Cross That River
Joshua 3
I. There are a few things you need to know that will be foundational to understanding the principles of today’s lesson.
A. First, you need to know about the Ark. The Ark of the Covenant was the piece of furniture that God directed Moses to build and place in the middle of the Tent of Meeting, in the Holy of Holies.
1. The Ark was an OT representation of what was to be fulfilled in the NT.
2. The Ark was God’s dwelling place. It was the place where God met with Moses.
3. The Ark gave power and victory to the people when they were engaged in battle.
4. It also gave them direction: wherever the Ark went, they followed.
5. What (or who) do you see in the NT that’s similar in purpose and function to the Ark?
a) How about, Jesus?
b) How about the Holy Spirit?
B. You also need to know about the Jordan River. Just like the Sabine River is the boundary between Texas and Louisiana, the Jordan River was the imaginary line that separated the Israelites from the Promised Land. To reach the Promised Land they had to cross the river. Throughout most of the year, the Jordan River was only a mere stream that was easily forded. However, during the harvest season the river transformed from a small stream into a mighty river that would overflow and flood the surrounding plain. Guess when God chose for the Israelites to cross the river? That’s right, when the river was at flood stage. Now, why do you think God did that?
C. The Promised Land was the goal the Israelites had been striving for. When they left Egypt they had this dream of “a land flowing with milk and honey.” It was going to be their utopia. Somehow, they expected the journey to the Promised Land to be easy, and when it didn’t turn out that way they complained. When the spied came back with stories of giants in the Promised Land, their dream turned to dust. It wasn’t the facts that dried up their dreams, it was their unbelief. Because of their unbelief God declared that none of that generation except for Caleb and Joshua would enter the Promised Land. So the Israelites wandered in the desert forty years waiting for that generation to die. Moses was the last to die. Their children are the ones who now stand at the banks of the Jordan River, looking across to the Promised Land. Will this generation cross over, or will they be as rebellious as their fathers had been?
D. One last thing you need to know. The OT was written primarily in the Hebrew language. It’s always difficult to translate from one language into another, because of the variance in syntax and meanings, but translators have done a remarkable job of trying to convey the original meaning into our rather limited language. Would you like to learn some Hebrew? There are a couple of Hebrew words that I would like to teach you.
1. The first word is naca (naw-sah’ ). It’s translated into English as “set out.” That word is used over and over again in the book of Numbers. That’s the book that describes the Israelites 40 years of wandering in the wilderness. During the time in the wilderness they were led by a cloud by day, and a pillar of fire by night. This was the glory of God. Each day they would look to see if the cloud had lifted from the tabernacle to see if they were going to travel that day or not. If the cloud lifted they “naca” – “set out.”
2. The other word is abar (aw-bar’ ). It’s translated into English as to “pass over” or to “cross over.” This word is used most frequently in the book of Joshua. Primarily in the first 5 chapters. In the context of this chapter in Joshua, God is telling the people to “abar” – cross over the Jordan River. This was something completely new.
II. What kind of people are we? Naca or Abar?
A. Naca people are portrayed ever so clearly in the lives of the Israelites who came out of Egypt—those who were under Moses’ leadership, and who lived out the remainder of their lives wandering around in the wilderness, because God forbade them to enter the Promised Land.
B. How would you describe them?
1. Afraid of the unknown. Their fear paralyzed them from moving into the Promised Land and claiming their inheritance.
2. Doubt God’s power. They had witnessed God’s power, but the giants in the land seemed bigger than God to them.
3. Fearful of change. How many times had they complained about their circumstances, and ask to be taken back to Egypt, back into slavery. “Take me back to where I was comfortable.
4. Wanderers in the wilderness. Imagine living out the remaining years of your life doing the same thing over and over again. Because of their unbelief God had no choice but to let them wander in the wilderness until that generation were all dead.
C. Abar people are portrayed for us here in Joshua 3. The next generation of Israelites were different than their fathers.
D. How would you describe them?
1. They accept and embrace changes and transitions. (v. 3) For 40 years they had followed a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. All of the sudden they’re told to, “Follow the Ark.” This wasn’t the only change that was about to happen.
a) New food – no more manna.
b) New land – their own inheritance.
c) New homes – permanent ones.
d) The blessing of the new came at a price: letting go of the old. Jesus described the problem perfectly when he said, “You can’t put new wine into old wineskins.”
2. They follow wherever the Lord leads them. (v. 4) “We’ve never done it that way before,” is not in their vocabulary. If God said, “Cross the river,” then they cross the river. If God said, “Take off your clothes and walk around naked for 3 years,” you ask for 2 forms of ID. Wherever the Lord leads they follow. Paul told the Galatians, “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.” Today, we don’t have an Ark to follow. Instead, we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us who teaches us, comforts us, convicts us, and LEADS us. Do we ever want to say “no” to the Spirit?
3. They expect God to do amazing things. (v. 5) God didn’t disappoint them, did He? (Paraphrase the story of the crossing of the Jordan.)
E. The distinction between Naca people, and Abar people is very simple. Naca people live by sight. Abar people live by faith.
Every day we stand on the bank of the river. Every day God is calling us to cross to the other side. On the other side are the greatest blessings we could ever imagine.
To get to the other side we’ve got to cross the river. And there’s the rub. It means we have to leave behind the things we’ve become accustomed to, and enter into a new world, a place where we’ve never been before. It means stepping into a raging torrent, and expecting God to do the impossible.
