Crossing the Jordan, Part 2 - Carrying the Ark

Joshua 3v6-17

2^nd October 2015

We read last time that, at God's instigation, Joshua prepared the people to cross the Jordan into the promised land. He told them to consecrate themselves in anticipation of the great things God would do. The next day, it was time to move. Joshua instructed the priests:

Joshua 3v6
Joshua said to the priests, "Take up the Ark o the Covenant and pass on ahead of the people." So they took it up and went ahead of them.

Preparation, prayer and sanctification are great, but sooner or later the time comes when we have to do something. All the church services and Bible studies and personal prayer must result in our making a difference in this world, moving the church forward - and outward - bringing the kingdom of God to other people.

Someone has to go first. And that someone is always God himself. He is our pioneer. But God will always select some from among His people to, as it were, carry the Ark - to be the first to move, and to take particular responsibility for protecting the glory of God as the church moves forward. The priests picked up the Ark, and carried it in front of the rest of the people, towards the water - towards danger.

It was only after the priests had started walking that God spoke to Joshua again:

Joshua 3v7-8
And the LORD said to Josha, "Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: 'When you reach the edge of the Jordan's waters, go and stand in the river.'"

I'm aware that I've written a lot about the responsibilities of leaders, and the dangers of leaders who abuse their position, but the fact remains that God appoints some people to lead, and leaders are important.

When God appoints a leader, He will exalt that leader in the eyes of those God has appointed him to lead. God was going to use Joshua in performing a miracle, so that the people would realise that he was God's choice. Joshua's involvement wouldn't be because Joshua was cleverer, or more moral, or more prayerful, than the others, but because God chose him to lead them. The degree to which we're exalted above others should only be the result of God's sovereign choice to work through us.

Joshua 3v9-13
Joshua said to the Israelites, "Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD - the Lord of all the earth - set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."

It's one thing to use the spiritual gift of miracles (1 Corinthians 12v10) but quite another to announce a miracle before it happens. Joshua was confident in the power and trustworthiness of God, and confident that he had heard God speak. His prophecy meant that, when the miracle happened, it gave the people even more confidence that God would be with them, and would give them the land, and that God had appointed Joshua as their leader.

(Joshua also told the people to choose twelve men, but he didn't say what for. We'll find out more about this as we read on.)

It was time to act. They needed to cross the Jordan if they were to invade Canaan:

Joshua 3v14-17
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them.
Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during 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 flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stoppedin the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

Humanly speaking, they'd arrived at the worst possible time. It was the time for the barley harvest, probably in April. The snows were melting and the Jordan was in full flood. We tend to think of the Jordan as quite a small river but I'm told that, in Joshua's time, when it reached Jericho it was normally some 50 yards across, and when it was in flood it was about 100 yards across. Had God not stopped the water, they would have drowned, and the Ark would have been lost. And crossing a 100-yard wide river in the sight of your enemies is a dangerous business. But Joshua was a man of faith, and he took bold steps of faith, as all true Christian leaders must.

The Ark went first. God always goes before us. You'll never step into a situation that God hasn't already prepared for you. You need never go anywhere that God hasn't led you to. ollow the Ark.

The moment the Ark began to cross the Jordan, the water stopped flowing and the people crossed over. We can achieve anything God plans for us, because God will do whatever we need to help us succeed. Our job is to hear the word of God, and to obey it. They crossed the flooding river on dry land, because God made it possible.

Wherever God wants you to be, He has the power and the will to get you there, if you will only obey His instructions. So all the people, except the priests carrying the Ark, crossed over the Jordan into the Promised Land.

But all Christians are priests (1 Peter 2v9) and being a priest means taking responsibility. Sometimes responsibility means you're standing in the middle of a dry river bed, wondering when the water's going to start flowing again, and whether God will get you out of the situation before disaster strikes. Sometimes responsibility means your arms and your back are aching because you're still carrying a load when your brothers and sisters are sitting on the river bank, watching. A true Christian is willing to face danger, and to bear more than his share of the load, because that's what God has called him to do.

But I want the privilege of carrying the Ark. Don't you?