THROUGH THE BIBLE - Joshua 3..

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com. That's cornerstonerbc.com. So if you have your Bibles, let's open them up to the Book of Joshua. The book of Joshua, a few weeks ago, we began the book fresh.

So we're in chapter 3 today, the book of Joshua, chapter 3. We'll be reading, as we always do, the full chapter together, and then I'll give a brief summary, a summary on the chapter, and then we'll ask our brother Nelson to come and preach God's word for us, the word that is placed upon his heart, trusting that he will bless us. So Joshua chapter 3, from verse 1. Then Joshua rose early in the morning, and they set out from Shittim. And they came to the Jordan, he and all the people of Israel, and lodged there before they passed over.

At the end of the three days, the officers went through the camp and commanded the people. As soon as you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests, then you shall set out from your place and follow it. Yet there shall be a distance between you and it, about 2,000 cubits in length. Do not come near it, in order that you may know the way you shall go, for you have not passed this way before. Then Joshua said to the people, consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.

And Joshua said to the priests, take up the ark of the covenant and pass on before the people. So they took up the ark of the covenant and went before the people. The Lord said to Joshua, today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. And as for you, command the priests to bear the ark of the covenant. When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan."

And Joshua said to the people of Israel, come here, listen to the words of the Lord your God. Joshua said, Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will, without fail, drive out from before you the Canaanites, the Hitchites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, and the Gilgashites, the Omorites, and the Jebusites. Behold, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is passing over before you in the Jordan. Now therefore, take twelve men from the tribes of Israel, from each tribe a man, And when the souls of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the Lord, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap. So when the people set out from the tents to pass over the Jordan with the priests, bearing the Ark of the Covenant before the people, and as soon as those bearing the Ark had come as far as the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the Ark were dipped in the brink of the water, now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest, the waters coming down from above stood and rose up in a heap very far away.

at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, and those flowing down towards the sea of the Araba, the salt sea, were completely cut off. And the people passed over opposite Jericho. Now the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firmly on dry ground in the midst of the Jordan. And all Israel was passing over on dry ground. until all the nation finished passing over the Jordan.

Amen. This is the word of our Lord. Our Lord Jesus Christ himself said this, that heaven and earth will pass away, but not a single word of his words will pass away. Well, brothers and sisters, this is it. The people of Israel are finally now almost at the point of receiving the land flowing with milk and honey, that land that was promised to their fathers centuries ago.

They're only four days away. Right now, they are only four days away. This chapter begins from receiving that land. Forty years have passed in the wilderness. 40 years have passed and a lot has taken place in the 40 years that they have experienced in the wilderness, but that was then and this is now.

Finally, they now have the opportunity to pack up their bags and leave Shittim, that is on the plains of Moab, and head west towards the direction towards where the land that was being given to them by Yahweh, the land that would be their inheritance. But there was one problem and it wasn't a small problem. And it was the only thing that stood between them and them, them as a people, and them laying their feet upon the land that they so desired to do for so long, and that was the Jordan River, that body of water, the snake-like body of water that connected the Sea of Tiberias to the north, or the Sea of Galilee as we may know it as. to the Dead Sea in the south. That body of water was in their way.

And the only way the people of Israel were able to go into the land that the Lord God had promised their fathers, had promised to give to them, was to cross over that body of water. And what made matters worse was that it was the time of the harvest. It was the springtime. And verse 16 tells us that now is when the banks of the Jordan River overflow. It breaks its banks because of the nearby mountains and the snow that is melting in the springtime.

And that water comes and runs down to the valley, into the Jordan, and it lifts its banks. And now you have this river. which is the only obstacle for these people of God to cross over into the land that God is giving them, and there's a multitude there, you have this river, because the banks have overflown, it is now deeper, and it is now wider than before. It's worse for them, right? Because they need to get over.

How are they going to get over to the other side? How are these people going to get over to the other side? How is this multitude going to get over to the other side? They're probably thinking. And beloved, there was a lot of people.

