3 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. 2 After three days the officers went throughout the camp, 3 giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it.
4 Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.”
5 Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” 6 Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.
7 And the Lord said to Joshua, “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. 8 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.’”
9 Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10 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.
11 See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13 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.”
14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 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,
16 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.
17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in 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.
4 When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”
4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”
8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down.
9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had beenin the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.
10 Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the Lord had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over, 11 and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.
12 The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. 13 About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war.
14 That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.
15 Then the Lord said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out of the Jordan.”
17 So Joshua commanded the priests, “Come up out of the Jordan.” 18 And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.
19 On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’
23 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Seawhen he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
We are doing pulpit curriculum in our church. We are studying the Book of Joshua. Last week, Pastor Scott preached on Joshua 4. The sermon last was amazing.
I missed our class last week. I wanted to give my thoughts today on these two chapters – Joshua 3 & 4. This will just be an overview. I am going to ask you a few questions.
What is going on in these two chapters? How would you briefly summarize them? What is the difference between Joshua 3 and Joshua 4?
One chapter LOOKS BACK and one LOOKS FORWARD. One chapter is about stepping into a river and moving forward, as the nation goes through a new stage of its existence. It goes from wilderness to promise. The other looks back on that event.
One chapter is about a MIRACLE. The other is about a MEMORIAL. One is about an incredible miracle, and one is about remembering that miracle.
One is about a CROSSING. One is about a COMMEMORATION.
If Joshua 3 is about REACHING the Promised Land after forty years in the wilderness. One is about REMEMBERING what God did.
Did God do in Joshua 3? He did a miracle. He did something completely supernatural? The Jews had been in the wilderness for forty years. They saw the Promise Land. They wanted to enter it, but there was a big problem.
There was a river blocking the entrance and it was at flood stage. It was not just a river but a flooded river. They could not cross it on their own. It required a miracle.
It was an impossible situation, but God made the impossible possible. God was bigger than the obstacle. The river could not stop God’s plan. The Jordan was no match for God. The Jews had to trust God in an impossible situation.
A Water Parting Miracle
What was the miracle? God suspended the laws of nature. He stacked water. We can stack solids. We can’t stack liquids, but God could do it. He suspended water in air for hours.
The water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away (Joshua 3:16 NIV)
The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in 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. (Joshua 3:17 NIV)
The miracle in Joshua is a little different than the miracle in Exodus. God worked differently in Joshua’s life than He did in Moses’ life. He parted the waters by a rod in Moses’ day but not in Joshua’s day. God does not always do things the same way. He likes to use variety in his miracles at different times
Which miracle was greater? The parting of the Jordan River or the parting of the Red Sea? Pastor Scott takes the view that the parting of the Jordan River was greater.
Not all would agree with that view. It was a great miracle, but it was not quite as dramatic or suspenseful as the Red Sea miracle. The circumstances were a little different.
Two million slaves didn’t just escape Egypt before the parting of the Jordan River. Four hundred years of Egyptian slavery were broken by the Red Sea miracle.
The Hebrews were not about to die in this miracle. No one was chasing them like just before the Red Sea miracle. They were not just chased but chased by the most powerful army on the planet at the time. This army had weapons of war. It had firepower. It had chariots. That is like having tanks today.
Israel’s greatest enemies were not destroyed in this miracle. No one died in this miracle. There were no dead Canaanites floating in the river after this miracle.
Obedience Before a Miracle
What did they have to do before this miracle happened. How do you know when to move
1) Wait
These Jews did not cross the Jordan when they thought it was the right time to do so. They didn’t cross when the majority people wanted to do so. They didn’t move just because everyone else is moving. They didn’t take a vote. They did it when God told them to do so. They waited for a command. They waited for his timing and guidance
2) Be Prepared
Joshua 3:5 says, “Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you” (NIV).
