Miracle Of The Jordan Crossing

II. THE SIGN & THE MIRACLE

“This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that He will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites...” Josh. 3:10.

A. A HUMANLY IMPOSSIBLE TASK

1. God had told the Israelites earlier, “the land you are entering to possess [belongs to] many nations—the Hittites, Girgashites, Amorites, Canaanites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites -- seven nations larger and stronger than you...” Deut. 7:1.

2. When I was a teenager, I didn’t shy away from fights, but I tried to use a little smarts too. I never got into a fight with a guy I was certain could beat me.

3. But here’s God telling them that He’s putting them into a fight with 7 nations – each of which is more numerous and better fighters than they are! Who would want to take on those kinds of odds? Not me!

4. But God said – watch this – “I’m going to give you a sign TODAY – so unrepeatable, so shocking – that it will settle the question of whether you will come out in victory over all these nations!”

5. In the valley before them was a river in flood stage – out of its banks – over a hundred feet across. There were no bridges. This was an insurmountable obstacle to them entering the Promised Land, but God was about to change that.

B. THE MIRACLE

1. EXACT TIMING OF THE MIRACLE. God said, “as soon as the priests...feet touch the water’s edge” ‘I’m going to push the water of Jordan, upstream, into a heap; and push the water downstream back, and make the ground where you cross the river to be completely dry for you to walk on.’ God would only do the miracle when the priests carrying the Ark, in faith, began to walk into the waters.

2. Many times we want God to work a miracle, but we don’t want to have to get our feet wet (expose ourselves to ridicule); “What if the person I pray for isn’t healed?” That’s not your business; your business is to lay on hands; it’s God’s business to heal them! (Mk. 16:18). God wants us to have “skin in the game;” to have to step out in faith even if it looks foolish. Think about Noah building the boat.

3. TIME IT TOOK FOR 2½ MILLION TO CROSS THE RIVER. When the Israelites crossed the Red Sea, it took all night – 12 hours – for them to do it. Even then it required the waters to be cleared for 3 miles and for them to walk 5,000 abreast at 3 mphs to get across in 12 hours. This crossing wasn’t much different – except the width of the water.

4. So when the priests took their stand in the middle of the River, they had to stand there for hours. God also forbade the Israelites getting any closer than 3,000 feet to the Ark (Josh. 3:4). There are 5,280 feet in a mile, meaning they had to be 3/5 of a mile away. If 5,000 walked abreast to cross it (width of a person being 2.5 feet each), this means the river was dried up for nearly 4 miles.

5. MAGNITUDE OF THE MIRACLE. The Jordan was at flood stage; experts say, in excess of 100 feet across. It’s normal deepest depth was 10 feet. If we said that the volume was 50 feet across (only half the width) by 10 feet deep, and flowing at 5 feet per second (slow) – that would mean the total volume was 1,122,079 gallons per minute of water. When you multiply this by 12 hours (necessary for 2½ million people to cross), you find that a staggering 808 million gallons were held back (6% of Lake Livingston). No wonder the Bible says it backed up for 20 miles (to a town called Adam, 3:16)!