Fathers Who Carry Arks - Joshua 3:15-17
I. Introduction—The Race
Defeat! He lay there silently, a tear dropped from his eye.
“There’s no sense running anymore—three strikes, I’m out—why try?”
The will to rise had disappeared, all hope had fled away,
So far behind, so error prone, closer all the way.
“I’ve lost, so what’s the use,” he thought, “I’ll live with my disgrace.”
But then he thought about his dad who soon he’d have to face.
“Get up,” an echo sounded low, “Get up and take your place.
You were not meant for failure here, so get up and win the race.”
With borrowed will, “Get up,” it said, “You haven’t lost at all,
For winning is not more than this—to rise each time you fall.”
So up he rose to win once more, and with a new commit,
He resolved that win or lose, at least he wouldn’t quit.
So far behind the others now, the most he’d ever been,
Still, he gave it all he had and ran as though to win.
Three times he’d fallen stumbling, three times he rose again,
Too far behind to hope to win, he still ran to the end.
They cheered the winning runner as he crossed, first place,
Head high and proud and happy; no falling, no disgrace.
But when the fallen youngster crossed the line, last place,
The crowd gave him the greater cheer for finishing the race.
And even though he came in last, with head bowed low, unproud;
You would have thought he won the race, to listen to the crowd.
And to his dad he sadly said, “I didn’t do so well.”
“To me, you won,” his father said. “You rose each time you fell.”
And now when things seem dark and difficult to face,
The memory of that little boy helps me in my race.
For all of life is like that race, with ups and downs and all,
And all you have to do to win—is rise each time you fall.
“Quit! Give up, you’re beaten,” they still shout in my face.
But another voice within me says, “Get up and win that race.”
(Unknown)
-That little story bears out the power of a watching father, whose voice we may not hear, but whose spirit we can sense, when there is a stumbling attempt and effort at this thing that God calls life.
-If ever a generation needed fathers who were willing to impart that kind of wisdom to their sons and daughters, it is now!
Fathers Bearing Arks
-The text also paints a similar picture for us. In Joshua 3:15 we are told that the Jordan was overflowing its banks at the time of the harvest. They had faced challenges in the past and now this was just another one in the long list of them.
-We find the priests were faced with a great challenge on that day, one that is elaborated on in this chapter and the next one.
-Jordan at flood stage was a dilemma in itself. But when they stepped down into the water, the power of God went into overdrive.
· The waters that were rushing from up the river were dammed up.
· Downriver it was if someone had turned off the faucet.
· The huge volume of water on the north side formed a large wall and stood in a heap.
-Again, we cannot forget that his river was literally whipping in a frenzy of a raging flood. The banks were overflowing. Then to consider that these priests stepped down into the edges of this frothing and boiling water is almost beyond belief.
-Just to do this was a test of their faith and of their obedience. Every father will soon discover that being a competent and spiritual father in our days will be a test of our faith and our obedience. We also have to grasp that we will never make it unless we are given to becoming spiritual men! A few good men. . . men full of compassion. . . men full of faith. . .
The Weight of the Ark
-Just think for moment about the responsibility of what these priests did on that particular day. They were bearing the Ark of the Covenant while all the people of Israel passed over to the other side. They could not move or let the Ark down even for a rest, they had to shoulder their responsibility.
-The Ark of the Covenant being about 3 ½ feet by 2 feet and it was covered with gold on the inside and the outside. Conservative estimates were that they Ark weighed at least 750 pounds but more likely it weighed in excess of one ton (2000 pounds)! That means that each priest was responsible for holding up anywhere from 175 pounds to as much as 500 pounds by those wooden beams that were hooked into its rings!
-Men. . . the responsibilities that we have as the priests of our homes is a weighty matter and we cannot afford to shirk our duties. We have to be spiritual men first and foremost and everything else has a tendency to take care of itself.
-There are always rivers at flood-stage that stand between us and the grapes in the Promised Land. We have to cross them. God has always made everything worth having difficult to get to.
· He puts oil thousands of feet below the floor of the ocean.
· He puts gold down in places that they have to be mined out.
· He places pearls in the sea and we have to dive down and dig them out.
· He places the potential in the seed that only comes alive through the work of farming.
-If this is the case for material, earthly things, there has to be the same understanding that it will apply toward spiritual things also. Spiritual character only takes place when men are willing to cross spiritual Jordans. No man just happens to fall into greatness, much less spiritual greatness.
· He knows much about the Scriptures because while others were watching football, he was wrestling with the Word.
· He grasps the powerful principles of Scripture because while others were sleeping he was working in the Word.
· He wrestled with himself; he fought down his carnal appetites and replaced them with spiritual feasts.
· He toiled and pushed in prayer until the breaking of the day until he was marked by the Spirit.
· He ran the disciplined Christian life and it turned him into a marathoner in the Spirit.
· He looked at material possessions as ways to invest into the Kingdom of God rather than to flash around to impress his peers.
-What about the tears? Tears accompany men who are world-changers.
· Tears over sin.
· Tears over their lukewarm friends.
· Tears over the desolation of the Church.
· Tears over those who resist the Spirit because of a hard-heart.
· Tears over backsliders.
· Tears over their missed opportunities.
-We often wish that we could just pack up people in our vehicles and take them to a spiritual point so they could see what we see. . . but the fact of the matter is this. . . we all have to make our own journey.
