Crossings

Prayer

Crossing the Jordan River

East Central Presbytery meeting, Jim Singleton was speaking, inviting us to think through how to preach in today’s culture. My ears particularly perked up when he began his presentation by talking about Joshua 3-4, our passages today - which is the story of the Israelites crossing over the Jordan River. The idea was all about crossings, moving into something new.

He gave us a dramatic example of a crossing - a cultural crossing, how drastically our culture has changed over the last seventy-five years by showing us a picture of a children’s parade in Porter Park in Brooklyn, New York that took place on June 6, 1949.

It was a Thursday, a school day, and the kids had been let out to participate in this parade. The Mayor of Brooklyn was there, as was the governor of New York and one of the Supreme Court Justices at the time, as well as 90,000 kids. 90,000. What was the event? It was the annual Sunday School parade. Think about that for a moment.

The parade fell out of existence by 1972. You can’t imagine something like that happening today - that many kids, on a school day with such political figures present. Our culture has changed dramatically - that was his point. As a nation, we were once in thick of what is often known as Christendom (thoroughly Christianized culture). We have most definitely crossed over into Post-Christendom, a thoroughly secular culture where we are very much in the minority. And that changes how we’re going to do ministry, how we preach and teach. But there are some things that never change - and that’s what we want to talk about this morning.

So, let’s talk about that story, the crossing of the Jordan River: The great moment has finally come - the Israelites have been camped out in the Transjordan, the area east of the Jordan River, waiting for God’s leading so they can finally enter the land he has long promised them. And God is now moving them into the land. Here’s the story, Joshua 3...

Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. 4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.”5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” 6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them. 7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. 8 Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’” 9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord—the Lord of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” 14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Here’s the central part of this story - the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. The Levitical priests were to carry it from their camp at Shittim towards the Jordan River, with the people following, but keeping proper distance (2,000 cubits, which is about 1,000 yards - 10 football fields length).

Then, as the priests carrying the ark of the covenant enter the Jordan River, it stops flowing upstream - completely, the water is shut off. And as the priests stand in the middle of the now-dry river bed, the entire nation of Israel crosses over and enters into the land.

In Joshua 4, the story continues - there it tells us that after all the people pass through, the priests carrying the ark then walk out of the river bed into the land as well. And as soon as they exit the river, the waters of the Jordan flow again, returning to its previous level.

Before that happens, God gives Joshua instructions to send one man from every tribe (so, twelve), to make their way into the river bed area, and pick out a stone from where the people crossed over, and carry that stone out. Those stones are then set up in the area that they set up camp, in Gilgal, as a memorial, a remembrance. So that future generations will remember the miracles God did in enabling his people to cross the Jordan River and enter into the land.

God at the Center of our Crossroads

I want to take a few minutes for us to marvel at this miracle - to marvel at what God is doing here. First of all, it’s hard to imagine what this must have been like for the Israelites. The promise that this land would belong to them has been passed down from generation to generation for hundreds of years. The best estimate for Abraham moving into the land of Canaan, when God first gave him the promise of being the father of a great nation in that very land is late in the 21st century BC. Our story today, the Israelites actually entering the land happened around 1406 BC, almost 700 years later!

It’s been almost 500 years since they’ve been in the land - for most of that time the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt (430) and then wandering in the wilderness for another 40 years. Now they have finally arrived.

It’s usually the crossing of the sea of reeds when they were escaping Egypt that gets the attention (let’s be honest, it was super impressive, especially considering the most powerful army in the world at that time, the Egyptian army, was hot on their tails). But this crossing is miraculous in its own right. There were some places along the Jordan River, the fords, that were easier to cross - but they are not crossing at that spot. And this is an entire nation of people - the young and the old, men and women. And if that wasn’t enough, the river was at flood stage, during the spring, so it is wide and deep.

Let me show you an image to give you some idea: The story tells us that as soon as the priests carrying the ark of the covenant step into the river (which is a pretty amazing act of faith in and of itself, carrying this pole on your shoulder, wading into a full, flowing river) - the water dries up. We learn that the watered heaped up on itself and stopped flowing near the town of Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, which is twenty miles to the north. Just think about that timing of that, not to mention God’s power displayed. All that to say, God is doing amazing things here to enable his people to cross over.

As I mentioned before, it is the priests - or, rather, what they are carrying, that is the central part of the story. The ark of the covenant of the Lord your God. The ark represented the presence of God in their midst, the glory of God with them.

The ark of the covenant was that wooden box, covered in gold, that had the statues of the cherubim on the lid, with their wings spread towards each other. In that ark, that container, was the stone tablets of the covenant agreement, the Ten Commandments, between God and his people, the Israelites.

So the ark represented God’s presence with them. Which is why it was kept in the tabernacle, in the innermost room, the Holy of Holies, which only the high priest could enter, then only once a year, on the Day of Atonement, and only after having offered sacrifices for himself and for the people. Because of the holiness of God. It’s why the people had to consecrate themselves, make themselves clean before they passed by the ark of the covenant crossing the Jordan River - and even then, they had to keep a distance of 1,000 yards.

In addition to representing the presence of the Holy One, of Yahweh, it also represented the covenant between, the mutual covenant that the Lord would be their God, he would keep his promises to them, bless them (assuming they were obedient), provide for them - including giving them the land they are now entering. They in turn would worship only him - no other gods, and obey his commandments. In order that they might become this holy nation, his people, through whom God would bless all the nations.

