The story of Joshua crossing the Jordan River fascinates me because it shows the importance of remembering God’s help in the past along with the assurance of His help in the future! Joshua 3 and 4 are about new beginnings for the people of God, and today, many of His people need new beginnings.
I am not sure how old Joshua was then, but if he was 30 when he was a spy, then wandered in the desert 40 years, he would have to be at least 70. Perhaps he was like Caleb, who was 85 years old when he asked for his share! I’m 82, hardly ready to begin again, but not too old to learn new things!
Joshua describes Israel’s entry into Canaan after 40 years in the desert, and tells about God’s active work among them. The story picks up after Deuteronomy ends with Moses’ farewell speech and begins with Joshua’s acceptance speech. (Deut. 28:1-14; Josh. 1:1-9)
God wanted the Jews to claim the inheritance He had promised them, and that is the kind of life He wants us to experience today. Jesus Christ, our “Joshua,” wants to lead us now in victory so we can share all the treasures of His inheritance. Paul wrote in Ephesians 1:3 that “He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings,” but too often we live like defeated people.
Joshua told the Jews to meditate on God’s Word, study it day and night, then they would prosper and succeed in all they did. Apparently, that is what Joshua had done.
Do we meditate on God’s Word? Focus on it deliberately? Write a verse on a card and think about it all day? Bro. Stan Broussard’s wife, Nan, taught me years ago to write on a card and tape it over the kitchen sink! Think about it during my daily schedule. Through the years, this has helped me memorize, discern better, and recognize the power of God daily.
So, how ready was Joshua to lead the Jews? In Numbers 13:8, we learn that Joshua was born into slavery in Egypt to a man named Nun, and given the name Hoshea, which means “salvation.” That shows how his parents had faith that God was going to get them out of slavery one day. Later, in verse 16, Moses changed their son’s name to Joshua, which means “Jehovah is salvation.” In Hebrew, this name is a form of the name “Jesus,” which is the name of our Savior! (Matthew 1:21).
In Egypt, if Joshua was the firstborn son of Nun, he would have been killed the first Passover night if his parents had not put the blood on their door. Joshua grew up in a home where he had seen all the signs and wonders God did through Moses. He had seen the Red Sea open and close. He knew God had power.
Joshua was one of the twelve spies chosen to check out Canaan. As a SPY, he encouraged the people to trust God and move into the promised land. They overruled him, but that didn’t rob him of his faith in God. The ten spies doubted God but Joshua and Caleb knew God and trusted Him!
After the Jews had just escaped Egypt, the Amalekites attacked them. (Ex. 17:8-16) Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ arms until the battle was won. Joshua was a GENERAL then, with exceptional military skills and courage. Perhaps he learned how when he was involved with the Egyptian army? We don’t know. Maybe, like Moses, he received training in Pharaoh’s schools? We don’t know that either, but we do know God had chosen him for a special work (Exod. 17:14).
Joshua was a DEPUTY to Moses and served him. He knew God because he probably helped Moses record the law and history of the Israelites. He learned God’s holy laws, meditated on them, and submitted to the Word of God and to the God of the Word!
During the wilderness journey, Moses has a special tent set up outside the camp where he would meet God (Ex.33:7-11) It was Joshua’s responsibility to stay at the tent and GUARD it. Scripture says Moses left the tent but Joshua stayed there.
Moses told the people that God chose Joshua as their LEADER. He encouraged Joshua to trust God and not be afraid. The secret of Joshua’s success was his faith in the Word of God. God said “Be strong,” and that’s His Word to us today. From Joshua we can learn to be strong, brave, and especially completely obedient to God and His Word!
Following a well-known leader isn’t easy. Joshua had to follow Moses. I remember around 1968 when Douglas and I were in Louisiana and Douglas was finishing his education at McNeese University. Bro. Val was the preacher at Jennings, and he had a mild heart attack. Bro. Ivy Istre asked Douglas to fill in until Bro. Val could get back on his feet! Oh my goodness! Douglas hesitated, but Bro. Ivy encouraged him. We learned a lot during those months, like drinking from a fire hose, but God enabled, the congregation prayed for us and encouraged us, and we got through it. But it was not easy.
So, we understand that although he had been a spy, a general, a deputy, and a guard, Joshua may have been hesitant to follow Moses. But, he got encouragement from God, from God’s promises, from the written record that Moses had kept, and from Moses himself. Then the officers encouraged Joshua, saying they would obey him and then they prayed for him and reminded him of what God had said. “Be strong and of good courage.”
I love to read, hence my 43 years as a school librarian. One of the genres I enjoy reading most is Christian biographies. Each one is different, but the one thing they have in common is their belief in God’s promises. They each did what God told them to do. That’s the kind of person I want to be, so, like Joshua, I need to be strong and of good courage and follow my own assignment from the Lord.
I often think, am I wandering in the wilderness or conquering the promised land? Complaining or praising? Looking back or looking forward? Defeated or victorious? In my newly merged church family, are we recalling the past too much or looking forward to new adventures?
In chapters 3 and 4, Joshua tells the people what to do. In 3:4 he reminds the people that “since you’ve never been this way before,” they were to follow the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant, which was a visible symbol representing God. For us, that translates to “keep your eyes on God!”
Then, in 3:5 Joshua announces that “the Lord will do amazing things among you.” No one questioned God’s battle plan.
In 3:15, Joshua tells the people to cross over the river as they follow the priests who put their feet into the water. The priests had to carry the Ark of the Covenant in front of the people as they marched, They had to get their feet wet before God would open the waters! They had to have courage and trust God. They did not know what would happen, but they had faith. God does not tell all, but He gives us all we need to know at the time.
Like the priests, unless we get our feet wet, we are not going to make progress in living for Jesus. Each step the priests took opened the water ahead of them. Like them, unless we are willing to step out by faith and obey His Word, God cannot open the way for us. We can never stand still in the Christian life; we either move forward in faith or go backward in unbelief.
At spring time, the Jordan River grew from 100 feet wide to a mile wide! As soon as the priests put their feet into the river, the water stopped flowing and stood like a wall about 20 miles away upstream! A miracle! Indeed! Getting two million people across in one day was another miracle!
God was in control that day. The water and the people obeyed Him. Two heaps of stones were set up as memorials: 12 stones at Gilgal and 12 in the middle of the river. They were witnesses that God honors faith and works. We are reminded in James 2:17 and 20 that faith without actions is dead. The Holy Spirit makes us holy in character, and then in behavior, so we can work!
The stones picked up from the middle of the river were carried eight miles to Gilgal, where the people camped for the night. Verse 9 says Joshua set up a monument in the middle of the river! Strange! Who would see that under the muddy water? Its burial had meaning.
The monument at Gilgal reminded the Jews that God opened the Jordan so they could cross safely into the promised land. This helped them make a break with the past and they were not to go back.
The monument in the river reminded them that their old life was buried and they were now to go forward to a new life.
The Jews believed in teaching the next generation about God and His work for them. From them we learn that unless we teach the next generation in truth about the Lord, they may turn away and start following the world.
These monuments remind me of my crossover into being a follower of Jesus. I have a certificate from the Jennings church showing that on June 10, 1952, I was immersed by Bro. Robert Boyd and began my new life. That is my “Gilgal monument,” which reminds me of when I began my walk with Jesus. My “middle of the river monument” is when I went under the waters of baptism and came up a new person, promising to never go back to the old sin nature. My old life has been buried, and although I mess up often, I trust Jesus as I try to obey Him.
I tell this to my children and grandchildren and others. Like me, they have to accept it by faith. The ones who have can see that it makes a difference in their lives. I keep praying for the ones who have not yet accepted it.
What I am trying to say is that our lives, our testimonies are really our monuments or memorials for others to see.
So, let us claim our spiritual inheritance in Jesus! Let us “get our feet wet” and step out on faith. Let us share with others about our two monuments and how God has blessed us. We surrendered to Jesus, died to the old life, and now we enjoy a good life here while we wait for His return. God bless us all!
Joyce Broyles is a Retired High School Librarian.