…not just to get to the other side!

And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.”
…And the Lord said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you.
You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ”
So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the Lord your God.” And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites…
Joshua 3:5,7-10

This is the beginning of the story of the the Israelites crossing the Jordan river – their official entry into the promised land! The way God does this is fascinating. For most of the year, the Jordan was a glorified creek. However, Joshua 3:15 indicates that they arrived at the Jordan when it was at flood stage. At flood stage this river was, humanly speaking, impassable for a huge army and nation of people! After 40 years of wandering, couldn’t God have timed their arrival a little better?

There were clearly at least a couple of reasons for their “bad timing.” If you were Joe Israelite, looking at this raging, flooding river, you might have thought to yourself, “This is really poor administration, Joshua. Moses would have throught ahead and not brought us here at this time…” By parting the river and allowing them to cross on dry ground (sounds a lot like… the Red Sea! The first great obstacle in Moses’ time of leadership!), God was planning to show that Joshua had been divinely appointed for this task.

“This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. (3:7)

Remember back to the plagues on Egypt (review “The King of kings and Lord of lords“) – those plagues were not arbitrary judgements on Egypt. They were theological statements – there is only one God!

This situation in Joshua is actually very similar. You see, the Canaanites worshiped a god named Baal – Baal was “the god of the storm.” As the Canaanites were shaking in their boots within the walls of Jericho (and Rahab has already told us they were doing just that – see Joshua 3:9-11) and looking out their windows at the vast sea of Israelites on the other side of the river, they must have taken quite a bit of comfort in the fact that they had arrived just in time for Baal to protect them! Clearly, their god of the storm was flooding the Jordan and was protecting them from the Israelites and their God. …or, perhaps not.

So it was, when the people 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 all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then 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. (Joshua 3:14-17)

So, picture this mentally. The priests stood in the middle of the river bed holding the ark of the covenant – the representation of God’s unique covenant with Israel and the actual physical place where His glory dwelt among them. The Jordan has completely stopped and piled in a heap! They’re not standing in mud, they’re on dry ground! And the entire nation of Israel walks across into the land promised to them by Yahweh, their one True God.

This was a huge lesson both to Israel and to the Canaanites. By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites… (3:10) There is one True God, He is supreme, and He will keep His promises!

God doesn’t always take us on the easiest path to our destination. We wonder about His timing… couldn’t He have gotten us here a bit sooner and avoided the raging rivers? This story of God’s plan for Israel is meaningful to me. We must remember that God’s agenda is not just to “get us to the other side,” so to speak. It’s all about Him! His purpose is not just to keep us safe, happy, comfortable, and prosperous. His purpose is to reveal Himself to us and through us. Yes, He could have had the Israelites avoid this situation all together. But, would they have had to rely on Him? Would they have seen Him reveal Himself and show His glory to them and to their enemies? Would they have known, without a doubt, that God was with them and would be faithful to His promises?

Next time you’re standing on the edge of a raging river in life, ask God to show Himself in a big way – He will probably surprise you.

Give unto the Lord, O you mighty ones,
Give unto the Lord glory and strength.
Give unto the Lord the glory due to His name;
Worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.
The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
The God of glory thunders;
The Lord is over many waters.
Psalm 29:1-3

*Picture from http://www.biblepicturegallery.com