Joshua 3
and 4
Life is
full of transitions.
One day you
are single. The next day you are
married.
One day you
are a high school senior. The next day
you are a high school graduate.
One day you
are in your mother’s womb. The next day
you are in diapers.
One day you
are alive. The next day you are in
heaven or hell.
Some
transitions are beyond our control. An
auto accident can change a life in a single moment. Sickness and disease can change a life.
We prepare
and plan for some transitions. We study
for years to get our high school diplomas, our bachelor’s degree or our
master’s degree.
Once the
transition is made, there is no going back.
The change is permanent. We can
long for the past, but it is gone. We
can resent the past, but it cannot be undone.
We can wish we were never born, but here we are.
God is Lord
of all our transitions.
The
crossing of the Jordan River by the Israelites is often used as a picture of
our transition into heaven. Certainly,
death is our final transition here on earth.
However, there are many transitions before we meet that final
transition. The example of God leading
the Israelites across the Jordan can help us deal with all our transitions.
Joshua 3
and 4 tell the story of Israel’s great transition. From this story, we can find encouragement
and instruction to help in our own transitions.
Look at
Joshua 3:1.
Early the next morning Joshua and
all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River,
where they camped before crossing.[i]
We
understand that “early the next morning” is referring to the morning after the
spies returned from Jericho. In Joshua
chapter 2, we learn that Joshua sent two spies into Jericho. These men stayed in the house of Rahab, and
brought back a report saying, “The LORD has given us the whole land,” they
said, “for all the people in the land are terrified of us.” (Joshua 2:24)
There is a
significant detail in chapter 3 verse 1 that can easily be overlooked. It says, “the Israelites left Acacia
Grove.” Other translations call this
place “Shittim.” The word “Shittim”
means Acacia. The Israelites were camped
in an area covered with Acacia trees.
They had been camped here for some time.
God led the
people up from the wilderness through the land of Sihon king of the Amorites,
and Og king of Bashan. These and other
kings east of the Jordan were utterly destroyed by the Israelites.
When the
Israelites reached Acacia Grove, they were in the territory of the
Moabites. Balaak, king of Moab, saw the
massive Israelite camp and knew he could not take them in a fight so he hired a
seer named Balaam to curse them. God
would not let Balaam curse Israel.
Therefore, Balaam told Balaak how he could get Israel to curse
themselves. Balaak sent beautiful women
to invite the Israelites to join in celebrating festivals to their gods. These festivals were particularly attractive
because they involved these beautiful women giving their bodies to the
men.
Numbers 21
through 25 tells the story of the battles with Og, Sihon and Balaak. Numbers 25 verse 9 tells us that 24,000
people of Israel died there in the camp at Acacia Grove.
After the
incident with the Moabite women, Moses gave final instructions and took care of
final details. Then, he died. God took him to a mountaintop, showed him the
land on the other side of the Jordan and took him home.
God is Lord
of our transitions.
The first
lesson we learn from the Israelites transition is God is merciful.
The past
cannot be undone. The 24,000 that died
in Acacia Grove could not be brought back.
The horrible sin that the Israelites committed was now part of their
past. Moses was gone. He was not coming back. We must first understand that God does not
hold the past against us. Lamentations
3:22-23 says, “The faithful love of the LORD never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin
afresh each morning.” It is incredible, but God’s mercies are fresh every
morning. He does not hold the past
against us. 1 John 1:9 says, “But if we
confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all wickedness.”
God does
not hold the past against us, and He is willing to remove our sins from us. However, sometimes we are unwilling to let go
of the past. I am not saying we should
forget the loved one we lost. I am not
saying we will not miss the use of the body part we lost. I am saying we will have to accept a new
normal. I am saying that we will have to
embrace God’s purpose for us. Moses is
gone. Joshua is the leader now. Things will never be the same. We must move on from Acacia Grove to the
Jordan.
When we put
our faith in the Lord of all our transitions, we can trust His mercy. We can also trust His purpose. This is the second lesson we learn from the
Israelites’ transition.
God is
good.
