Joshua 3:1-17 Don’t Lose Sight of Him ES 7Aug11 2015
God has promised to give His people the land of Canaan and to guide them there.
• It does not mean, however that the journey will be smooth and easy. In fact, the opposite is true - there are many obstacles and troubles.
• God did not airlift them and drop them into the land “flowing with milk and honey”. God led them through a very challenging journey.
• But if the people are willing to trust God and obey what He says, they will surely inherit what God has promised them.
This is easier said than done, because people wants God’s will to be “simple and neat, smooth and easy”, with few obstacles and no sacrifices needed.
• But the truth is, life is not as easy as we expected it to be, even after knowing God.
• We are often discouraged when they face problems and difficulties. We complained and criticized, and for some, they gave up too soon.
• We have to be prepared to tackle problems WITH GOD. We must trust that God will give us the strength and wisdom to overcome them.
• We cannot LOSE SIGHT of God, however adverse our circumstances are.
Joshua was about to learn this first-hand. The whole nation was now camping out by the side of River Jordan.
• Joshua faced a big obstacle – River Jordan. It was an insurmountable problem by any human standards.
• And the timing was not good. Verse 15 says “the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest”, spring time.
• It was impossible for them to cross over UNLESS God helps them.
And God did, and they crossed over, the entire nation. Everyone was safe.
• Without God, it will be impossible, but with God, everything is possible.
• We learn from this event 3 principles about overcoming obstacles in life.
(1) Have a Heart to Follow God
Don’t lose SIGHT of God. You must be determined to follow Him fully.
• When faced with a problem, we often hear these words, “I do not know what to do.”
• This is not unusual. Many of us have similar experiences. But this is not the problem. Even experts, politicians, lawyers, doctors, experienced surgeons, have to admit this.
• The problem is really not that “we do not know what to do”, but rather, we “do not do what we know”.
If you are feeling unwell, you should look for a doctor. If you are tired, you should rest. If you are given medicine, you should take them as instructed.
• As believers, we must seek God. This is what WE KNOW. We know we NEED Him.
• We may not know everything – like how to cross the river Jordan – but we do know we need God’s help. We need to seek God and pray for His help.
Joshua instructed the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God… move out from your positions and FOLLOW IT.” (v.3)
• God is going to guide them, but they must not lose sight of Him.
• The Ark was built at the command of God, according to the instructions given to Moses on Mount Sinai (Exo 25:10-16).
• The Lord said to Moses: “There, above the cover between the two cherubim that are over the ark of the Testimony, I will meet with you and give you all my commands for the Israelites.” (Exo 25:22)
That’s where the Lord dwells when He meets with Moses. It represents His presence.
• The instruction was clear – follow God! Where He leads, we follow.
• How do you know which way to go? Follow the Ark, “then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before.” (v.4)
• It does not matter if you have never travelled this way before, or you’ve not experience it before. God is there to lead you.
You see, the focus was not the river, not the leaders, not even Joshua himself.
• The people were asked to “look at the Ark of God and follow Him.” That’s where the Lord is.
• The Ark was mentioned 17 times in chapters 3 and 4; 10 times in chapter 3 alone – the critical crossing of the river. Everything revolves around the Ark.
Note the position of the Ark during the entire crossing. It was described as being in 3 places.
• The Ark was ahead of them (vv. 6, 11 and 14) – the Lord leads the way.
• And then the Ark was moved to the middle of Jordan (v.17) – the Lord was right in the middle of that difficult crossing. In the midst of the crisis, God is there with His people.
• And finally in Exo 4:11 – after the crossing and when each tribe has taken a stone out from the river as a memorial – “And as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.”
• Verse 18 says, “No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.”
• God made sure that everyone has crossed and was safe, before the Ark left the river. It symbolises His protection.
This is our God. He is with us, every step of the way. He is with us.
• He wants us to follow Him and He wants us to know He is with us in the midst of our trouble.
• Faith is rooted in the conviction that God is with us, not just to SHOW us the way but to WALK US through life’s difficult journey.
