikes us as either too early or too late.

We can’t understand why he doesn’t adapt his schedule to ours or adjust his plans to conform to ours.

His ways are not our ways and our ways are not his ways

I suspect that’s how the Israelites must have felt as they stood on the banks of the Jordan River, prepared to enter the promised land of Canaan.

They learned a lesson there, on that day, a lesson that all of us must learn sooner or later.

The lesson is simply that the God we love and serve, the only true God, is often the God of the unlikely time!

God why did you do this now in this way or why didn’t you do this now or i thought you would have shown up and you didn’t

Let me explain what I mean.

Two spies returned from Jericho,

Joshua received the news he had been waiting for: “And they said to Joshua,

‘Truly the Lord has given all the land into our hands. And also, all the inhabitants of the land melt away because of us’” (Joshua 2:24).

Upon hearing this, they break camp and travel the 10 miles from Shi

ttim to the banks of the Jordan.

There they remained for three days. Three days!

Why three days? Think about it:

God forced them to stand and watch the raging waters of the Jordan River for three days. The torrent was unabated. They could only look across the rising waters into Canaan, on the other side.

The river seemed utterly impassable.

Their long journey to the promised land appeared to have ended just short of their goal.

Why did God bring them to the edge of the river and compel them to look with longing and frustration at the land he had promised to their forefathers?

His reason seems clear: To drive home to their hearts the seeming impossibility of tomorrow!

God compelled them to wait three days to allow their feelings of helplessness and hopelessness and inadequacy to reach the highest level possible.

He forced them to wait until the waters of that river had risen to such a height that virtually all hope had been washed away.

One can well imagine the murmuring and grumbling among the people as they sat around their campfires at night:

“I don’t about you, but I’m starting to have second thoughts about Joshua. My confidence in his leadership is starting to waver.

Are we really sure he has what it takes to bring us into the land?

Bringing us here in flood season was an obvious mistake. I can’t believe that Moses would have ever committed such an obvious blunder!”

Perhaps the most significant statement in chapter three is v. 15 – “now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest.”

Think about it: it has taken them almost 40 years of wandering in circles in the wilderness to get here, and now this!

God wanted them to cross over not during the normal water level of the Jordan River but rather when the river was overflowing its banks. That’s just like God.

· Why didn’t God allow them to cross over during times when the Jordan River had receded and its level had been greatly reduced?

· Why didn’t he send them when places along the edge of the Jordan River were shallow?

· Why would God put Israel in such a position to cross over at a time when it was humanly impossible?

God specializes in doing things that seem to be impossible, and he will do what no other power can do!

(1) They were called upon to focus wholly and exclusively on God and to follow his presence (vv. 2-4).

The prominence of the “ark of the covenant” indicates that this was more than a military maneuver.

This was a celebration of God’s presence among his people and their call to join in procession as he acted on their behalf.

The ark was 45x27x27 inches. It was overlaid with gold. Two cherubim or angelic figures hovered over the mercy seat. Inside the ark were the two tablets containing the 10 Commandments, some manna in a jar, and Aaron’s rod that had budded. See 1 Samuel 4:4; Psalms 80:1; 99:1.

Pic of ark here

It was covered with gold both inside and out and topped by a lid of pure gold, to which were attached two figures of cherubim, or angels, facing each other from either end of the cover.

The wings of the cherubim were to stretch out and upward, nearly meeting directly above the cover. It was in that space above the lid of the ark and

between the wings of the cherubim that God was symbolically understood to dwell.

The ark was carried by means of poles placed through rings attached to the ark on each side.

When the people of Israel set out to cross the Jordan River at the beginning of their invasion of the Promised Land, God himself went before them, as must always be the case in any successful spiritual enterprise.

When God was ready to lead before, they refused to follow. Then they tried to advance even though God was not leading. The result in each case was a disaster. The only proper way to advance anywhere or at any time is by following God’s lead. Only he can give victory.

