Joshua got up early in the morning; then he and all the children of Israel set out from Shittim and came to the Jordan, and they spent the night there before they crossed the river. And it happened at the end of three days that the officers went throughout the camp, and they commanded the people, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from where you are and follow it. However, there shall be a distance between you and it of about 2,000 cubits (3,000 ft.) by measurement. Do not come near it, so that you may be able to see the ark and know the way you are to go, for you have not passed this way before.”
Joshua 3:1-4 Amplified Bible
The children of Israel wandered in the wilderness for 40 years, until the death of the entire generation of Israelites that rebelled against Moses’ leadership and demanded to return to the bondage of Egypt. That grueling saga was described in great detail in the Book of Exodus. As the Book of Joshua opens, Moses had just died, and Joshua had been appointed by God as Israel’s leader with the assignment of guiding the Israelites into the Promised Land.
As they headed toward the Promised Land, the first obstacle the Israelites faced was the Jordan River. By all appearances, that body of water was impassable. The Jordan was at flood stage, overflowing its banks as it always did during harvest season (Joshua 3:15). This caused the normally meandering stream to be transformed into a deep, wide and fast-moving tributary. How were more than a million people with babies, small children, the elderly, along with their livestock and household goods, to cross such a barrier?
You may be facing an obstacle in your life right now that seems equally impassable. All your attempts to eliminate the barrier have been unsuccessful. You need the wisdom of God and a miracle to help you move forward. That is exactly what the Israelites needed. Consider the steps they had to take and how you can apply this biblical template to your own situation.
Joshua prepared the people to cross the Jordan River into the Promised Land with some specific instructions which he had received from God. He explained that they had to cross in a very precise manner because they had “not passed this way before.” Where God wants to take you in this next season of life - “you have not passed this way before…” The methods you have used in the past will not serve you in this situation. So, it will be vital for you to hear and follow God’s divine instructions to go where God is trying to take you.
Joshua’s first instruction to the Israelites could be simplified down to five words: MOVE ONLY WHEN GOD MOVES! Observe the instructions as they are written in Joshua 3:3 – “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from where you are and follow it.” The key word in that verse is the word “then.” When you see God move – then and only then should you move.
The ark of the covenant was a sacred wooden box overlaid with gold with a golden lid that was called the “Mercy Seat.” It represented the presence of God among the people and was placed in the tabernacle while the Israelites wandered in the wilderness. God spoke to Moses about the ark of the covenant stating, “There I will meet with you…and I will speak to you.” (Exodus 25:22) So when the Lord told the Israelites not to move until they saw the ark of the covenant move – He was referring to His own presence and His own timing.
Many believers run ahead of God because they feel desperate to change their situation. Others rush forward out of enthusiasm because they feel confident about God’s direction for their life and want to “make it happen.” Both scenarios can end in disaster if you are not in sync with God’s timing.
Joshua’s second instruction was for the people to place themselves in a position where they could keep their eyes on the Lord. In Joshua 3:4 – (again referring to the ark of the covenant) “…there shall be a distance between you and it of about 2,000 cubits (3,000 ft.) by measurement. Do not come near it, so that you may [be able to see the ark and] know the way you are to go…” (Amplified Bible)
This instruction to remain the equivalent of three football fields back from the ark of the covenant wasn’t to keep people far from God – but instead to make sure the ark was visible to the crowds so they could follow where it was going. Have you ever been in the middle of a massive crowd trying to exit a football stadium with 50,000 other people all moving in the same direction? If you got separated from the group you were with, it would be hard to keep your eyes on them as they got swallowed up in that moving mass of humanity. But if that group was separated from the huge crowd by a good distance and were all wearing matching clothes (like the priestly garments worn by the priests) it would be easy to spot them and follow the direction in which they are headed. So here is the directional equivalent for our lives – Place yourself in such a position to keep your eyes on the Lord and don’t allow yourself to be distracted by other people or circumstances!
