Joshua 3:9-17

⁹Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. ¹⁰This 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. ¹¹See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. ¹²Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 13And 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.” ¹⁴So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. ¹⁵Now 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, ¹⁶the 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. ¹⁷The 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.

Introduction

Have you ever proposed anything and you were opposed or labelled as insane, heretic, strange, or not considered normal? If we haven’t seen, heard and experienced it before, it is not easy to believe or explore. Many propositions have faced not a few oppositions or skepticism. Not everyone can readily agree in everything.

Similarly, not a few find it hard to believe in the Lord because His ways are unconventional, not ordinary occurrence. The Lord has mysterious ways of doing what He wishes to do. Joshua has personally experience God’s unconventional ways.

Joshua could have been scared, and the Lord has to remind him to be strong and courageous multiple times. Some Bible students interpret that Joshua hinted his fear when he told the priests to go ahead of the community. To encourage Joshua, the Lord instructed him to tell the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to stand in the river.

The Lord added He will exalt Joshua before Israel. Because of that, Joshua declared to the Israelites that the Lord is among them.

1. Declaration

⁹Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. 10This 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.

When Joshua told the priests to go ahead, a few Israelites might have heard. Perhaps nobody even heard what Joshua told the priests. But after the Lord said that He will exalt him before Israel, Joshua called the attention of all Israel.

He declared that the Lord will drive out their enemies. It was not the Israelites who will drive their enemies. The Lord Himself will defeat their enemies. But before they can experience victory, they need to cross the first barrier, the Jordan River which was at flood stage. How would they cross? He told them about God’s plan.

¹¹See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. ¹²Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³And 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.”

Joshua knew that if he himself was scared, the Israelites must be scared too. So Joshua told the Israelites what happens when the priests set foot in the Jordan River. The water will stand in heap. It will stop flowing. That should encourage the people.

Earlier, he instructed in Joshua 3:4, ⁴But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it. Why keep a distance? Joshua might have been thinking that they will watch what happens next. The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord might have interpreted Joshua’s words as God’s instruction that was why they never complained.

The priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord followed Joshua’s instructions. They did not complain or hesitated to obey him. It shows that they respected and acknowledged that Joshua was God’s anointed leader of Israel. Whatever Joshua told them to do they just obeyed as if they were obeying the Lord.

It says in 1 Peter 2:9, ⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

As royal priesthood, believers prove their faith in God by obeying the instructions given by leaders. Believers are humans, and can be easily impressed by good looks, behavior or voice. But when unexpected things happen, it reveals anyone’s true identity.

Thank the Staff

During the Family Camp, when I shouted the instruction to thank the Red Rock Bible Camp staff, my voice cracked like a teenager’s voice. Young and old alike laughed, why? They can identify perhaps which is okay. Laughing just to mock is disgraceful.

I felt sorry for those who laugh in disdain. They just exhibited their true behavior toward their pastor. Unexpected things are necessary tools to reveal spiritual maturity.

Obeying instead of laughing at others’ weakness reveals trust in the Lord. Did the priests sense the hesitations of Joshua? Perhaps but instead of laughing at him they obeyed. And they have firsthand experience of the development of Joshua’s declaration.

2. Development

¹⁴So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. ¹⁵Now 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,

Why did God want the Israelites to cross the Jordan River at flood stage? Why not wait when the water is shallow not flooding? God’s unconventional ways are strange to humans. Humans normally prefer an easy kind of life. With God, everything is easy.

¹⁶the 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. ¹⁷The 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.

The town of Adam in Zarethan was located more than 15 kilometers from where the priests stood in the river. Why did God let the water stopped from a distance?

Remember that Joshua told the people to keep a distance of about 2,000 cubits away from the Ark and not go near it. 2,000 cubits is more than 900 meters.

That explains why God let the water stop some distance away. The Israelites needed a space to cross the river bed without passing near the Ark, right? God might have also sensed that they were restless or nervous because they might not know how to swim.

All the Israelites saw God’s awesome power when the water stopped flowing. It was not mentioned if the priests were nervous when they set foot in the Jordan River. But they obey anyway, and they have greater experience than the rest of the Israelites.

Believers are a royal priesthood. When we obey, we can be nervous but there’s should be no hesitation, no fear. Nervousness should prompt us to depend upon our Lord. In 2 Timothy 1:7, ⁷For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline.

Delight in Weaknesses

Who does not have weaknesses? God’s grace is magnified when we are weak. Bible Scholars say that Paul was not a good looking person and not impressive speaker.

Paul testified of God’s encouragement in 2 Corinthians 12:9-10, ⁹“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. ¹⁰That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Joshua and the Israelites might have been nervous to cross the river but they obeyed God. God knows it. We don’t need to hide our nervousness to serve. “But I am scared. Others might laugh at me,” one might say. You are not alone! Because of fear of rejection, people crave for approval. We long to please people.

It says in Galatians 1:10, ¹⁰Am I now trying to win the approval of human beings, or of God? Or am I trying to please people? If I were still trying to please people, I would not be a servant of Christ.

Pleasing people is the same as craving for approval but have the same implication of wanting to be appreciated or accepted. Performing to please people is not acceptable to God. That’s comforting because it’s not easy to please humans. It’s easier to please God.

Through the Holy Spirit, we get involve in the ministry, not to please people or get approval but our involvement exhibits that we are part of Christ’s body. The Lord removes fear of rejection from us and fills us with joy and peace.

In Romans 10:11, ¹¹As Scripture says, “Anyone who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

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