We Serve A God Of Wonders (Joshua 3:1-17) Series

If someone asked you, what are the most amazing wonders God has ever done, how would you answer? Was it when God freed Israel from their slavery to Egypt? When God parted the Red Sea? When God raised Jesus from the dead?

If you were an Israelite answering this question, one of the first things you would say, is when Israel crossed the Jordan River in Joshua 3-4. This story is one of God's great wonders in the Bible.

One of the clues that helps us see how important this story is, is the amount of space and time AJ gives to it. He takes two full chapters to describe these events, and their significance.

When we tell stories, one of the things we do, maybe without fully realizing it, is decide the pace that we tell them at-- how fast or slow. When you get home from work, and your spouse asks you how your day was, some of you can summarize your day in a single (incomplete) sentence. "Pretty good." "Okay." My dad, classically, would say, "It was productive." Nothing very important or exciting happened, so you keep it short.

Once in a while, though, something will happen in your life that's really significant. Maybe it marks a turning point in your life--your life was turned completely upside down, for good or bad. If you're telling the story of where you met your spouse, or of when you decided to submit to Jesus as King, these are big deals.

Or, negatively, if you lost a very good friend because of a huge fight, and you're telling someone about it, it's going to be a long story.

When something really important happens, for good or bad, you want to help people understand the significance of it. You do this in part by slowing down the pace. You maybe give more background information. You maybe quote what people said to each other.

When biblical authors, especially in the OT, tell stories, they tell them the same way. Story telling is an art, and OT authors are very good at what they do. Sometimes, decades of Israel's life can be summed up in a single sentence. Nothing happened that was very important. Other times, it takes 2 chapters to cross a river.

When AJ thinks about the crossing of the Jordan, he knows that this story is a big deal. And so he stretches out the way he tells this story, mostly by telling us what people said. What people say in these chapters--and what Yahweh says-- is just as important as what people, and Yahweh, do. The other thing AJ does to help us see how important this is, is build suspense. A good story will often keep important details from you. The goal is to suck you into the story, and make you wonder what's coming.

But the important thing to know, up front, is that if it takes 2 chapters to cross the Jordan River, this story is a big deal. There is something going on here that AJ is determined to make his readers to understand. What is this?

What do we absolutely need to know?

We'll just have to read to find out.

(vs. 1-3)

(1) And Joshua rose early in the morning,

and they set out from Shittim,

and they came up to the Jordan-- he, and all the sons of Israel--

and they spent the night there before they crossed over,

(2) And then, after three days, the officers crossed over in the midst of the camp,

(3) and they commanded the people, saying,

"As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God,

while the Levitical priests are carrying it,

you shall set out from your place,

and you shall walk after it.

In chapter 1, Joshua had told the officers to walk in the midst of the people, and tell them that in three days, it would be time to get up, and cross over the Jordan. Three days have passed, and the officers are commanding the people to be ready.

But there is something new here-- the ark of the covenant of Yahweh your God.

(WHAT I SHOULD DO HERE IS USE POWERPOINT IF UP FRONT; OR COLORING PICTURE IF SOMEWHERE ELSE).

If I showed you a picture, of 4 priests carrying an ark, where do you focus your attention? You might find yourselves looking at the priests, and their clothing. Or maybe, you look at the ark. You're not sure where to focus, right?

Verse 3 is deliberately worded in a way that puts the focus on the ark. When the ark moves, it's not through levitation. Priests are carrying it. But the people are supposed to be looking for the ark. When you see the ark, you have to leave your place, and walk after.... walk after what?