Stand Still - Joshua 3:7-13

Joshua 3:7–13 KJV (WS)

7 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee. 8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan. 9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God. 10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan. 12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man. 13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.

Introduction

We jump ahead 40 years from our last message.

Now we see Joshua leading the people of Israel.

This time, rather than standing on the edge of the wilderness, they are standing on the edge of the promised land.

But, just like last time, there is a large body of water standing between them and their destination.

Without Moses, though, there were surely some who doubted whether Joshua was the man to lead them.

Joshua had his own doubts about how the people would respond to his leadership.

In verse 7, God comforts Joshua with an incredible promise that seems like the kind of thing Joshua should be saying to God.

God promises to BEGIN to magnify Joshua in the eyes of the people.

I pray every morning that God would be magnified in my life.

I cannot fathom the idea that God would work to magnify ME in the eyes of others.

The Bible repeatedly cautions us about seeking our own glory.

Let another man praise you.

Sit in the lower room and let the master send you up.

Wait on God to exalt you.

Joshua had a tall task ahead of him, trying to follow a leader like Moses.

If he would have taken it upon himself to try an elevate his standing to that of Moses, it would have certainly ended in disaster.

Instead, Joshua will allow God to handle the influence that he has with the people.

God tells Joshua that what He is about to do is going to prove to the people that just like God was with Moses, He was also with Joshua.

As God had accredited Moses’ leadership, He would also accredit Joshua as the leader of Israel.

If you know the story of the Exodus, you know that Moses was accredited through the trials that he led the people through.

This would also be true for Joshua.

Joshua’s leadership over the nation would be established through the experience of watching God help the people overcome the obstacle that is the Jordan River.

The Jordan River was a big obstacle for the people of Israel.

I know you’ve looked at the maps in the back of your Bible.

If you’re going from the East to the West, entering the promised land, the Jordan River is an obstacle.

It stretches from the north to the south.

There is no going around this, the Israelites have to go across the Jordan.

Typically, this would have been an okay proposition.

Did you ever play Oregon Trail?

I always loved the river crossing sections.

Trying to ford a 10 ft river.

The Bible tells us that the Jordan River was at flood stage and it had overflown all of it’s banks.

It was impossible to cross the Jordan river at this time with 1 million people.

This is the situation where God is going to work on Joshua’s behalf to magnify him in the eyes of the people.

What the Red Sea did for Moses, the Jordan River would do for Joshua.

God would use this situation to remind the people that He was with them and He was with Joshua, just as He was with the Moses and their parents.

There is a transition in verse 8.

God has told Joshua what will happen.

Now He tells Joshua how it will happen.

God tells Joshua to direct the priests that bear the ark of the covenant to move towards the water.

As soon as their feet entered into the water, they are to stop moving.

They are to stand still.

The ark of the covenant represented the presence of God with His people.

When Moses and the previous generation crossed the Red Sea, they had not yet constructed the ark.

They had other means of recognizing God’s presence with them at the time.

This generation, though, had come to recognize the importance of the ark.

When the ark moved, they moved.

When the ark stopped, they stopped.

Typically there was a great distance between the ark and the people.

God was going to do something special for the people in this experience.

The ark, the presence of God would enter the obstacle first.

The ark would then stand still for however long it took for the people to cross over.

God told Joshua, I’m going to do this for you.

Joshua must now communicate this to the people.

Joshua is convinced of the direction and plan that he has received from God.

Now he must convince the people that this is what they must do.

The Jews were, of course, notorious for their obedience, faith, and submission to God.

There are a few things that I want to point out about Joshua’s speech to the people.

As we work through these, there is one general, over-arching assessment that we need to recognize.

Despite being told by God that he would be magnified through this experience, Joshua never one time refers to himself.

There is a selflessness in Joshua’s leadership that extends through the entire book.

If a leader truly believes that God will do the uplifting, it will be seen in the selfless behavior of the leader.

The first thing we need to see in Joshua’s words is his emphasis on God’s words.

He tells the people in verse 9 to come and hear the words “of the Lord your God.”

The second thing we see is Joshua’s insistence that this episode will further cement their faith in the uniqueness of their god.

He is alive.

He is with them.

He does not lose.

Third, we see Joshua teaching the people about the universal rule of their God.

Hoosiers, measuring the court.

Israel had seen God humble the gods of Egypt.

They had seen Him overrule the challenges of the dessert.

Humans have a bad tendency, though, of always thinking that this next challenge will be too much for God.

How does Joshua refers to God in verses 11 and 13?

He is the Lord of all the Earth.

Whether they found themselves in Egypt, the Arabian dessert, Canaan, or Oklahoma, their God was still Lord.

Their are no limits to God’s authority.

Now, this is a pretty inspiring speech that Joshua has delivered.

It’s more than just a spiritual pep talk.

It’s a reminder of the character and promises of God.

Emotions and pep talks fade away.

True spiritual motivation flows from a better understanding of God.

God had promised to magnify Joshua, Joshua, in turn, magnified God in the eyes of the people.

There’s just one more part that we need to see this morning.

Joshua is convinced of God’s plan.

The people are convinced of God’s authority.

So now, we can all just sit back and watch God do the miracle, right?

Actually, there are two things that the people must do to interact with God’s plan.

First, they must select a man out of every tribe.

They are not told what for.

These men will establish a memorial to God’s power that will stand as a reminder to future generations of what God had done.

It’s important when we experience God’s power that we mark that moment and share it with others.

Second, the priests have to step into the water.

King James Version (WordSearch Edition) Chapter 14

21 And Moses stretched out his hand over the sea; and the LORD caused the sea to go back by a strong east wind all that night, and made the sea dry land, and the waters were divided. 22 And the children of Israel went into the midst of the sea upon the dry ground: and the waters were a wall unto them on their right hand, and on their left.

The Bible makes a point to say that the Israelites passed over the Red Sea on dry ground.

They crossed a sea and didn’t even get their feet wet.

This time though, the spiritual leaders would need to set the example of faith.

The waters would not part until the soles of the priests feet rested in the water.

This is kind of the crux of the whole matter.

If the people will not be obedient, then nothing that they have talked about will transpire.

God has a plan.

It’s a good plan.

It’ll establish Joshua’s leadership.

It’ll strengthen the faith of the people.

It’ll address their current need.

They just have to obey.

Application

All of us will face obstacles this year.

With every test and trial that you come across, God has a plan for it.

You can bet that whatever God allows into our lives, one of the purposes for it is for us to gain a greater appreciation for who He is.

God always has a plan for us.

It is always a good plan, because He is a good God.

Not only is He a good God, but He is a great God.

He is the Lord of all the earth.

There is nothing that He is not the ruler of.

What does He ask of us?

Obedience.

Obedience grounded in faith that His way is best.

Last week the people were told to be still.

This week we see that the presence of God will stand still.

He will remain in the midst of the people as they overcome the obstacle.

They will pass over while the ark of the Lord of all the earth stands still to insure their safe passage.

Conclusion

We need to stand still to see God move.

God will also stand still in our trial to insure our safe passage.