This normally mild river, every spring, turned into a swift running, mile wide current that kept even the bravest from trying to cross it. How would Joshua get two million people plus livestock and possessions across? How would the Lord get Israel passed this giant obstacle and moving forward by faith? He gave them three things……
He Gave them a Clear Message – v.3:1-13
This clear message was that He was going to be with them and show them the way passed this obstacle. In this case, His presence is represented by the ark of the covenant (mentioned seventeen times in chapters 3-4). This idea that the Lord was going to be with them and lead them is communicated through a series of instructions.
The message is communicated……..
· From Elders to the People – v.3-4
· From Joshua to the people and the Priests – v.5-6
· From God to Joshua – v.7-8
· From Joshua to the People – v.9-13
Warren Wiersbe writes,
As you review these messages, you can see that the Lord gave them all the information they needed to accomplish what He wanted them to do. You find conditions that the people had to fulfill, orders they had to obey, and promises they had to believe. God always gives His “Word of faith” to His people whenever He asks them to follow Him into new areas of conflict and conquest. God’s commandments are still His enablements, and God’s promises do not fail (Be
Strong, pp. 50).
The second thing that God did to help Israel passed this obstacle and moving forward by faith is a confirming miracle.
He Gave them a Confirming Miracle – v.14-17
Remember the book of Joshua is about the victory that comes to those who keep moving forward by faith and the glory that comes to God when His people trust and obey Him. So, as we look at this miracle, let us look at it from that dual perspective. God used this miracle to do both!
God used this Miracle to Bring Glory to Himself – v.15b-16a
(for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),
As we noted last time, during most of year, the Jordan River is about 100 feet wide and very shallow in most places. However during flood season, the river overflowed its banks and became a mile wide and up to twelve feet deep in some places. In addition, because of the drop in elevation between the Sea Galilee and the Dead Sea nearly a thousand foot drop), the river became a raging torrent. The writer reminds us of the nature of the river so that we will understand and appreciate the magnitude of the miracle.
Now in v.16a we have a description of the miracle itself. We are told that when the Priests feet touched the edge of the river (v.15a), 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.
The miracle is this, when the priest’s feet touched the river the water pushed back toward Adam and remained there in a heap (see NIV translation). As a result, the water that flowed into the Dead (Salt) Sea was also “cut off.” Adam was a city located about fifteen miles north of where it is believed that Israel crossed the Jordan.
and those which were flowing down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off.
The distance between the heap of water near Adam and the Dead Sea (estimated at about 20 miles) gave Israel plenty of room cross over to the other side. When God removes obstacles, He really removes obstacles!
Not surprisingly, some “Bible Scholars” have tried to explain the miracle in light of natural circumstances (i.e. collapsed banks or landslides etc.). Paul Enns (Bible Study Commentary: Joshua, pp. 41-42) gives several reasons why this event is best explained as a miracle of God.
(1) The Bible treats the crossing as a miracle. There is a definite emphasis on the fact that the crossing occurred when the Jordan overflowed its banks (3:15).
(2) The exact time the crossing occurred also points to the miraculous. Precisely when the priest’s feet touch the water, the flow of water stopped (v.15-16); similarly, when the priest’s feet left the water on the other side—at exactly that moment—the water resumed flowing (4:18). This obviously was not a mere coincidence and should not be explained from that standpoint.
(3) The river was at flood stage and could not have been dammed up at that time—certainly not long enough for such a large contingent of people to cross.
(4) The emphasis is also on the fact that the Israelites crossed the river on “dry ground”—mentioned twice in 3:17. The same Hebrew word is used to describe the miracle of the Red Sea crossing in Exodus 14:21.
(5) The inhabitants of the land understood the crossing in terms of a miracle (5:1). Only a miracle wrought by Almighty God could have brought two million men, women and children across the flooded Jordan.
The question does arise, why didn’t God just bring Israel into the Promised Land when the river was at its lowest stages? Why now? Two reasons come to mind.
Reason #1 – As a Witness to Israel
He is in control and they couldn’t be victorious without Him. Dale Ralph Davis writes,
Why does the God of the Bible insist on fording the river at the most unpropitious time? I am not sure. But this is a marked tendency in his ways. Yahweh delights to show his might in the face of our utter helplessness, apparently so that we cannot help seeing that we contribute nothing to our deliverance (cf. Judg. 7:2).
There is a strangeness about Yahweh’s method, and yet there is a method in his “madness.” Perhaps he brings us into impossible circumstances, situations so bleak and hopeless, for the very purpose of impressing upon us that if we make it through, if we endure it, if we are not
overwhelmed and washed away, it will be only because of his grace and power. Is this his way of teaching us our own inability and helplessness in order that we may realize that our “help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth” (Ps. 121:2). (No Falling Words, pp. 38-39)
Reason #2 – As a Witness to the Canaanites
Through this miracle God was not only confirming His power and grace to Israel, but He was also demonstrating it to the inhabitants of Canaan. He was once again giving the inhabitants of Canaan another opportunity to repent of their sins and turn from their idolatry to the living and true God. He was looking for more Rahabs!
