Finally in the Land
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 2 viewsNotes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
1 And Joshua rose early in the morning; and they removed from Shittim, and came to Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.
2 And it came to pass after three days, that the officers went through the host;
3 And they commanded the people, saying, When ye see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests the Levites bearing it, then ye shall remove from your place, and go after it.
4 Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure: come not near unto it, that ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.
5 And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
6 And Joshua spake unto the priests, saying, Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass over before the people. And they took up the ark of the covenant, and went before the people.
We see here what can be considered the last obstacle after a generational struggle trekking through the wilderness
the entire last generation had died off
this generation had known no real homeland, they had essentially been desert nomads eeking out an existence
this would have been a rugged and tough generation after all they’d went through in the wilderness
they can finally see the promise that God has given them across the river, a home
they were to keep themselves pure before this crossing
They could not ford the river, because it was flooded during this season (season of harvest)
this was also what some refer to as the “fighting season”
They are to take the ark with them
represents God leading the way
follow this example
when we follow God’s path, we will succeed one way or another, in this life or the next.
God rewards every man according to His works (Originally David said this, then solomon, then paul quotes)
12 If thou sayest, Behold, we knew it not; Doth not he that pondereth the heart consider it? And he that keepeth thy soul, doth not he know it? And shall not he render to every man according to his works?
if we allow God to lead in our lives, we know He will lead us in the right direction
what a great encouragement that God is willing to guide us in the first place
God has given us so much instruction and so many examples to follow, He has been clear to us, that way, all we have to do is go along with Him
7 And the Lord said unto Joshua, This day will I begin to magnify thee in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with thee.
8 And thou shalt command the priests that bear the ark of the covenant, saying, When ye are come to the brink of the water of Jordan, ye shall stand still in Jordan.
We see once again that God is encouraging Joshua, saying as He was with Moses, so shall He be with Joshua
God encourages us in our lives, whether through His word, answered prayers, or comfort in times of need
The Children of Israel are at an impass, many of us have felt like we were at an impass in our lives
these trials can really test our faith sometimes, they can be some of the hardest times of our lives
Israel had to just simply depend upon God
many times the hardest times teach us the best lessons and we grow as people
The Israelites will go on to depend on and believe in God, we’ll see how it works out for them
“Rivers provided boundaries in sale documents for lands in thirteenth century Emar in northern Syria. They were regarded as divine in both Egypt and Mesopotamia. Later treaty curses in Assyria describe how the gods can make the rivers reverse direction and cease to supply water. In Babylon, the chief god Marduk was responsible for maintaining the flow of the rivers. Here God’s control of the Jordan River, in contrast to that of other gods, is asserted.”
There is a theme throughout the Bible where God is in control of all the elements, everything, and “shows up” other Gods.
think Moses vs egyptiaan magicians, Jonah, Jesus calming the storm, etc.
9 And Joshua said unto the children of Israel, Come hither, and hear the words of the Lord your God.
10 And Joshua said, Hereby ye shall know that the living God is among you, and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, and the Hittites, and the Hivites, and the Perizzites, and the Girgashites, and the Amorites, and the Jebusites.
11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth passeth over before you into Jordan.
12 Now therefore take you twelve men out of the tribes of Israel, out of every tribe a man.
13 And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests that bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off from the waters that come down from above; and they shall stand upon an heap.
Joshua tells the Israelites that by this they will know that God is among them, which will give them encouragement when they go in to take the land God has given to them
The caananites at this time were settlers from the Greek isles and lives on the coast that is now roughly the “Gaza strip”
The hittites were indo-european people who lived in modern day Turkey and had settlements in the levant
The hivites are debated, but sometimes identified with the hurrians who lived all around the region and were eventually assimilated into other people groups
the amorites were kind of nomadic, but had some cities, they were often around the “other side” of the jordan
the rest of the groups are little known, scant knowledge about them, but basically none
they took 12 people, one of every tribe, as kind of symbols for each tribe, and to carry a rock and eventually they will stack the 12 stones as a monument
14 And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people;
15 And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)
16 That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.
17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.
they removed their tents, which were their homes, as they were essentially nomadic people at the time, this is all that this generation knew
As the ark went into the water, God stopped the river
this is reminisce of how God opened the red sea for moses and the previous generation
God kept His promise to the Israelites, as He always does, He has never failed to do so
they were carrying everything they had, their tents and all, it’d be like picking up all your posessions and going into a new land that you don’t know
it had to be a real moment for them, full of various feelings
nervousness
anticipation
being in an unfamiliar and hostile land
amazement that they finally made it to the promised land
another thing we see here is the perseverance of the Israelites
they had spent their entire lives wandering the “wilderness”
with their continued faith in God for all this time, it all worked out and they are finally in the land
this was a huge achievement, compare it to the trials we go through today
1 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over Jordan, that the Lord spake unto Joshua, saying,
2 Take you twelve men out of the people, out of every tribe a man,
3 And command ye them, saying, Take you hence out of the midst of Jordan, out of the place where the priests’ feet stood firm, twelve stones, and ye shall carry them over with you, and leave them in the lodging place, where ye shall lodge this night.
4 Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
5 And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take ye up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
6 That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
7 Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever.
God commanded the Israelites to build this monument out of stones to commemorate the great work that God has done for them
He does this so that it will be remembered through the generations and so that they will know and believe in the power of God
Jesus told us to keep communion for rememberance of Him
19 And he took bread, and gave thanks, and brake it, and gave unto them, saying, This is my body which is given for you: this do in remembrance of me.
8 And the children of Israel did so as Joshua commanded, and took up twelve stones out of the midst of Jordan, as the Lord spake unto Joshua, according to the number of the tribes of the children of Israel, and carried them over with them unto the place where they lodged, and laid them down there.
9 And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests which bare the ark of the covenant stood: and they are there unto this day.
10 For the priests which bare the ark stood in the midst of Jordan, until every thing was finished that the Lord commanded Joshua to speak unto the people, according to all that Moses commanded Joshua: and the people hasted and passed over.
11 And it came to pass, when all the people were clean passed over, that the ark of the Lord passed over, and the priests, in the presence of the people.
12 And the children of Reuben, and the children of Gad, and half the tribe of Manasseh, passed over armed before the children of Israel, as Moses spake unto them:
13 About forty thousand prepared for war passed over before the Lord unto battle, to the plains of Jericho.
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.
19 And the people came up out of Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and encamped in Gilgal, in the east border of Jericho.
20 And those twelve stones, which they took out of Jordan, did Joshua pitch in Gilgal.
21 And he spake unto the children of Israel, saying, When your children shall ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean these stones?
22 Then ye shall let your children know, saying, Israel came over this Jordan on dry land.
23 For the Lord your God dried up the waters of Jordan from before you, until ye were passed over, as the Lord your God did to the Red sea, which he dried up from before us, until we were gone over:
24 That all the people of the earth might know the hand of the Lord, that it is mighty: that ye might fear the Lord your God for ever.
This expression occurs in Exodus 12:3, where it denotes the beginning of preparations for the Passover meal, which occurs on the fourteenth day. This will initiate the events of Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread in the following chapter.
The location of Gilgal here is not really known today
Chapter 5 goes on to describe how God told Joshua to circumcize all the males, and he did so, and also how the Iraelites kept the passover feast there in that location