Several Bible stories involve the Jordan River. God often called his followers to cross the Jordan as part of his divine plan.
The Israelites feared the people of Canaan. As punishment for their lack of faith, God did not allow any Israelite over twenty years old to enter the Promised Land;including Moses. The Israelites wandered for forty years, and despite begging God to allow him to enter, Moses only viewed the Promised Land from a distance.
Joshua 3:14-17
14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water’s edge, 16 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 (that is, the Dead Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 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.
The Ark of the Covenant
There is a religious object that is very significant to understanding this passage and that is the ark of the covenant. I believe the ark is mentioned ten times in these seventeen verses. (Joshua 3:3,6,8,11,13,14,15,17)
The ark of the covenant is leading the way into the Promised Land. The ark of the covenant stops the flow of the Jordan River from sweeping away the people of God.
The ark of the covenant, given the things we just have said, is symbolic of Christ Jesus. Inside of the ark is the scroll of the law. Over the law of God is the mercy seat of God upon which the high priest on the day of atonement would sprinkle blood to atone for the sins and the people. And provide the people access to God.Christ is God with us. Christ is holy God with us. Christ leads us out of slavery. Christ leads us across the Jordan River. Christ prevents the waters of death sweeping us away from Him. Christ brings us into the Promised Land, where He is now waiting for us.
Centuries later, the true Ark of God would come among us, the living Immanuel. The Ark contained the Ten Commandments; Jesus fulfilled the Law (Matt.5:17)
God is with them. The people of God enter the Jordan River. Christ is with them. They face all their fears with Christ. They face the fear-of-fears, even death, with Christ.
Psalm 114:3-7 records it: The sea looked and fled; the Jordan turned back. The mountains skipped like rams, the hills, like lambs. Why was it, sea, that you fled? Jordan, that you turned back? Mountains, that you skipped like rams? Hills, like lambs? (Here's the answer) Tremble, earth, at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the God of Jacob.
We need to "Cross our Jordan"
Before the crossing Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, because the Lord will do wonders among you tomorrow."
The Hebrew word for consecrate means "to prepare, to dedicate, to be hallowed, to be holy, to be separate or set apart."
Two things we must do
* Personal repentance of every known sin
* Putting ourselves on spiritual alert to see God at work
To cross the uncrossable we must 1) Fix our gaze on Jesus--sensing His movements and follow; and 2) Set ourselves apart from sin unto Him, being on constant alert spiritually for the hand of the Lord around us.
We must be ready to move when He does His work, always being mindful that if anything is going to last, it's from the Lord.
