By: Dale Weckbacher
Text: Joshua
3:1-17
Joshua 3:7
The Lord said
to Joshua, “Today 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.
(ESV)
Taking over as a leader after a
great leader is difficult because those following the previous leader may place
unrealistic expectations on their new leader.
As the nation of Israel is on the shores of the Jordan, their new Leader
Joshua is poised and ready to lead them into the Promised Land. Joshua has been there before and along with
Caleb, was one of the only two to return with a good report (Numbers
14:6-9). However, would the people
believe Joshua had God on his side as a leader?
That question is about to be answered as God establishes the godly
leadership of Joshua with a powerful sign, the stopping of the Jordan so the
Israelites can cross on dry land similar to the parting of the Red Sea. To establish his leadership God has Joshua,
1) Command
the people to rest and wait for God (Joshua
3:1-3) - Joshua is in command and after arriving at the shores of the
Jordan has the people rest for three days and then sends his officers through
the camp, commanding the people to follow the Ark of the Covenant as soon as
they see it carried out by the Levitical priests (Joshua
3:1-3). The Levitical priests were
the ones with the closest connection to God with the Ark of the Covenant being where
God dwelt among people at the time. Therefore,
this symbolizes the importance of resting and waiting on God to move.
2) Consecration
(Joshua
3:5) – God’s people who have accepted Jesus as their personal savior have
been consecrated or set apart through the grace of God (Ephesians
2:8; John 3:16). This is the act of
being consecrated by God or qadash. However,
the word translated consecrate in Joshua
3:5 is hitqaddasu meaning one preparing and dedicating themselves to God. The people of Israel are already consecrated to
God because God has delivered them from their Egyptian bondage out of his grace. This a positional consecration that occurred through
their obedience in offering the Passover lamb, symbolic of the sacrifice of the
Lamb of God on Calvary (Exodus
12:1-13). So powerful was this consecration
that despite their rebellion for 40 years in the wilderness, the next
generation of Israel sits on the shores of the Jordan, ready to cross over (Joshua
3:1). The consecration spoken of by
Joshua in Joshua
3:5 is not a positional consecration but an act of dedication to God in
preparation for what is about to happen or consecration of commitment to God. The Church has positional consecration to God
through the blood of Jesus Christ but must not be complacent and must prepare
and dedicate itself to fulfilling the mission of spreading the Gospel and
making disciples (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). It is only
as the church achieves this level of consecration that it will turn its world
upside down (Acts
17:6). A world in chaos needs to see this level of
consecration in the Church.
3) Follow
his instructions to allow God, and not man, to exalt his leadership (Joshua
3:7-13) – The people about to cross the Jordan are the children of the
generation of Israel that were miraculously delivered from slavery in Egypt. In obedience to Deuteronomy
6:6-7, this generation of Israel had likely heard of the miracle of the
parting of the Red Sea and how God performed this miracle through Moses
establishing Moses as the spiritual leader of God’s people. What is about to occur with the stopping of
the Jordan will likewise exalt Joshua as the spiritual leader of Israel as they
drive out the inhabitants of the Promised Land.
4) God
exalts Joshua’s leadership and the people cross over the Jordan on dry land (Joshua
3:14-17) – While the stopping of the Jordan is similar to the parting of
the Red Sea, it differs in that this time the river did not stop because Joshua
raised his staff over the river but because God’s presence symbolized by the
Ark of the Covenant went before them. This
parallels the establishment of the Church in that the followers of Christ did
not immediately begin ministry after Jesus ascended but instead waited for the
empowerment of the Holy Spirit and followed the leading of the Holy Spirit as
He opened a door to ministry (Acts
1:4,8; Acts 2). The Church has the
most powerful message in the world and is empowered by the same Spirit that
raised Jesus from the dead (Romans
8:11). Armed with the staff of this
powerful message, the Church could raise the staff, declaring the truth of the
Gospel and miracles could happen that get attention. However, the Church must follow the example
of Acts
2, where the 120 sought the Lord in the upper room and received empowerment
from the Holy Spirit that resulted in the miracle of speaking in tongues. This miraculous demonstration of God’s power
opened a door for sharing the Gospel as it created curiosity among the people. While the Church needs to raise the staff of
the Gospel message lifting up Christ (John
12:32), it is more effective if it is preceded by seeking God’s direction
and waiting on God to open the door to share the message. Instead of barging through the door, the
Church must follow the leading of the Holy Spirit as God opens doors for
ministry.
The stopping of the Jordan so the
Israelites can cross over into the Promised Land has established Joshua as
Israel’s leader and demonstrated to the next generation of Israelites that God
is still with them despite the failings of their parents. The land of Canon is a land full of evil and
corruption not much different than the chaotic and evil world in which we
live. The Lord established the Church by
dying for the sins of humanity and sending the Holy Spirit to empower and lead disciples
of Christ so the Church can fulfill the mission of spreading the Gospel and
making disciples (Mark
16:15; Matthew 28:19-20). My prayer
is that the Church would find rest in these chaotic times by,
·
Repenting of any sin
·
Empowerment of the Holy Spirit
·
Spirit-led ministry
·
Truth declared as God leads
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