The Israelites have arrived! After 40 years of wandering in the desert, because of their unbelief and lack of faith in God’s promise to give them the land of Canaan, they are now standing at the banks of the Jordan River and are about to finally enter the Promised Land. But there is one more big problem to solve, one more major obstacle to overcome, one final high hurdle to jump before they can step on the grounds of that land of milk and honey. The obstacle in their way is the Jordan River.
We need to understand that normally the Jordan River would not pose a serious threat to someone wishing to cross over to other side, as it is usually only 100 feet wide and not very deep at Gilgal, the place where the Israelites were massed for the crossing. However, when God is ready to do something awesome in our lives, He usually makes sure that it is done in such a way that no man can take the credit or the glory by boasting that they have done it on their own. Such is the case here.
At harvest time, the time of the Israelites crossing, the Jordan River is not this small, passive little stream. Oh, no! At harvest time the Jordan River swells to over 50 times its normal size and becomes a raging, impassible torrent of a river more than a mile wide! So there they stood, with no way to get across on their own. They needed the supernatural help of God once again.
Each one of us stands at the banks of our own raging Jordan River from time to time in our lives. It may be related to our work, our health, our marriage, our finances, or any other area of our life. But the river seems far too wide and deep to get across on our own. Praise the Lord that we have a God who is ready always to lead His children to victory, by helping them to cross the river of trouble to their spiritual land of Canaan and the spiritually abundant life that Jesus has promised His followers. By telling us in His Book, the Bible, how He helped the Israelites cross their River Jordan, God has given us clues as to how He will also help us to cross the raging torrents that stand in our way.
First, we need to listen for God’s messages to us. When the Israelites were finally ready to move on to their Promised Land, they heard God’s words in which He gave them three important things they had to do in order to overcome the obstacles in their path.
Understand this, if you or I ever are to expect to get past the Jordan Rivers that rise up in our lives, we must learn that one of the first things we must do is to examine our lives. Then we must put away things that go against God and His will for us, in order to make sure that we are as spiritually clean as possible. Does that mean that we have to be perfect before we will ever see God working in our lives? I hope not, because I know that I am surely not perfect. It means that we must stop willfully engaging in those things that are abominations to God, and instead put all of our faith in Jesus Christ to help us defeat the Evil One and his minions. If we will do that, we cannot fail, because Christ tells us in Matthew 28:18, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me!”
Got a problem in your life you think Jesus can’t fix? Jesus says, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.”
Drugs a problem? Jesus says, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.”
Marriage or family issues a problem? Jesus says, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.”
Is homosexuality an issue in your or a loved one’s life? Jesus says, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me.”
Any swollen and raging Jordan River that stands in your path to fully realizing your potential of living the life that God has intended for you from the beginning, cannot stand because Jesus says, “All authority in Heaven and on Earth has been given to me!”
God reminded the Israelites that their safe passage across the Jordan River did not rest on their shoulders, but on His. It was God’s plan to get them across, therefore it was God’s problem as to how that crossing was to take place. God made them the promise. God would provide the answer to the problem of how to fulfill the promise. All that was required of the Israelites was for them to trust and obey God. That is all that is required of us also. Trust and obey God.
Yet worry and doubt mark the lives of believers far too often.
If we will take that message to heart and make it an integral part of our being, then we can indeed expect miracles to happen in our lives. The river was deep, swift and over a mile wide. There were two million people who needed to get across. They couldn’t build a bridge, for there was not enough time, nor materials. They couldn’t take boats across, for there were no boats. There was only one way past the problem, and that way was right through the problem. That same thing is true very often in our lives. We can’t go around the problem. We can’t go over or under the problem. We just can’t get by the problem. We have to go through the problem.
Alone, that is a frightening prospect. But praise God that we have a Lord who is willing to go before us and make a way for us. The water of the Jordan would not part for the Israelites until the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant first stepped into the water. In other words, it was necessary for someone to take a step of faith and obediently follow the Lord’s instructions in order for the people to see the miracle come to pass.
That is an awesome lesson for you and me. Far too often we want the Lord to just go ahead and fix whatever the problem may be in our lives, without our having to make any decisions or exercise our faith in Him. But the fact of the matter is, friends, that most of the time, God will indeed require us to take some sort of step of faith in order to see our own personal raging River Jordan parted. Remember, it is never about what we can do. It is always about what the Lord is able to do. We just need to ask for the faith to trust fully in Christ and His abilities as God the Son. The priests stepped into that swollen torrent of a river, and God parted it and opened a dry path through the waters for His people. (He did this once before; remember the exodus from Egypt?)
What Joshua commands the people to do next is very significant. He commands them to build two memorials. On the Canaan side of the river, they build a memorial in order to “remind successive generations of the power and faithfulness of God on behalf of His people.” The second memorial was built in the river to represent the faith of the people in God. These memorials also have significance for believers in Christ Jesus. They present a picture of how believers are united with Christ in His death, (The water is a representation of death – the Ark went first to pave the way.) The memorials also give us a representation of how believers are united with Christ in His resurrection. Just as the Israelites were led by God through the water to the other side, so believers are led through death to the resurrection by Jesus. Romans 6:5 says, “For if we have become united with Him (Jesus) in the likeness of His death, so we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection.”
The Israelites had come to a place where there was no turning back. We often come to places of no return. They stayed committed to their faith. How about you? Amen.