You probably know. You probably thought it through. There was a lot of people there now at the banks of the Jordan River after leaving the plains of Moab. In fact, in the last census, in Numbers chapter 26, which took place not very long ago, we were told back then that there was over 600,000 fighting men over the age of 20 who were among these people. Now, a very conservative estimate of the men under 20 also, and women and children, and you'll land with a minimum of 2 million strong.

I mean, that would be a very conservative estimate, two million Israelites now just waiting there at the banks of the Jordan River. Waiting. How are they going to get up? And then we have this very interesting detail. They leave Shittim on the plains of Moab, and now they're at the banks of the Jordan, and in verse 2 we're told they're made to wait three days.

Three days. Three days. A lot can happen in three days. A lot of thinking can take place in three days as they wait for the instruction as to what is going to come next. They still don't know.

The instruction is not given until the day, or actually the day before. And there's three days of waiting. Now, no doubt there's a healthy dose of anticipation and excitement among the hearts of all the people. They've been waiting for this time for so long, right? It's been years, it's been decades that they've been waiting for the day that they're going to cross over the Jordan.

How glorious is that? They've been waiting for such a long time to receive the land flowing with milk and honey. But beloved brothers and sisters, do you think also there might have been a bit of fear in their heart as well? There's anticipation. Surely there's a bit of, we don't know what comes next.

What comes next for us? Maybe some fear. And no one's immune to that. I mean, think about their leader. Think about Joshua at this point in time.

It hasn't been very long since that baton has been passed over from Moses, that colossal of a man, Moses, who led the people of Israel for 40 years, the faithful Moses, the man who spoke face to face with God, the one whose survival has told us there has been no other prophet like him. And now he's passed the baton on to Joshua. What big shoes to fill. You think maybe a little bit of trepidation would be fitting in Joshua's heart at this point in time? Especially when he thinks that Moses, who led the people so faithfully, who met with God and represented them, was a mediator of the old covenant.

And even Moses, he's not with him, was unable to cross the Jordan and put his foot on the land that God had promised that he so desperately desired to put his foot on. And yet he didn't because he broke faith with God. For 40 years he led these people and they were stubborn, obstinate people. And they got to the point where he was angry at them and he struck them off. And God said, you have broken faith with me.

You're not crossing over. You think in light of all these things, Joshua may have a little fear in his heart. You know, when Joshua was commissioned back in chapter one, only nine verses speak to his commission. Nine verses. And you think it's for no reason that Yahweh says on at least three occasions, Joshua, don't be frightened.

Be strong and be courageous. Are those words you think Yahweh is speaking to a man who's already brave in and of himself? Or is it a man who's actually experiencing the fear of this huge task, the gravity and the weightiness of this task that is before him? Beloved, No one was immune from that fear. Now it's true that the Lord told Joshua that he will be with him, that he will not leave him, that as he was with Moses, I will be with you, and that would have given him courage.

He also said to Joshua that I will exalt you like I exalted Moses. I'm going to exalt you before this event is over. The Lord will begin to exalt Joshua from among the people who will be their new leader, and he will lead them in conquest. But the people too, I believe, were fearful. They don't know what's going to happen.

They're there on the plains. They're there on the banks looking over the Jordan River. At this point their eyes have made contact with the land, the land flowing with milk and hay. It's just over the river. They can see it at this point in time.

And there they waited three days and they had 72 hours on the banks to battle their thoughts and their speculations. They've heard about the Red Sea Crossing, surely. Some of them were even there. They may have been children under the age of 20. Others heard from their parents.

But they heard about the Red Sea Crossing. Will this now be a second like a Red Sea Crossing for us? Is God going to do something miraculous and get us over? Or are we going to have to swim over? They didn't really know.

But beyond that, let's say we got over the Jordan River. Then what? What's still ahead for these people? Do you think in the three days maybe that they were waiting to receive instruction as to what's going to take place when this river is in front of them and they need to cross it somehow, they couldn't go around it? Do you think that maybe in that three days the thought came to their mind of the report of the original spies from four decades ago thinking, okay, we crossed the river, but what are we going to encounter there?

