Joshua 3: Crossing the Jordan When the Obstacle Seems Too Big

Introduction

"Have you ever had problems? Maybe you are going through one today." With that question, Edward Issitt, a member of Kerith Community Church in Windsor, opens the third message in the church's series on the book of Joshua. He preaches from his home in Windsor, with his wife and their two children.

The series began with Joshua 1, where God tells Joshua not to be afraid, to be strong and courageous, and to meditate on his Word. Then Joshua 2 showed, through the two spies and Rahab, that the good news is not reserved for religious people: it is for everyone, whatever our identity or our past.

Joshua 3 tells the story of the crossing of the Jordan. The people finally see the promised land, but a flooded river blocks their way. Edward Issitt draws a conviction from it: "God allows these things because he is not so much interested in our comfort as in our faith." He then points out, in this account, what it takes to get through life's obstacles and enter into what God has prepared.

Outline of the Message

1. The Christian Life Is Not Free of Problems

• As a child in church, Edward Issitt used to sing an old hymn: "Life is wonderful now for me, I let Jesus in, he changed everything." Coming to Christ was the most revolutionary event of his life.
• But that is not the whole truth: alongside God's goodness, favor and blessing, he has discovered problems, difficulties and challenges.
• The week before, on the M4 motorway between Windsor and London, near Heathrow, his car displayed an error message, the temperature shot up to the maximum and the engine lost power. Driving at 15 mph, hazard lights flashing, in rush hour and with no hard shoulder: "not a pleasant experience." Someone eventually came to rescue him.
• Faced with trials, believers are tempted to ask: "Why, if I serve God and live a godly life, do I run into so many problems?"
• His answer: "Faith is not built in calm seas and peaceful days. Faith grows and develops when it is put to the test."

2. A Flooded River Between the People and the Promise

• Israel has been waiting for this moment for decades: the exodus from Egypt under Moses, the crossing of the sea, forty years of wandering in the wilderness. God had promised a land flowing with milk and honey.
• This promise also belongs to all the children of Abraham by faith, including those who are not Jewish. Peter writes that God has given us precious promises (2 Peter 1:4).
• Yet there are two problems. The land is occupied by enemies who will not give it up. And before that, there is the Jordan, overflowing its banks at harvest time (Joshua 3:15). The people can see their inheritance but cannot reach it.
• "That is often the case in our lives." God brings us to the threshold of a new season for our lives, our families and our churches, and we discover enemies to defeat, battles to fight, barriers to cross.
• Why? In the book of Judges, God explains that he left those nations in place to teach war to a generation (Judges 3:1-2). "He is not a cruel God, he is a good God," who leaves obstacles in our path to teach us the fight of faith and make us more like Jesus. "We grow when we overcome obstacles."

3. Remembering What God Has Done

• Throughout the Old Testament, in the songs, the psalms, the prophets and the history of Israel, the people are called to look back: deliverance from slavery under Pharaoh, the Passover when the angel passed over the people of God (Exodus 12), the path opened through the sea and the Egyptian chariots swallowed up (Exodus 14).
• The generation standing at the edge of the Jordan is a new one. Apart from Joshua and Caleb, most were children or not yet born at the exodus from Egypt. They need to be reminded of what God has done.
• Edward Issitt and his wife have lived this: a few months ago, moving into their house was "a great test for our faith." They sat down to deliberately remember what God had done in their story, five, ten, fifteen years ago, when they met and married.
• "The God who delivered us then will deliver us now. The God who won the victory then will win it now. The God who did miracles then will do miracles now. He is the same God, with the same power."

4. Needing the Power of God

• Often, God has shaped us, given us gifts and a sound mind so that we roll up our sleeves and serve his kingdom. "Sometimes we look for miracles when God is looking for a bit of serious work from us."
• But there are moments when all the skill, creativity, ideas and hard work are not enough to cross the Red Sea or the Jordan. Israel could not enter the land by swimming skillfully: they needed a miracle.
• The preacher was encouraged by a video from Sonia, pastor of the Kerith site in Farnborough, presenting the building project. Donations can be raised and companies can do a lot of work, but the planned funds will soon run out: part of the project calls for the power of God and a miracle.
• In Kerith's history, this has already happened during the building of the Kerith Centre. He invites those who lived it to remember, and the generation that was not there to learn these stories and to believe that God will act again, in Farnborough and at all the other sites.