The significance of the ark of the covenant proceeding first into the Jordan is not merely to show that God must lead in any successful enterprise but that it is the same God who must lead and be followed.

The God who led Joshua was the same God who led Moses and worked through him. The God of the conquest was the God of the exodus, and so on back to the time of Abraham and to creation. God is eternal; he is always the same in his eternal being.

They are commanded to stay 2,000 cubits away from the ark. A “cubit” was the length from the tip of a man’s extended fingers to his elbow, generally around 18 inches. So we’re talking here about approximately 1,000 yards.

Why are they told to remain at such a distance from it?

On the one hand it may be a reminder yet again of the holiness of God and the caution with which the people are to approach him. However, I think

It’s likely designed to enable all the people actually to see the ark and follow it.

If they had crowded in closely around it, only a small number could have seen it. The point is that

They were being called upon to focus on God, fix their eyes on God and his presence, and to follow him.

Don’t look at the flood waters of the Jordan. Take your eyes off the adverse and oppositional circumstances that stand in your way and fix your focus on God!

that’s a choice that you and i have every day in every circumstance in every relationship in every difficulty that we face - does his presence make all the difference in the world?

(2) They were also called upon to consecrate and sanctify themselves (v. 5).

The word “consecrate” (v. 5) means to separate unto a holy purpose; it means to set aside from that which is common and mundane

so that one might be wholly and exclusively devoted to God and his purposes and his glory.

In the case of the Israelites,

this would have entailed fasting,

washing of their clothes,

and abstinence from sexual relations for a short season of time.

All such external deeds were designed to symbolize or represent an internal resolve to examine one’s life, confess all known sin, repent, and to set oneself apart unto God.

If we are to enjoy God’s presence and to experience his power in bringing us into possession of our promised inheritance, we must have single-minded devotion and holiness of life.

God simply will not bless or endorse our indifference toward him or our half-hearted commitment.

Isaiah 59:1–2 (ESV)

1 Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened, that it cannot save, or his ear dull, that it cannot hear; 2 but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you so that he does not hear.

(3) They had to step out in faith (vv. 6-13).

Observe how Joshua describes God to the people. He is “the living God” (v. 10).

10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites.

All the idols and deities of the people who stand in our way are dead and lifeless. Our God alone lives! he is not just a better leader or a better god he is the God

Joshua wants them to realize that, as one person has put it, “God” is not merely a three-letter word! He is not the president of our club or the honorary captain of our team.

He is the one true living God who works and saves and delivers and heals and triumphs over his enemies on behalf of his people.

Notice in vv. 11 and 13 that he is “the Lord of all the earth.”

He is not a tribal deity.

His sovereign rule extends to every molecule in the world.

i want you to know this a live as such

This clearly provides theological justification for the expulsion of the seven nations that currently inhabit Canaan.

God owns everything!

The land is his to give and to take away as he sees fit.

He has the authority to distribute and re-distribute as he pleases. As Dale R. Davis put it: “we must renounce our tendency to ‘punify’ God, to carve him down to our stature and limit him to our possibilities” (36).

Nothing would happen so long as they stood still.

They had to step out in faith. In their case, it was a literal, physical step of faith.

They had to get their feet wet!

According to v. 13, it wasn’t until “the soles of the feet” of the priests actually made contact with the waters of the Jordan that the miracle would occur.

A lesson for Us

You can focus on God, you can have faith in God, you can consecrate yourselves and prepare your hearts,

but until you actually take that initial step forward into what God has called you to do, it’s doubtful anything will happen.

They were told to step into the Jordan without any prior visible evidence that the water was going to part!

You don’t hear them saying anything like:

“OK, Lord, we’re prepared to step into the Jordan, but first we’d like to see some indication that you’re really going to honor your promise and part the waters.

All we’re asking for is a teeny-weeny little ripple. Just the smallest of waves will be enough for us!”

No! God has spoken to them and at least on this occasion that’s enough.