Oh, we know. We know what we're going to encounter there. Those original spies came back and they told us what we're going to encounter. Now, I'm sure they meant well in Joshua 1, when we're told the people as a unity declared to Joshua, whatever you command of us, we will do. And wherever you send us, we will go.

In Joshua 1, verse 16 from memory. Yes, 16. Sure, they've experienced the faithfulness of Yahweh and they know that he's faithful. They know he's protected them until this point in time. They know he's good and he's great.

And they meant it. But right now is where the rubber meets the road. There's an engagement that's about to take place from the people of Israel. And this is where it really, really, really gets serious. Because when we cross, if we cross, whatever way the Lord takes us across this river, we know that who are going to be waiting for us is a formidable armies.

Battle-trained, colossal men, giants we're told, who'll be ready. And it's not like we have the element of surprise, they know we're coming. That's what we'll be faced with. Three days of waiting. Three days of thinking.

You think the thought may have crossed their mind, what if we refuse? What if we just tell Joshua that we're scared, we're afraid, we don't know what to expect. Joshua, we're afraid, we don't want to go over. Hold on. That's not an option.

Our parents did that. Our parents did that some four decades ago. And now their bodies are lying across and scattered all over the wilderness. That's not an option. The truth be told, I don't know what went through their minds in those three days, but I suspect they may have been the longest three days of their lives.

But I think Joshua had his finger on the pulse. Because when those three days were over, he instructed the priests, you take that Ark of the Covenant. You take the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord their God and walk before the people. The very symbol of the manifest presence of God, you take that and you walk before the people so they can lay eyes upon The fact that God is with them. Who is it that will lead them into the unknown, the uncertainties?

Who is it that can relieve their stresses and their anxieties and the unknowns in their heart? Who is it? I think Joshua knew. Take the ark of the covenant and walk before the people so that it will be reminded that it is the Lord God, Yahweh himself, the God who has covenanted with his people. the God of the universe, the one who is no other, the one who is in need of no one.

His life is contingent upon himself. He's a God who's covenanted with his people and not just covenant. He's free to do whatever he wants. And beloved brothers and sisters, when God covenants, when God gives his word, when God gives a promise, you know what he does? He constrains himself to fulfill that which he has spoken.

The free God constrains himself by way of covenant. He said, I will give you the land and he will give them the land. The next day, the tribal leaders come around and they speak to the people. And this is the day that they'll cross. And when they do, this is what they say.

They say, this is what you must do. You must keep your eyes open. And when you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, when you see it, get up and follow. When you see the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, get up and follow. Now, I don't know.

the mental and the spiritual state that the people are in, fear, anxiety, as I said, second thoughts, trepidation, stress, you name it, whatever it was, the word came to them, Yahweh, Yahweh is going before us. The living God, verse 10, the Lord of all the earth, verse 11. Think about that. The Lord of all the earth is going before us. People, Israel, don't forget it.

He leads us. He guides us. He protects us. He's our provision. Yahweh is our God.

Simply place your faith in him and now follow. Follow. It's difficult to be sure. because we have this other detail here. That the priests were to take the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord, their God, and they were to walk before the people, but they were to be 2,000 cubits, we're told, away in distance from the people.

You heard me say before a cubit is from about the elbow to the tip of your finger, it's about 45 centimetres. The mathematicians among us will do quick sums. About 900 metres, say a little under a kilometre. I don't really know why the instruction was given. We're not told.

It could do with the absolute sovereignty, absolute holiness of God who cannot look upon sin. It's like when the Lord's presence was, or the manifest presence of the Lord was in the Ark of the Covenant. No one could enter except the high priest, and only once a year after he sacrificed for his own sins. It could be that. It's a very good possibility.

