The principle foundation of our belief system is based on one word. It is interesting that we live our life each day based on its importance and unique ability to change the way we perceive life and especially the way we view spiritual things. The emphasis on the spiritual is in the way our relationship with our Creator is cultivated and maintained through the activity and power found in this word.
At times this word operates behind the scenes where no one is looking and only the one making a supplication to the Almighty has any awareness of its magnitude. Other times, it is running rampant throughout the whole gathering that the atmosphere almost becomes electrified…The air in the room becomes thick and heavy and the natural man wants to fall face first in the presence of the Holiness of God when this word is made alive in the lives of those who practice it.
This word can cause one to reminisce from days ago and become encouraged through the memory of the one or two that practiced is so faithfully. Thus, this word transcends time and generation. It can hold a family together in the darkest of moments and cause relationships to mend through its application to the given situation.
It sees the unseen in ways that cause change in the elemental values of living on this grand planet. This word eloquently creates and deposits hope in the lives of those committed to living under its influence. The very mention of its description confounds the most scholarly and causes the most defiant to grimace due to the undiluted power of its presence. It is untamable by worldly standards and not a single law can stand when it is enacted in the life of the Christian. This word is interwoven through the scriptures and act as a roadmap for its practitioners to follow and live a life that pleases to the uttermost God Himself.
This word is simple yet profoundly complex…Yet it can only be activated by a conscious effort on the part of the Christian. Often it is discredited as coincidence or happenchance and associated with other worldly misrepresentations. However, once the believer tastes the true nature and magnitude of its prowess, nothing remains the same. This word can even be used by others on behalf of one who is lacking in the ability to fully tapping into its abundance.
This word, the power contained its invocation is simply know as faith and it is only enforced when we purposefully utilize it in an active fashion constantly in our lives.
Background
The nation of Israel was still mourning the death of Moses
Joshua was the man that succeeded Moses in leading the entire nation
He was God’s man and God had a mission for him to complete
Joshua led the children into the Promised Land
To get there, they had to cross the Jordan river…At flood stage
God had given specific instruction to Joshua as it related to how to conduct himself…Strongly
Joshua had to have faith and had to convey his faith to those under his leadership
Scripture
Joshua 3:1-17 ESV
1 Then Joshua rose early in the morning and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over. 2 At the end of three days the officers went through the camp 3 and commanded the people, “As soon as 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 and follow it. 4 Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits [1] in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before.” 5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.” 6 And Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people.
7 The Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. 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.’” 9 And Joshua said to the people of Israel, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.” 10 And Joshua said, “Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Girgashites, the Amorites, and the Jebusites. 11 Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth [2] is passing over before you into the Jordan. 12 Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man. 13 And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap.”
14 So when the people set out from their tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, 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. 17 Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan, and all Israel was passing over on dry ground until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.
Footnotes
[1] 3:4 A cubit was about 18 inches or 45 centimeters
[2] 3:11 Hebrew the ark of the covenant, the Lord of all the earth
Additional Note: 2,000 cubits x 18 inches = 36,000 inches or 3,000 feet (a little over ½ mile distance)
The Crossing
Joshua was given specific instruction on how to prepare the people
He was instructed on how to prepare the people
They were told to consecrate themselves (sanctify, bless, make holy or repent in today’s language)
The Lord was going to show His affirmation of Joshua to the people
He would confirm His allegiance after the same manner of Moses
He encouraged the people by telling them of the coming exploits of God
The priests were given concise instruction as to their carrying of the Ark of God into the Jordan
When they followed Joshua’s instruction and got their feet wet; the water stopped flowing (during flood stage) and they whole nation crossed on dry land.
God had performed another miracle in their midst to confirm His power and provision over His people
But there is more…
Spiritual Application
There are deeper spiritual implications being presented in this episode of Israel
Remember, the Old Testament is Christ concealed and yet unseen in the eyes of the Israelite people
Here are a few notes:
Joshua is the Hebrew name for Jesus
The people did not move toward the river until after three days
Jesus was in the grave three days
The people were being led by a type and shadow of Jesus (not the Joshua was Jesus he operated in the fashion of a redeemer of the nation)
The Jordan River is often associated with death or descending because it empties into the Dead Sea
Faith was exercised by the priests through the faith that was given to them by Joshua as his direction was give by God
Their feet had to get wet before anything happened (much like we have to act on the influence of God before He moves on our behalf; 1 Corinthians 15:46)
What has transpired in our lives through the activation of faith in Jesus is
not unlike what happened when the priests stepped into the muddy waters of the Jordan; in a sense they stepped into death and God intervened to stop death from overcoming them…Death was stopped cold in its flow through our lives
Note that the water (the flow of death) was stopped all the way back to the city Adam and for that period no water went into the Dead Sea (verse 16)
Just as this was done through the faith of Joshua and the priests, the flow of sin (death) has been stopped from flowing any longer in our life and in the life of any man, woman, or child that exercised faith in the Lord Jesus Christ…This is a cause for celebration
The priests and all the people were able to cross into the Promised Land with a flooding river standing at bay far enough away such that they could cross in peace and without fear…
How do we keep our feet wet?
Recognize when God is speaking to us…
Follow His command and presence (no matter how silly or unreasonable it may seem)…
I am sure the priests wondered what was going to happen when they were told to stand in the flooded waters of the Jordan)
Keep yourself sanctified and ready at all times…
Don’t move until He is finished the work He started…
The exercising of our faith has the ability to stop the flow of death in our life and in the life of others…
Joshua and the priests were not the only benefactors of the utilization of faith
Faith should never be your back-up plan…
Our walk with God started when we exercised faith in Jesus and our walk continues as we continuously exercise faith throughout the remainder of our walk with God. It was the priests feet (significant of their walk) that had to get wet (baptized into death as we are baptized into the death of Jesus) before God did anything. How is your faith? Wet with anticipation or dry wanting satisfaction?
