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In Christ, Mark
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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.
Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they took it up and went ahead of them.
And the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.' "
Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord - the Lord of all the earth - set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 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 passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
Joshua 3:6-17
This ends our reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.
Remember when Moses led the Israelites out of their Egyptian captivity into the desert wilderness and away from Pharaoh?
If you do, then you’ll recall that something miraculous happened when the people of Israel and their leader arrived at the Red Sea. For with Pharaoh and his army in hot pursuit, God parted the great sea so Israel could pass through on dry land before sending the walls of water crashing down on the Egyptian ruler and his forces, killing them all (Exodus 14).
Fast forward with me now to the third chapter of Joshua where we’re present with a completely new generation of Israelites. I’m sure they all had heard the stories of what God had done before to save their ancestors and now they were about to experience a similar miracle themselves at the Jordan River as they prepared to enter Canaan, the land God had promised .
We read in our scripture passage where Joshua gives this command to his priests:
"Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people."
And while the priests were carrying out the order, we find God coming to Israel’s new leader and saying this:
“Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'"
Responding to the Lord’s desires, we find Joshua bringing the Israelites together and sharing the following:
“Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord - the Lord of all the earth - set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."
In our passage, we learn that the Jordan River was at flood stage all during harvest which was obviously the time the Israelites would be crossing. It was obviously way too dangerous to cross conventionally and so the stage was set for God to once again put His full power on display. For “as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing”, piling “up in a heap a great distance away at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan”. At the same time, the “water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off”. In other words, the Jordan River was parted just as the Red Sea had been years earlier and “the people crossed over opposite Jericho” on dry ground where there was once a river. The priests, who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord, “stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan” until “all Israel passed by” and “completed the crossing.”
Imagine being there at the Jordan with the Israelites. What emotions would have been racing through your heart, mind, and soul as you watched the river’s water rise up on either side, leaving a dry pathway for you to cross over? How do you think Joshua felt as he saw God deliver on the miracle He promised? Wouldn’t all of them feel strongly at that point that their Lord was indeed with them? I can’t help that the experience empowered and encouraged them for the challenges that were yet ahead.
My friends, the good news for us today is that the living God of ancient Israel is still with us, every second of every minute of every hour of every day…and He is always showing us His presence through the miraculous work of His hands.
Just consider all the little things we too often take for granted.
The sun that rises to provide us light and warmth.
The night that brings us dark and coolness to rest as well as the stars and planets to look up and marvel at.
How about the air we breathe…the earth we walk upon?
God made it all, giving us everything we need to survive. He continues to sustain us by His provision each and every day.
Further, He is ever putting His powerful, healing hand to work, a hand that can bring healing from affliction that often baffles science and worldly convention with just a single touch, much like the woman who had been bleeding for 12 years who went to Jesus and gained immediate relief (Matthew 9:20-22).
Yes, we serve a loving Lord through which all things are possible, a living God who is with us and for us, He never leaves us nor forsakes us, consistently making the incredible commonplace within the world we live.
In today’s passage, the people of Israel saw first-hand that God was present and in a big way. If we keep our eyes open today, we too will recognize how He is still living and working in the lives of His people, making Himself known while revealing His ability to do anything. As always, let us give Him all our honor, glory, and praise.
Amen.
In Christ,
Mark
PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it. Send any prayer requests to TheChristianWalkPrayers@gmail.com.
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