In Exodus 19, God told the people to be prepared. God was going to show up spoke to the whole nation audibly on a burning mountain. They were going to encounter Him and they had to get ready.
If you were going to meet an important person, like the President, you might do a few things to get ready. Meeting God required some preparation on their part.
After Moses had gone down the mountain to the people, he consecrated them, and they washed their clothes. Then he said to the people, “Prepare yourselves for the third day. Abstain from sexual relations. (Exodus 19:14-15 NIV)
They were to wash their clothes and stay away from their wives and have no sex to prepare. Why? What is wrong with that?
They were living in the wilderness for forty years. They were dirty. If you met an important person, you would change your clothes and take a bath and yet some try to come before God today with dirty clothes and filthy garments.
Why were husbands to stay away from their wives? There was nothing wrong with intimacy in marriage. God created sex and three days later it could be resumed. This was just temporary.
They were getting ready for a visible appearance of God on a mountain. God is completely holy. God was not just appearing; He was appearing in power (thunder, lightning, a thick cloud, a trumpet blast, fire, an earthquake). It was dangerous. You could die if you approached Him the wrong way.
Coming before him requires total devotion. It requires single minded focus. All distractions were to be set aside so hearts and minds could be totally devoted to Him. Even some good things had to be set aside to get ready to prepare their minds.
In Joshua 3, they were to prepare for something else, not for God to make an appearance but to do something amazing. He was going to do something amazing, and they were to get ready for it. They were to be spiritually prepared.
We need to be spiritually prepared to see God work. We need to be spiritually prepared to be used by God. We need to be sanctified, set apart. That is what the word means in Hebrews (qudosh).
Most people today are not spiritually prepared. How are you preparing yourself for God to work in your life?
Before a major decision, a new ministry, major life change, or waiting for God to do something amazing in your life, you should be prepared.
3) Follow God
Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them. (Joshua 3:6 NIV)
So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. (Joshua 3:14 NIV)
The ark went first. The people followed the ark. The ark represented God’s covenant presence. They followed God. They did not go ahead of the ark. They did not try to run ahead of God. They waited two thousand cubits behind and followed Him. Are we doing the same?
4) Take a Step of Faith
They had to obey before they saw a miracle. Faith often means taking the first step God has already commanded, even when the outcome isn’t visible yet. The priests’ feet had to touch the water BEFORE it parted (Joshua 3:13–15).
When the priests carrying the Ark stepped into the waters of the Jordan, what happened? The water stopped flowing past them and stood as a wall of water.
Red Sea was divided before they stepped into it. This time, they had to step into it first. This time, God did not part the water first.
The priests had to get their feet wet before God would open the waters. The miracle only took place when they stepped out in faith and got their feet wet. The water did not recede until the first priest touches the water with his feet and that was done in obedience to what God said. What steps of faith are you taking?
The priests carrying the Ark had to physically step into the flooded, rushing waters of the Jordan River before the waters stopped flowing (Joshua 3:13–15).
From Miracle to Memorial
When we come to Joshua 4, we go from miracle to memorial. We go from a crossing to a commemoration. It is all about remembering what God did, so no one will forget.
There are two memorials created. Two separate twelve-stone monuments were created. There was a memorial in the river and one out of the river. There was a memorial in the Jordan riverbed (Joshua 4:9) and there was a memorial outside of the river at Gilgal (Joshua 4:8, 20).
Why the monuments? Why do we need to establish memorials in our life? It is so we do not forget what God has done and so our children do not forget it either. These stones were to be a lesson for their kids. His miracle was not to be forgotten.
This chapter is not really about twelve rocks. We don’t have to make a big pile of stones in our yard for our neighbors to see. It is about not forgetting when God does something amazing in your life and passing it on to the next generation.
How many times do we pray for something, God answers our prayers and we forget about it? God does something amazing in our lives, and we don’t even remember it. We need to think of ways that we can set up a memorial to the Lord for the incredible things that he has done in our lives.