Joshua 3:1-4:24 | "Stand Still in the Jordan" [Live Stream Edition]

I. Reading of Scripture

Joshua 3:8b (ESV)

“When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.”

Pray

II. Introduction

A. Introduction to Theme

I want to focus in on this command: “you shall stand still in the Jordan.”

God told the priests to stop moving. To stand still.

How uncomfortable are you with standing still?

Standing still is the opposite of movement. We are always moving, doing, growing, advancing! And stillness can be uncomfortable! It can make us vulnerable!

Someone once said: “I’ll be still when I die. I’ll stop moving when I die.”

But that is not God’s design!

The workaholic is always at odds with sleep because sleep forces a person to be still and cease from activity for awhile.

God gives us here, in Joshua 3, a Stand-Still Moment, and it comes at one of the most longed-for moments in Israel’s history - as they are finally crossing the Jordan River into the Promised Land.

You might wonder, “What does this have to do with me? What can I gain from studying this Old Testament Scripture?”

2 Timothy 3:15–17 ESV

15 and how from childhood you have been acquainted with the sacred writings, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16 All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17 that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.

What God did through His people under Joshua’s leadership is something God wanted his people to remember.

And because of this - God commanded that the priests “Stand Still in the Jordan.”

Stand-still moments are to be remembered.

When you take a picture, everyone stands still to preserve that moment in time.

Even now, you can look in your home and see a photograph. A moment preserved in time for you to remember. That does not only help you in the past, but it also does something for you in the present. It brings you happiness, or joy as you recall that memory.

God was preserving a moment in time in the memories of the people, and God was recalling for them a time when He had delivered them in a similar way when they came OUT of Egypt and passed through the Red Sea.

God wants His people to know that in the SAME way that He delivered them OUT of Egypt, He would ALSO deliver them IN to the land of Promise! And in so doing, God wants them to know that HE is the SAME GOD who is able to save them to the uttermost and is able to supply for their every need. God may be trusted, always!

The same is true for us! The same Savior who brings us OUT of SIN is the same Savior who brings us IN to a New and Eternal Life —- that is, Jesus! We don’t have to put the Lord away after our sins are forgiven and look for some other means of maturity and holiness. Jesus does that too!

What God begins, God completes.

Romans 8:29–30 ESV

29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.

When God commands movement, we should pay attention. When God commands stillness, I want to suggest, that we should pay even more attention! It is a moment to be remembered.

B. Introduction to Text

God’s people are moving in Joshua 3.

The chapter begins with movement!

Joshua 3:1 ESV

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.

Joshua moves. The people move.

But what causes them to stop moving? Why do they lodge in a place?

Because there is a barrier that they must cross to get into the Promised Land.

The Jordan River is a major physical barrier that separates God’s people from God’s promise.

This barrier caused the people to cease their advancement for a time.

God halts advancement and brings about stillness in different ways.

Sometimes He commands stillness.

In Matthew 28:19-20, Jesus said to his disciples:

Matthew 28:19–20 ESV

19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

But then in Acts 1 God’s Word records this this:

Acts 1:4 ESV

4 And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me;

Jesus promises His presence to His disciples in both of these texts, yet in the first text He commands movement, and in the second text he commands stillness — WAIT!

Such a stillness requires maturity.

Try this experiment: Find your nearest 3 year old and ask them to be still for 30 seconds. I guarantee you it’s not going to happen!

Those who have walked with God know how to listen for His leading to move and ALSO how to listen for His leading to be still.

God halts advancement and brings about stillness in different ways. God can command stillness, but God can also force stillness.

He can use a river like the Jordan, an illness, a pandemic - you name it God can use it to stop movement, and create a moment for remembrance, for both now and for the future — a moment to be still and know that He is God (Ps 46:10). A moment to re-orient ourselves before moving in to a work that requires a complete and total dependence upon God!

Learn to ask God: Why am I still? What are you teaching me?

This was what God desired of His people before they passed into the Promised Land — God wanted them to know that He was for them, that He would lead them, that He would fight for them — IF THEY WOULD FOLLOW HIM!

Think about the phrase: “The calm before the storm.” It is a moment of peace and calm that precedes the difficulties that will come.

In the same way, God gives stillness, God stops movement, so that we might re-focus our eyes upon God, and remember that AS HE IS WITH US IN THE STILLNESS, HE WILL BE WITH US IN THE STORM.