-While we are doing these things, we are bearing the weight of the Ark. It can be wearying and discouraging but there will come a day when we understand the power of what has been done through our devotion to God. That will be a day of great joy.
The Strength of the Priests
-But if there is a heavy weight of bearing the Ark… there is also the strength of the priests to match the challenge.
Joshua 3:17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the Lord stopped in the middle of the Jordan and stood on dry ground, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.
-This verse indicates to us that there was a strength that bore the weight and responsibility of their burden.
-There was a solid foundation that they were standing on. They did not rely on a stoic reservation to do the job. It was not a confidence in the laws of nature that the waters were held back. They simply had a confidence in God that He was going to help them to overcome.
-Their faith came from the fact that there were some victories in their past that they had witnessed the powerful hand of God in operation. Look to your past! There are sometimes that God delivered you and He will do it again.
-Despite the fact that the job they were attending to was very challenging, God empowered them to accomplish the task. And we can do it when we fully understand the Trinity in this.
In Joshua 3, the people of Israel face the Jordan River at flood stage. But the priests step into the river carrying the Ark of the Covenant—symbol of God’s dwelling, promise, and covenant. And the waters part.
The Ark was not just a box; it was a sign of God the Father’s steadfast love. It carried the testimony, the law, the mercy seat—just as the Father carries us through our wilderness. The priests bore it on their shoulders, a burden made holy by divine purpose.
Today, fathers and mentors in our lives still bear that Ark—not of wood and gold, but of wisdom, patience, and presence. Those who show up, stand in the river, and make a way for others—they embody the Father's love.
Centuries later, that Ark was no longer needed—for the Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. Jesus is the new Ark, not carried by human hands, but born of Mary, placed in a manger—a feeding trough for animals, a sign of humility and incarnation.
He carried the divine presence in his body. In his life, he bore the full weight of humanity’s brokenness. On the cross, he shouldered the sin of the world. The Ark was no longer a box, but a man—a Savior—who walked among us and welcomed us into his embrace.
Fathers and caregivers, when you hold your children, teach them, or even weep with them—you are bearing the Ark as Christ did, tender and strong, vulnerable and divine.
But the story does not end with Jesus. On Pentecost, the Spirit came as a mighty wind and fire. The same breath that moved over the waters in Genesis now moved through the Church, creating a people who carry the presence of God.
The Holy Spirit does not rest in temples or on mountaintops, but in hearts and in the gathered Church. The Spirit reminds us of who we are: beloved, redeemed, and sent.
And now, when we are too weary to stand, it is the Spirit who breathes courage into us: “Get up, Church. Stand in the river. Carry the Ark again.”
-The priests stood in the Jordan until all the children of Israel passed through the parted river.
· They occupied a place of honor and danger (most see only the honor and never the danger).
· They had to endure the test of courage and of patience.
· They had to overcome their own weariness and discomfort as they held up the Ark. (Few realize the cost that is involved in the anointing that they get to walk by on the way to the Promised Land.)
· The presence of the priests held back the tide of the Jordan which was at a flood stage.
· The presence of the priests blessed others.
-The questions that I am forced to ask now are:
· What if they would have given in to weariness?
· What if one or two or three of the priests would have left their responsibility?
· What if they would have lost their courage when they looked at the walls of water?
· What if they would have given into the laziness of the day?
-You ought to thank God from the depth of your soul if you have a father in your life that is unwavering in his commitment to hold the anointing of God!
-The duty of the priests held back the water, kept the ground dry, and provided a safe passage.
· I doubt anyone came by and told them to keep their heads up.
· I am certain that those passing by were more worried about getting across than they burden they were bearing.
· I have a feeling that the priests probably felt unappreciated and ignored throughout the whole process.
· I am certain that the children of Israel were probably more intent on looking at the massive wall of water behind the priests than paying attention to them.
-But despite all of these things, they understood there was a deeper thing to attending to their duties. They realized that safe passage to the next place depended on them.
-I am encouraging every father and grandfather to never give in to compromise, to weariness, and to laziness. I am encouraging you to be courageous and to patiently endure until all of your children and your wife make it safely across this treacherous Jordan. That hold on the Ark/ Jesus to find the spiritual passage.
Don’t Underestimate Your Strength and Influence
-Fathers. . . take your stand on the crucial and important things of life!
There must be someone to stand in our generation. When all sorts of people, preachers, and churches are wavering about on things that we have always believed, we have to stand!
-Don’t get confused about what is taking place it is the threshing and sorting of the Church at the hand of God. Don’t be surprised at who is backsliding . . . just let it take you closer to the Lord! Get a grip on the Truth!
The Father who goes before us like the Ark in the river,?The Son who was born into the manger and bore the cross,?The Spirit who now breathes through us as wind and flame—?All three invite us to carry the presence of God in the world.
This is the mystery of the Trinity—not a puzzle to solve, but a relationship to live in. We do not walk alone. The Triune God walks with us, within us, and ahead of us.
Application – We Rise Together
To the fathers who are present: thank you for carrying the Ark.?To the fathers who were absent: we place that grief into the arms of the Trinity.?To those of diverse gender and sexual identities who nurture and protect others: you, too, are Ark-bearers of the living God.
Let us rise. Let us carry God's presence again—not just in this sanctuary but in our homes, in our schools, in our neighborhoods. The Church is not a building. It is a people carrying grace wherever they go.
