Revision as of 17:50, 7 June 2022

Theological Proposition/Focus: No matter what, God is with us but there are times when he asks us to follow him in what may seem absurd.

Homiletical Proposition/Application: Regardless of how crazy something may seem, if God has clearly asked we must obey.

Introduction:

Image: Anticipation and red-eye flights. I can never to get sleep early.

How do you do with anticipation? When Emily and I travel I always go cheap and buy the cheapest ticket I can get. This means that often our flights are at the weirdest time. My problem is that when I have a 3:00 AM wake time, I can never go to sleep early. In fact, I often go to sleep much later than usual. The anticipation just kills me. In Joshua 3 we are finally going to see Israel crossing the Jordan. I am guessing the anticipation was incredible. I am sure the people were excited and itching to get started.

Need: We need to be so excited, have so much anticipation for what God is doing that we are willing to follow him into anything.

Preview: In Joshua 3 we are going to see that God expects his people to follow him one step at a time, reminds his people that he is among them, and expects his people to continue to push forward.

Text:. Joshua 3

Setting the Stage:

At the time of Joshua, the Jordan river sat in the

Jordan Rift, in some places 1274 feet below sea level

The steep banks of the Jordan prevented it from being useful for irrigation

Crossing the Jordan was apparently a known challenge,

The Egyptian Papyrus Anastasi I (1279-1213 BC) provides advice for crossing the Jordan

But getting across this natural barrier was just the beginning.

Body

God expects his people to follow him one step at a time (1-6).

1 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 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. ^[1]

The people had to wait.

Sometimes following God involves periods of waiting and sometimes God gives us just enough time waiting to get nervous. Here three days would have given the people plenty fo time to look at the rushing waters as the snow on Mt. Hermon melted and get nervous about this step they were going to take.

The people were commanded to follow the ark.

Prior the people had followed the pillar of fire.

Now the miraculous pillar was removed and the people were asked to follow something less spectacular. I find it very interesting that in verse three the people are not told what will happen to allow them to cross the Jordan, they are simply told to follow the ark. In fact,

The people were not told where they would go.

We see that in verse 4 they are not commanded to follow the Ark to a particular location, rather they are commanded to simply follow.

The people were reminded that they followed none other than God.

The ark was representative of God. Perhaps the 3000 feet was intended to make sure everyone could see what they were following, or perhaps it was intended to communicate the great deal of reverence needed for this task. In any case, God expected the people to follow him one step at a time.

Image: Flying a precision radar approach in an airplane..

One of the most interesting flights I took was a flight to the Pueblo Colorado airport. After flying to the airport I was given the opportunity to conduct what is called a precision radar approach. Normally, when approaching to land in instrument conditions a pilot uses a variety of navigational radios and/or GPS to guide the pilot to the runway in place the pilot in a safe configuration for landing. The PAR is used if those navigational radios have failed. The pilot simply communicates with Air Traffic Control for the entire flight and listens to commands such as turn left, stop turning, descend, descend too slow, descend too fast (but in pilot speak) etc. Slowly, one step at a time the the pilot comes closer and closer to the airport until finally, the pilot breaks through the clouds seeing a runway below. It is the oddest feeling because at no point do you actually know where you are, rather at every point you simply trust the next direction being given by ATC.

MTR: Ask, what is the next step God wants from me?

God uses his provision to remind his people that he is among them (7-11).

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. ^[2]

It was not about the tool but the one wielding the tool.

Notice that God was the one who would exalt Joshua.

It is always about God and no one else. Why does God do this? Because God wants people to know that he is the one who is supporting the leader.

The command to the priests to go and stand in the water was a command of faith. There is a very real sense in which this command makes no sense.

The priests are told not to stand at the edge of the Jordan but to go and stand in the middle of the Jordan.

Consider this

The Ark was a big box (47" x 27" x 27")

The Ark was heavy (overlaid inside and outside with gold)

The river was raging (flood stage-> 1 mile wide, 10 mph, brush and floating debris)^[3]

If you were asked to carry the ark into the middle of a flowing river what would you think?

It was not about the strength of the enemy but the one leading the charge.

We are reminded that

There are significant enemies

Notice seven named people, seven often represents completion or fullness

but

The God of Israel is a living God

and

God is described as Lord of all the earth -> he has the right to give it

Ultimately we must remember, that God is the one working among us.

MTR: Ask yourself, how do I need to be reminded that God is among us?

God often starts with faithful leaders who step out but continues with faithful followers who are willing to continue to step forward (12-17).

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. ^[4]

Image: Tubing in grad school down the swift boulder creek

When I was a graduate student at the University of Colorado my office was less than a mile from the mountains and in particular a white water area. When Spring would roll around the snow would begin to melt and the waters would pick up. At the conclusion of my first year of grad school, a few of us had a great idea. We went to a local tire shop and asked if we could buy the inner tube from a semi-tire. We then stored the inner tubes in each of our offices above our bookshelves. After we finished the final exam we grabbed our tubes and walked the mile to the white water and would jump in with our tubes and ride the creek down until the end of the white water. I still remember one day when my brother came to visit, standing on the bank as he went through a section of rapids and watching as he came off the tube and the back of his head struck a rock. I immediately went into the stream to pull him out of the water and the sheer force nearly knocked me over. I cannot imagine stepping into the stream with a wooden box covered in gold on my shoulders.

Nevertheless,

The priests were called to step out in faith.

The priests were not told, "when you get to the river it will stop flowing." The priests were told to set foot into the river and it will stop flowing. I want you to understand the significance of this step of faith. The priests were carrying a giant heavy box, if the river does not stop flowing then they and their box are certainly going to go tumbling.

Notice the degree of faith that was required of the priests.

The priests were called to remain in the middle.

It would be hard to step into the Jordan, but I think the next request is even harder. The priests are told that they must take the first step but they must trust the people to take the final step. The only thing harder than leading people is trusting people to continue going forward without you or with you leading from the back.

However, not only were the priests asked to take a step of faith, but

The people were called on to continue marching forward.

I want you to understand the significance of what is being done here. The priests were asked to take the first step. However, the people were asked to be the ones who actually went into enemy territory.

We can thank God for leaders who are willing to step out and lead us, but so often in God's system, the leaders are simply those who take the first step. It seems that God's plan often involves the leader stepping out and then allowing the people to move the mission forward while the leader remains in the middle of the Jordan.

MTR: If you are a leader then ask, how is God asking me to step out?

MTR: If you are not a leader then ask, how is God asking me to push forward?

Conclusion:

Image: Ways we as a church have stepped out. Ways we need to continue the march forward.

1. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jos 3:1–6.
2. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jos 3:7–11.
3. ↑ Gangel, Kenneth. Holman Old Testament Commentary-Joshua. Vol. 4. B&H Publishing Group, 2003.
4. ↑ The New International Version (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2011), Jos 3:12–17.