God had said to them, “I’ve told you what to do and what I’ll do if you do it. So do it!”

(4) Having stepped out in faith, they were to stand still and wait on the power of God (vv. 8, 17).

A miracle was required if the people were to enter the land, but so too was needed a people willing to move toward the miracle.

We are to step out in faith,

and then stand still as we wait for God’s power!

Apply to situations in life where you’ve done what God has required and you wait patiently and faithfully for a divine breakthrough . . .

Observe God’s power as it is portrayed in vv. 14-17!

Remember, it is the time of the early summer harvest. The river is swollen from spring rain. Try to envision the scene in your mind:

The waters of the Jordan have risen to flood stage.

They are frightening and imposing and present what appears to be an insurmountable obstacle.

Tens of thousands of Israelites stand at the river’s edge, with yet thousands more behind them.

Soldiers and old men and young women and mothers and nursing infants and teen-aged kids, together with the flocks of sheep and goats and cattle brought up out of Egypt all stand, wide-eyed with anticipation!

What they saw next must have been shocking beyond words.

The level of water in the river began to drop, ever so slowly.

According to v. 16, “the waters coming down from above, stood and rose up in a heap very far away.”

By “very far away” he means 19 miles, at the city of Adam = modern day Damiya, Jordan.

A repeat performance of what God did to the waters of the Red Sea when he first delivered Israel out of bondage in Egypt.

Not only were the waters dammed up by God’s mighty power, but the ground beneath their feet was dried up (v. 17). No muddy ground, no sloppy sloshing through piles of swamp, but perfectly dry ground on which to walk!

The timing of this Event

After 40 years of wandering, they arrived at the river’s edge. Even then they were forced to wait three more days. Even then they had arrived when the river was at flood stage.

Why?

“Yahweh delights to show his might in the face of our utter helplessness, apparently so that we cannot help seeing that we contribute nothing to our deliverance” [3]

Lessons

What does God expect of me? What does he want?

The answer is that he wants a people who will faithfully answer his call to act in the pursuit of his promises even at the most unlikely time.

In the case of the Israelites, it’s almost as if the waters of the Jordan are an/al/ogous to the way our own circumstances rise up to oppose us and to declare their victory over us.

It’s almost as if the waters are saying: “You’ll never enter the land! You’ll never inherit the promise! No matter what God has assured you is coming, we are here to make sure it doesn’t happen!”

Think about your own journey to this point in life.

Perhaps you are only moments away from seeing come to fruition a dream that you’ve nurtured for years.

Perhaps there is some massive problem that is on the verge of being solved,

or a fractured relationship that is close to be healed,

or a life-long prayer that may finally be answered in the way you have long desired.

God may be speaking to you much the same way he was to the Israelites, saying:

“Stand up! Be firm in your faith! The day of inheritance is here. The moment for fulfillment has arrived.

As difficult as it may be for us to understand,

God chooses challenging and demanding moments precisely because it affords the greatest opportunity for His power and love to be seen when He finally steps into the situation and brings it all to pass!”

Will you trust Him?

is he the God of gods

the King of Kings

The Lord of Lords?

Has he gone in front of you and gone to cross for you?

Has he given his life so that you might live?

What circumstances in your life do you have your eyes glued to and he is calling you away?

Do you trust Him? Do you trust being in his presence? Is he worth waiting for?

All of God’s promises come true in the person of Jesus Christ.

In the case of the people of Israel this is what he called them to do each of which may be adaptable to our circumstances today.

[1]Mathews, K. A. (2016). Joshua(M. L. Strauss & J. H. Walton, Eds.; p. 24). Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group. [2]Boice, J. M. (2005). Joshua(pp. 37–38). Baker Books. [3]Davis, D. R. (2000). Joshua: No Falling Words (p. 35). Christian Focus Publications. [4]Mathews, K. A. (2016). Joshua(M. L. Strauss & J. H. Walton, Eds.; pp. 27–28). Baker Books: A Division of Baker Publishing Group.