JOSHUA CHAPTER 3, “Crossing
The
By
Jim Bomkamp
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. In our last study, we looked
at this woman Rahab the Harlot, who was a resident of the city of Jericho,
located in the land of Canaan just on the other side of the Jordan, and we saw
that she was a woman who had saving faith in the Lord
1.1.1. We saw that before the
children of Israel could conquer the city of Jericho on the other side of the
Jordan River, that the Lord first had to rescue the one righteous person in
that city, and by righteous I mean the one person who had true saving faith in
the Lord
1.1.2. From all of the Biblical
accounts of the life of this woman Rahab the Harlot, we saw that she had saving
faith in the Lord before the spies came into the land
1.1.2.1.
In the New Testament we saw that there are three references to Rahab as
being a woman who possessed true saving faith in the Lord.
1.1.2.1.1.
Rahab’s denial of herself, sheltering of the two spies from Israel,
placing herself at risk for the spy’s sake, throwing in her lot with the people
of God, and pleading for her own salvation as well as the salvation of her
family were all signs that she had the kind of works which genuine saving faith
produces in a person’s life
1.1.2.1.2.
We talked about how having saving faith in Christ always produces works
1.1.3. We looked at this story of
Rahab from the perspective of how her life and actions parallel those of a
person in our day who truly has come to have saving faith in Christ, and thus
is headed for heaven and eternity with the Lord
1.2. In our study today, we are
going to look at the children of Israel crossing of the Jordan River in order
to go in and conquer the land of Canaan
1.2.1. We have already seen that
the promised land of Canaan symbolizes for us as Christians not the rest that
we will have in heaven, since the book of Joshua is full of battle after battle
as the children of Israel are going about and conquering the land of Canaan,
but rather walking in the blessing and victory which is our inheritance in
Christ
1.2.2. We will see today then that
the crossing of the
1.2.3. The Lord had “taken the
children of
1.2.3.1.
This symbolizes that for the Christian that the Lord has saved us
through our faith in Christ, but He has brought this about so that we can then
begin to walk with the Lord and claim and appropriate all of the promises that
He has given to us
1.2.3.2.
Sadly though, many Christians come to salvation through Christ and they
somehow begin to think that all that really mattered was that they have gotten
saved. They fail to recognize that
becoming saved was meant to be just the first step of many. They were saved to now begin to walk in
faith, grow up in the grace of God, and begin to use their spiritual gifts and
serve and minister as the Lord would lead them as they are fulfilling their
calling by the Lord
1.2.3.2.1.
These Christians haven’t yet entered into the promised land as a
Christian
1.2.4. Most commentators believe
that the crossing of the Jordan River symbolizes for the Christian the
salvation that we have in Christ, however the book of Exodus describes for us
the deliverance from the world, the Devil, and sin that the Lord provides for
us when we come to salvation through Christ, and at that time the children of
Israel also miraculously made a crossing of water, the Red Sea. The people were to immediately cross the
1.2.5. In our study, we will
concentrate upon what we as Christians need to do in our own crossing of the
Jordan River as we prepare to cross over into the land of God’s promises when
we begin to claim and appropriate God’s promises and conquer the territory and
the inhabitants and rulers of that territory for Christ
1.2.5.1.
In other words we will answer the questions, “What does it mean for me as
a Christian to cross over the
2. VS 3:1 - “1 Then Joshua rose early in the
morning; and he and all the sons of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the
Jordan, and they lodged there before they crossed.” – Joshua leads the children
of
2.1.
It is believed that at this point in time that the children of
2.2.
The generation of men and women who were twenty years and up forty
years prior when
they left
2.3.
The children of
2.3.1.
It has been said
that the Lord never expects His people to step out into uncharted territory
and fight major spiritual battles without first working mightily in their lives
and revealing Himself over and over to them.
2.3.2.
In that regard this generation of Israelites had:
2.3.2.1.
Heard many times over about how with Moses as their leader that the
Lord had mightily delivered the Israelites from
2.3.2.2.
Seen the hand of God in the desert on a daily basis miraculously
providing manna every morning and water from a rock for all of the people
and animals to drink.
2.3.2.3.