I think about this pandemic. It has brought us as a church to a stillness. A stillness that has been desperately needed. Not just for our congregation but for many congregations.

Our calendars have become still. The busyness of our own creations have ceased. The coffee makers, printers and phones that operated endlessly have been quieted. The lights of rooms, hallways and kitchens have been turned off as everything settles and waits in a stillness.

Could this be the calm before the storm? What challenges await us? What is God leading us into? A revival? His return?

Could this be the forced stillness we needed to let God have His rightful place ahead of us — not beside us or behind us.

As we gather each week to declare that our weeks and days belong to God:

We gather to reorient our priorities. We gather to be reminded in the preaching of God’s Word, that we are selfish, and we should be selfless.

The object of our worship is never ourselves, but is the triune God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Psalm 115:1 ESV

1 Not to us, O Lord, not to us, but to your name give glory, for the sake of your steadfast love and your faithfulness!

If we are in danger of getting ahead of God, God may force us to be still to remember that HE is God, and WE are not!

In this way, stillness represents lack of movement, but stillness does not represent a lack of activity!

Even while we sleep our bodies are active giving us the rest and health that we need to face the new day.

The people lodge at the Jordan. They know that they will pass over it. But they do not know how they will do this.

SO in their STILLNESS, another work is being accomplished among them — the PEOPLE PREPARE.

Joshua 3:2–4 ESV

2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

Wait until you see the Ark move! The Ark of the Covenant is a focal point of this moment. The Ark of the Covenant represented the Presence of God among His people.

When God gave Moses the law, He gave instructions concerning the building of this Ark of the Covenant.

It was a box made of wood, overlaid with gold inside and out.

Inside the ark were placed three items (Heb 9:4) —

tablets of the covenant (written by God’s own finger),

Aaron’s rod that budded (life brought from something that was dead),

and manna (bread from heaven).

What do these things mean?

Just like the law, each item served as a reminder of Israel’s sin.

The tablets of the covenant would remind the people of the abomination of the golden calf, when Israel wanted to make an idol to return to Egypt (Ex 32).

Aaron’s rod would remind them of Korah’s rebellion, when men rebelled against Moses’ leadership and despised the Lord (Num 16, 17:10).

The Manna would remind them of their grumbling against God in the wilderness (Ex 16).

But likewise, each item also represents in some way, God’s action.

The tablets of the covenant represent the Word of God, given for His people.

Aaron’s rod represents the Power of God for His people.

The Manna represents the Provision of God for His people.

To see the Ark move ahead, the people would REMEMBER not only their sinfulness and need for God — but also God’s PRESENCE with them — His Word, Power, and Provision!

On top of the Ark was a lid of gold, that was the mercy seat. It was a covering. Cherubim stood overlooking it.

All this to say — Without the mercy of God, covering us, we cannot have the Word of God, the Power of God, or the Provision of God.

We receive the mercy of God because of Jesus. Because of His blood covering us. By His blood, we might know the Word, the Power and the Provision of God.

(3:2) —

“As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it.”

(3:4) —

“Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

Stillness reminds us of God’s rightful place. HE LEADS, WE FOLLOW.

At first, the officers of Israel are the ones speaking to the people.

In verse 5, Joshua speaks —

Joshua 3:5 ESV

5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Moses had commanded the same thing of the people before the experience at Mt. Sinai — before God descended upon the mountain and spoke with the people in a mighty display of power.

Here too, Joshua commands the people to consecrate themselves. Linking what God did in the past, to what God will do tomorrow.

Consecration is an act of making holy. Removing or distancing oneself from anything that is profane or ordinary. It was a ritual washing and cleansing.

Consecration was an act of preparation. Consecration was part of sanctuary worship.

We do something like this when we prepare to worship God on Sundays *normally.

The night before at dinner or in the evening we pray a prayer of preparation for the services to come the next morning.

We rise early in the morning and we shower. We wash away the week, and we feel clean. Outwardly and inwardly.

In the new mercies of the morning we walk in forgiveness of sin and begin a new day and in a new week in the Lord.

We then gather with the saints to worship God together as a people consecrated.

I have heard from some of you that you still practice this even in your home during this pandemic, preparing outwardly and inwardly for the worship of God.

