A few days ago I started the amazing book of Joshua. I always knew that Joshua was an incredible, godly man but I don't think I understood just how dedicated he was. We often think that Joshua simply became the next leader of Israel because Moses died. The fact is that he was preparing for it for years. If you recall, Joshua was Moses' disciple for many years and on of the twelve spies who believed in God rather than man. So this man was equipped with the teachings of God's chosen leader and an unwavering belief in God. With this background God Himself spoke to him.
God informed Joshua that he would now be the leader of the Israelites and that it would be his task to bring them into the Promised land. Now this may seem like a simple task, especially with the Almighty God on his side but even with this assurance leading several thousand rebellious people into an unknown land is daunting. Little wonder God told Joshua three times, "be strong and courageous" for I am with you. If God gave me this task I would undoubtedly falter and ask God to pick someone else. However, this is not how Joshua reacted. Instead he did just as God told him and continued to obey throughout his life. God rewarded him for this.
In chapter two we are told the story of Rahab and the two spies which is the first sign to Joshua of God's faithfulness. God chose to bring the spies to the house of a woman who was willing to sacrifice her very life (if she was found out she would have probably been executed) for the sake of fulfilling God's purpose. In short, God chose the most unlikely of woman, a prostitute to get the wheel rolling. If this was not a sign and encouragement to Joshua, I don't know what would be. So with this exciting story of God's faithfulness Joshua prepared to cross the Jordan.
As a child I always wondered what the big deal about crossing a little river was. I pictured a little creek flowing pleasantly by and wondered what on earth was stopping the Israelites from crossing it. However we are told that this river was especially high because of flooding season as Keil and Delitzsch say in their commentary "the Jordan at that time was so high as to overflow its banks, so that it was impossible to cross the fords." Isn't it just like God to pick to time when the river is most dangerous to cross it? So with this daunting river ahead of them Joshua did not falter but continued to press on fully assured that God was for them.
So the procession began, first the priests with the Arc came to the edge of the river and just as with the Red sea, the river parted all the way to the other end and the people crossed safely. On a side note, I believe God had the priests go first because He wanted to make very clear that He was the one responsible for getting them to the other side. So God did it again and gave the people a new respect for Joshua which was necessary for him to be able to lead successfully. Then before they moved on, God said, stop and remember. He told men of each tribe to grab a stone from the center of the Jordan, (it was still parted) and make a little alter of remembrance. See, we as humans are so forgetful and often doubt God because of this. To keep this from happening again, God said, stop, think about what just happened, and set up a physical remembrance to it.
And this is where I will end, set to conquer the Promised land and with the first sign of God's continued assistance fresh in the Israelites mind. Lets see what God will do with it.
God informed Joshua that he would now be the leader of the Israelites and that it would be his task to bring them into the Promised land. Now this may seem like a simple task, especially with the Almighty God on his side but even with this assurance leading several thousand rebellious people into an unknown land is daunting. Little wonder God told Joshua three times, "be strong and courageous" for I am with you. If God gave me this task I would undoubtedly falter and ask God to pick someone else. However, this is not how Joshua reacted. Instead he did just as God told him and continued to obey throughout his life. God rewarded him for this.
In chapter two we are told the story of Rahab and the two spies which is the first sign to Joshua of God's faithfulness. God chose to bring the spies to the house of a woman who was willing to sacrifice her very life (if she was found out she would have probably been executed) for the sake of fulfilling God's purpose. In short, God chose the most unlikely of woman, a prostitute to get the wheel rolling. If this was not a sign and encouragement to Joshua, I don't know what would be. So with this exciting story of God's faithfulness Joshua prepared to cross the Jordan.
As a child I always wondered what the big deal about crossing a little river was. I pictured a little creek flowing pleasantly by and wondered what on earth was stopping the Israelites from crossing it. However we are told that this river was especially high because of flooding season as Keil and Delitzsch say in their commentary "the Jordan at that time was so high as to overflow its banks, so that it was impossible to cross the fords." Isn't it just like God to pick to time when the river is most dangerous to cross it? So with this daunting river ahead of them Joshua did not falter but continued to press on fully assured that God was for them.
So the procession began, first the priests with the Arc came to the edge of the river and just as with the Red sea, the river parted all the way to the other end and the people crossed safely. On a side note, I believe God had the priests go first because He wanted to make very clear that He was the one responsible for getting them to the other side. So God did it again and gave the people a new respect for Joshua which was necessary for him to be able to lead successfully. Then before they moved on, God said, stop and remember. He told men of each tribe to grab a stone from the center of the Jordan, (it was still parted) and make a little alter of remembrance. See, we as humans are so forgetful and often doubt God because of this. To keep this from happening again, God said, stop, think about what just happened, and set up a physical remembrance to it.
And this is where I will end, set to conquer the Promised land and with the first sign of God's continued assistance fresh in the Israelites mind. Lets see what God will do with it.
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