After the spies returned from Jericho, Joshua prepared the people to enter the Promised Land. A key aspect of this move was the presence of God, as demonstrated by the Ark of the Covenant.
God’s presence through the Ark of the Covenant was so sacred that people had to stay about half a mile away from it.
“When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place.
Follow it, so that you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it” (Joshua 3:3-4).
Think about this wonderful fact. Through the Holy Spirit, we don’t have to remain distant from God’s holy presence. God’s presence is closer than the air we breathe. By God’s grace, the Spirit of God lives within us.
Pause, and consider the wonder of God’s grace that Paul wrote about to the Romans.
But you are not in the flesh; you are in the Spirit, since the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you, then the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also through his Spirit that dwells in you (Romans 8:9-11).
Crossing the Jordan
The Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses” (Joshua 3:7).
One of the ways God confirmed the leadership of Joshua was the way they crossed the Jordan River. God used Moses to cross the Red Sea on dry land. In a similar way, He used Joshua to cross the Jordan River.
We learn in verse 15 that the Jordan River was at flood stage when they started to cross. As soon as the priests carrying the ark stepped into the water, it stopped flowing upstream (verse 16). This allowed the Israelites to cross on dry land (verse 17).
The Israelites who crossed the Red Sea and the Jordan River saw God’s immense power. God was shaping them into a nation He could bless. In turn, they would bless the entire world by revealing the one true God.
When I look around the church I attend, I see miracles. Not waters parting, but lives being transformed.
People who were once criminals or addicts have met Jesus and now lead productive lives. God does this to bless them, but also to show their friends and coworkers what the power of God can do in a human life.
Like the ancient Hebrews, my church friends must live out the faith God gave them after he transformed them.
We can’t take for granted what God has done for us. We must be living examples in both words and actions of his work. This way, we fulfill our calling to be blessed by God and to bless others, showing the world who he truly is.
YouTube Video
Rudy Ross, Bruce Kirby, and I discussed this passage on YouTube today.
Real Voices 