Standing Firm on Dry Sediment
We used to play a game the summer I was a counselor at Spruce Lake Wilderness Camp called "Jump, Dive, Cannonball." You may have guessed from the name that this game took place at the pool where everyone who wanted to play would line up at the diving board. There was a designated "caller" who would stand on the side of the pool at the diving area, and when the first "contestant" climbed onto the board, they would run toward the end and fling themselves into the air. At the exact moment their feet left the board, the caller would shout either Jump! or Dive! or Cannonball! and the Jumper/Diver/Cannonballer would lickety-split tuck their body into the appropriate and matching form. Most of the time, it just ended up being a belly-flop contest, unless you had superhuman reflexes.
Which I most decidedly do not. But it was still loads of fun.
But here's the correlation: That moment when I bent my knees, got the spring-assist from the board, and left the rough surface, I received the instruction of what to do next. I didn't know what to do until I took that literal leap of faith... and then I knew.
In Joshua 3, there are three things I saw in today's readthrough:
On January 6, 2021, the Lord woke me up with this prophetic word ringing in my head: "Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told" (Habakkuk 1:5). He reminded me of the setting in which that verse was written (the 'unbelievable things' were in reference to the fall of Israel to Babylon), and then I watched in stunned silence as the events of that day unfolded.
Israel fell to Babylon. On January 6, 2021, something happened in our nation that -- while not being a turnover to a foreign country -- was a major turning point, a crisis, the after-effects of which are still playing out. Here in Joshua 3, another nation (or nations) are preparing for collapse. Joshua 3:10 gives a comprehensive list: Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites.
So what does Joshua instruct on this threshold where their nation finds themselves? "Consecrate yourselves," he says. Similarly, in Exodus 19:10, the Lord tells Moses to "go to the people and consecrate them today and tomorrow. Have them wash their clothes and be ready by the third day, because on that day, the Lord will come down on Mount Sinai in the sight of all the people."
There's a whole lot of significance throughout the Bible regarding the third day, but most especially, the impact of the empty tomb when the Lord Jesus emerged from the place of the dead, victorious over sin and death. The third day in Exodus is where the Israelites consecrate themselves, clean themselves, sanctify themselves in preparation to meet with the Lord. The third day in the Gospels is where sanctification, consecration, and cleansing meets us, by grace, by faith, by incredible mercy and forgiveness, if we are only ready.
And then, then... I said yesterday I love that word. It's true: it's a word chock-full of promise and potential. It signifies something happening afterward. First, and then...
Then "tomorrow, the Lord will do amazing things among you."
The Israelites -- while not necessarily knowing what it is that the Lord is doing -- has not taken a passive, sit-back-and-watch stance. They aren't chowing down on popcorn while they meander around the camp, waiting and watching. They have consecrated themselves. They are ready for the Lord to show up as He promised.
Okay, second thing: Joshua gets the priests ready. The Levite priests carry the Ark of the Covenant, the symbolic throne of God Himself, to the Jordan River, which is at flood-stage. Non-flood-stage Jordan River at this point of approach to Jericho is approximately 90-100 feet wide and anywhere from 3-10 feet deep. Flood-stage Jordan River is a different story entirely. This link (for the curious, like me) gives a vivid and excellent commentary on what the Israelites faced at flood-stage Jordan River. One quote stands out: "In 1854, an expert swimmer was unable to make it across the river near Jericho, because the river was too wide and the current too strong."
Joshua 3:13 says: "And as soon as the priests who carry the Ark of the Lord -- the Lord of all the earth (Joshua emphasizes, not false gods who have no power over earthly elements) -- set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap."
As soon as the priests set foot in the Jordan... Y'all -- they have to get wet before the Lord will clear the way. They have to step into the water before the Lord will dry the water before them. Priscilla Shirer made me laugh when I heard her talk about this. She said, "You know the priests had to be thinking, 'Lord, last time you parted the waters first...'"
So the priests head to the rushing, current-filled, dangerous waters, and it's not until they dip their toes into the uncertainty and the chaos... that the Lord stops the waters. In Joshua 3:15-16, it says: "Yet as soon as the priests who carried the Ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 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 -- now known as the Dead Sea) was completely cut off.
Look at this verse from Isaiah, and hallelujah! "When the enemy shall come in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord shall lift up a standard against him" (Isaiah 59:19). Not even the flood-stage Jordan, not even all the rushing currents that were power-packed into that riverbed, could stand up against the Ark of the Covenant, the symbolic throne of God Himself. Joshua reminds the Israelites that God is the Lord of all the earth. He's not forgotten His people, He's not left them to be washed away by the currents and the undertow. He is making a way for them. They need only to step into the water.
Sediment build-up at the southern end of the Jordan River, and in particular sediment build-up during flood-stage at the southern end of the Jordan River, makes this entirely miraculous. Even if you could explain away the miracle of the river stoppage by a landslide or something happening upstream, with a super coincidental timing factor (hey, that landslide happened just at the same time the Israelites needed to cross over!)... the fact that the Israelites crossed this thing without even splashing through puddles -- or getting their sandals clogged in their trek through what should be at least inches-deep sediment -- is purely a miracle.
The Spirit of the Lord lifted up a standard against the enemy.
In Ephesians 6:10-18, Paul gives us some pretty power-packed reminders of what it means to "lift up a standard against the enemy," to be prepared for warfare. He's talking specifically about spiritual warfare, but look at the oft-repeated phrase he uses: "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes..." "Therefore, put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then..."
They stood firm on dry ground.
Isn't that amazing? "Consecrate yourselves..." Prepare to stand firm... "for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you." Look at the nations and watch, and be utterly amazed, for I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told.
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