This - and only this, is why this upstart nation is entering into this land, intent on conquering it. This, only this, is why the other nations are quaking in fear. Listen to their response when they learn about how God has brought them over into the land, Joshua 5:1...Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

I want to use our last bit of time here to see what we might glean from this story and that has everything to do with what’s at the very center of this story - the ark of the covenant of the Lord our God, or more particularly, what the ark represents - the presence of God with his people. The presence of God with his people as they cross over. And it’s not just about crossing a geographical barrier, in this case, a river. They are crossing into what will be an entirely new stage in life. This is going to be a huge transition for them.

In the last forty plus years the Israelites have gone through one major transition - from being enslaved as brickmakers in Egypt to wandering in the wilderness, free, but with no real home and being fed every day with food God provided them every morning, manna. The wilderness time was a time of trial and testing, absolute dependence on the Lord for their day to day needs. And now they are crossing over, transitioning, into a whole new part of their journey as God’s people - into the land, where they will settle down. Live in homes. Work the land. Raise their livestock. Grow as a nation. Hopefully, to grow as God’s holy nation, his royal people.

Point here - the reason the ark of the covenant goes before them, and then sets there in the bottom of that dried out river bed is so they will be reminded that it is God leading them into this land, through this transition. He is to be their guide. He is to be their anchor, their support, through it all. They are to enter this land with him at the center, as their God. And they cannot forget that.

Our lives are filled with crossings, with significant life transitions. Sometimes, as we talked about in the very beginning, it’s the changes happening in the culture all around us - how will we adjust? But a lot of crossings are the natural stages in life as you mature and go through life.

At graduations you actually cross over - walk across the stage, receive your diploma - move from being a student to a graduate. On to the next stage. Marriage is a huge crossing. As is welcoming a child into the world, as some of our very own are just now experiencing. Moving to a new home, divorce, taking a new position or job, retirement, becoming empty nesters, significant change in health. One of my Capernaum friends, Jamie, a middle schooler, keeps reminding me that he will be in high school next year - he’s quite excited. Though for many parents of children with disabilities, their graduating from high school raises a lot of issues - what will life look for them as adults? That’s a difficult transition.

Whatever the life crossing might be, this story reminds us that we want God with us in this. Whatever else may be changing about our lives or the world around us, what we don’t want changing is Jesus at the very center of it. Here’s why - we weren’t meant to live life in our own little world - our stories are all intricately connected to God’s great story, great story of redemption, reconciling the world to himself through Jesus. That was true for the Israelites and it’s true for us. We are God’s covenant people, bound together. And no matter the season of our life, we want God at the center, our lives revolving around him (rather than the reverse, God revolving around him - great Copernican revolution).

There’s some great wisdom in our bathroom, it says this: “I trust the next chapter because I know the author.” God is the author (not us) of the story of your life. Let him lead you. Look to him for guidance. Remember the orders given out to the Israelites - when you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God (God’s presence)…you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But he has, God knows the way. He knows exactly where to take you and how to take you there.

How many of you were able to predict the events of your lives?? Who you’d marry, how that would turn out? What job you’d end up doing? Where you’d live? Whether you’d move? How many kids you’d have, if any - how their lives would turn out? The challenges you’d face?

Thinking about the story of our church, particularly over the last 6-7 years, leaving the PC(USA), having to give up the building, our time at the Senior Center (feels like a wilderness wandering time now, doesn’t it?), ending up here in our new home (by the way, got to see Woody Barker at Presbytery, he’s doing better). All those crossings, changes, who could have guessed where’d we end up. He knew all the time.

Whatever your crossing, keep Jesus right at the center. Make sure he’s the one leading you into that river and through it. He’s gonna lead you. He’s gonna get you through. He’s got plans for you on the other side.

Spiritual Disciplines

After the Israelites crossed over the Jordan River and entered into the Promised Land, they did several things that are important to highlight - because it helps confirm this whole idea of crossing over with God (these come from Joshua 4 & 5)

First one we’ve already mentioned - when one man from each of the twelve tribes pulled a stone out of the river bed and brought it out and they set them up as a memorial. We must remember God being with us, God leading us across the Jordan River into this new land.

And they also engage in another act of remembrance - they celebrated the Passover meal. Passover was the last plague God sent on the land of Egypt, the angel of death going throughout the land, killing the firstborn male of every family and every animal, except in those households on which the blood of the sacrificed lamb was spread over the doorframe. That was the plague that led to the Israelites finally being freed from slavery in Egypt, to their crossing the sea of reeds. By the way, the celebration of the Passover was also the first non-manna meal - instead they ate the produce of the land. There was to be no more manna for the Israelites (whole new stage for them).

Last thing they did was to circumcise all the males. None of the people who had been born in the wilderness during the journey from Israel had been circumcised. So they had to take a few days to heal from that.

But it’s so instructive, because it points to two different things - our identity in Jesus, and remembering and giving thanks and praise to Jesus. They are engaging in practices to instill those two things.

Whatever new I may be entering into in life, I want to go as someone who belongs to Jesus, whose heart has been circumcised by him. I am baptized. Whatever else may change about my life, that is central to who I am - a follower of Jesus. His. Daily prayers of self-offering are really helpful here. Make it a practice, as you wake, to pray a short prayer, have a verse or two you recite.

God gave the Israelites celebrations and practices to remember. To help them keep him at the center of their lives. Why worship every Sunday morning is to essential. Why we do special services, Christmas Eve, Maundy Thursday, to remember.

Because no matter where life takes us, whatever crossings we’re encounter, we want Jesus at the center.