Crossing The Jordan

God has called us to follow Him

Jesus says in John 10:3-4

John 10:3–4 (NASB95)

“To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

“When he puts forth all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice.

The key to seeing the purposes and plans of God accomplished in our lives if following the good shepherd

It is not leading Him, but Him leading us

The greatest mistake many make is they simply fail to follow the Lord and wait on His timing

Today we continue through the book of Joshua examining the crossing of the Jordan

The Ark Goes Before The People

Joshua 3:1-4

Joshua 3:1–4 (NASB95)

Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they lodged there before they crossed.

At the end of three days the officers went through the midst of the camp;

and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.

“However, there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.”

At the end of chapter 2 Joshua was told this by the spies who were sent out

Joshua 2:24 “Surely the Lord has given all the land into our hands; moreover, all the inhabitants of the land have melted away before us.””

Joshua has been told by the Lord to be strong and very courageous

The Lord has promised the land to Israel

But from these verses we see something very important

The Ark represented the presence of the Lord

The Ark of the Covenant would eventually be kept in the holy of Holies in the temple

The people are not to move until the Ark goes before them

They are to have a distance of half a mile between them in the ark

In scripture we find what happens when someone wrongly touches the ark of the Lord

2 Samuel 6:3-8

2 Samuel 6:3–8 (NASB95)

They placed the ark of God on a new cart that they might bring it from the house of Abinadab which was on the hill; and Uzzah and Ahio, the sons of Abinadab, were leading the new cart.

So they brought it with the ark of God from the house of Abinadab, which was on the hill; and Ahio was walking ahead of the ark.

Meanwhile, David and all the house of Israel were celebrating before the Lord with all kinds of instruments made of fir wood, and with lyres, harps, tambourines, castanets and cymbals.

But when they came to the threshing floor of Nacon, Uzzah reached out toward the ark of God and took hold of it, for the oxen nearly upset it.

And the anger of the Lord burned against Uzzah, and God struck him down there for his irreverence; and he died there by the ark of God.

David became angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, and that place is called Perez-uzzah to this day.

The Ark was holy

It represented the presence of the Lord to the people

They were to have a distance between them and the Lord for two reasons

Number one it shows us the holiness of God

It also shows us the importance of following the Lord’s leading and not our own

The mistake many make is they get ahead of the Lord

They desires that God would work according to their plans

God would give the promise land to Israel but they had to do it His way

Obedience is very important with Almighty God

People Are Called To Prepare Themselves Through Consecration

Joshua 3:5-6

Joshua 3:5–6 (NASB95)

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

And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went ahead of the people.

1 Peter 1:16 “because it is written, “You shall be holy, for I am holy.””

God is Holy

That word consecrate in the Hebrew means be holy or to be set apart

They were not only to physically wash their bodies

But they were to abstain from sexual activity

They were to prepare themselves physically and spiritually

When we are pursuing the purposes God has for our lives, pursuing holiness is of the utmost importance

We are declared righteous at salvation

This is known as justification

But we are called to be transformed into the image of Christ

This is known as sanctification

If we are truly born again our desires will be to pursue righteousness and holiness

Before the people were to move out they had to consecrate themselves

Daily we consecrate ourselves by abiding in Him and His word

Joshua Exalted By The Lord

Joshua 3:7-8 “Now the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you. “You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’ ””

God would exalt Joshua in the eyes of the people

The Lord has already spoken to Joshua about being strong and very courageous

Israel is in a transition period from one great leader to another

Just as Moses had led the people across the Red Sea

Now Joshua would lead the people across the Jordan river

This represents for us trusting Christ in faith and going through water baptism

Before Joshua and the Israelites could take the promise land they had to cross the Jordan

Water baptism is not a requirement of salvation but it is a command God has given us upon placing our faith and trust in Jesus Christ

Joshua Gives the Lord’s Instructions

Joshua 3:9-13

Joshua 3:9–13 (NASB95)

Then Joshua said to the sons of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.”

Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will assuredly dispossess from before you the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Hivite, the Perizzite, the Girgashite, the Amorite, and the Jebusite.

“Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan.

“Now then, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.

“It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.”

Joshua calls the people near

God doesn’t give instructions and commands flippantly

Obedience to God’s word is essential to seeing His purposes accomplished

God has promised that He will remove the nations that exist in the land

The battle Ultimately belongs to the Lord

But the people must respond in obedience to the word of the Lord

When we respond in obedience by faith we unlock the power of God

The Lord would go before them in battle

The twelve men would eventually gather twelve stones to make a memorial to the Lord for His faithfulness and victory

God would demonstrate His awesome power that as soon as the soles of the priest touched the waters would be separated

The previous generation had seen the Red Sea part and had still died in the wilderness because of unbelief

God would once again demonstrate He was with Israel and the people had the opportunity to either believe or doubt

Israel Crosses the Jordan

Joshua 3:14-1

Joshua 3:14–17 (NASB95)

So when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people,

and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),

the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So the people crossed opposite Jericho.

And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.

The Jordan River is at flood stage at this point

When the snow melts on Mount Hermon, it causes the Jordan river to flood and overflow its banks

It would take a miracle of God for all those following Joshua to cross

The Jordan stood between the people and the promise land

When Moses and the Israelites crossed the Red Sea Moses lifted His hand and staff

It was by the power of God

Here it is when the priest step into the water that the water is separated

If we fail to put feet to our faith we will miss out on what God desires to do

It was not by the power of the priest that the water was separated

It was the power of God

The town of Adam is 20 miles away

God demonstrated His power beyond any doubt that He was with Israel and it was by His hand that they were crossing

He had promised to dispossess the nations before them

It is also important to see that when the priest stepped into the Jordan that the ground was dry

It wasn’t muddy, it was completely dry

Again only by the hand of God could this happen

The priest remained in the middle until all the people had crossed over

The Lord will never abandon us nor forsake us

As we trust the Lord and follow Him, He will lead and guide us

All that we accomplish is by His grace and His mercy