Joshua sent the message through the camp: “Get . . . ready. Three days from now you will cross the Jordan” (Joshua 1:11 NIV). And then, two days later: “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you” (Joshua 3:5 NIV).
This was a big change. A new day was dawning! God was calling His people forward! It was time to leave the wilderness behind, follow Him through the Jordan, and embrace the Promised Land! He was looking for action and forward movement. A new leader was about to lead a new generation into a new land. God was going to give them their own Red Sea experience, and He told them ahead of time exactly how it would unfold, commanding them to follow His lead.
The last time God called his people forward, they shrank back in fear (see Numbers 13-14). Could this new generation be tempted to do the same? What might deter them from stepping into the Jordan and embracing God’s plans for them?
An Unfamiliar Way
Crossing the Jordan is daunting. If waiting and wandering in the wilderness is all you have known for as long as you can remember, the prospect of moving forward to a permanent and settled land through a flooded river is an unfamiliar path to unfamiliar tests.
However, though God acknowledged this, His direction was clear – it went something like this: ‘Keeping a safe distance, follow the ark. It will go into the Jordan ahead of you. As soon as the priests who carry the ark of the Lord set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap. If you follow the ark, you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before’ (see Joshua 3:2-4,13).
The hesitation we feel when God calls us to a new place, or a new work, or a new stage of life, often has to do with its unfamiliarity. We have never been this way before. We don’t know the way. And this is compounded when something like a flooded river looms up in front of us, an obstacle that is surely blocking the way.
But God knows all this, so He doesn’t ask us to forge our own way or run ahead of Him. Instead, He asks us to follow, and He promises to make a way. When He is in the lead, overcoming the obstacles, He assures us that we will know which way to go.
A Lack of Urgency
The circumstances of the Jordan River crossing were reminiscent of the Red Sea Crossing: a destination just barely out of reach because of uncrossable water, with tests and unfamiliar territory waiting on the other side. But this time there was a significant difference. There was no army pursuing and no urgency to the point of panic. With nothing pushing from behind, no Pharoah breathing down their necks, why should the Israelites move forward into a flooded and swollen river?
Why? Because God said to go. His purposes for them were on the other side. His plan for them, and His promises to them, required a miraculous crossing as the prerequisite. If they refused to step forward and experience the guiding and providing hand of God through an impossible obstacle, they would never become the people God was calling them to be.
What motivated them to cross the Jordan? The direction of God, His assurance that He would make a way through, and all that He had promised and was calling them to on the other side.
The Prospect of Challenges Ahead
But what was on the other side? Well, they knew from their history that there were giants and mountains and walled cities. The generation before thought that this was justification enough to stay put in the wilderness when they refused to obey the Lord at Kadesh Barnea (Numbers 13:25-33; Deuteronomy 1:19-33).
But for 38 years, the people preparing to cross the Jordan had watched the carcasses of the faithless fall in the wilderness. They knew that, although their parents had avoided facing the things they feared in Canaan, their disobedience had cost them their lives.
So this time, about 40,000 men armed for battle crossed over before the Lord in front of the Israelites (Joshua 4:12-13). They were aware that the other side of the Jordan they would need to stand and fight. Just as there were tests in the wilderness, there would be tests in the Promised Land, and they travelled ready.
Crossing the Jordan meant the prospect of a settled life, and of the manna being superseded by the produce of the land. But their primary task was to conquer the land and, in order to do so, wandering was about to be replaced by war.
Purposeful and lasting things were waiting just up ahead, but they promised to be challenging! Would it really be better over there? Complacency lobbies for staying put and avoiding the effort. Faith says, “follow God and embrace the lasting rewards of challenging obedience.”
The obedience of this generation stands in stark contrast to the behaviour of their parents. Instead of angering the Lord, they trusted in His power and obeyed His word. And everything happened just as the Lord said! The waters piled up in a heap, and the entire company crossed safely to the other side. They knew firsthand that His word to them was dependable, even when it seemed impossible.
God is fully aware of our tendency to shrink back when He is asking us to move forward. It is for this reason that He provides various kinds of encouragements to increase our faith. What will help us keep putting one foot in front of the other, even when the way is opening up only as we step into it? Let’s explore this in Crossing the Jordan, Part 2.
