Meditation
on Joshua 3:1-17
***
Early in the morning Joshua rose and set out
from Shittim with all the Israelites, and they came to the Jordan. They camped
there before crossing over. At the end of three days the officers went
through the camp and commanded the people, ‘When 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. Follow it, so that you may know the way you should go, for you have
not passed this way before. Yet there shall be a space between you and it, a
distance of about two thousand cubits; do not come any nearer to it.’ Then
Joshua said to the people, ‘Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.’ To
the priests Joshua said, ‘Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front
of the people.’ So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of
the people.
The Lord said
to Joshua, ‘This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so
that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses. You are
the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, “When
you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the
Jordan.” ’ Joshua then said to the Israelites, ‘Draw near and hear
the words of the Lord your
God.’ Joshua said, ‘By this you shall know that among you is the living
God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites,
Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites: the ark of the
covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the
Jordan. So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each
tribe. When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of
the Lord, the Lord of all the
earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from
above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap.’
***
It wasn’t
my idea. Well, not really.
About a
month ago, during fellowship after worship, I was eating a cupcake with Alaina
Bruns, who is about 4 or 5. My cupcake had frosting; hers didn’t. So she sent her mom to get her another
cupcake—one with “icing.”
This reminded me of when we had our cupcake
decorating event at church—and how much fun it was. For who doesn’t like eating
cupcakes with lots of frosting? One Sunday afternoon, a crowd of children and
adults filled the fellowship hall to learn from Lou Ann how to dress up plain
cupcakes for the holidays.
This
was on my mind when Alaina and I started to talk about the pretty fall
decorations in the fellowship hall. And we talked about pumpkins.
“I like to
paint pumpkins,” I said.
Alaina said, “Me, too.”
Then
she invited me to her house that very day so we could paint pumpkins and play.
“C’mon,” she
said, tugging on my hand and getting out of her chair. “C’mon.”
The next thing I knew, I was choosing a date
for a pumpkin decorating event for families and inviting the confirmation class
and children and youth leaders to join me in a new ministry opportunity. I was so pleased when all of them said,
“Yes!”
But it
wasn’t really my idea. Alaina had a lot to do with it!
Then, although all the details were falling
into place, as the day of the event grew nearer, I began to feel anxious. As
James and I set up tables and chairs the night before our pumpkin decorating,
he complained that it was more work than he expected. Yes, it was a lot of
work—and not just for us, but for all the volunteers, some of whom put in a
full day’s work and shopped for more supplies before they came to Ebenezer that
night to help with the event. What was challenging was that we hadn’t done this
before. We weren’t sure how or where to set up and how to plan the crafts. We didn’t know what supplies volunteers were
bringing, how many people would come, or how old the children would be. We
didn’t know how much food to provide or if we had enough pumpkins.
But there was
no turning back. I had seen the happiness on little Alaina’s face and felt a
kind of stirring in my heart, a “nudge” of the Spirit. We could only keep
moving forward, trusting the Lord as we took one step at a time.
***
We don’t often
encounter Joshua in our 3-year cycle of scripture readings. And there’s so much
more to Joshua than what we sing in the song, “Joshua fought the battle of Jericho.”
We talk
much more about Moses than Joshua, though it was Joshua, Moses’ successor, who
brought God’s people—finally—to the promise land. Moses never makes it there; he is
punished for his lack of faith and dies at the age of 120 on a mountain
overlooking the promise land.
And when we
think of the awesome wonders of God revealed to the Israelites during their
journey, we think again of Moses and how he stretched out his hand and the wind
blew and the Red Sea parted, allowing the Israelites to pass through on dry
land.
But God continues
to do awesome wonders during Joshua’s leadership of Israel to reveal God’s
power and presence with His people. Some of those wonders, such as the one we
read about today, bring to mind God’s wonders of old, including the miraculous “parting”
of the Red Sea.
Joshua, from the tribe of Ephraim, first
appears in the Bible in Exodus 17
as “Hosea.” When the Amalekites
attack the Israelites after their crossing of the Red Sea, Hosea leads the
counter-attack. After defeating the enemy, Moses
makes Hosea his assistant. He continues to prove himself to be one of God’s
faithful when he is waiting on the edge of the mountain for Moses to descend
with the 10 Commandments and he is not with the Israelites when they fashion
and worship the Golden Calf. Then, in the episode of the spies in Numbers 13-14,
he is one of 12 men chosen to travel to Canaan and scout out the “promise land.”
