Joshua 3 - Hurry Up and Wait

God calls you to hurry forward by waiting on Him.

SINCE WE LAST LEFT OFF... Two Israelite spies entered Jericho and were protected by Rahab, who confesses that the LORD has given Israel the land, and asks for mercy for her family. Through her faith and the spies’ safe return, God confirms that the fear of the LORD has already fallen on the land He promised to give His people.

Joshua 3:1–17 (NIV)

3 Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. ² After three days the officers went throughout the camp, ³ giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. ⁴ Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits  between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

⁵ Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you.”

⁶ 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.

⁷ 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. ⁸ 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.’ ”

⁹ Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. ¹⁰ This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. ¹¹ See, the ark of the covenant of the LORD of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. ¹² Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. ¹³ And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD—the LORD of all the earth—set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.”

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.

Belgic Confession

Article 31: The Officers of the Church

So everyone must be careful

not to push one’s self forward improperly,

but all must wait until called by God,

so that they may be assured of their calling

and be certain and sure that it is

from the Lord.

Summary

This is the moment the Israelites had been waiting for since the day they were born - quite literally. It was their parents and grandparents who'd been saved from slavery in Egypt by walking through the Red Sea on dry ground. But God caused that generation to wander in the wilderness until they'd died off because of their stubbornness. Those now camped on the banks of the Jordan had all been born along the way to the Promised Land, which they would enter into by also walking on miraculously dry ground.

Eager as they were, they needed to wait just a bit longer. After all, the land they'd been promised was currently inhabited by people who were bigger and stronger than they were in every way, so they couldn't just go charging in. They would be led in by the presence of the LORD, following the priests carrying His earthly throne - the Ark of the Covenant. But not too closely... they needed to stay at least a half mile (2,000 cubits) behind its holiness.

And once again, there would be a mediator between the LORD and His people. Moses is dead and buried by this point, but God promised to exalt Joshua in the eyes of all the people. Not just because Joshua was an awesome guy, but so that the people may know that the LORD was with Joshua.

God has likely exalted you in many ways - blessed you in the eyes of your family, church and community. You may not realize it, but people look up to you and admire you. You're probably pretty awesome, but that's not why... it's because the LORD is with you, and He does amazing things through you. So are you living Soli Deo Gloria - that is, a life that gives all glory to God alone, or are you trying to shine some of His glory back down on yourself?

  Dig Deeper  

Joshua had already commanded the people three days earlier (near the end of the first chapter) to get their provisions ready to cross the Jordan, which was no small task for such a large camp. It's not hard to imagine the frantic busyness that this would entail, as all of daily necessities can't really be packed up until the last minute. And this wasn't just another in a long line of camp relocations; this time, the men needed to prepare themselves for battle as well.

But the day before they were to set out, right when the busyness would have been at its zenith, Joshua reorients their focus, commanding the people to consecrate themselves - to purify themselves physically and spiritually. As we learned in Leviticus, consecration was a detailed, time consuming process! I wonder how many Israelites silently wondered, can't we just skip this step this time?

Your life is consumed with daily details and overwhelming tasks as well - worries that never disappear and that you never really seem to get ahead of. But in a very similar fashion, the LORD comes to you every seven days and tells you to set it aside. He commands that you rest and be consecrated - cleaned, purified and made holy - not by the means of complicated rituals and ceremonies, but by God's Word which reminds you of His never ending covenant love and provision for you, as one who's been washed in the blood of Christ.

Just as the Israelites weren't to get ahead of the Ark as they eagerly got to work settling the Promised Land, you also need to have your pace set by the LORD, being reminded of His holiness and following His lead. The best way for you to do this is to deliberately set the ever-present busyness aside and gather with the saints in God's house each Lord's Day, so that you are reminded that the LORD is with you.

AAA Prayer (About)

• ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, who leads and provides for His people;

• ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that you will rest as God commanded, so that you may know that the LORD is with you in the midst of your busyness;

• ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:

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