The River (Part 2)

Background Story: In Joshua 3, God did an amazing miracle allowing the Israelites to cross the Jordan River into the promised land on dry ground.

Read Joshua 4

When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”

So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He 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. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then 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.”

So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.

Joshua also set up another pile of twelve stones in the middle of the Jordan, at the place where the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant were standing. And they are there to this day.

10 The priests who were carrying the Ark stood in the middle of the river until all of the Lord’s commands that Moses had given to Joshua were carried out. Meanwhile, the people hurried across the riverbed. 11 And when everyone was safely on the other side, the priests crossed over with the Ark of the Lord as the people watched.

12 The armed warriors from the tribes of Reuben, Gad, and the half-tribe of Manasseh led the Israelites across the Jordan, just as Moses had directed. 13 These armed men—about 40,000 strong—were ready for battle, and the Lord was with them as they crossed over to the plains of Jericho.

14 That day the Lord made Joshua a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites, and for the rest of his life they revered him as much as they had revered Moses.

15 The Lord had said to Joshua, 16 “Command the priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant to come up out of the riverbed.” 17 So Joshua gave the command. 18 As soon as the priests carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant came up out of the riverbed and their feet were on high ground, the water of the Jordan returned and overflowed its banks as before.

19 The people crossed the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month. Then they camped at Gilgal, just east of Jericho. 20 It was there at Gilgal that Joshua piled up the twelve stones taken from the Jordan River.

21 Then Joshua said to the Israelites, “In the future your children will ask, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 Then you can tell them, ‘This is where the Israelites crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the river right before your eyes, and he kept it dry until you were all across, just as he did at the Red Sea when he dried it up until we had all crossed over. 24 He did this so all the nations of the earth might know that the Lord’s hand is powerful, and so you might fear the Lord your God forever.”

Big Idea: The same God will come through in new ways.

This story just keeps getting better and better! This new generation of Israelites had heard of the wonders of God when He parted the Red Sea and delivered them from the captivity of Egypt, but now they were seeing a similar miracle with their own eyes. In Joshua 3:7, God said He did this, “so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses.” That the same God who had been with Moses and delivered them in the past, was going with them today.

When the Israelites crossed the Jordan into the promise land, God went with them. But He revealed His miracles and provision in new ways in their life. Last time, they stood on the side of the sea as Moses lifted his staff and the waters parted (Exodus 14). This time, God asked them to get their feet wet before He stopped the waters. God will be faithful like before, but to grow our faith and help us know Him more, He will do it in His way, in His timing, and often in a new way.

After the Israelites crossed on firm, dry land, God instructed them to, “Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle” and to “build a memorial” to remember His faithfulness. As we move forward in faith into what’s next, we stand firm on the foundation of Christ who is our unmovable, unshakable, and unchangeable Rock. When we lack faith, look back at His faithfulness in the past and sing praises to Him. Faith rises up when we take our eyes off the problem and look at the memorials of God in our life.

God is here… He has not left you. He will go with you on your next journey with the same faithfulness of the past. But He won’t always move in the same way. Walking with God is an amazing adventure which requires us to cling close to Him throughout the journey.

Takeaway Verse:

Song For Today:

Looking For More?

Similar Devotions: Walking on Waves, A Memorial, Supernatural Peace, Our Part in the Story, Becoming Mature, For Every Need, Something New, A New Song, Because You Say So

Daily Verse

Devotions

Translate »
{title}