But I suspect there's a practical thing going on here. With a crowd about two million strong, that's about the distance you need to have the ark so that it can be seen by most. You see, if they spread out across the plains there on the banks of the Jordan River, then from any vantage point, they'll be able to see the ark of the covenant held up by the priests. And the first thought that should come to their mind is, God is with us. The God of all the earth, he is.

with us, if there was fear, if there was trepidations, if there was that stress of the uncertainty, beloved, in that moment, the true people of God, those will be stripped away because God is with us. And if that thought and that reality doesn't bring peace to the heart of the people of God, then let me tell you, I don't know what will. Verse 4 tells us, they embarked on a path that they'd never walked before. The reality is that apart from Joshua and Caleb, no one's crossed the Jordan. Apart from Joshua and Caleb, no one stepped foot in the land of Canaan.

Apart from Joshua and Caleb, they didn't know the way, they didn't know the terrain, they didn't know what to expect. It was brand new to their human experience. Furthermore, the military campaign that is before them, who could envisage how big that was going to be? They didn't know what to expect, beloved. In a word, they were entering into uncharted territory.

But once again, one must be reminded of who goes before them. The God of all the earth. It doesn't mean the God of all the earth in the sense that he knows every square inch of the earth. That's true, but the reason why he knows every square inch of the earth is because it belongs to him. It's His.

He's the rightful owner of everything we see. He's the rightful owner of that river and of what is over that river as well. And He gives. He takes away. He belongs there.

But the Canaanites, yes, the Canaanites were residing in the land, but it always was the Lord's land. He is the rightful owner. And that should give a healthy dose of assurance to the people of God. And so we know the rest of the story. I don't need to repeat it for you for the sake of time.

We know that the priests hold the Ark of the Covenant and they begin to walk and wade into the water. Actually, the moment their feet hit the water, we're told something miraculous happens. The water opens up and parts. They're left standing on dry ground and the people of Israel safely and completely walk over the Jordan to the other side. were told from the city called Adam and then downstream, all the way to downstream towards the Sea of Arabah, the water had opened up.

Now, I couldn't quite in my study get a bearing, although the ancient cities are hard to locate, but most commentators seem to agree at least that what we're talking about is an opening of the Jordan River that expanded many, many miles. See, it wasn't as though, sometimes you see the illustrations, sometimes we think there's a corridor, say 20, 30 feet, and the people all went through, like, maybe two or three wide, you know, as we, when we're in schools, we go single file. That wasn't that, and they're trying to not bump into the walls and not to get wet, but that wasn't what was going on here. And even verse 16 tells us that when the waters to the upstream waters were pushed back, they were driven back, and then there was a huge column ahead of what the Bible tells us and says, heap, a heap of water was pushed back one way and the water was pushed back downstream as well to the sea. And there was a heap of water and it was very wide.

And then verse 16 tells us it was very far away from the people, very far away from the people. And that is such an important point that we must not overlook because God is illustrating something for the people here. He's illustrating something very important that they should see and we should see also. Remember, when they cross the Jordan, they're going to engage in conquest. And the Lord is saying that as I push the waters back, I'm not going to give you only a single file.

I'm going to give you plenty of room to move. And you can see as far as you want over there to see in the distance a heap of water in that direction and a heap of water in the upstream direction. And all that land that used to be a river only moments ago is going to be purely dry because Yahweh has pushed it back. And I will push back in the same way the people of Canaan, when you enter that land, Your fears may be they're formidable and they're strong and their armies are forced to be reckoned with. You may be right, but I am with you and I'm the Lord of all the earth and I'm going to drive them out just like I'm driving back that water.

Moshe Joshua says as much actually in verse 10. He says, here is how you shall know that the living God is among you and that he will without fail drive out the people, the people before you, the Canaanites, the Hittites, the Hivites, the Perizzites, the Gilgashites and the Amorites and the Jebusites. Here is how you will know that the Lord is among you and how you'll drive them away. Even in the miracle, the Lord is giving his shows to these people. What a good God.

