We Must Cross Over the Jordan, by Pastor Ed Evans

Scripture: Joshua 3:7-17

3:7   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.
3:8   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.'"
3:9   Joshua then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of the Lord your God."
3:10   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:
3:11   the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.
3:12   So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.
3:13   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."
3:14   When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.
3:15   Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water,
3:16   the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.
3:17   While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

          There is a miracle in these verses of scripture, a miracle that has parallels with where we stand today, as if on the banks of the flooding Jordan River.  Some think the time of miracles is over, but we are still on God's time, and He is a God of miracles.

          But first let's take a look at this man Joshua.  Born a slave, Joshua was a close aide to Moses, became Moses military commander, and is seen as one of the greatest military leaders in all of Israel.  He had been permitted to accompany Moses partway up Mt. Sinai when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments, and Joshua was one of the 12 whom Moses trusted to explore the Promised Land.   And it was only Joshua and Caleb who brought back an encouraging report.

          His given name was Hoshea, meaning salvation, but Moses renamed him Joshua, "the Lord is salvation."  He managed to get the people of Israel safely into the Promised Land, and lived to be 110 year old.  But first he had to get them across the Jordan during the harvest flood.  At first glance that appeared to be impossible, because at harvest the Jordan flooded out of its banks.

          The people were used to the authority of God residing with Moses, but how could they trust this man Joshua?  And for Joshua, himself, how could he trust that he would have the same confidence that God shared with Moses?

          But God had a plan, as He always does, and the same answer to the problem of the flooding Jordan was to be the answer to whether or not the people would see God's confidence in Joshua.  It wasn't as if Joshua didn't know what God was up to, because we see in verses 7 and 8 that God told him straight out.  "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.'"

          And here we approach the parallel with the world we live in today.  The Israelites were moving from slavery to a better life, a land of their own, the Promised Land.  We in America are beginning to see how our focus on attaining the "bigger, better, newest" has led us into an economic slavery and, as we see the possibility of economic collapse we finally begin to do that which we should have done long ago, pull in our belts, stop spending, save more, do without when we can't afford it.  Our personal hungers and desires have led us into canyons of frustration and swamps of disbelief. 

          We have come to an economic, ethical and moral floodpoint that may take a miracle to get this nation out of, and Godly leadership seems to be lacking.  We have political candidates who would be President for the sake of being President.  But do we have candidates who would be President for the sake of solving America's problems?  That's where the Israelites found themselves, up against a dangerous flood, and unsure of their new leadership.

          When Joshua had gone with Moses up Mt. Sinai, the weak leadership of Aaron had allowed the debacle of the golden calf and worship of it as an idol.  It pleased the people, but it didn't please God.

          In this nation we have a segment that has worked hard and become wealthy, but we also have more than 600,000 homeless in America.  Forty percent of those are families, and every one in four of those homeless is a child.  That cannot please God.

          In 2008, the latest data available for abortions in the United States, 1.2 million babies lost their God-given lives.  That cannot please God.

          The U.S. Customs Service estimates there are more than 100,000 websites offering child pornography that is illegal worldwide.  Hollywood currently releases 11,000 adult movies per year.  That's more than 20 times the mainstream movie production.  And 55% of all movies rented in hotel rooms are pornographic.  That cannot please God.

          America claims to be a nation of laws, and yet the prisons are full and the numbers of rapes, robberies and murders continue to rise.  That cannot please God.

          It is of no comfort, but we do know this lawlessness is not new.  In 1st Timothy 1, verses 8-11, we read, "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly.  We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers—and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine that conforms to the gospel concerning the glory of the blessed God, which He entrusted to me." -- 1st Tim. 1:8-11

          Such people make their own choices, and while their choices cannot please God, He has given us free will.  We who follow Christ are charged with sharing the gospel, but getting them to repent and follow Christ is the work of the Holy Spirit, so long as we do our part.  And it is "our part" that God can use to get this nation across the "Jordan" flooded with out-of-control selfish desires, lying, theft, sexual perversion and Godless behavior that threatens to take this nation down into the depths of sin.

          Those who follow the Christ must not lose sight of their discipleship, of the need for continued daily devotionals and prayer.  Again and again we see Christians sharing the Old Testament verse from 1st Chronicles 7:14, "if My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land."

          While Moses and Joshua were away and the Israelites decided to worship a golden calf, not everyone joined in.  And when Moses returned, many remained with Moses against the fallen away.  When the scouting party came back frightened by what they saw in the Promised Land, not everyone was afraid.  While evil runs rampant in this land and the innocent are endangered, damaged and lost, not everyone wrings their hands and runs about crying "Oh me, oh my!"  Not everyone agrees we must stop believing in God and exalt our human wisdom, satisfying first our human desires. 

          There is a God-fearing remnant in America who will not run from evil, who will not stop praying, who will give the glory to God for every good thing, who will stand on the word of Almighty God, who will say with Psalm 118:24, "This is the day the Lord has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it."  It is that which will please God, and it is they -- you who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior -- whom God can use to get us across the flood of evil flowing through this land, across and to the Promised Land He intends America to be; spreading hope to the world, and the gospel of Jesus Christ.  Just as with Joshua and the Israelites, it will take a miracle.  But our God is still in the miracle business.

          Amen.