This act of consecration was to prepare the people to experience the wonders the Lord will do among them the next day!

Being consecrated was a way of recognizing that their participation in the Lord’s mighty wonders would be an act of worship because THE LORD WOULD BE AMONG THEM! In their midst! Moving!

THINK about what that means as we consecrate ourselves in preparation for worship. It means that we will be participating in the ACTIVITY of the LIVING GOD among us!

If you want to experience the blessing of God’s presence you PREPARE.

How many people walk away from a service of worship and say “that didn’t do anything for me.” Such a person hasn’t prepared. Because worship is NEVER about “me.”

The act of consecration prepares for that — it prepares for an encounter with the HOLY God.

Joshua 3:5 ESV

5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”

Consecration is an invitation to witness the wonders of the Lord!

Joshua 3:6 ESV

6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.

In the stillness, the people PREPARE.

And in the stillness the Lord SPEAKS.

After the officers speak (verse 2), after Joshua speaks (verses 5-6), now in verse the LORD speaks!

And this is what the LORD commands, after the people have stopped, after the people have prepared:

Joshua 3:7 ESV

7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

What God did in the past is to be remembered.

You might imagine Joshua at this moment pulling out a photo album with Moses’ pictures, remembering Moses — flipping through pictures of the Red Sea Crossing, the water from a rock, the manna from heaven, the giving of the law, the grumbling of the people, the rebellion of the people, the stubbornness of the people, the faithlessness of the people, the deliverance of God, the exalting of Moses as the leader, the provision of God, and His salvation in all of it!

It’s not enough for Joshua to know and remember!

God had already told Joshua this:

Joshua 1:5–6 ESV

5 No man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life. Just as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you. 6 Be strong and courageous, for you shall cause this people to inherit the land that I swore to their fathers to give them.

But it’s not enough for Joshua to know — what about the people!? How will THEY know that the Lord is with Joshua to lead them?

Joshua 3:7 ESV

7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.

GOD will pass on the faith to this new generation of Israel by reminding them of their PAST and applying it to their PRESENT.

In other words, what God did through Moses mattered for what God will do through Joshua.

The past experiences of God’s wondrous works supplied an anchoring point, a remembrance, a memorial for the faith required of the people to move in to God’s promise!

“As I was with Moses, so I will be with you.”

Joshua 3:8 ESV

8 And as for you, command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, ‘When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’ ”

The Jordan River was not dry this time of year. It was not a trickling creek. The people would not be able to walk on the smooth river stones to get from one side to the other.

The Jordan River overflows, verse 15 says, overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest.

The LORD did not command the priests to stand still on the banks of the Jordan. That would be too easy. That wouldn’t require faith.

They were to stand still IN the Jordan.

IN the waters of the river. They had to step IN!

The presence of God was not going to see them TO the barrier, but THROUGH the barrier, not by passing OVER it, or AROUND it, but by going THROUGH it, by standing IN IT!

Have you ever stepped in something you wish you wouldn’t have?

Have you ever walked in a field with cow patties? Or in your backyard with dogs and stepped in something you wish you wouldn’t have?

Have you ever opened your mouth and started a conversation you wish you wouldn’t have?

When someone does that we say “Wow, they really stepped in it!”

We try to AVOID stepping in unpleasant things. We try to avoid difficult conversations. We wash our hands, wear masks, exercise, eat right to avoid sickness or disease.

But some things are unavoidable. Some things have to be stepped IN in order to GET THROUGH them.

The lesson God had for his people was NOT that he would avoid their problem of the Jordan.

The Jordan represented only the FIRST of their challenges — and there were many more and BIGGER challenges to come!

But if God walked through this challenge with them, the people would know that God would walk through the future challenges to come with them too! If Joshua was shown to be a leader who had strength and courage and faith in God in this challenge, they could follow his leadership in the future challenges too!

God was going to lead the way, and take them through the Jordan — and God was going to do by going into the Jordan FIRST!

AND GOD DOES!

Joshua 3:15–17 ESV

15 and as soon as those bearing the ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the brink of the water (now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest), 16 the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away, at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down toward the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. 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.

But the story doesn’t stop here.

The priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground — their stillness sent a message for remembrance. It was a moment caught on the camera of Scripture! On the film of Faith!

THIS moment had to be remembered.

