Church of the Lutheran Confession’s
Ministry by Mail
Volume 49, Number 32
INI
The Thirteenth Sunday after Pentecost
August 10, 2008
Scripture Readings:
Ephesians 1:3-14; Mark 6:7-13
Hymns:
294, 427(1-4), 427(5-7), 54
Joshua 3:1-17
Then Joshua rose early in the morning; and they set out from Acacia Grove and came to the Jordan, he and all the children of Israel, and lodged there before they crossed over. So it was, after three days, that the officers went through the camp; and they commanded the people, saying, “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, the Levites, bearing it, then you shall set out from your place and go after it. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” And Joshua said to the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.” Then Joshua spoke to the priests, saying, “Take up the ark of the covenant and cross over before the people.” So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. And the LORD said to Joshua, “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. You shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, saying, ‘When you have come to the edge of the water of the Jordan, you shall stand in the Jordan.’ ” So Joshua said to the children of Israel, “Come here, and hear the words of the LORD your God.” And Joshua said, “By this you shall know that the living God is among you, and that He will without fail drive out from before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites and the Perizzites and the Girgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites: Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan. Now therefore, take for yourselves twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one man from every tribe. And it shall come to pass, as soon as the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off, the waters that come down from upstream, and they shall stand as a heap.” So it was, when the people set out from their camp to cross over the Jordan, with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, and as those who bore the ark came to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests who bore the ark dipped in the edge of the water (for the Jordan overflows all its banks during the whole time of harvest), that the waters which came down from upstream stood still, and rose in a heap very far away at Adam, the city that is beside Zaretan. So the waters that went down into the Sea of the Arabah, the Salt Sea, failed, and were cut off; and the people crossed over opposite Jericho. Then the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan; and all Israel crossed over on dry ground, until all the people had crossed completely over the Jordan.
Dear fellow-redeemed:
Our annual Michigan Youth Camp is about a week away now. Campers will gather at a place not too far from here, unroll their sleeping bags, and spend several days enjoying the outdoors, learning about God’s Word and sharing in group activities. One of the activities is the hike. But you can’t take a group of campers onto the trail without having an idea what is ahead, so it’s always good if an adult volunteer makes the hike first to find out what it’s like. Is it hard or easy? Where should the group stop to rest? How long will it take? Are there places to get water or do you have to bring it along? Someone needs to go first to work these things out.
The nation of Israel needed someone to go first for them too. For the last 40 years they had been marching through the wilderness. Thanks to their lack of faith in the LORD, a short journey had turned into a long one. But now they were on the verge of entering into the land that had been promised to them—the land which God told Abraham would belong to his descendants. Israel was camped along the eastern shore of the Jordan River with Canaan just to their west. Finally they had made it! Imagine the excitement in the camp as they wondered about the new places they would soon see.
There was a little problem, however—the Jordan River was at flood stage. There was no way they were going to get across it. A million people with all of their gear would have to get across. They were stuck! You couldn’t just walk a few miles and find a bridge. It must have reminded them of the time at the Red Sea a generation earlier. There, the Children of Israel, pursued by the ruthless Pharaoh, had also come to a body of water they did not know how to cross. Now, at the Jordan, someone would have to go first and figure out a plan to get everyone over the river. Someone would have to “blaze a trail,” as they say.
What about Joshua? He was the new leader of the Israelites since the death of Moses. Maybe he could come up with something. What about the elders of Israel? What about those who were handy with wood and tools. Could something be built that would get the people across? Who would go first? Who would get it done?
The answer didn’t come from people or tools, it came from God Himself. God would go first! He would take matters in hand and bring the people safely to the other shore. “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.” [v.6] The Ark of the Covenant was a box covered with gold. Cherubim angels with wings decorated the top and not just anyone could come near it. To come near the Ark was to come near to God because the Ark was a visible sign of God’s presence that the Israelites carried along with them. As the Ark of the Covenant passed on ahead of the people, the people knew that God was going first.
Where did the Ark go? The priests marched it westward right toward the Jordan River. And “as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away...so the people crossed over opposite Jericho.” [vv.15ff] The priests stood there in the middle of the river with the Ark of the Covenant until everyone had passed to the other side of the Jordan on dry ground. God cleared the way and the whole nation entered the Promised Land!
The Israelites succeeded because God led the way for them. What would have happened if He had not gone on ahead? Can you picture them trying to figure out their own way to cross the river? It would have perhaps cost them lives and equipment. They camped “stuck” at the Jordan River for three days before Joshua told them what was going to happen. During those three days, there were probably some who just wanted to charge across—those who didn’t want to wait for the answer from God. What if they hadn’t waited for Him? What if they hadn’t listened to the LORD when He told them how things were going to go? What if they had said, “No, we have our own idea about how we’re going to solve this problem. We’re going to do this ourselves.” It would have been disaster if they had not allowed God to go ahead of them into the Jordan and into the Promised Land.