Joshua
3:9-11 says:
9So Joshua
told the Israelites, “Come and listen to what the LORD your God says. 10Today you will know that the
living God is among you. He will surely
drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites,
and Jebusites ahead of you. 11Look,
the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will
lead you across the Jordan River!
During
their 40 years in the wilderness, the Israelites had a consistent problem. Each time they came to an obstacle, they
would complain, “The Lord has brought us out here to kill us.” Joshua tells the people, “Today you will know
that the living God is among you. He
will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites,
Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of you.” God had a future and a plan for His
people. He had sustained them 40 years
in the wilderness. He had led them out
of Egypt. He parted the waters of the
Red Sea. He gave them Manna and kept
their clothes from wearing out. For 40
years, God demonstrated His mercy and His goodness. Now as they approach the big moment of
transition, once again, God is promising a bright future, His presence and His
provision.
God does
the same for us. To be sure,
circumstances and events are not always positive. The Jordan River was in flood stage. It was a real barrier. Without Divine intervention, the people were
not getting to the other side. We are
blind to the future. When we get
married, we anticipate bliss. Too often,
our hopes are dashed. When we hear the
diagnosis from the doctor, we are crushed.
When the boss says, “We are down-sizing,” we wonder how we are going to
make it.
God is
good.
I am not
saying that everything that happens is good.
God give us the power, authority and ability to choose. Therefore, sin and evil exist in this world. Even given this fact, in our darkest days God
gives us this assurance:
For I know the plans I have for
you,” says the LORD. “They are plans for
good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope. (Jeremiah 29:11)
The Apostle
Paul repeats this assurance in another way when he says:
And we know that God causes
everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called
according to his purpose for them.
(Romans 8:28)
The
Israelites trusted God’s purpose. God
provided a new leader. God led with the
Ark of the Covenant. Everything changed,
no more pillar of fire by night, no more cloud by day. They left behind their parents’ bodies in the
wilderness. They left behind the ease
and certainty of Manna. They left behind
the familiarity of Moses. They moved
ahead into the unknown of conquest, battle and making a new home. Their only confidence was God is good.
They also
learned that God is unchanging.
Joshua
4:4-7 says:
4So Joshua called
together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. 5He told them, “Go into the middle
of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the LORD your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry
it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes
of Israel. 6We will use these
stones to build a memorial. In the
future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 7Then you can tell them, ‘They
remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the LORD’s
Covenant went across.’ These stones will
stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
Joshua
built a memorial.
It was
important that the people never forget what God had done. Moses instituted the Passover festival. It was important that the people never forget
what God had done. Only once has God
parted the Red Sea. Only once has God
stopped the flow of the Jordan. However,
it was the same God that did both.
God has
progressively revealed Himself throughout History. In other words, what God shows us of Himself
builds upon what He has shown previous generations about Himself. He does not change. Today, He is the same God who parted the Red
Sea. He is the same God that led the
Israelites across the Jordan. However,
the Israelites did not yet know about Nazareth, Mary and Joseph, a manger or
about Jesus. When they crossed the
Jordan, they did not yet know how they were going to defeat the walled city of
Jericho. We know all these things and
more. We know that God raised Jesus from
the dead. We know that God gives us His
Holy Spirit. We know that God has given
us His Word, the Bible.
Since we
know that God is unchanging, we have confidence that whatever the Jordan we
face we can trust God. Jesus said, “Don’t
let your hearts be troubled. Trust in
God, and trust also in me.” (John 14:1)
God is Lord
of our transitions.
God is
merciful so learn from the past, build on the past, but do not let the past
stop you from following God when He calls you to cross the Jordan.
God is good
so trust God’s plan, even when you cannot see hope for tomorrow.
God is
unchanging so build on what He has shown you.
Move forward in your relationship with God. Never forget what He has done. His word is a memorial to His great
deeds. Visit it often.
[i]
Unless otherwise noted Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New
Living Translation. Copyright © 1996,
2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation.
Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Steam,
Illinois 60188. All rights reserved
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