JOSHUA 3: Crossing the Jordan
Joshua: Courage To Fear • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 27 viewsAs God’s people experience God’s Wonders, there is preparation, a posture of trust (in His promises) and being careful to praise Him for His power and provision.
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Joshua 3
INTRODUCTION
INTRODUCTION
IT’S TIME!
Israel is gathered at Shittim.
They are preparing to cross the Jordan River to go and take possession of the Promised land.
to fulfill a promise to Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Moses.
Moses has died…Joshua is the new leaeder.
God has given instruction.
God is going to lead them…He is going to lead them by His Word as Joshua gets in the Word so the Word can get into Him.
8 This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. 9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
Joshua has given the instruction to the people.
They have dispatched 2 spies across the river into Jericho.
The 2 spies were able to find refuge in the recon mission in the house of Rahab - commonly known as a Prostitute.
She hides them from the King’s guards.
She makes a covenant with them to protect her and her household.
She gives them a great escape route and strategy.
They return to Joshua with the report…
Joshua 2:24 “24 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.””
—-
The people of Israel got up in the morning and approached the Jordan River without any real plan for getting across this river, EXCEPT TO OBEY JOSHUA WHO IS BEING LED BY GOD.
They remembered what God had done for their parents at the Red Sea.
For three days, now, they have camped with the sound of the river’s rising and rushing water in their ears.
For three days now, they have had the sight of the opposite shore reminding them of the mission ahead.
They will either cross successfully and this be another incredible feat for God and his people in history…OR it will all be over - soon.
—-
There are a few things to consider as we make our way into this text for today.
GOD IS FAITHFUL
Joshua is going to inherit a new home - Canaan. God promised that land more than 500 years before to Abraham and His descendents.
God is faithful.
God keeps his promises. He is not slack concerning them.
Gos is NEVER LATE...
We like the phrase “he was in time…” But God is not in time.
Time is in God.
God’s clock keeps perfect time.
God owns time, and when he fulfills his promises, they are always fulfilled on time.
Whenever HE CHOOSES TO ACT is PERFECT TIMING - Because that’s who He is and how He moves.
God has not just set things in motions to stand back, take his hand off of the world and watch everything unfold…
He cares. He cares about His creation. He cares about humanity.
THE ARK OF THE COVENANT IS NOT SOME GOD LUCK CHARM
the box of acacia wood that was overlaid with gold;
lined with gold inside and on its lid.
There were carved angelic beings known as cherubim that faced each other and lifted up their wings toward heaven in a posture of giving glory to God.
This box represented the presence of God in the midst of his people.
CONTENTS:
It contained two tablets of stone (the 10 Commandments) - [[PROCLAMATION]],
a jar of manna [[PROVISION]]
and Aaron’s staff that budded [[POWER]]
The children of Israel will need all three as they move forward.
FWIW: As we proclaim God’s Word and experience the provision of His Holy Spirit, we get to experience His power as people of all ages and stages say YES to Jesus.
To the SCENE:
THE SPIES have returned…with an incredible report.
I’m sure they were like so many church planters, Student leaders, and even our friend Pastor Sylvio in Saô Paulo, Brazil - “LET’S GO PEOPLE!!!”
BUT THEY DIDN’T LEAVE WITH HASTE as soon as the spies returned.
They were forced to stand on the banks of the JORDAN RIVER FOR 3 DAYS.
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
1. PREPARATION FOR GOD’S PRESENCE (3:1-5)
1. PREPARATION FOR GOD’S PRESENCE (3:1-5)
How would they prepare for God to move in their midst?
they needed a miracle
they needed deliverance
the needed GOD
WHILE THEY WERE THERE - PREPARING.
Do things get better?
Do the waters recede so that it’s easier to cross?
Does dry ground appear...a plain way for them to see before ever get there - so they’ll know exactly where to step?
No, No, and No.
Why, with all creation under His control, would God allow this?
He is the God of Wonders - the Creator of the Universe - All things are subject to His control…
Things are getting WORSE while they are WAITING for God to DO SOMETHING.
On a human level - crossing this river is impossible.
The water itself is an obstacle.
What’s on the other side is daunting.
But they can’t stay where they are…in a land mixed with idolatry.
So why are they waiting?
What feels like delays - often have the greater purpose of refining our faith and deepening our trust in God.
If we’re honest, few things have turned the heat up in our prayer lives like trials and delays…
Verses 3-5
You’re going to follow the ARK OF THE COVENANT
from a very distinct distance - a little more than 1/2 mile away
this distance communicates a couple things
While it does remind the people that although God loves them and longs to be among them - THERE IS A GREAT DISTANCE BETWEEN GOD AND MAN
Chiefly, though…it is so that everyone can see the ark of the covenant
they can have a clear view and follow it wherever it goes!
Then the command comes in verse 5.
5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
CONSECRATE…
what does that mean?
they were to wash their garments…and look inside for any sin they hadn’t yet confessed and dealt with.
so they could be CLEAN.
2 Timothy 2:20–21 “20 Now in a great house there are not only vessels of gold and silver but also of wood and clay, some for honorable use, some for dishonorable. 21 Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.”
God was going to lead them.
Remember that they were HIS PEOPLE and HE WAS THEIR GOD was critical.
IF THEY WERE GOING TO KEEP THEIR EYES ON HIM AND NOT ON THE RIVER!
>>>Some of you need to be reminded today, that God - the God of this Bible - is worthy of your focus and all your affection
take your eyes OFF that impossible thing and put your eyes on the LORD
In a real way - our sins was the impossible thing for us to get over in order to get to the place of GOD’S BLESSING, AND FAVOR, AND REST FOR OUR WEARY SOULS.
14 And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up, 15 that whoever believes in him may have eternal life.
32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.” 33 He said this to show by what kind of death he was going to die.
God had to go ahead of us…and we follow Him to life everlasting!
APPLICATION POINTS:
DON’T LOSE HOPE WHILE YOU’RE WAITING ON GOD TO MOVE…
DON’T LOSE HOPE EVEN IF THINGS IN FRONT OF YOU AREN’T GETTING BETTER
GOD DIDN’T PROMISE US HE’D MAKE EVERYTHING BETTER (NOW!); BUT HE DID PROMISE TO MAKE US INTO SOMETHING NEW!
KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE LORD! - Don’t let anything obstruct your view!
SPEND MORE TIME WITH THE LORD - than you do consuming other streams of content - especially if you feel like you’re surrounded…or waiting on something to happen!
in Prayer and in His Word
THEY know God is going to work…now its time to put one foot in front of the other…
One of the ways we will know that God is working wonders among us is that God’s people display ...
2. A POSTURE OF TRUST in His Promises (3:5-17)
2. A POSTURE OF TRUST in His Promises (3:5-17)
The people begin to move ahead.
Joshua 3:10–13 “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.””
THERE WILL BE EVIDENCE THAT GOD IS WITH US…THAT HE GOES BEFORE US. We’ll know that God is with us as our enemies fall!
Get a rep from each tribe
ias they feet of the priests step into the water; it will stop flowing there.
we will cross.
THIS REQUIRES COURAGE…FAITH.
Faith gathers up all our cares and anxieties AND LEAVES IT ALL WITH GOD.
KNOWING THAT He has taken the responsibility for our future and every step ahead of us.
ISRAEL must have faith in the LORD. You and I must have faith in the LORD.
Psalm 55:22 “22 Cast your burden on the Lord, and he will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved.”
1 Peter 5:7 “7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
We must never give up what we do know because of what we don’t.
Even when we don’t know HOW God will reveal His faithfulness and His power in our circumstance - what we do know is that HE IS OUR GOD - AND HE IS FAITHFUL AND POWERFUL!
He is committed to us by his unbreakable covenant promise, and “his love is as great as his power and knows neither measure nor end.”
Verse 17 shows us that it happened…
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.
Chapter 4:1 tells us the whole nation passes over the JORDAN.
REMARKABLE!
God does wonders for his people!
What he promises by his Word,
He accomplishes by his power and so seals his predictions by his actions.
There could not be a more magnificent, God-glorifying beginning to the conquest of the land.
WHAT ARE WE TO TAKE FROM THIS SECTION?
Remember The command Chapter 1 Verse 2,
Joshua 1:2 “2 “Moses my servant is dead. Now therefore arise, go over this Jordan, you and all this people, into the land that I am giving to them, to the people of Israel.”
The spies go. Return. Joshua obeys.
They don’t know how it will happen, but they take the next logical step forward in obedience to what God has already said and leave the outcome with him.
Here’s a great lesson - WHEN YOU DON’T KNOW HOW GOD IS GOING TO WORK…YOU STILL KNOW HE’S WORKING. IT’S ALWAYS RIGHT TO TRUST HIM AND OBEY HIM!
