TRUST ME AND STAY DRY!
Opening Prayer
‘Yours, O Lord, are the greatness, the power, the glory…’ (1 Chronicles 29:11, NRSVA). Praise God!
Read Joshua 3
Crossing the Jordan
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[a] 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.
Footnotes
a. Joshua 3:4 That is, about 3,000 feet or about 900 meters
Reflect
What miracles has God performed for you?The time had come for the crossing of the Jordan into the Promised Land. Joshua gave the officers final instructions and they told the people how it would work (2–4). Then Joshua gave the most important instruction to the people (5): they needed to be holy and pure, to sanctify themselves at this vital time (also Exodus 19:10–15).
In the wilderness God had told Moses to make the Ark of the Covenant (Exodus 25:10–22), the sign of God dwelling with His people. Now the ark played a vital part in the crossing of the Jordan. The priests were to step out into the river carrying the ark (13). When they did, the river would be cut off. The priests were to stay with the ark at the edge of the river until everyone had crossed.
The priests had to step out in faith and get their feet wet so that everyone else could cross with dry feet (6, 8). Put yourself into the priests’ shoes. What might you have been thinking? What other occasion might it have reminded the people of?
The miracle of the river crossing is vast (15, 16). What does this tell us about the power of God at work on His people’s behalf?
Apply
Take time today to be aware of God’s hand in your life, whether it’s the sunshine or a word spoken in season. Note how many times it seems as though God is ‘thinking’ of you (Psalm 139:17-18).
Closing prayer
Loving God, open my eyes to see more of Your power at work in my life and in the world around me.
Book and Author Intros
Extras
Click here to sign up to receive the EXTRAs via email each quarter.
© 2024 Scripture Union U.S.A. All rights reserved. Reproduction of the whole or any part of the contents without written permission is prohibited.
Discovery is published in the USA under license from Scripture Union England and Wales, Trinity House, Opal Court, Opal Drive, Fox Milne, Milton Keynes, MK15 0DF.