Joshua 3:14-4:9

Remembering God’s Works

What’s the earliest memory you have?

Let’s read Joshua 3:14-17

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.

Let’s set the scene of what the Israelites are looking at…….

Like many rivers at flood stage, the Jordan River swells from its normal width of around seventy feet into a raging, muddy torrent that can stretch up to half a mile wide.

The Lord God has instructed the Levitical priests to step into the water carrying the ark of the covenant with them.

We read about it in verse eight…. 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.’”

The Ark represented the physical presence of God leading His people

To help us understand how serious this task is and how serious God takes the carrying the ark of the covenant I share this…………

1 Chronicles 13:9-10 When they came to the threshing floor of Kidon, Uzzah reached out his hand to steady the ark, because the oxen stumbled. 10 The Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and he struck him down because he had put his hand on the ark. So he died there before God.

If you’re one of the Levitical priests how are you feeling right now about stepping into that raging water?

Remember, the Lord did promise as soon as their foot gets wet the water from upstream will stop flowing.

You and I reading this today know that the Jordan river stopped flowing. But the priest at that time had to take a giant step of faith.

Why is the river flooded and why is He going to keep the river from flowing? Why is God doing sending the priest with the Ark of Covenant ahead of them?

When we read the Bible verses prior to our lesson we learn that following the priest the people will know which way to go. This is new territory, so they have never been this way before.

We also learn that the Lord wanted them to see Him do amazing things. 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.

This has similarities of forty years earlier during their Exodus from Egypt  when God parted of the Red Sea. But the majority of that generation has died off. The others have mostly heard stories of how God controls the sea.

It is the same reason Jesus walked on the water and reached for Peter as he sank.

Read Matthew 14:29-31 “Come,” he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me! Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,” he said, “why did you doubt?” And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

God does amazing thing to build our faith in Him so that we will follow Him in obedience. Even with the raging flood waters stopped, the people were able to cross over on dry ground.

We also see another fact that the Jordan river will be piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam. Through study we learn that would allow some twenty miles for the Israelites to cross the Jordan River.

Why so a great expanse? The first thing we know is that the people had to keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between them and the ark. They could not go near it.” Secondly, there was two to three million Israelites that had to cross the Jordan River. Therefore, they could cross without any problems. But more importantly, the river went from seeing water everywhere to water disappearing as far as the eye could see. God promised to show them something amazing!

I read this; Just as God parted the Red Sea to establish Moses as a leader, stopping the Jordan River served to validate Joshua's leadership to the Israelites. By leading with priests carrying the ark instead of soldiers, God declared the key to Israel’s victory in the Promised Land would be fundamentally spiritual, not military.

Let’s read Joshua 4:1-7

1When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, 2 “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 3 and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” 4 So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 5 and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the Lord your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, 6 to serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7 tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

God told Joshua to choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe.

We read in Joshua 3:12 Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.

Are the twelve men chosen in chapter three the same men in chapter four? I say yes.

In Chapter three twelve men are chosen but it doesn’t tell us exactly what their responsibility is at that time. It is to lead the people across the Jordan river.

I say that because of what we read in the first three verses of Chapter four…..

“When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, from right where the priests are standing, and carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.”

So, having already passed to the other side the twelve were obliged to go back into the Jordan to retrieve the stones. Why is that important?

I believe Jesus answers that for us in the story of the ten men with leprosy.

Read Luke 17:11-19 Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”

In crossing the Jordan, who is still standing in the middle of the riverbed? The ark of the Lord your God is in the middle of the Jordan. That’s where (God’s presence is there) and why (to give thanks) they must go back to collect the large stones.

How do we know they are large stones? The are instructed that each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder. You can carry a pebble of rock in your hand, but a boulder you have to carry it on your shoulder.

Before they go out to retrieve the stones God, through Joshua shares the meaning of these stones.

We read about it in verse six and seven……….. To serve as a sign among you. In the future, when your children ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ tell them that the flow of the Jordan was cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord. When it crossed the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan were cut off. These stones are to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever.”

In other words, it was the power of God’s hand that the raging Jordan river was “heaped up” a long distance away allowing the Israelites safe passages to the Promise Land.

Let’s read Joshua 4:8-9

8 So the Israelites did as Joshua commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, as the Lord had told Joshua; and they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. 9 Joshua set up the twelve stones that had been in the middle of the Jordan at the spot where the priests who carried the ark of the covenant had stood. And they are there to this day.

In studying this we learn that after crossing the Jordan River, Joshua and the Israelites camped at Gilgal just east of Jericho. Gilgal was located ten miles from the Jordan River.

We read in verse three, they are to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight. That doesn’t  mean that they drop the stones as soon as they are back on high ground. Verse eight says they carried them over with them to their camp, where they put them down. That means the twelve men carried those large stone for ten long miles.

Verse nine has some controversy. Some believe that Joshua also set up a memorial on the riverbed of the Jordan, where the priests stood holding the ark of the covenant.

Others believe that Joshua took the twelve stones carried out of the Jordan River to build a monument to the Lord for the nation of Israel at Gilgal.

I believe the latter because of what we read in verse eighteen & nineteen…… And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before. On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan.

In closing I share this; “The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”

No matter if it’s crossing the Red Sea, the Jordan Riven or being healed from a dreaded disease………… Remembering God’s Works……is a part of our worship and telling our children everything the Lord God has done for me.

Jesus Christ confirmed this during the Last Supper to memorialize His ultimate sacrifice when He said…… “Do this in remembrance of me”  inviting His followers to break bread and drink the cup.