Crossing
the Jordan
Joshua 3:5-8
In this passage the Israelites are getting ready
to cross the Jordan River. Forty years before Moses led the Israelites across the
Red Sea. God made a safe dry path for the Israelites to cross. This time verse 8
shows us how it is different this time.
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.’”
Here we see that God does not make a safe path
first before they cross the body of water. We see God wants them to take the first
step before the miracle happened.
Joshua 3:15-16 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.
We read the Jordan River is full of water and
it would have been impossible to cross. God stops the flow of the River when the
priests feet touch the river. God wanted
the Israelites to grow in faith and the dry ground would not appear until the first
step was taken.
As Christians, we might not see the evidence that
God has saved us or the benefits of following God, yet it is the act of faith. We
often want to see the dry path first before we take another step. However, we only
grow when we act in faith.
Before we step out in faith, we need to consecrate
ourselves. That means to purify ourselves and that is to distance ourselves from
all sins. We do this by living by God's commandments. Our mindset is to get away
from sin.
The Ark of Covenant always went before the Israelites
. All that was in the Ark was the ten commandments on the stone tablets. We need
to read, hear and meditate on the word of God. It is His word that will purify us
as we draw closer to it.
The Bible is like a mirror.
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