The Israelites Crossed the Jordan on Dry Ground
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March 15, 2015 |
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 "And the priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan" (Joshua 3:17).
Senior Pastor Dr. Jaerock Lee
The second generation of the Exodus, led by Joshua, began their march towards the Canaan Land. To enter the Land of Canaan they had to conquer the city of Jericho. On the way to Jericho the swift current of the flooding Jordan River was blocking them.
Unlike the first generation of the Exodus, the second generation was well-trained in their stand on faith. Let's look into how God led them to cross the Jordan River and conquer Jericho.
1. God told the priests to step into Jordan River carrying the Ark of the Covenant
They had to find a way to cross the river because it was the season for the flooding of the river and it had a very strong flow. It was impossible for more than two million people together with the children and elderly people and their baggage to cross a big river when it was in flood stage.
However, God taught them a very simple way to cross it. He told them that if the priests would step into the flooding Jordan River carrying the Ark of the Covenant, the water would stop flowing and it would pile up in a heap.
Using only common sense this was impossible. How could the flow of river stop just by stepping on it? However the second generation did not utter a single word of complaint or doubt. The instant that the priests stepped into the flowing river, the promise of God was fulfilled as spoken. The waters which were flowing down from above stood still and rose up in one heap.
The Israelites quickly crossed the river on dry ground. As the Israelites witnessed this great power of God, they came to trust Joshua even more and began to revere him as they had revered Moses (Joshua 4:14).
God wanted them to remember that day forever and not to change in their reverence toward God, and He commanded them to do something. God told them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan, and they carried them over with them to the lodging place and put them down there. It was for them to remember forever what God had done for Israel, and to revere and obey God (Joshua 4:19-24).
2. God commanded the Israelites to circumcise themselves before Jericho
1) They circumcised themselves with faith
After crossing the Jordan River, the Israelites had very high spirits and it seemed that they could conquer the city of Jericho immediately.
But God did not let them attack Jericho right away. He made them do something first. Before such a major attack God did not tell them to get their weapons and soldiers ready for battle. He commanded them to circumcise themselves.
In Genesis chapter 17, God promised Abraham that He would give him the Canaan Land. With the promise, God commanded him to circumcise the men. It is the symbol of covenant that the nation of Israel is the people of God.
But after the Exodus, those who were born in the wilderness were not circumcised. So, before the conquering of Canaan began in full scale, God made all men receive circumcision to confirm His covenant once again.
Once they had been circumcised, they would have pain and would not be able to move freely for several days. If the enemy attacked them, they would have been defeated without being able to fight back. So, with a human way of thinking, they could have complained or even disobeyed. But because the second generation of the Exodus had faith, they just obeyed without saying anything. God protected them until their cuts were completely healed, and no enemy force came near them.
2) The reason that God commanded them to circumcise themselves in such a dangerous situation
The reason God did this was to teach not only the Israelites at that time, but everyone, including us today, how to win spiritual battles. The process of conquering the Land of Canaan may be seen as merely fighting among different peoples. But, in spiritual realm it was fierce spiritual warfare between good spirits belonging to God and evil spirits that tried to disgrace God.
So, Ephesians 6:12 reads, "For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places."
In 1 Samuel Chapter 17, the boy, David, defeated the gigantic warrior Goliath. David won because he was a man after God's heart. Because he had already won the spiritual battle, he was able to defeat the giant Goliath with just a sling and a stone.
Also, in the battle between Israel and Amalek after the Exodus, when Moses' hands were raised, Israel prevailed, and when he let his hands down, Amalek prevailed (Exodus 17:11). When the man of God, Moses, raised his hands and prayed, God was with them to prevail in the battle.
This battle of Joshua and the sons of Israel against Jericho was also a spiritual battle under God's control. There is something that is absolutely necessary to have in order to win this kind of spiritual battle. It is the purity of heart. This is the reason why God commanded them to circumcise themselves before they entered into the battle with the city of Jericho. Only when we win in spiritual battles can we win in physical battles.
3) The spiritual meaning of circumcision: sanctification of the heart
The physical act of circumcision is to cut off the male's foreskin on the eighth day of birth. But it spiritually means the circumcision of heart. It is commanded in Jeremiah 4:4, "Circumcise yourselves to the LORD and remove the foreskins of your heart."
In the times of the Old Testament they had the symbol of belonging to God by circumcision because it was not the time of the Holy Spirit and people could not cast away sins by their own strength. But what God really wants is the circumcision of our hearts. In the New Testament times, by the help of the Holy Spirit, those who have faith can circumcise their hearts.
No matter how much we listen to the Word of God, unless we circumcise our hearts, our faith just remains as faith as knowledge that is fleshly faith. But by circumcising our hearts, we can have spiritual faith. Therefore, we should listen to the Word of God, practice it, and cast off sins and evil, and thereby purify ourselves. It is removing foreskin of our hearts. This is the circumcision of our hearts.
Before God worked by stopping the flow of the Jordan River, Joshua said to the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you" (Joshua 3:5). Before the battle with Jericho, the captain of the host of the LORD told Joshua to remove his sandals from his feet (Joshua 5:15), and it was for the same reason as above, to spiritually remove the filth of sin and achieve the purity of sanctification.
Before the fulfillment of the promise of God to give them the Land of Canaan, God let them circumcise themselves first. It was to let them cast off sins and purify themselves once again.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, God who stopped the flow of the Jordan River is still performing powerful works beyond human ability through men who are after His heart now.
I hope you will have true heart and perfect faith so that you can receive the Holy Spirit and His power and achieve the work of the Lord. I pray in the name of the Lord that God's providence for the end time will be achieved in the works of the Holy Spirit through your faith and righteous acts and God's glory will shine all over the world.
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