The Lord had been issuing warning after warning to the Canaanites that judgment was coming. From the crossing of the Red Sea onward, each miracle said to them: “Doom is coming, repent! Turn from your wicked ways and worship me!” I truly believe that if others would have repented, asked for mercy and turned to the Lord by faith, as Rahab had, then God would have saved them as well.
The Ninevites are a perfect example of this. Through the reluctant prophet Jonah, God warned the Ninevites that in forty days He was going to destroy them. The Ninevites listened to Jonah and repented and God relented (Jonah 3:1-10).
Gene Getz writes,
It is impossible to explain how a sovereign God who declares something is going to happen can actually change His mind. But when people repent, God relents! Inherent in God’s nature is the ability to withdraw judgment when a man turns to Him (Gene Getz, Joshua: Defeat to Victory, pp. 63).
Sadly, unlike the Ninevites, the Canaanites refused to repent. They stand as an example of the total depravity of man, because in spite of this great witness, they did not and would not repent. Had they repented, had they listened to the voice of God, He would have turned away His wrath and with a heart of love welcomed them into the fold as He did Rahab. Jonah understood how this could happen:
Jonah 4:2
2 And he prayed to the LORD and said, "Please LORD, was not this what I said while I was still in my own country? Therefore, in order to forestall this I fled to Tarshish, for I knew that Thou art a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity.
No one can say that the Canaanites didn’t get what they deserve, yet, I am so thankful that He is a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abundant in lovingkindness, and one who relents concerning calamity. Because He is I am not getting what I deserve!
Just as Israel and the Ninevites became a witness to God’s mercy so should we.
1 Peter 2:9-12
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light; 10 for you once were not a people, but now you are the people of God; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
11 Beloved, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul. 12 Keep your behavior excellent among the Gentiles, so that in the thing in which they slander you as evildoers, they may on account of your good deeds, as they observe them, glorify God in the day of visitation.
Every time God shows mercy toward another damned to hell sinner, He brings glory to Himself.
Not only did God use this miracle to bring glory to himself, but He also used it to move Israel forward by faith.
God used this Miracle to Move Israel Forward by Faith – v.14-15a, 17
God did three things to keep Israel moving forward by faith.
(1) He Kept their Faith Focused – v.14
14 So it came about when the people set out from their tents to cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the people,
Faith is only as good as its object. Here Israel was forced to focus on the presence of God because the ark was going before the people. Only bad things can happen to us when we take our focus off of the Lord (1 Kings 19:1-3). We will never get beyond our obstacles if the Lord is not our focus. I am always amazed at the story of the feeding of the five thousand. The disciples were faced with a gigantic obstacle and they solution was staring them in the face (Jesus). However, they could only focus on the obstacle (Luke 9:10-17).
If we are going to keep moving forward by faith then we must keep our faith focused on the omnipotent God and our glorious Savior.
Ephesians 3:20-21
20 Now to Him who is able to do exceeding abundantly beyond all that we ask or think, according to the power that works within us, 21 to Him be the glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations forever and ever. Amen.
(2) He Required them to Act on their Faith – v.15a
15 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
Faith is not something static rather it is something that requires action and/or effort. Faith is not always sitting back and watching God work, but is acting on God’s promises. Unless we are willing to “step out” in faith and get our “feet wet” we will never get beyond our obstacles.
Imagine what was going through the minds of the Priests as they approached the swollen Jordan River (for the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest), knowing that they were going to have to step into it. However, in order activate their faith they had to go to the water’s edge and take that first step.
And as He usually does, God honored their faith when they took that step.
16 that the waters which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance away at Adam,
As they continued to walk, the water rolled away!
Warren Wiersbe writes,
When God opened the Red Sea, He used a strong wind that blew the whole night before (Ex. 14:21-22). This was not an accident, for the wind was the blast of God’s nostrils (15:8). When Moses lifted his rod, the waters flowed back and drowned the Egyptian army (14:26-28). When Israel crossed the Jordan River, it was not the obedient arm of a leader that brought the miracle but the obedient feet of the people. Unless we are willing to step out by faith and obey His Word, God can never open the way for us (Be Strong, pp. 51).
Again, God’ word is the key to “stepping out” by faith. His word here is a promise that He must fulfill because of His nature (Hebrews 6:13-18). “The test of Faith is trusting God when all we have are His promises” (John MacArthur). When the obstacles of life impede us and when we think we cannot go any farther, when we have nothing left but His promises to rely on, then we are in good shape. That is the best time to step out by faith and watch Him work.
(3) He Rewarded their Faith – v.17
17 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.
As they acted on their faith we are told that they priests stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground. So much for the Jordan River as an obstacle! God rewards an active faith. Notice the use of the word “all” (all Israel; all the nation). The Lord does what He promises to do, completely.
In the Christian life you either an overcomer or the overcome; you are either a victor or a victim. God has not called us to be statues defeated by our obstacles, but we are called to be His saints moving forward by faith to victory.
1 John 5:4
4 For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world-- our faith.
Are you stuck afraid to dip your toe in the water or are you moving forward by faith on dry ground?
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