[Joshua 3:15: Now the Jordan is at flood stage during the harvest, yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge,] the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water down to the Sea of Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over to Jericho.

Finally, after 30 years in the wilderness, with Moses just laid to rest, the chosen tribes are about to enter into the Promised Land. Will God treat this as a trifling matter? No! Right on His timeline, they appear on the east shore of the Jordan while it is flooding, and He uses this opportunity to part the river, as He earlier parted the Red Sea.

It’s bookends: Similar miracles at the beginning and end of His exodus plan for the Israelites. A mighty showman is our God!

At the Red Sea, God used the miracle to establish Moses as Israel’s leader; here He used it to establish Joshua as His choice as the man to take over leadership the 12 tribes.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they will know that I am with you as I was with Moses.” (3:7)

Then the Lord told Joshua to tell the priests to carry the ark of the covenant to the Jordan and step in. He didn’t lay out the whole plan, but Joshua had complete faith and had heard all he needed to hear. He told the Israelites He was acting on the word of God (3:9), gave direction on the ark (3:11), directed the 12 tribes to each select a leader (3:12), and only after all that, told them that a miracle was to come (3:13).

In Joshua, God picked a strong leader, a natural general, a man seemingly without the doubts and weaknesses that plagued Moses when he was chosen. God often uses week vessels, but he doesn’t always choose the weak. As Israel entered the Promised Land, God needed a general, and in Joshua, He had one. Whether strong and self-assured like Joshua, or humble and full of self-doubt like Moses, we must all be prepared to be selected by God for a task of His will.

To emphasize that the Lord was at work, the Levite priests carrying the ark didn’t just cross the Jordan:

The Priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on the dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground. (3:17)

What a sight! On the upriver side, a wall of water was stopped in its place, climbing higher as more and more flood waters flowed down. On the downriver side, there was only an empty river bed. You can plug in whatever analogy you want. The flood side could be the Promised Land, full of milk and honey, and the dry side the 40 years in the wilderness. The flood side could by a fulfilling life with God, and the dry side the emptiness of a life without God.

There’s something about the Jordan, too. God chose it as the border of the land he promised His chosen people and separated it for them. Later, John the Baptist chose it as the place in the wilderness where he baptized believers, where Jesus went to be baptized, and where God said aloud to those present, “This is my Son, whom I love. With Him I am well pleased.” (Matthew 3:17 – I’ll be looking at this verse more when we get to Matthew 3:16)

The Israelites had been wandering for 30 years in order to reach this day on the shore of the Jordan. Even with the pillar of fire and manna, this was a hard test, and they questioned Moses, God and the whole idea of leaving Egypt, miserable as Egypt had been. God knew this, and while He provided signs and led them to otherwise incomprehensible victories over stronger forces along the way, He allowed the test to continue. In part, this was to allow the first generation of doubters to die in the wilderness, so children raised within the challenging test of the time in the desert would take the Promised Land. And in part it was because He allows his testing to run its course, so we are formed and strengthened. With the wandering tribe, the two went together – the unsullied new generation was raised up and was harden for what was to come – just as God used the great depression to ready a generation for the hardship of the world war that was to follow.

At the end of the test, God rewarded His people with a great spectacle that strengthened them as they crossed over, preparing them for the battles ahead that would secure the Promised Land for them – surely the parting of the Jordan helped them to accept the unusual idea that marching around Jericho’s walls for three days would cause those walls to fall down!

Joshua is one of my favorite books in the Bible, with transitions, culminations and promises that are kept. At its very start, it contains my life verse:

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified, do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go. (1:9)

Amen!

Thought: As I face hard times, there is peace within me because I know God has already been at work, preparing me for what’s ahead.

Prayer:  Dear God in heaven, you are truly a mighty God! We may think the era of your miracles is long behind us, winding up with the resurrection of Christ our Lord all those years ago, but I know you are still at work. Look at me! Would I be here, praying to you, if it weren’t for your continuing miracles? No, Father, I would be lost in sin. So I praise you and thank you and pray that I will please you today as I walk the path you have set before me.  In Jesus’ name, amen.