Joshua 3:1-17


The time has arrived to enter the Promised Land.  The years of wandering in the wilderness are over and it is finally time to move forward and begin the conquest of the land.  Moses has died, Joshua has been installed as the new leader and now the Lord is ready to take His children into the land that He had promised to Abraham so many years ago.  What an amazing feeling it must have been to come to this point in history and know that God was just about to fulfill His plan for the people.  As I read this passage this morning, I just could not help but think of heaven.  God has made a promise to everyone of us who have trusted Christ.  He has promised that one day He will bring an end to the sin and suffering of the world in which we now live and He will completely purify us so that we can live eternally in His presence.  We will be free from sin, free from pain and free to worship Him in a way that we can only imagine.  The journey seems like it is taking forever; but one day, maybe today, God will say it is time to cross the river and come into my presence.  What a wonderful day that will be!

THE PREPARATION: Prior to entering the land Joshua told the people to prepare themselves for this special occasion.  God was about to do something very special in their midst but He wanted them to purify themselves prior to this event.  God always seeks to work through and in the midst of people who have taken their sins seriously and sought cleansing from the Lord.  We may wonder why we do not see God actively working in our lives at times.  When that happens, it is always a good idea to take some time to examine ourselves and ask the Lord to search our hearts.  If we expect God to work in and through us; we cannot take sin lightly.  We must regularly confess our sins and recognize that our forgiveness and cleansing comes through the precious blood of Christ on the cross.

THE PROMISE: Joshua told the people to get ready for something spectacular.  It seems that he didn’t go into the specifics at first, but just wanted for them to look forward to an amazing and life changing event that would happen the next day.  Eventually he tells them that the river would pile up on one end so that they could pass over on dry land.  The river presented an obstacle that the people must have wondered how they would ever get across.  God let them know that He wanted to show them that He was going to be with them at every stage of the journey.  We all face obstacles in our lives that we fear we will not be able to overcome.  We must always remember that the Lord is with us and He is able to handle anything that might come our way.  He only asks that we trust Him.

THE PROVISION: The river was at flood stage, there seemed to be no way that all these people could cross the river safely.  God told the people to get behind the priests who were carrying the Ark and then had the priests take a step of faith.  As soon as their feet touched the water, the water began to pile up like a wall on one side and then flow away on the other side.  The priests stood in the middle of the dry river bed while all of the people walked by.  God will often allow our circumstances to become as difficult as they can possibly be and stretch our faith as far as it will go, but He will provide.  We may need to get our feet wet but He will not allow us to be swept away.  God is our faithful provider.

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