(2) Have the Faith to Believe
Some things are beyond us. In fact, many things are beyond our control. We don’t need to feel bad about it.
• Joshua faced an uncross-able river. There was nothing he could do, except to trust God and let God tell him what to do.
• We need to let go and let God. Remember, He is God, not you.
• We have to listen to what He says and follow Him. There is no other way.
Joshua did not even question God, even though he does not fully understand.
• What’s the use of carrying the Ark into the water? And why cross during the flood season? Should we wait a few more months, until the water level goes down? Or shall we build a boat instead?
• For Joshua, having experienced God’s faithfulness in the wilderness journey, there wasn’t any need to negotiate with God.
• God knows best! If He says so, then He must be trusted.
• We can trust God’s Word today, even when we don’t fully understand. The truth is, we will NEVER fully understand everything, because that makes us gods!
(3) Have the Courage to Act
The heart to follow and the faith to believe are the attitudes of the heart.
• The true expression of these inner qualities is the courage to act in obedience to God.
• It takes COURAGE to act because we do not fully understand.
• Joshua was able to say with great confidence: “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.” (3:5)
Do you dare to say that? Joshua was very confident that God will perform.
• He believes God’s presence, God’s promise, and God’s power to accomplish what He has promised.
• We like to see and then move; but God wants us to trust and then obey.
• When we move, we will see. You have to step in, and then we will see the wonders of God! 2 Cor 5:7 “We live by faith, not by sight.”
• Pray for courage to act. Pray for God to grant us the courage to do what He says.
The priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead and step into the river, and a miracle happened.
• The instruction was clear. The Lord says in 3:8 “…go and stand IN the river.”
• Even standing by the edge of the river is not enough. They got to get into the waters.
• And they did. 3:15 says “their feet touched the water’s edge.” And verse 16: “the water from upstream stopped flowing.”
• The miracle happened when they obeyed God completely and did what He said. We are blessed when we obey God.
• Sometimes, we like to wait for some signs before we get our feet wet. We want to live by sight and senses; but God wants us to live by faith in His Word.
Joshua 3:16 “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 (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho.”
The people had the experience of crossing the Red Sea. The waters parted then. But this time it was different.
• It was piled up in a heap a distance away at a city called Adam (3:16).
• We do not know the exact location, but it was said to be near Zarethan, which is about 20-25km up North. (That’s the distance driving from Clementi MRT to church, 22km.)
We learn TWO lessons here:
(1) God is unpredictable. You can’t box Him up.
God did not repeat the same feat as He did at the Red Sea. He used a different way.
• God seldom perform a miracle exactly the same way, again and again.
• The people might have expected the Jordan to part, as in their Red Sea experience. But it did not happen that way.
• Isa 55:9 “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
• If we expect God to do things a certain way, or our way, we will be disappointed. We have to learn to trust God. He will do things the RIGHT way, the BEST way.
(2) We don’t always see what God is doing or has already done.
When the priests stepped into the waters, they did not see what God has already done.
• At a town called Adam, “a great distance away” (v.16), God has already caused the waters to stop flowing.
• What God did, men did not see. God has already done something, but men did not know. We are called to have faith in God, trusting that He is doing what He needs to do.
We need not have to worry for God. God will do His part, but men must TRUST Him.
• The actual fact is God has already got a plan. He is prepared way ahead.
• Eph 1:4 “For He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight.”
• To us, things seem to be unprepared. But this is not true with God.
You’ve got to believe this. Even though nothing is happening, God is working. He could have already done something, unknown to us and unseen by us.
• He is the God of the already. God does not react to situations; He knows them even before they happen.
• So when you pray, He is already on the move; He is already doing something.
• That at a great distance away, in the city of Adam, unseen by our eyes, unknown to us; the miracle has already begun!
CONCLUSION:
We must have
(1) a heart to follow;
(2) a faith to believe, and
(3) the courage to act.
We shall surely see and experience His power.
• God has already blessed you, and is still doing that today.
Don’t lose sight of Him. Next week, I will share on “Don’t lose sense of His presence.”