Seen the miracle that after forty years neither their shoes nor
their clothes had worn out (Deut. 29:5).
2.3.2.4.
Seen firsthand the consequences of being hard-hearted and disobedient
to the Lord in
that all of their fathers and mothers who had been 20 years or older when
leaving
2.3.3.
Whereas the children of
2.4.
The crossing of the
2.4.1.
The
2.4.1.1.
Every spring when the mountain snow from nearby Mount Lebanon melted,
the
2.4.2.
The Lord opened up a gap in the Red Sea for the people to walk through,
but with the
2.5.
Can you imagine how helpless the children of Israel felt as they camped
for these three days by the bank of the flooding Jordan River, and knowing that
in order to go into the promised land all 2 ½ million of them were somehow
going to have to cross that river? By
having the people camp for three days on the banks of the Jordan River which was at flood stage,
the Lord was getting the people to come to the end of themselves, that
place where they realized that they had exhausted all of their own
resources and abilities to go in and conquer the
2.5.1.
In like manner, we Christians never get to the place of walking in the
blessing and victory which is ours as our inheritance in Christ until we
realize that in and of ourselves we have no abilities to please God nor conquer
spiritual battles in warfare. If we are to be used by the
Lord it is going to have to be the Lord who does a mighty work through us, it
won’t come about through our abilities and efforts.
2.5.2.
Jesus said that if any man is to come after Him that he must “deny
himself” and “take up his cross” and “begin to follow” Him. Denying oneself implies:
2.5.2.1.
Ceasing to live for yourself, your desires and will, and the pleasures
of the flesh and sin which last just for a season.
2.5.2.1.1.
Just as the apostle Paul wrote about himself in the book of Acts, we
Christians must not count our life as dear unto ourselves but realize instead
that our life belongs to and is to be used by the Lord. We are here on earth now for our own
pleasures and plans, but just to complete that which the Lord has given us to
complete.
2.5.2.2.
Realizing your own inability in the flesh to have true victory and be
used by the Lord.
2.5.2.3.
Realizing that the mountains in your life are going to be moved by
believing and persevering prayer not by your manipulating the situation to
bring it about.
2.6.
Unlike the children of Israel coming out of Egypt, as the children of
Israel are camped beside the Jordan River we don’t hear any grumbling and
complaining which come from hearts wavering in unbelief. This group of people were truly ready now
to cross the
3. VS
3:2-4 - “2 And it came about at the end of three days that the officers went
through the midst of the camp;3 and they commanded the people, saying, “When
you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God with the Levitical priests
carrying it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it.4 “However,
there shall be between you and it a distance of about 2,000 cubits by measure.
Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you shall go, for you
have not passed this way before.”” – The officers of
the people went through the group telling them that they had to follow the ark
of the Covenant of the Lord as it would lead them in crossing the
3.1.
The ‘ark’ is central to this chapter since it is mentioned sixteen
times in chapter 3 and 4 and alluded to many more times. The ‘ark’ is central in this chapter because
of what it is comprised and what it symbolizes:
3.1.1.
The ‘ark’ contained the “tablets” on which the Lord had written the 10
Commandments.
3.1.1.1.
The ‘ark’ is called ‘the ark of the covenant’ because the covenant that
the Lord made with the Israelites under Moses was this, that in order for them
to be His people they had to keep His 10 Commandments.
3.1.2.
On the top of the ‘ark’ was the mercy seat where the atonement blood
was shed once a year to provide forgiveness of sins for the nation.
3.1.2.1.
The mercy seat being on top of the tablets shows that mercy covers
judgment when the blood of Christ is applied.
3.1.3.
The ‘ark’ was the place where the Lord dwelt as His presence with the
people was between the cherubim which surrounded the mercy seat.
3.1.4.
Prior to this story the ‘ark’ had always been kept in the center of
God’s people
as is proper, for the Lord whose presence was in the ‘ark’ should be in the
center of all that God’s people do. Now,
however we will see that the ‘ark’ is gong to go before the people, being
carried by the priests.
3.2.
There have been several reasons given for why the ‘ark’ was now to go
before the people and lead them into the promised land.
3.2.1.