But what applications can we make here in 2025.
There’s an old gospel song…
Got any rivers you think are uncrossable?
Got any mountains you can’t tunnel through?
God specializes in things thought impossible.
He does the things others cannot do.
This is our God.
He can and does perform miracles.
But you can’ pick up an Old Testament narrative DESCRIBING HOW He moved in a particular situation and try to directly apply it to your LIFE!
Your difficulties may NOT melt away by divine intervention.
Just because HE CAN DO SOMETHING does NOT mean that he always will.
There is no unconditional promise here that will be valid for all God’s people in all the varied challenges and complexities of life in this world.
After the Israelites crossed the Jordan, they generally had to use normal human methods to carry on their lives.
This particular miracle never recurred; it remains a miracle.
(I’m trying to help you)
We suffer major disappointments when you and I read the Old Testament wrongly. This can begin to shake us in our faith when we try to rush through the story and act as though our current situation is anything like the people of God standing on the Banks of Jordan River!
We are not the children of Israel. The problem that you have facing you… That’s between you and enjoyment of some earthly pleasure is not the Jordan River!
But when you start writing yourself into scripture, and then it doesn’t work out the way that you thought it would… You have very little recourse, except to think less of God, less of you, or less of his word than you should!
You cannot always draw a line directly from a unique event in Israel’s history to your every day, individual experience.
The question we should ask first and foremost when we’re in the Old Testament narrative like this is “what is God teaching us about God here?”
Remember, the Bible is about God, it is not about you.
Joshua—People of God’s Purpose Experiencing the Impossible
No Bible narrative was written specifically about you.… You can always learn a great deal from these narratives, but you can never assume that God expects you to do exactly the same things that Bible characters did, or have the same things happen to you that happened to them.”
Lessons: The key here is the ARK OF THE COVENANT - THE PRESENCE OF GOD
LESSON: We may preach, sing, and serve in the church - BUT WITHOUT GOD’S PRESENCE we will not see the effective proclamation of the WORD of GOD, Provision of God, or the power of God…we cannot go through the motions!
LESSON: The Sovereign hand of God is at work. He is always ON TIME…because He is perfect.
LESSON: God often opens His hand one finger at a time (Alexander McClaren)…have a posture of trust that He is doing right and well! (It is enough to see the next step and to trust God for what we cannot see yet. Indeed, it is the essence of true faith to trust where we cannot see, “for we walk by faith, not by sight”
LESSON: Our God, is the Lord of Heaven and earth, of time and eternity. He works all things in the history of Planet Earth according to the purpose of his will, and “all things” includes every circumstance of our individual lives.
28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.
3. PRAISE FOR HIS POWER & PROTECTION (4:1-14)
3. PRAISE FOR HIS POWER & PROTECTION (4:1-14)
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men from the people of Israel, whom he had appointed, a man from each tribe. 5 And Joshua said to them, “Pass on before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of the Jordan, and take up each of you a stone upon his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the people of Israel, 6 that this may be a sign among you. When your children ask in time to come, ‘What do those stones mean to you?’ 7 then you shall tell them that the waters of the Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it passed over the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. So these stones shall be to the people of Israel a memorial forever.”
They planned in advance to PRAISE THE LORD.
They took stones / memorials and placed them so that they would be seen AND INVITE QUESTIONS!
OUR LIVES ARE THE LIVING STONES…
4 As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, 5 you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 3, Paul writes about Christians who are LETTERS OF RECOMMENDATIONS for everyone to read.
GOD SAVED US OUT OF SIN AND DESPAIR AND HAS LEFT US AS MEMORIALS SO THAT THE WORLD MIGHT SEE HIM AT WORK IN US.
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,
God has set apart to TESTIFY TO ALL GENERATIONS of His WONDERS
that Jesus Saves
We’ve heard the joyful sound JESUS SAVES JESUS SAVES
Spread the tidings all around, JESUS SAVES JESUS SAVES
18 Let this be recorded for a generation to come, so that a people yet to be created may praise the Lord:
Let your life be living stone - a rock crying out - PRAISE THE LORD! HALLELUJAH!
WE MAKE ROOM FOR GOD’S WONDERS AMONG US WHEN WE..
PREPARE: Live expectantly / Preparing for Him to work IN us & THROUGH us
Have a POSTURE of Faith = we walk by faith not by sight - one step at a time (not because we have it figured out, but because HE IS FAITHFUL!)
PRAISE HIM BECAUSE HE IS WORTHY!
