From Wandering to Conquering (2)

From Wandering to Conquering

A Journey through Joshua

Joshua 3:1-17

It was posted this week that thus far through this year Kentucky and Indiana respectively are number one and two with the most drowning fatalities. As you can imagine, this is not a category in which any state takes joy in leading. Many of Kentucky’s drownings occur in the eastern part of the state where flooding has become too common an activity.

Unfortunately, five of the seven drowning victims thus far this year were the result of an Amish buggy being swept away by flood waters the last week of April.

Often times people forget that water is one of the two most powerful forces on earth and can not only sweep vehicles off bridges but can also batter beach homes and cause massive mud slides. You would like to think most people have a healthy respect for the power of water, but that is not always the case.

Ask anyone who has dealt with flooding and he will tell you that flood waters are no laughing matter. They are to be taken seriously or consequences can get out of hand in a moment. Anyone who has ever survived flooding can tell you flood waters are simply dangerous.

For those of us who have never seen the Jordan River in person, we likely cannot fathom what the Israelites were thinking when Joshua announced they were about to cross the river right in the middle of flood season. Fortunately, God’s word records the details of that miraculous event.

Read Joshua 3:1-17.

The first generation of Israelites had been led out of Egypt by Moses and experienced the parting of the Red Sea. They knew what it was like for God to stop up the waters and allow them to walk across on dry ground. Unfortunately, that generation had wasted their opportunity to enter into the promised land when they doubted God’s ability to help them conquer it.

Eventually, there came a new generation and a new leader by the name of Joshua. Joshua was unquestionably committed to leading God’s people into the promised land. He knew God had called, he knew the timing was now, he believed in God’s promises and had faith in God’s presence. The people were told to prepare provisions for themselves and to remember their word. Spies were sent in and experienced first-hand God turning a heathen into a hero. They listened as a foreigner proclaimed there was only one true God and brought back a successful report. The time had now come to cross over into the promised land, but a huge obstacle stood in their way. It was the Jordan River and it was flood season.

Not all of us have faced literal flooding before, but I dare say we have all faced something we had to cross. The reality is we will all face many crossings in our lives and learning from Joshua and the Israelites can only be beneficial.

*Follow God’s lead. (v.1-4)

-Appreciate that Joshua “rose early in the morning.” It is not coincidental leaders are often early risers. We find this same phrase concerning Joshua in 6:12; 7:16 and 8:10. Joshua led out and the people followed, but Joshua was following the Lord’s lead. We know this because he instructed the leaders to go through the camp with specific instructions.

-In v. 3 the people are told that when they see the ark of the covenant they are to set out and “go after it.” The ark of the covenant represented the presence of God. David Howard says, “The ark was the most holy physical possession of Israel since it symbolized God’s presence.” The ark contained the two tablets (both copies) of the Ten commandments, Aaron’s rod, and a jar of manna.

-The ark was to be carried by the Levites on poles. All priests were Levites but not all Levites were priests. Nonetheless, their responsibility was a sacred one. Any departure from caring for the ark properly carried grave consequences. Recall Uzzah, whose story is recorded in 2 Samuel 6. He was struck dead by God for touching the ark when he thought it was going to fall off the cart.

-God’s people were instructed to follow at a distance for two reasons. One because they had never been that way before and two because God is holy. We have lost a sense of God’s holiness both without and within the church. In his book, The Holiness of God, R.C. Sproul writes, “When the Bible calls God holy, it means primarily that God is transcendentally separate. He is so far above and beyond us that He seems almost totally foreign to us. To be holy is to be “other,” to be different in a special way.

-In 1 Peter 1:15, it is written, “but as He who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct.” We cannot be holy apart from Christ imparting His holiness upon us through the Holy Spirit. For that reason, as Christ followers, we must pursue the holiness of God like the Israelites were told to “go after” the ark.

*Sanctify, but don’t short cut. (v.5-13)

-Joshua called for God’s people to “sanctify themselves.” Sanctification is the act of consecrating oneself for the purpose of holiness. Howard says, “The core idea is that of ‘separation’ from things that are unclean or common, that is, anything that would contaminate one’s relationship with a perfect God.” In the case of the Israelites, that meant no eating of certain foods and abstaining from sexual relations.

-There were no exceptions. You cannot take short cuts with God and expect to experience His fullest blessings. Joshua declared the Israelites would experience two distinct blessings: 1) the LORD would do wonders among them and 2) they would know the living God was with him and among them.

-Far too often we want God to do wonders among us, but we are not willing to sanctify ourselves from the ways of the world. You cannot partially repent and partially remain in sin; you can, but you will forfeit the blessings of God. The LORD told Joshua that He would begin to exalt him, and the people would know He was with him as He was with Moses. God will never exalt those who exalt themselves.

-The key to the LORD exalting Joshua among the people was that he declared the words of the LORD (v. 9). If you ever desire to be a leader among God’s people, then spend more time declaring His word than your own.

-Joshua declared the priests were to take up the ark of the covenant and step into the river and the moment the soles of their feet touched the water, God would back up the waters and stand them as a heap (v.13).

As a conqueror, you will face obstacles, but when you do, follow God’s lead, repeatedly sanctify yourself and . . .

*Act in faith not in fear. (v.14-17)

-Faith is not made stronger until it is tested in the flood waters. However, when you when you act in faith rather than fear your faith will take you places you have never been before.

-Imagine being one of the priests on the front side of the ark. The waters are rushing by and sweeping everything in their path downstream when you extend your foot to step in. There is no place to put your foot down and with your hands on the pole you have nothing on which to grab hold.

-Ill.- I have found when it comes to getting into water, there are three methods people employ. The dip-a-toe in method. The wade-in method. And, the jump-in method. Sometimes God asks us to just dip a toe in, but we ought to be so committed to Christ we are willing to jump in the deep end on New Year’s Day.

-Faith recognizes God not only walks beside you, but He also walks ahead of you to remove obstacles that initially seem impassible.

-God could have easily stopped the flow of the Jordan River before the priests ever got to the edge of the water, but He wanted them to know their faith had a part in the wonder. You will rarely experience a wonder of God without first expressing faith in God.

-The instant their feet hit the water, God stopped the flow and backed up the waters as far as Adam. Adam was thought to believe to be 16 miles north of where they were crossing. Upon doing so, the people walked across on “dry ground” (v. 17)

I shouldn’t have but I did. I was laughing hysterically as a friend described sinking in a creek, he thought it had a firm bottom only to discover it was more like quicksand. The mud sucked his boots off, and he had to remove the stand off his back and use it as a makeshift bridge just to get himself out. He had underestimated the crossing and the result was ugly for him and a laughing matter for me. What is no laughing matter is when individuals, especially Christians, facing obstacles to be crossed in life and try to conquer them without doing it God’s way.