The Wrong Side of Jordan
Joshua 3:1-17
* One of the great “sagas” found in God’s work is the study of the Exodus by the Jewish people from Egypt. To study this group is to learn many needed lessons in the life of a believer.
* In Egypt, we see God stopping at nothing to gain the release of His people while reminding all creation that He was still in charge. At the Red Sea, we are once again reminded that God can make a way when there seems to be no way. In the Wilderness of Sin, we read that God provides all the necessities of life (I.E. food and water). When they came to Sinai, God revealed Himself and established His laws. Now we can track the steps of this 1.2 million people and see God’s hand all along the way, but the big change of direction came at Kadesh-Barnea. That is where God (plus 2) said, “We can take the land” and the majority report proved fatal (at least for everyone over the age of 20.)
* Because of the refusal of God’s people to obey His command they met an unhappy fate. First, we should note that disobedience makes has the ability to make God angry. In fact, God’s initial reaction to their disobedience was to “strike them all dead.” After Moses interceded for the people, God agreed to let them die NATURALLY (in the wilderness?). Numbers 33 gives a bird’s eye view of the “Wilderness wanderings.” The book of Deuteronomy gives a more complete picture. At the end of Deuteronomy, forty years seems to have passed, Moses gives a challenge for people, and then passes off the scene. By the way, God never allows one chapter to end without opening another Chapter.
* Watch this; While Moses did a good job—he could never quite get them to the “finish line.” Moses died with the knowledge that the Children of Israel were still on the wrong side of Jordan. Moses passes off the scene; God prepared and appoints Joshua as his successor. Turn to Joshua 3. In chapter 1 & 2, God gets them ready to cross Jordan. Let’s Read 1-17
* Can you imagine what it was like to stand on the “wrong side of Jordan” and look into the land which God had promised? Can you imagine the anticipation, all of the stories, and the hope of tomorrow? But here is the catch? Did they have enough faith to follow God into the promised land?
* The question for us tonight is exactly the same? Do we have enough faith to cross Jordan? Just like the like the Children of Israel some 40 years earlier at Kadesh-Barnea we standing at THE cross road. Amazingly, God gives us a choice. Years ago Ken Medema, a blind pianist, writer, and singer, wrote these words, “Will you stay where you are, or will you reach for star?” The children spent 40 years eating dust because of their choice.
* When we choose to change sides of Jordan, we will become, see, do, & go in ways we never thought possible. I offer four benefits to a good choice.
1. We will BE what we have Never Been. Verse 5 records Joshua as saying, “Consecrate yourselves.” Most all translations use the word ‘consecrate’ but a few used other concepts like “purify”, “make holy” or “hallow.” The concept from the Hebrew language is to set your self apart as pure for Holy work. Christ expects us to be consecrated, purified, and holy for Him. Yet in the Children of Israel we can discover just exactly how easy it is to walk away from God’s leading. To move into the future that He has planned means intentionally allowing Him to make us into the person we have never been before.
a. As I was thinking about and praying through this thought it occurred to me that God’s basic command to the previous generation was almost the same as to this present one. In a real sense, this generation has never been seen as or been an obedient people. They kind of made their choices and then spent much time on God’s hit list because of their hard-headedness and disobedience. When we become what we have never been, obedient, the blessings of God follow.
2. We will see what we have never seen. – This truth will follow the Children of Israel and us into eternity. When we choose to become obedient to God, He will pour out of heaven a blessing which our cups cannot hold. Psalms 23 says, “My cup overflows” while Ephesians 3:20 reminds us that He is able to do exceeding and abundantly above and beyond” anything we can imagine. This gives us insight to some of the capacity of God to bless us and give us what we cannot even think about. 1 Corinthians 2:9 basically tells us that when we choose to follow Him, the sky is the limit and the best is yet to come. Watch how this plays out in our story.
a. The leader said, “Consecrate yourselves”, that is, prepared yourselves for what God is about to do. Without taking a breath Joshua explains why. He says, “For the Lord is going to do wonders for you tomorrow. “ Get ready and you will see the mighty hand of God. I remember Charleston Heston dramatically giving those words as Moses, but here is the catch; it may well be that we never SEE those wonders “if” we refuse to prepare for those wonders. The first thing they would see would be the waters parting to show them victory instead of escape. They made plans today for tomorrow. However, what do you think would have happened if this group had awakened on the “big day” and decided, “No, not today, I have a few more things to do.” They would have remained on the wrong side of Jordan and never seen the Walls of Jericho fall, would have never witnessed God making the sun standstill, or never have been witness to 80+ year old, Caleb, receiving the promise of God which he had believed for over 40 years. In this process of Crossing Jordan, we will be what we’ve never been, see what we have never seen, and;
3. We will do what we have never done. Think about this generation of Israelites. First except for Joshua and Caleb, there is no one over 60 years of age. Next, for the last 40 years they have missed out on many normal, natural, and even needed, elements of life. They have lived a sort of nomadic lifestyle as they had no permanent home and dwelling, they didn’t know what it was to “get along” with each other well, and they spent a great deal of the time burying people. By my (amateur) count, they had to bury between 80 and 90 every day, 7 days a week, for 40 years! Because of the bad choices of their parents and grandparents this generation did not know what it was to win, to conquer, or even to be “blessed.” In fact, just a cursory scan of Deuteronomy will tell you that THE ONE THING this generation had been doing for 40 years was “LEARNING.” They had learned the principles, precepts, and laws of God about life and living and had heard Moses speak passionately to them about following God. This generation had no trophies in the case, no plaques on the wall, and a pedigree that would simple read “wanderer.” But that was on the “wrong side of Jordan.” Now, get ready, get set, GO! They were now listening to God and getting ready for HIS day.
a. God’s plan is always for us to be on HIS side of Jordan, that is, the Promised Land. He has no desire or plan for us to remain in unbelief or unfaithfulness. His plan for us is to “Be strong and courageous.” Because of their obedience they walk through the Jordan River on dry ground headed toward their first victory, they defeated Jericho, they overcame insurmountable odds, and took the land. Ultimately, they defeated AI, but that was only because of their determination to be obedient.
b. By the way, if you read this story completely, you’ll discover they the Children of Israel didn’t finish the job. The more time they spent on the “right side of Jordan” the less obedient it seems they became. God told them to rid themselves of other people and they didn’t, He told them not to intermarry and they did, and the result was a nation falling in defeat and spending many years in captivity. This should serve as a warning to all believers—“we always have the ability to make the wrong choice, even on the right side of Jordan.”
4. We will go where we have Never Gone. There is very little which is more exciting than going somewhere you have NEVER been. In 1973, I went to the “Grand Canyon” and it was fun. Most people would love to visit Paris France, Madrid Spain, or even the Bahamas. Most of us make plans well in advance, having to cut corners, save, and even change other things in our lives in order to make this trip possible. IN verse 4, Joshua says, “You have never gone this way before.” Might I suggest that excitement was building among the people? After all, for forty years they had heard rumors about the “promised land” and to think that FINALLY they were going to build a permanent home in a place that we THEIRS!! Wow!
a. Here is our challenge; “Which side of Jordan do we find ourselves, both as individuals and as a body?” It would seem to me that we are standing on the banks of the Jordan, looking inside at the possibilities. Are we ready to cross? If we follow our Lord we will indeed “be what we have never been”, see what we have never seen, do what we have never done, and go where we have never gone. Will we?