5. Receiving a Word from God and Consecrating Yourself

• Joshua needed to hear God's voice and to have a strategy from him. That word came to him in two ways: the general promise written in the first pages of the Old Testament, and specific instructions for crossing the river.
• For us too, God speaks through the Scriptures. Many of his promises are open to us if we read and study the Bible, and by obeying his commands we enter into his blessing.
• But God also speaks in specific ways. Years ago, before living in Windsor, Edward Issitt received a verse from Deuteronomy: he would be blessed in the city and blessed in the field (Deuteronomy 28:3). He admits he took it "completely out of context," but he understood it this way: one day his family would live in the countryside and he would work in London. Today he lives in Windsor and works on the edge of London. When his current job came up, it seemed to him to fit that word.
• Holiness is also at the heart of the account: "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow Yahweh will do wonders among you" (Joshua 3:5). The rest of the series will show what happens when the people sin: it holds back God's people and their plans.
• "Let us examine our hearts." If we want God to use us and to enter into what he has prepared, we must be holy, with a clear conscience before him.

6. Seeking God's Presence Together

• Joshua does not only say that the waters will part. He asks them to carry the ark of the covenant, which represented God's presence. That presence had to go ahead of the people.
• The preacher says he spends much of his working life around "dead religion," a religion in name only, without power or presence. "But being with people where God's presence is manifest, where the Holy Spirit is at work, I prefer any day."
• In prayer, do not settle for just praying: wait for and long for the presence of the Holy Spirit. In worship, do not settle for rituals and programs.
• It is the priests who carry the ark. It would be easy to conclude that only church leaders carry God's presence, "but that would be a misunderstanding of the New Testament." All Christians are a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5): pastors, elders, worship leaders, preachers, those who serve with children, those who clean the building, mow the lawn or manage the parking lot.
• Many think they can live out their faith in isolation. That is not what the New Testament teaches: faith is personal, but it is lived in community. "Do not miss church. Do not miss opportunities for fellowship. Do not be late for worship." If you arrive for the last song, "you are depriving yourself of God's presence."

7. Taking Action

• The priests carried the ark to the river, but the people had to move forward, walk into the riverbed and cross over.
• "In the end, Christianity is about being practical. What did God say? Do it."
• What God has told you personally: do not drag your feet. What he has told your family: do not put it off. What he has told your church: do it.
• Whatever obstacles lie in your path, fight the good fight of faith (1 Timothy 6:12) and enter, like Joshua and the people, into your inheritance and all of God's blessings.

Key Takeaways

• God is less interested in your comfort than in your faith: obstacles are where it grows.
• Remembering what God has done builds confidence for today: he is the same God, with the same power.
• There is a part that calls for serious work, but some Jordans can only be crossed by a miracle.
• God's presence must go first, and it is the whole Church, a holy priesthood, that carries it together.
• What God has said, you must do, without delay.

Personal Application

1. What "Jordan" stands today between you and what God has promised you?
2. Take a moment to remember what God did in your story five, ten or fifteen years ago. How does that change the way you see the obstacle you face now?
3. In your situation, where does your share of serious work end and where does the need for a miracle begin?
4. Is there an area of your life where God is calling you to consecrate yourself before moving forward?
5. What has God already told you to do, you, your family or your church, that you are still putting off?

Verses Cited

• Joshua 3
• Joshua 1:9
• Joshua 2
• 2 Peter 1:4
• Judges 3:1-2
• Exodus 12
• Exodus 14
• Deuteronomy 28:3
• 1 Peter 2:5
• 1 Timothy 6:12

Frequently Asked Questions

Why does God allow obstacles when we serve him faithfully?

For Edward Issitt, God is not so much interested in our comfort as in our faith. Faith is not built in calm seas, it grows when it is put to the test. Just as he left nations in Canaan to teach a generation the fight of faith (Judges 3:1-2), he leaves obstacles in our path to shape us and make us more like Christ.

What does the ark of the covenant represent in Joshua 3?

The ark represented God's presence. Joshua does not only say that the waters will part: he asks that the ark go ahead of the people. God's presence had to precede Israel before the crossing. Today, the preacher explains, we need the same presence, that of the Holy Spirit in us, with us and among us.

Who carries God's presence today?

In Joshua 3, it is the priests who carry the ark. Edward Issitt warns against the idea that only church leaders carry God's presence. According to the New Testament, all Christians form a holy priesthood (1 Peter 2:5). It is together, in worship, fellowship and service, that we carry this presence.