wet feet

Joshua 3

1 Early the next morning Joshua and all the Israelites left Acacia Grove and arrived at the banks of the Jordan River, where they camped before crossing.

2 Three days later the Israelite officers went through the camp,3 giving these instructions to the people:

      "When you see the Levitical priests carrying the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD your God, move out from your positions and follow them.

      4 Since you have never traveled this way before, they will guide you.

      Stay about a half mile behind them, keeping a clear distance between you and the Ark.

      Make sure you don't come any closer."


  5 Then Joshua told the people,

        "Purify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do great wonders among you."


  6 In the morning Joshua said to the priests,

        "Lift up the Ark of the Covenant and lead the people across the river."

And so they started out and went ahead of the people.


  7 The LORD told Joshua,

        "Today I will begin to make you a great leader in the eyes of all the Israelites.

        They will know that I am with you, just as I was with Moses.

        8 Give this command to the priests who carry the Ark of the Covenant:

            'When you reach the banks of the Jordan River, take a few steps into the river and stop there.'"


  9 So Joshua told the Israelites,

        "Come and listen to what the LORD your God says.

        10 Today you will know that the living God is among you.

        He will surely drive out the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites ahead of you.

        11 Look, the Ark of the Covenant, which belongs to the Lord of the whole earth, will lead you across the Jordan River!

        12 Now choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.

        13 The priests will carry the Ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth.

        As soon as their feet touch the water, the flow of water will be cut off upstream, and the river will stand up like a wall."


  14 So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan,

        and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them.

15 It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks.

But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river's edge,16 the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan.

And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry.

Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.


  17 Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the LORD's Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by.

They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.



These thoughts are original with me, but for the life of me I can't remember who I heard them from. Maybe John Wood at Christ Chapel Macon?

Remember the last time the Israelites had water parted for them?

Yeah, at the Red Sea, when Pharaoh's was coming to get them.

Moses held his staff over the water, the sea parted, & the people walked across on dry land.

iow, the Lord did the miracle before anyone made a step forward in escape from Pharaoh's army.


This time, the guys carrying the Ark had to step into the water before the miracle happened.


Have you ever seen a flooding river - one that has overflowed its banks?

It can be pretty compelling.

There's usually vast amounts of water, covering huge amounts of land, & the water is running incredible fast with a strong current.

It can be kinda scary - all the unrelenting, unstoppable power.

So,the Jordan River was in flood stage, overflowing its banks.

It wasn't the normal sedate, placid waterway.

And Joshua told the guys to carry the Ark into that river - to step out into the river.


How would you have liked to have been one of the guys carrying the Ark?

Yeah, scary stuff, stepping into a river in flood.

But they did - they stepped into the water.

And when they did, the water started "piling up" (whatever that means), opening up a passageway across the Jordan River, enabling the Israelites to walk across on dry land.


Pretty amazing stuff, huh?

Imagine what the guys carrying the Ark thought!


Here's what I heard suggested with this passage...


Sometimes we need something spectacular to happen - we need a miracle from God to proceed or to survive. We can't continue without one.

And sometimes, He just goes, Bingo! & makes the miracle happen, Wham!, & then we proceed.

But sometimes, we have to step out in faith, seemingly without any changes, & the miracle happens as we proceed, as we move forward, as we "get our feet wet" in the matter (no pun intended).


Somebody needs to hear that today.

Somebody needs to know that the miracle you seek, the way made you need, the possible occuring in an impossible situation, will only happen as you take a step forward into the very thing you need, want, or know needs to happen.


How do I know that God will come through if we get our feet wet?

I've experienced it, more than once.


So, whatever it is you're feeling like God is leading you toward, step out, step into it, & get your feet wet.