There is the practical matter that with the people staying at least
3,000 feet behind the ‘ark’ everyone would be able to see the incredible
miracle that the Lord was to perform in backing up the
3.2.2.
Since they had
not gone this way before, as the text
says, thus they were to follow the ‘ark’ closely. They would have to follow at a distance in
order to be sure stay close to the path the ‘ark’ led them in their crossing
the river.
3.2.3.
When God’s people begin to step out and claim and appropriate all of
the promises which they have been given in Christ, they will need to let the
Lord lead them in all that they do and continually look to Him and keep their
eyes on Him.
3.2.3.1.
After all,
remember that the presence of the Lord is with the people, in the ‘ark.’
3.2.3.2.
We will see that the people are repeatedly told that they are
to keep their eyes upon the ‘ark’ as they cross the river.
4. VS
3:5 - “5 Then Joshua said to the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for
tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.””
– Joshua tells the children of
4.1.
Now that the children of Israel were going to step into the Jordan
River trusting
in faith that the Lord would deliver them, and go in and take possession of
their inheritance, they were going to need to be consecrated completely to the
Lord.
4.2.
The Hebrew word ‘qadash' translated ‘consecrated’ here means “to be consecrated,
sanctified, or set apart” as a holy thing unto the Lord.
4.2.1.
The “first mention” of this word ‘qadash’ is in Gen. 2:3 where the Lord set apart as
holy unto Himself the seventh or Sabbath day on which He rested after the
creation, “3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because
that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.”
4.3.
Symbolically, this tells us as Christians that if we are going to
walk in the blessing and victory in Christ that the Lord desires for us that we
are going to first have to consecrate ourselves completely unto Him and His
will and purposes for our lives.
4.4.
From the book of Hebrews we see that for us as Christians
sanctification occurs in two phases:
4.4.1.
We have been sanctified by the Lord once for all having come to Christ.
4.4.1.1.
Heb. 10:10, “10 By this will we have been sanctified through the
offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.”
4.4.2.
Sanctification is a continual process of being purified and made
like unto Christ.
4.4.2.1.
Heb. 12:14, “14 Pursue peace with all men, and the sanctification
without which no one will see the Lord.”
4.4.2.1.1.
Note here that sanctification is not an option for the one who
considers himself a Christian, that is, if he intends to spend eternity with
the Lord.
4.5.
The crossing of the Jordan River signifies for the Christian that he
must die to self, his own will and plans, and be raised up to walk in that
newness of life in Christ, as he steps out to claim and appropriate all of the promises which are
his inheritance in Christ as a child of God.
5. VS
3:6 - “6 And Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the
covenant and cross over ahead of the people.” So they took up the ark of the
covenant and went ahead of the people.”
– Joshua told the priests to take up the ark and pass on ahead of the people to
the
5.1.
As mentioned previously, this was the first time that the ‘ark of
the covenant’ had moved from being in the center and the center piece of
the children of
6. VS
3:7 - “7 Now the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you
in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that just as I have been with
Moses, I will be with you.” – The Lord tells Joshua
that when the children of
6.1.
When Moses led the children of
6.2.
Now, the Lord was planning to do the same thing with Joshua. Again the people would see that the Lord was
with their leader and then this would cause them to submit to and follow him as
their leader.
6.3.
It is always the case that until God’s people see the hand of God on a
man they will not recognize his leadership over them.
7. VS
3:8 - “8 “You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the
ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the
Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’””
– Moses tells the priests that they are to come to the edge of the
7.1.
There is a difference here between this miracle of God and that which
occurred when the children of
7.2.
This stepping out of the priests symbolizes that when we as God’s
children begin to walk in the blessing and victory in Christ that we are called to we
have to first step out and begin to claim and appropriate the promises
which relate to us.
7.2.1.
It requires one step of faith after another to conquer our promised
land!
8. VS
3:9-10 - “9 Then Joshua said to the sons of
8.1.
Joshua has done his part as God’s leader of the people. He has spoken out in faith telling the people
of the great things that the Lord would do.
He has inspired their confidence to step out and trust the Lord for the
miraculous, for deliverance, and for victory.
Now, it is up to the Lord to do the rest.