People cross to the other side and they cross safely. We know the story. And it ends there. But I don't want to end there. I want to take you back to verse five for a few moments, and then I want to point you to Christ.

This is the eve of the crossing of the Jordan. Then Moses said to the people, consecrate yourselves. For tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you. Consecrate yourselves. Set yourselves apart.

be made holy. Now there is a ceremonial sense aspect to this, and we know in the Old Testament to be consecrated in a sense would be to take the clothing off and to wash the clothing and to wash yourself in a way to be purified, to be cleansed, like a symbol of cleansing. And they could do that because they're right there at the Jordan River. There's more going on than that, I believe. The more important than the physical sense is, although that is what would have taken place, is the spiritual sense.

Joshua is calling these people to set themselves right before the Lord. To set themselves apart for him and him alone. Whatever was the engagements of their hearts and their minds, Whatever thoughts had gone through their minds and their hearts and anxieties and their doubts, he says, now you're going to set yourself apart for God. You're going to consecrate yourselves to the Lord. You're going to set your hearts upon Him.

You're going to focus your will on Him. You're going to focus your energies on Him and on nothing else. There is nothing worthy than to give all of yourself and set yourself to the Lord your God. That means to confess your sins. If there are any sins, if there is any darkness, if there's any filth in your heart, come to him and confess those sins.

Even the sin of lack of faith. means to set your affection upon Him, to be in a state of devotion to Yahweh, to be in a state of worship of the only true God. He's before you in His manifest presence, or at least the symbol of His manifest presence is before them in the ark. The consecration that the Lord wants is not purely them performing the religious act of cleaning their clothing, cleaning themselves. That's performance-based, and the Lord's not impressed with performance.

Ceremonial washings, as I said earlier, had a place. But in and of themselves, God is not impressed in them. Rather, He wanted the people to recognise who was in their midst. And once they recognised who it is that goes before them, who it is that is in their midst, He wanted them to bestow what is worthy of this great God. And that means to set apart everything for Him.

That He would be the object of their faith, that He would be the object of their trust, the affection of their hearts. the affection of their mind, that they would be fully given over, set apart, fixed upon the only true God. Consecration was to be exercise, an exercise in love for Yahweh, an exercise in faith for Yahweh, an exercise of trust. And then naturally and organically, then obedience will come. You see, obedience won't come if you simply try, try, try, try.

If you simply think that you can do things that God will be impressed with, if that is not rooted with a heart that is consecrated to the Lord, then you're wasting your time because He looks at the heart and not at the external things. The external things will be approved only if they are rooted in truth and they're consecrated in your heart. So the Lord is saying, here, I believe that the people of Israel need to focus their attention upon Him, trust Him, believe upon His promises, consecrate themselves to God alone, to set their minds and their hearts towards Yahweh and Yahweh alone, and nothing else, to place their trust and their hope in Him and in Him alone, and then walk in obedience, and then follow after Him. But even the land that they will receive, do you really think they received it because they were so skilled in battle? How often do we read in the Old Testament that Moses in the Pentateuch, who's no longer with them, or Joshua is out in the field and they say, oh, calling Joshua is out in the field.

He was training the men how to use a sword. How often do you read that? Training the men how to use an arrow. Sure that went on, but that's not the emphasis. Did you get the words in the first book or the first few verses of this book?

We're told there, every place that the soul, Yahweh speaking, every place that the soul of your foot will tread upon, I have given to you just as I promised to Moses. It wasn't because of their performance. It wasn't because of anything they had done and realize it is in the past tense. Every place that the soul of your foot will tread upon, I, not I will give, I have. Do you think that's important?

Is there a difference between given and give? If you do not, I have given, this is a unconditional promise. The old covenant is predicated and built upon conditional, but this is an un... God said to Abraham, your sons, they will be given the land. And this is God saying, I have given it to you.

This is the time. This is the time that you will receive from me. I have given it to you. Before these people have crossed the Jordan, he spoke. before they lifted a single sword in their hand, before their leader, that commander, Joshua, has derived a single strategy for the battle.