Joshua’s third instruction came with a wonderful promise! “Then Joshua said to the people, ‘Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’” (Joshua 3:5) The Israelites needed a supernatural wonder to be performed in order to cross that impassable barrier of the Jordan River. God promised them they would see the miraculous intervention they needed IF they would consecrate themselves to the Lord. That word “consecrate” means to “set apart as sacred, to dedicate or devote oneself, or to be holy. The Vine’s Complete Expository Dictionary indicates the meaning to be “…to set aside for God’s use.” If the people of Israel were willing (and if you are willing) to fully dedicate their lives for God’s purpose, then God was willing to answer that dedication/consecration with a wonder! This is a key to receiving the miraculous in your life. Are you fully dedicated to living for God and not yourself?
Joshua’s fourth instruction was directed at the priests who were at the front of the procession carrying the ark of the covenant on their shoulders. This instruction required them to be willing to walk by faith (and not by sight) - obeying God and waiting patiently for His promise BEFORE THEY SAW IT MANIFESTED - Joshua 3:8, 13 – “You shall, moreover, command the priests who are carrying the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.’” “It shall come about when the soles of the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be cut off, and the waters which are flowing down from above will stand in one heap.”
This was probably the most spiritually challenging moment of the whole story. These men could not swim and they were being required by God to step into a fast-flowing river and “rest” until God’s promise to cut off the waters somewhere upstream, came to pass. Had they hesitated out of fear and chose not to obey that instruction, they would never have experienced the wonder they were about to witness. Also, consider the fact that they did not see the water recede immediately upon their obedient steps into the river, because the place God cut off the flow was at a town called Adam, some 32 kilometers upstream. Don’t get discouraged if you do not see the miracle you need occur the moment you obey God! In this case, God intervened immediately when they obeyed but they didn’t see the result with their eyes right away. If the river was flowing at the speed of 10 kilometers per hour, it would take over 3 hours for the water that was cut off at the town of Adam to flow past the place the Israelites were planning to cross.
“As soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam.” (Joshua 3:15-16)
It took faith for those priests to remain standing in the river until the flowing water finally abated and they were left with a dry riverbed to walk across. Remember that God’s promise was that when the soles of the feet of the priests rested in the Jordan, that was when He would cut off the flow of the river. They had to “rest” by faith in the middle of the very obstacle that opposed their progress toward the Promised Land. Can you do the same? If you are facing an obstacle right now - can you rest in the Lord believing He will do the wonder you need to get to the other side? If you are fretting and fearing and complaining and questioning if God loves you or has forgotten you – you are not resting in faith. And the miracle you need will not manifest until you are able to rest in faith in God’s promises.
How did that “wonder” which allowed the Israelites to cross the Jordan River occur? One theory is that an earthquake shook loose dirt cliffs upriver, damming the river long enough for the Israelites to cross. Historical records in Israel documented a landslide which occurred in 1927 when the high dirt cliffs along the Jordan River opposite the town of Adam, collapsed during an earthquake. That landslide dammed the river for 21 hours. God used an earthquake in the book of Acts to break open the jail cell where the apostle Paul and Silas were imprisoned. (Acts 16:25-34) God has a way to remove the obstacle you are facing so that He can take you somewhere you have never gone before.
God’s desire for your life is not to leave you as you are - stuck in the same place until you die. He wants to take you somewhere you have never passed before, and He wants you to be VICTORIOUS in it – seeing HIS WONDERS in the process. Are you ready and willing to do all He has commanded?
- MOVE ONLY WHEN GOD MOVES (DON’T RUN AHEAD OR LAG BEHIND)
- KEEP YOUR EYES ON THE LORD (DON’T ALLOW YOURSELF TO BECOME DISTRACTED BY PEOPLE OR CIRCUMSTANCES)
- DEDICATE YOUR LIFE FOR GOD’S PURPOSE (THEN GOD CAN DO WONDERS ON YOUR BEHALF!!)
- BE READY AND WILLING TO WALK BY FAITH (EVEN WHEN YOU CAN’T SEE A WAY THROUGH THE OBSTACLES)
Pray this prayer of dedication: Father God, I want to go where You want me to go. I ask You to give me wisdom, grace and courage to move forward in Your perfect timing. Help me to resist the distractions which try to take my eyes away from You. I commit (or recommit) my life to You to do Your will and follow Your purposes for my life. Help me to walk by faith, trusting in Your promises and resting in Your goodness. Thank you for doing wonders on my behalf to take me places I have not passed before! In Jesus’ name I pray!
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