8.2.
When the people see the miracle of the parting of the
9. VS
3:11-13 - “11 “Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is
crossing over ahead of you into the Jordan.12 “Now then, take for yourselves
twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man for each tribe.13 “And it shall
come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry 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, and the waters which are flowing down
from above shall stand in one heap.”” – Joshua tells
the people to have one representative for each tribe coordinate the people of
their tribe to follow the priests when they take the ‘ark of the Lord’ into the
9.1.
We see here a description of how the waters will be parted for this
crossing. The waters flowing from
above are going to have to stand up in one heap and then the rest of the
water that is not backed up will just flow on downstream and disperse.
9.2.
With the previous miracle the Lord had to dry the Red Sea with a high
wind that blew all night, however here the people are
going to be able to cross right after the waters are parted, and verse 17
tells us that miraculously they walked right through the river as on dry
ground. God didn’t need to create
another wind to dry out this river bed, He is powerful enough to execute this
miracle in many different ways.
10. VS
3:14-16 - “14 So it came about when the people set out from their tents to
cross the Jordan with the priests carrying the ark of the covenant before the
people,15 and when those who carried the ark came into the Jordan, and the feet
of the priests carrying the ark were dipped in the edge of the water (for the
Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest),16 that the waters
which were flowing down from above stood and rose up in one heap, a great distance
away at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan; and those which were flowing
down toward the sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, were completely cut off. So
the people crossed opposite Jericho.” – Joshua
describes for us how the Lord parted the water
10.1.
Just as Moses told them to do, the priests stepped into the Jordan
River which prompted the Lord to hold back the water, the priests carried the
‘ark’ into the midst of the water, and the children of Israel who walked 3,000
feet behind the priests so that they could see this miracle firsthand, followed
along into the river.
10.2.
It is significant that the waters of the
10.2.1.
The crossing of the Jordan you see symbolized for the Christian the fact
that he is dying to self and the sin nature, the old man and old nature which
he inherited from Adam, his federal head before the Lord. Thus, the Holy Spirit’s fingerprint is seen
here in that the name of the city to which the waters were backed up happens to
be named ‘Adam.’
10.2.2.
The commentators I read on the book of Joshua seemed to view this
crossing of the Jordan River as symbolic of coming to salvation itself through
Christ, however I believe it was the previous crossing of the Red Sea and
escape from slavery that actually symbolized the initial coming to salvation
for the believer. The children of
10.2.3.
As a confirmation that the crossing of the Jordan River symbolized the
baptism in the Holy Spirit for the believer, it was some 1,500 years later than
the events of this chapter and at this very place in the Jordan River that a man named John the
Baptist baptized the Lord Jesus, after which the Holy Spirit descended upon Him
in the form of a dove. Jesus, then
at the age of 30, began His ministry having the pre-requisite of the power and
anointing of the Holy Spirit resting on His life.
11. VS
3:17 - “17 And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord
stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed
on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”
– Joshua tells us that the children of
11.1.
Once again, we see that nothing shall be impossible for the Lord. God comes through for the people and for
Joshua, and the people now will revere and follow Joshua as their leader all of
their days, just as they revered and followed Moses.
12. CONCLUSION:
12.1.
Have you truly crossed the
12.2.
Have you died to self and the sin nature
which flows from Adam, and begun to walk in God’s ways and be led by Him in His
perfect will for your life?
12.3.
Have you realized that your coming to
salvation was just meant to be the first step of many for you as a child of God
as you step out and claim and appropriate the promises which are your
inheritance in Christ?
12.4.
If you have truly come to have faith in
Christ for salvation, you need to realize that the Lord “has taken you out” of
the dominion of sin, the world, the Devil, and the flesh, in order to “take you
in” to your promised land walking in the blessing and victory in Christ for
which you were meant
12.5.
If you have been taken out, but not entered
in to the promised land, I encourage you today to come back to the cross,
realize your identification with Christ (you have died with Him and been also
raised up to walk in the newness of life), and ask the Lord to baptize (or
submerged) you in the Holy Spirit as you sanctify yourself to the Lord and His plans
and perfect will for your life… Enter
in!