Before any of this, the Lord said, I have given you, I have given you the land. I have already decided to bless you. I have already decided that I will bless you. Simply believe. Simply embrace my promise.

And enjoy that which I have decided to give to you. You see, true obedience comes from that. Not trying to pursue it with girding up our loins and trying so hard that the Lord will bless us. I'm sure if I do these things, the Lord will bless me in this area, or in this area, or in this area. But rather, the Lord says, I have already blessed you.

Now walk in my promises, walk in my blessings. Simply trust me and receive what I have prepared to give you. I said earlier that I can't go beyond this chapter without pointing you to Christ, and we always try to point you to Christ every time we work our way through the Old Testament chapter. But beloved brothers and sisters, I can say this without much explanation. The ark of the covenant of the Lord is a type and a shadow of who?

Of Christ. We've said that on so many occasions. Everything about the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord is pointing to the fulfillment that is found in Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ alone. That mercy seat, that plank of acacia wood wrapped in hammered gold, the mercy seat, the plate of atonement is where atonement was made, where it's saturated with blood. That is pointing to the one who is the propitiation for our sins, Jesus Christ.

You open up that lid, that mercy seat. What's inside? Three items. You have the staff of Aaron that budded, a dead piece of wood that's producing life. I am the resurrection and the life.

From death I will bring life. I'm the source and the substance of life. Those who are dead in their transgressions and sins in trust and in faith in Jesus Christ will blossom into life. A jar of manna to remind the people of Israel the providential provision of the Lord. I'll get it in the end.

And that jar of manna is what? I am the bread of life, Jesus says some 1,500 years later. And you have the law. The Word of God. Christ is the complete fulfillment of the law of God and beyond that He is the Word who became flesh.

Everything about the Ark of the Covenant points to Christ. And I said earlier the Ark of the Covenant was a symbol and a representation of the presence of God. Emmanuel, God is with us. And the Word became flesh and He dwelt among us. Everything about the Ark of the Covenant is pointing to the person and the work of Jesus Christ.

Everything. And therefore, every one of the blessings of God are found in Christ. Not by our performance, not by how hard we try, not by us girding up our loins and doing the performance that we try and think God's going to be pleased with anything that we do. Everything that we do, beloved brothers and sisters, let's disavow us of that thought. Everything we do is tainted in blood.

Only that which we do in Christ is accepted. Only. And Christ has done all that is required. Christ is the only one pleasing to God. And all the spiritual blessings, Ephesians chapter 1, are found where in Jesus Christ.

If you want to be blessed by God, you don't try hard. You come to Jesus Christ. And as the people of Israel were commanded here, I believe, through the actions of Joshua. That godly man to look upon the covenant, the ark of the covenant, to look upon God and know I'm going to go across the Jordan, no matter how he sends us and no matter what difficulties and tribulations are there to face us. We're going to trust in Yahweh, who is our strength, who is our protection, who is our salvation.

He has already given us the land. The blessing is there. It's there to be taken by faith. Trusting in his promises and taking the blessings by faith because he's already done all that is required. It's been done.

It's an unconditional promise at this point for the people and it's an unconditional promise for those who are in Jesus Christ that all the spiritual blessings in the heavenly realm are found in Jesus Christ, but you need to apprehend them by faith. Turning your back upon Christ and walking back in the darkness and you're leaving all the blessings that God has given to you. Has them there for you. All the blessings. Peace, joy.

Every one of the blessings of God. Assurance. All of them found in Jesus Christ and in Jesus Christ alone. The question is, where are your eyes? Are your eyes fixed upon the author and the protector of our faith?

are your eyes fixed upon not the manifest presence of God, but God in full. Christ is the fullness of deity bodily. We fix our eyes upon him, we apprehend the promises that he has made for us, and we then receive from the hand of God the blessings that he wants to bless us with. There is no other way. There is no other way.