Joshua set a fine example in rising early before crossing the flooded waters of Jordan. Our Lord often spent the entire night in prayer. The children of Israel faced the turbulent, muddy stream, as they prepared for the crossing.
Joshua held back their advance for three days. ( v2 ) Why this delay? Abraham and Isaac went three days to Mt Moriah to sacrifice the only son. The prophet Jonah was swallowed by the big fish for this interval. Our beloved Lord spent three days and nights in the tomb before rising from the dead. The infidel Saul spent this season in darkness after meeting the risen Lord on the Damascus road. They needed to prepare spiritually for such a momentous crossing of the flooded waters.
God’s people learned to keep their eyes on the ark of the Covenant, which was a type of the Lord Jesus Christ, "They commanded the people saying, `When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place, and go after it.’" ( v3 ) The ark was made of acacia wood (showing his common humanity), lined inside and outside with gold (His eternal glory). The old song goes ‘Turn your eyes upon Jesus, look full in His wonderful face, And the things of earth will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.‘ As they followed the ark, so we are to follow the eternal Lord.
The children of Israel must respect the holiness of the ark, by `keeping a space between you and it, about a thousand yards by measure.’ They were commanded `not to come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.’ (v4). God would not tolerate familiarity between the children of Israel and Himself, as represented by the distance from the ark.We must not acquaint ourselves loosely with Him in our prayer or worship. While we may reverently call Him ‘Abba Father’, we must not descend to; `Daddy or crudely `the man up there.’ We must honour and adore our God. We shall devotedly whisper His holy Name.
The Father is mindful of our inexperience, `That you may know the way you should go, for you have not passed this way before.’ Often the Lord led us in paths which no one had trodden. There was no precedent, and we looked to Him for His clear direction. Many times in south east Asia, we faced unexpected trials. I was the only medical man among 2/3 million people. How did we respond? How did we live among a people who did not know our Lord Jesus? Our only course was `to search the scriptures, for in them you think you have eternal life, and they testify of ME.’ He marvellously directed us.
Joshua was in touch with the Holy God, for he said, `Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’ (v5) The beautiful term `sanctify’ is a setting ourselves aside for His glory, and living holy lives in a godless generation. Your life must count for the Lord Jesus. God promised that `tomorrow He would do wonderful things among you.’ ( v5 ) Our Lord released a secret of successful christian living, where holiness produced outstanding fruit, Contemplate the lives of His saints, Sadhu Sunda Singh of India, or the small woman, Gladys Aylward, or God’s Smuggler, or Joy Ridderhof, and you will discover this principle operating in their lives.
`Take up the ark of the covenant’, Joshua spoke to the priests, `and cross over before the people.‘ They obeyed instantly. As the priests lifted the ark on their shoulders, they purposed to elevate Him before the people. In New Testament time, our Lord said, `if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto Me.’ We must crucify the flesh, for our fleshly nature would always elevate our fallen selves, rather than the altogether-lovely One.
Our God recognised His loyal servants, for He stated, `I will begin to magnify you this day in the sight of all the people; that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.’ (v7) When He saw humility and true brokenness of spirit, then the Lord surely promoted His children. He honoured Moses; then his successor, Joshua; He cherished His prophets Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, Daniel and others; He graced Charles Haddon Spurgeon; He endowed Charles Finney; He crowned D.L.Moody with many souls; He empowered Billy Graham. He will enlarge you, when you qualify for such an entitlement. Many fail when pride or self-seeking void His promise.
`Without faith, it was impossible for the priests to please God, for You ( Joshua ) shall command the priests who bear the ark of the Covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand in the (noisy, rushing, swollen) waters of the (unmistakable) Jordan’ ,yet responsible for the precious ark, they must plant their feet in those waters, which could swallow them. Faith was costly.
Joshua loved to speak the Word of God, `Come here and hear the words of the Lord your God.’ ( v10 ) for `by this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you’ the enemies of God. The Presence of the Lord comforted perfectly; with the certainty that He will crush the enemies of the cross. Absorb and relish these mighty truths.
Verse 11 suggested that `The ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan’ and rested on the floor of the flooded Jordan, typified our Lord Jesus (whom the ark represented), suffering the death of the cross, bearing the weighty condemnation of our sin. ‘For He made Him, who knew no sin, to be made sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him.’ ( 2 Corinth 5:21) How exciting is Joshua’s clear picture of our Lord’s Calvary suffering.
They recalled the miracle of the Red Sea crossing with Joshua’s command, `And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests, who bear the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth ( His sovereignty emphasised ), shall rest in the waters of Jordan, that the waters of Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down upstream, and they shall stand as a heap. ( v13) God’s word was fulfilled: it always will be.
Medically the soles of the feet have three pressure points. Try to walk on your heel or on your toes and discover how uneasy, wobbly and unstable you are. I illustrate that the Trinity or Tri-unity comprises three Persons, God the Father, God the Son and God, the Holy Spirit. Magnify one against the other, as walking on one pressure point and life is unsteady. In the post-war years, some have majored on the Fatherhood of God over the Son , or the Son over the Holy Spirit or the Holy Spirit as transcendent. Excesses have followed. When you regard the three Persons of the Godhead as co-equal, worshipped in perfect harmony, your christian walk is balanced.
The entire population obeyed, `So it was, when the people’ (was it still 2 ½ million or more?), `set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark, dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters that came down from upstream stood still and rose in a heap very far away at Adam.’ ( v14-16) Raging waters subsided; levels dropped; dry land appeared. So God showed He was still the miracle-working God, though never repeating the exact style of operation as with the Red Sea. Only Heaven will tell us how high the wasters rose at Adam, about ten miles (16 kilometres) away. Now we believe!
Logistics help some believers. If the children of Israel were spaced one metre apart for a kilometre, they would number 1,000. Let them walk at 3 kilometres per hour (a fraction of army pace), that is 3,000 ranks, for one hour and 3 million would pass over.
God lovingly cared for mothers, little children and elderly, while just in His commands.
The climax was `the people crossed over opposite Jericho’ ( v16). The following verse told how `the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.’ ( v17). God retold this amazing truth in chapter 4:1, the fourth time in a few verses. Very, very important.
Trust HIM to guide you with His eye.