The Lord Parted The Jordan
Introduction
Most of us are fully aware of the events that preceded Israel's arrival and encampment at the bank of the Jordan River, prior to their entry into the Promised Land. They had just completed a forty-year trek through the wilderness, which was characterized by much spiritual instruction, as well as a number of on again/off again experiences in their dedication to God. But finally, for the second time during their forty-year sojourn, they find themselves at the brink of the Jordan River.
No doubt, as the Israelites looked at the swollen river that stood between them and their promised possession, it appeared to them to be an insurmountable obstacle. However, as we will see, seemingly insurmountable obstacles do not nullify the promises and power of God. There is but one thing that will prevent the fulfillment of what God has promised-Unbelief. What God promises, He is able to perform (Rom.4: 21). "Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it" (I Thess.5: 24), Paul told the Thessalonians. That must be the attitude of every saint who would see magnificent things from the hand of God.
Anytime a person or a church determines to walk with God and trust His promises, obstacles will arise, without fail, and will seem to declare everything that God has said to be a lie. But the presence of an obstacle is actually an opportunity for increased faith. The sad part is that we almost never seem to realize that fact at the time we face the problem. However, that mindset is often developed over a period of time, by repetition.
There are three things that I find in Joshua 3: 9-4: 9 that God engineered to develop unswerving faith in His people. God used a flood to teach His people some principles of faith. Let's examine this situation to see what we can learn from it as well.
I. The Step of Faith
Joshua 3:14-16, "And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people; And as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,) That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho."
Notice that the Jordan did not part until two things happened - (a) "The people removed from their tents" (Joshua 3: 14), and (b) "The feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water" (Joshua 3: 15).
Faith-inspired obedience always determines our ability to overcome our obstacles and opposition.
According to Rom.4: 16-22, faith is simply acting upon the facts of what God has said. The people had to believe God and His servant enough to take down their tents and move. The priests had to trust God and His servant, Joshua, enough to very literally, get their feet wet. You see we must be willing to cooperate with God.
If faced with similar circumstances, I suspect that most Christians of our day would say, "Okay Lord, You open up the river first, then we'll trust You." But according to James 2: 20b, a faith that must see before it acts, isn't really faith at all, because, "...faith without works is dead."
Faith and works should travel side-by-side, step answering to step, like the legs of men walking. First faith, and then works; and then faith again, and then works again-until they can scarcely distinguish which is the one and which is the other. William Booth in The Founder's Messages to Soldiers, Christianity Today, October 5, 1992, p. 48.
Many of God's people possess only a "trumped-up faith", not a true, "tested faith." They can talk for hours about the great heroes of faith such as Abraham, George Mueller, and Hudson Taylor. But they won't dwell too long on the fires of testing that God used to forge their great faith. Strong faith is produced in God's spiritual furnace.
A real hindrance to faith is the need to understand. Often we want to understand how God's going to meet our need before we decide to trust Him. That won't work, because understanding doesn't require any faith.
"Understanding is the reward of faith. Therefore seek not to understand that thou mayest believe, but believe that thou mayest understand." Augustine.
II. The Stand of Faith
Joshua 3: 17 "And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan."
The words "stood firm" seem to shine out at us like a neon sign from verse 17. It was not enough for the priests to merely take the step of faith; they also had to maintain the stand of faith. Some folks start well enough. They take the first step. But they don't stand where they have stepped.
Have you ever stopped to think what might have happened had those priests suddenly decided that it was too difficult and dangerous to keep holding on to the ark (the symbol of God's presence and power)? Likewise, what would have happened if those priests had looked upstream to that ominous wall of water, and began entertaining a "what if" train of thought?
Folks, I believe that thousands of lives literally hung on whether those men stood their ground in the midst of the Jordan. Had they turned loose of the ark, and ran out of that riverbed, I believe that there would have been many people swept away to their death.
In like manner, when we waver in our stand of faith, we may cause others, who have confidence in us, to be swept away in destructive unbelief.
Notice that as soon as the priests took their stand, they found themselves on "dry ground" (Joshua 3: 17a). What a wonderful principle is found here. Though all around us, life may be shaky and uncertain, when we stand firm on the ground of faith, we will find it to be a place of safety, stability and security. As the old hymn says, "On Christ the solid rock I stand/All other ground is sinking sand/All other ground is sinking sand."
Mark this well dear Christian, if Satan cannot keep you from taking the step of faith; he will try doubly hard to keep you from taking the stand of faith. Like a very wise black preacher once said, "If your faith fizzles before the finish, it was faulty from the first."