3:7 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.
3:8 You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the
covenant, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in
the Jordan.'"
3:9 Joshua then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of
the LORD your God."
3:10 Joshua said, "By this you shall know that among you is the living God
who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites,
Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites:
3:11 the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass
before you into the Jordan.
3:12 So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
3:13 When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD,
the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan
flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap."
3:14 When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the
priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.
3:15 Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So
when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing
the ark were dipped in the edge of the water,
3:16 the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far
off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the
Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
3:17 While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore
the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until
the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.
Right now I am looking at preaching this from the angle of risk. It was risky to trust the Lord and to take that first step in the flooding waters. It was risky to step to the other side where battles would be fought. It was risky to put their trust in their leaders to hear properly the Word of God.
I am looking for examples of modern day people who have taken risks for the sake of ministry. Millard Fuller, the founder of Habitat for Humanity, comes to mind to begin with. He left the job that had made him a millionairre to persue a dream that would pay him little or nothing.
Do any of you have any other ideas?
RevIsrael
This passage reminds me about what the people were saying in the Exodus 17:1-7 passage fron several weeks ago: "Is the Lord among us or not?" The people were convinced - until the next time of crisis anyway - that the Lord was with them under Moses' leadership. Now the people of Israel discover that just as the Lord was present with them with Moses as leader the Lord is still present with them although they are now under new leadership. Maybe there is a sermon here about how the Lord is present with a faithful people even after a leadership change. Or maybe the sermon is to be found by looking at our own Jordan River crossings into the often unknown field of mission. We go on the promise that Jesus said he is with us always.
Just a few Tuesday morning musings.
RG in Ontario
Does Maria's song I Have Confidence from the Sound of Music have validity here. She is seeking courage for a new beginning as the Israelites were seeking courage. I am preaching pulpit supply at my home church which is in the process of calling a new minister, and as a recent seminary grad I have just been called to my first church.(Not my home church) New Beginnings all around. Ordination before Christmas?
Soon to be Rev in Ontario
I've been thinking of this scripture in terms of taking risks, "getting your feet wet." It ties in with stretching one's self in our giving as we kick off our annual stewardship campaign. But, I want to talk about trusting in God and taking risks in a broader format than stewardship. How does God challenge us to "get our feet wet" and then keep them dry as we step forth in faith?
Tom Gil
I am going to preach this scripture from a slightly different perceptective: that of the priests holding the ark. Wouldn't it have been glorious to be those priests and to have the waters stop when YOUR toes touched the water. I can only imagine how amazing that would have felt to be the first to begin the journey to the new land.
But what did it feel like many, many, many, hours later when those same priests were still holding the same (though probably feeling like a much heavier) ark in the middle of the Jordan while the entire nation of Israel passed by...men, women, children, cattle, sheep etc.. Not so glorious. Feet sinking in the mud. People not moving fast enough. Tough work holding up the ark of God for the benefit of others.
Seems a little like the work of the church...sometimes glorious, sometimes stuck in the mud.
KBinAB
I'm playing with this passage in hopes that it will work well on the Sunday following All Saints Day - especially if we define "saints" as those who hear and respond as best they can to the call of God. In this passage we have Joshua who hears and responds to God's call to be a "God Bearer" - bearing the word of the ever present God to the priests/people. Then there are the priests - the leaders chosen by the people - to be the "God Bearers", who take the ark of God right up to the edge of the water and then into the midst of it, getting their feet and faith wet. Then there are the children of Israel who, believing that God is indeed with them, cross over from wilderness to promise - they too become God Bearers.
Like a bridge over troubled waters...He will lay himself down...Pastor Mary
Joshua 4
1 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 2 "Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight."
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, "Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, 'What do these stones mean?' 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the LORD . When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever."
8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the LORD had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been [1] in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
That's right, the 12 men were to pick up stones and heap them on the bank as a lasting testimonial. Reminds me of the time Jesus is coming into town and his detractors tell him to hush his disciples. Jesus says if these are silent the very stones will cry out. Sometimes it is good to take something from the midst of your swollen river to keep as a remembrance when times are good that you are in the land of milk and honey because God was with youand went before you when the barriers seemed impassable. tom in TN(USA)
The ark of the covenant was carried on poles so noboby would touch it. How long were the poles? Did the rear priests' feet have to rest in the waters before the river stopped? How far in would the front priests be before their hindmost counterparts got wet? How much faith do the fore bearers need to possess? Swollen rivers run fast and strong. I'm glad my forebears went before me and stood while I walked in on their faith. God bless on All Saints Sunday those who went before! tom in TN(USA)
And, let's not forget the ancestors / saints, Moses and the entire crew, who came before this generation, modeling the crossing of the water from the familiar into the risky - the unknown. They lead the way then. Now, the next generation was being called to follow in their muddy footsteps
this may be to late for anyone to read, but i am taking this from the perspective, of letting God out of the box, not being in control but allowing God to be God. How God is in midst of us all the time not just when we want God to be. Revie
Remember the old song by Bob Dylen?
"Gotta serve somebody"
"You may be an ambassador to England or France,
You may like to gamble, you might like to dance,
You may be the heavyweight champion of the world,
You may be a socialite with a long string of pearls
But you're gonna have to serve somebody, yes indeed
You're gonna have to serve somebody,
Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord
But you're gonna have to serve somebody."
Gotta serve somebody!~
I don't have a contribution, but I do need to have a question that has been in my spirit. For His own reason the Lord has had me in Joshua for quite some time now. In fact He has taken me in my studies through numbers to the book of Joshua. He has given me a lot of revelation from these chapters and there is I know and I can feel it so strongly, something that He is trying to make me see in Joshua 3:16 in the text "it piled up in a heap a great distance away, from a town called Adam, I cannot move on until I get what he is telling me here.
Does anyone have insight on this particular passage. By the way, I am a minister and some of the things that God shows me through His Word shocks some pastors and preachers and sometimes me. They don't think that it is not truth but they always tell me that they had never seen that before I told me. I feel weird, but my bible does that I am a peculiar person.
Thanks Rev. McDowell