B. Joshua 4:1-7

Joshua 4:1–7 ESV

1 When all the nation had finished passing over the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Take twelve men from the people, from each tribe a man, 3 and command them, saying, ‘Take twelve stones from here out of the midst of the Jordan, from the very place where the priests’ feet stood firmly, and bring them over with you and lay them down in the place where you lodge tonight.’ ” 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.”

Twelve stones were taken as a sign —- for a memorial - forever.

And who were these twelve stones for?

“Your children.”

Passing on the faith to the next generation required a deliberate action so that their children would remember. In this case, God wanted it to be something physical and visible as a memorial forever.

Think of the cornerstone on most church buildings. Usually inscribed with a date. Perhaps names of founding members are inscribed on it.

What is that? Is that date today’s date? NO!

Are those people whose names are etched in that stone still living? NO!

That stone is not for them. . . it is for us.

It is to remind us that WE are living in the midst of what GOD did through THEIR FAITH then, so that we might carry on the same FAITH in God now for FUTURE generations to come after us!

It is a memorial. Church buildings do that. Why is there a steeple? Where did this stained glass come from? Why are these pews here?

Church songs do that. John Newton wrote Amazing Grace in the 1770s. The song has never really fallen out of singing.

But in 2006, 230 some years later, Chris Tomlin brought John Newton’s words to new life, speaking those same words to a brand new generation! My chains are gone! I’ve been set free! My God my Savior has ransomed me! And Like a flood His mercy rains, unending love, amazing grace!

That’s what we are to do with the FAITH! We are to speak the faith of old to the generation of today.

This happened in Joshua.

God led Israel through the Red Sea under Moses.

And now God led a new generation through the Jordan under Joshua.

Circumstances change, but GOD NEVER CHANGES! And his saving work belongs to Him and Him alone, just as it always has!

III. Conclusion

For Israel the Jordan River was a barrier that represented their past from their future. And God removed the barrier by planting HIMSELF in the midst of it!

God HIMSELF became the bridge — of the covenant promises, of the generations, of the past and present and future.

Just like the Jordan River was a barrier separating the people from God’s promise, we all encounter a barrier separating us from a holy God — sin.

What did God do to deliver from sin?

HE STEPPED IN IT! Jesus BECAME sin!

2 Corinthians 5:21 ESV

21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Jesus did this on a cross. Suspended as a bridge between Earth and Heaven.

Jesus did this with his blood — poured out so that we might be covered in the mercy of God.

He did this by being STILL — buried in a tomb for 2 nights.

So that on the THIRD Day he might MOVE! Being raised to life again!

Jesus does not represent the Word of God, he is the Word of God to us (John 1:1).

Jesus did not stay dead, but was raised from the dead, displaying the Power of God, so that we might according to Philippians 3:10 — “know him and the power of his resurrection.”

Jesus is “the true bread from heaven,” for he is the “Bread of Life,” “and whoever comes to [him] shall not hunger, and whoever believes in [him] shall never thirst” (John 6:32, 35).

Now, God is not present in an ark, but in us by His Spirit!

God exalted Joshua as a foretaste of that day when God HIGHLY exalted JESUS above all! Bestowing . .

Philippians 2:9–11 ESV

9 Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, 10 so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, 11 and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

WHY do we study Joshua? So that we can see JESUS!

Why do we be still? SO we can put on JESUS!

Ephesians 6:12–18 ESV

12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints,

We stand still — we remember — So Jesus can be exalted in our lives and we can MOVE as HE MOVES first — following wherever He leads!

And we REMEMBER what God has done — NOT so we can die and leave all forgotten, BUT SO THAT we may PASS ON what God has done to future generations and in doing so — pass on the the faith to THEM!

If we don’t, God will do it through another generation. Moses’ generation died and did not enter the Promise. Joshua’s generation did.

C. Joshua 4:19-24

Joshua 4:19–24 ESV

19 The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho. 20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of the Jordan, Joshua set up at Gilgal. 21 And he said to the people of Israel, “When your children ask their fathers in times to come, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 then you shall let your children know, ‘Israel passed over this Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of the Jordan for you until you passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red Sea, which he dried up for us until we passed over, 24 so that all the peoples of the earth may know that the hand of the Lord is mighty, that you may fear the Lord your God forever.”

WHAT A MIGHTY GOD WE SERVE!

When your children ask what these things mean, what will you tell them?