Joshua Study 3

A Crossing Over People

Text: Joshua 3

Introduction

Take a moment and view pictures of the supposed crossing of the Jordan in route to Jericho.

1) Moving To The Crossing Over Point

VERSE 1

The distance they traveled shows a confidence in God’s promises.

Q — Are God’s promises past, present, or future?

ANS — YES.

They chose to go forward reckoning that so in their life.

God’s promise about their enemies was made in the past without an expiration date.

God’s promises cannot detach themselves from His eternal nature.

Believing this brings physical and spiritual mobility.

Q — Do you live that way? Is there noticeable visible spiritual mobility?

They made camp at the banks of the river.

It gives us the picture of preparation and refraining from moving forward recklessly.

Anytime you come to a crossing over moment, there should be a serious seeking of wisdom from God.

2) Following At A Safe Distance

VERSES 2-4

Here we learn exactly why they did just march right on in to Jericho.

A. They needed to wait on God’s direction

Q — What was so important about the placement of the Ark of the Covenant.

The covenant was God promised to be their God and they would be His people.

If they were to be His people, they needed to be where God’s presence was.

Don’t travel without God leading.

B. They kept their focus on God’s presence

“When you see”… “go after it”

This demands a certain level of maturity, discipline, sacrifice, and a check on your priorities.

C. They must remain in a safe distance

The distance they were to keep between them and the Ark was roughly 1/2 mile.

You’ve got to remember, there were anywhere from 2 to 3 million people.

a) It was a distance where God’s presence was visible to everyone

God never puts forth any effort to hide Himself from anyone!

b) It was a distance that stressed God’s holy character

Remember, it used to be in a place where only the High Priest could see it.

Isn’t it amazing how God transfers His presence to His people.

c) It was a distance to prevent them from getting lost

We are never commanded to walk at the same pace as God. We are commanded to walk in-step with God. That requires following behind Him.

Psalm 119:105 “105 NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, And a light unto my path.”

3) Traveling In Holiness

VERSES 5-6

A. They needed a heart of holiness to follow in holiness as they followed the Holy One

Illustration: When we are preparing to travel, I take special time to prepare our vehicle for the trip. You could say, “I am setting my vehicle apart” to be ready to transport me and my family safely to wherever we are going. Whenever I plug the address into the gps, I need all mechanical and electrical components to operate without any trouble.

Joshua told the Israelites to “Sanctify” themselves because their Holy God is getting ready to move.

1 Chronicles 22:19 “19 Now set your heart and your soul to seek the Lord your God; arise therefore, and build ye the sanctuary of the Lord God, to bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord, and the holy vessels of God, into the house that is to be built to the name of the Lord.”

Isaiah 40:25 “25 To whom then will ye liken me, or shall I be equal? saith the Holy One.”

1 Peter 1:15–16 “15 But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation; 16 Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.”

B. You and I need to sanctify our own hearts and lives to follow our Holy God

He is as holy today as He was then.

We do this through God’s truth being in our minds and prayers.

This is a personal responsibility!

C. God was going to do wonders very soon (v6)

They needed to be ready to positively respond to the wonder working of God.

This too should be our attitude. God is going to work wonders in and through my life, I must apply my heart and life to holiness.

This was a movement they could not afford to miss.

Only following serious preparation did Joshua give the priests the green light.

Victory doesn’t just “show up.” You have to move with God. He is the only One able to consistently take you to victory.

4) God Develops Personal Greatness

VERSES 7-13

A. Greatness from God is a process

“This day will I begin to magnify thee”

The leader should be patient and the people should be gracious and faithful.

Magnify = to make great (significant) v. — to cause to be of major significance or importance; perhaps sometimes implying greatness of size as well.

a) God produces the greatness

2 Chronicles 1:1 “1 And Solomon the son of David was strengthened in his kingdom, and the Lord his God was with him, and magnified him exceedingly.”

1 Chronicles 29:25 “25 And the Lord magnified Solomon exceedingly in the sight of all Israel, and bestowed upon him such royal majesty as had not been on any king before him in Israel.”

Joshua 4:14 “14 On that day the Lord magnified Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they feared him, as they feared Moses, all the days of his life.”

It appears that there were possibly some who didn’t view Joshua as the leader Moses was or unsure if God was really with Joshua the same way as with Moses.

Illustration: God developing greatness in someone is like developing a photo negative in a dark room. Following the transfer of the negative to larger photo paper, you then go through a series of submerging it in different solutions. Then it is finally hung up to dry.

B. God developing greatness in your life is for a higher purpose

“that they may know”

God desires for them to gain a particular clarity.

God is always teaching us!

a) “as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee”

First of all, there was a transfer from one realm to another.

Moses delivered them from bondage into covenant with God.

Joshua was leading them from their new birth into a new life in a new land.

Second, that pivotal transition was at the crossing of water.

Moses led them across the Red Sea to flee from persecution and bondage.

Joshua would lead them across the Jordan river to fight and conquer the land.

Third, God never failed Moses and He would never fail Joshua

5) God Provides Possible Ground

VERSES 14-17