When the spies return, they praise the virtues of the land, but 10 of them say it
will be impossible to conquer; there are giants in the land. Joshua and Caleb disagree
and try to convince the people to trust that God will give them the land. But
Israel believes the 10 frightened men—and not Joshua and Caleb. For this, God punishes the Israelites, making
them wait 40 years until the Lord will lead them, through Hosea/Joshua, into
the promise land.
At
the beginning of the book of Joshua, the Lord assures Moses’ successor that as
he was with Moses, he will be with Joshua. He commands Joshua
to lead Israel to “cross the Jordan.” God says, “Be strong and courageous.”
Joshua will need strength and courage. The
river runs through a deep gorge that may be the earth’s deepest valley. It flows into the Dead Sea, which lies 1286
feet below sea level. On both sides of the river are mountains with steep
slopes and huge precipices. Joshua 3:15 tells us that at this time of year—at
the time of the harvest—the river is at its fullest and overflows its banks.
Joshua, still the man of faith that he was when
Moses anointed him for leadership, warns the people to sanctify themselves, prepare
their hearts to see the wonders of the
Living God. Following God’s instructions, Joshua chooses 12 priests to
carry the ark of the covenant into the middle of the Jordan River and tells the
people to follow the priests at a distance.
The Israelites trust Joshua’s leadership as
he trusts in the Lord. They follow the priests and watch as they dip their feet
in the edge of the water. And then they see the wonders of the Living God! “The waters flowing from above stand still,
rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan,
while those flowing towards the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, are wholly
cut off.” The priests that carry the ark—containing the
10 Commandments and symbolizing the power, presence, and the very breath of God—stand
in the middle of the Jordan on dry ground. And the entire nation of Israel
crosses over on dry land.
***
Friends, we,
too, must trust that the Lord will guide us in ministry, from generation
to generation. We can’t be like those who wandered in the wilderness for 40
years because they didn’t believe in God’s promises. We must endure the trials
and lift up others as they suffer through trials. Let us be strong and
courageous, like God urges Joshua. We can’t be afraid to “cross the Jordan” at the
Lord’s command.
All of us need to be open to those little
nudgings of the Spirit, leading us to try something new or go a different path,
though it may mean a change in our routine and, occasionally, more work to do.
The Lord will be with us as we seek to be
obedient to Him. We may not see the parting of the Red Sea or the Jordan River.
But we will experience his miracles, just the same.
On Wednesday
night, though the weather was chilly and gloomy, a crowd of happy, energetic
children came to Ebenezer with their families to our pumpkin event. We had
plenty of food and plenty of pumpkins. Like the miracle of the loaves and
fishes, we had cupcakes and pumpkins left over! God provided what we
needed—including the peace of Christ that blessed all who came.
Our
volunteers worked hard and cheerfully; they stayed late to clean up, though
they were tired—and for this and all the joy that they brought to the children,
our community is grateful. When Carol posted photos of the event on Facebook,
more than 1,100 people viewed them; many responded with “like.” Some left notes
of thanks.
And when we consider the next new ministry
opportunity, and we think, “I don’t know. What if people don’t come? What if we
can’t find enough volunteers? What if it’s a lot of work or we don’t know what
to do?” I hope that we will remember this week—and the many times God has been
faithful to help us whenever we seek to be servants of Him.
Remember that
God was with us. He helped us, every step of the way. He blessed us with His
peace.
Now, I can’t keep from thinking about little
Alaina—and how the Lord uses small children to plant some crazy ideas in our
heads sometimes—so that we can reach the world for Him.
I guess
that’s just one more wonder of our Living God!
Let us pray.
Awesome and wonderful God, thank you for
your faithfulness to us from generation to generation. Thank you for your love
and your forgiveness for all of our sins through Jesus Christ. Thank you for
the families that you are drawing nearer to us, so that we may urge them to
draw closer to you. Thank you for the many faithful volunteers in our
congregation. Please help them so that they do not grow weary in doing good.
Forgive us for our anxieties and our doubts, and for complaining that ministry
is so much “work.” Thank you for the privilege to be included in your wonderful
plan for the salvation of the world. Thank you for the faithful work of other
Christians before us, for without them, we would not have heard the gospel and
our church would not be here in this community today. And Lord we pray for
those who came to our event and especially those who do not normally go to
church. Draw them—and us—a little closer to thee. Build up our faith, Lord, and
lead us, now, every step of the way as we seek to minister to our neighbors for
the sake of your Son, in whose name we pray. Amen
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