What kind of a camper would you have been there on the banks of the Jordan? Knowing that the object of so many years of your struggle and toil was just across the swollen river. It was close enough to see, but yet with no practical way to make that final step. Not only that, but just recently two men had been able to ford the river (two could do it, but not hundreds of thousands with all their belongings). They had gone into the land to spy out the conditions and their report was more than favorable. They said “Truly the LORD has delivered all the land into our hands” (Joshua 2:24). They were so close and with good news from the other side, but yet forced to wait. I’m going to put you there for a moment. Right along with the Israelites. What kind of camper are you? Are you the…
Disappointed Camper—the one who says, “Well, I had really hoped this would all work out. I was so excited to get to our new home and I was encouraged by things that happened in recent weeks, but now it looks like we’re just going to sit here.” You hang your head and just walk away.
Cynical Camper who says, “I knew all along that we wouldn’t really get to the Promised Land. There was just too much standing in our way. See, I was right!”
Angry Camper who says, “I wish the LORD would just do something right for once! Why did He bring us so far through the wilderness just to make it difficult at the end! We should have been in the land a long time ago if only God knew what He was doing!”
Impatient Camper who says, “Hey, we don't have to wait to follow God! Two fellows already made it. Let’s just pack up our stuff and go over!”
Faithful Camper who says, “God will lead us and open up for us a way into the land. That was His promise, and He will keep it.”
Looking at ourselves, we can see that the title of “Faithful Camper” might not be as often bestowed on us as some of the other descriptions. Just think about how we react when we come to some sort of obstacle or difficulty in our lives. How do we “camp”? Are we disappointed, cynical, angry, or impatient? None of these are good, are they? If disappointment gets the better of us, we can be led to despair and our eyes drift away from the LORD . If cynicism rules us – well, that’s really a lack of trust in the LORD . For when God promises something the cynic answers, “It'll never happen.” If anger rules us we will be so busy with our own selfish emotions that we won't see the help God does give. If we are the impatient sort who cannot wait for God to work something out in His own time, then the danger is that we will blunder on ahead, stumbling and falling into ditches that could have been avoided had we allowed the LORD to take the lead.
But the faithful camper says, “God goes first. He will divide the waters and then be with us as we walk through the difficulty.”
Can we have faith like that? Certainly not by our own strength. To build up such a faith our souls must be reminded over and over again that God does go first. When we see clearly that He knows where to go and how to lead, that He always works for the benefit and blessing of His children, that He is living among us with His mighty hand—when we see our God go before us like this, then our hearts will be moved to lay aside disappointment, anger, cynicism, and impatience in order to listen to His voice and follow Him even through the deep waters.
Good things happened for Israel when God went first. The orders to the people were simple: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the priests, who are Levites, carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.”
The Children of Israel were entering new and unfamiliar territory, what a comfort to know that if God went first then they would know which way to go. The LORD knew what was in Canaan. He knew the battles they would face and He knew how He would help the people through them. He had been on the other side of the river even though they hadn’t. They could follow Him with the assurance that He would not lead them wrong.
This same God has gone first for us too. Our Lord Jesus Christ has gone before us and He knows the way we must go. He was born of the virgin Mary, entering into humanity while at the same time being fully the Son of God with divine power and authority. He became human so that He could face the same things we face. He was placed under the same holy law of God that we are placed under. He felt the sadness and sorrow of living in a world crumbling because of man's wickedness and unbelief. He wept at the tomb of Lazarus. He understood human heartache. He felt the need to rest after a hard day's work and He understood the difficulty and strain of work and life. He felt the same temptations that we all feel—temptations to be unfaithful to God, to speak against Him with our mouths and with our minds. He felt all of this, the writer to the Hebrews says, yet He was without sin (cf. Hebrews 4:15).
Then Jesus went the way of death before us too. He felt the pain of physical suffering, but even more than that, carrying the guilt of the world upon His own head, He learned what it meant to be forsaken by God, going the way of Hell and suffering so that we would not have to go that way. Jesus went before us into the grave and then He rose again from the dead, setting a pattern for us to follow, that just as He rose never to die again, we also will rise never to die again. As Paul wrote to the Corinthians: “For as in Adam all die, so in Christ all will be made alive. But each in his own turn: Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him” (1 Corinthians 15:22 NIV).
God goes first. Jesus went first for you, so that He can comfort you with His Word in sorrow and trouble because He knows what you go through. Jesus went first so that He can prepare the way and then show you that way. When He says “follow me…trust in me…I will take you to be with me…” you can trust Him. When He talks to you in the Bible with words of guidance, you can count on those words of guidance to be faithful and reliable.
The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—the One True God—always goes first for you. He has proven His ability to prepare the path and then lead you safely to the end of your journey. Be patient and be thankful. Your Jordan rivers will be crossed. Amen.
Ministry by Mail is a weekly publication of the Church of the Lutheran Confession. Subscription and staff information may be found online at www.clclutheran.org/ministrybymail.
All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the New King James Version®. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NIV) are taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®. NIV®. Copyright© 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved.