CROSSING THE RIVER OF ‘IMPOSSIBLE’ – Joshua 3:1-17

Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on September 11, 2013 under AM Bible Study |

AM Bible Study Group; September 11, 2013

Joshua 3:1-17

Theme: The story of the people’s crossing of the river Jordan gives us great spiritual lessons about living the victorious Christian life.

(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).

Luke 18 tells us the story of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked, “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” His question is important to notice. He didn’t ask how he might obtain eternal life. Rather, it was what he must ‘do’ to inherit it. When Jesus answered that particular question, the man went away sorrowful. He could not ‘do’ what needed to be done. It was then that Jesus said that it was easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God. And when His disciples said, Who then can be saved?”, Jesus answered, “The things which are impossible with men are possible with God” (Luke 18:27).

What a great promise! What is impossible with men is possible with God! And it’s that promise is what the book of Joshua is about. As we have pointed out earlier, the story of the book of Joshua is not so much a picture of entering our heavenly rest as it is about experiencing a victorious Christian life here and now—before we even get to heaven. We come today to the story of the crossing of the Jordan; and in spite of all the ‘songs’ and ‘hymns’ that seem to say otherwise, that particular event isn’t meant to picture a physical death that leads to heavenly life. Rather, it’s a picture of being crucified with Christ, dying to self, and rising up to live a victorious life in His power in the here-and-now. It’s an illustration of what Paul wrote about when he said, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me” (Galatians 2:20).

Chapters 3 and 4 of Joshua tell the story of the crossing. In Chapter 4, we read of the memorials that were set up after that crossing; but in Chapter 3, we learn spiritual principles that help us understand our own ‘crossing of the river’—the river of ‘impossible’—into victorious living. It shows us that such victory is impossible with men—but very possible with God.

I. THE PRESENCE OF GOD MUST TAKE THE LEAD (vv. 1-6).

A. The story begins with the people of God in a state of waiting. They had ‘lodged’ for three days on the west side of the Jordan “before they crossed over” (v. 1). Those three days remind us of the three days our Savior’s body rested in the tomb. Everything depends on Jesus’ own sacrifice for us; and we cannot “live” for Christ apart from His having been raised for us. Our victory in life is completely dependent upon the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

B. After those three days of waiting on the east side of the Jordan, the officers of the people were sent to command the people to watch for the ark of the covenant—-borne by the priests and the Levites—to set out before them. They were to go after the ark (vv. 2-3). The ark of the covenant was the physical representation to the people of the presence of God. And notice that they were to keep about a half a mile’s distance between themselves and the ark (v. 4). This was to show the people the way to go. But can you imagine how the eyes of the people of Israel—perhaps two-and-a-half-million in number—would watch from a distance as the ark took the lead? How important it is that you and I keep our eyes on Jesus Christ—God in human flesh. We should keep His redemptive work ever in our sight! Hebrews 6:20 tells us that Jesus is “the forerunner” who has entered the veil before us, as we seek to lay hold of the hope that is set before us! We dare not go anywhere else to lay hold of that hope than were He Himself has led the way before us!

C. Just before Joshua commanded the priests to take up the ark and cross over before the people, Joshua commanded the people, “Sanctify yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you” (vv. 5-6). What wonders God has in store for those who rise up to enter into the spiritual blessings He wants to give them! And our entering into the victorious Christian life isn’t our doing. It’s utterly impossible for us! It’s only God Himself who can do it for us. But note that we’re not to be passive or indifferent to it all. We have a part to play in God’s work. We must set ourselves apart from the things of this world, and unto Him. What is impossible for us is only possible with Him; and we experience that possibility to the degree that we set ourselves apart as a people devoted to Him.

II. THE WATERS FROM ‘ADAM’ MUST BE STOPPED (vv. 7-13).

A. God had appointed Joshua to be the leader of His people. And now, He would exalt Joshua in the eyes of His people (vv. 7-8). He commanded the priests who bore the ark to come to the edge of the river and stand in it. God’s exaltation of Joshua as a result of all this is described for us in 4:14. But what’s important to notice is that God commanded the ark—that representation of His presence—to enter first into the river that was impossible for the people to cross. This river, we’re told, was at the stage of overflowing (see v. 15). It would have been utterly impossible for the people of Israel to cross it and enter into the inheritance that God was giving them in their own power. But when the presence of God enters into our impossibilities, they become possible for us.

B. And so, Joshua commanded the people to come hear; and he told them that by what God was about to do, they would know that they would conquer the people groups of the land (vv. 9-10). This was because “the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is crossing over before you into the Jordan” (v. 11). What a picture this is of our Lord Jesus! He stepped into our fallen humanity for us and made what is impossible to us now possible! As Hebrews 2:14-18 puts it; “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and release those who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage. For indeed He does not give aid to angels, but He does give aid to the seed of Abraham. Therefore, in all things He had to be made like His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful High Priest in things pertaining to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people. For in that He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted.”

C. The crossing of the river of human impossibility would be made possible by the waters from upstream being cut off (vv. 12-13). Those waters lead to the Dead Sea; and all who would step into them—apart from God’s help—would simply flow downstream in the overwhelming waters into death. But God would cause them to stand up in a heap and allow the people to cross over on dry ground into their inheritance. Twelve men were appointed to pick up stones from the midst of the river as a memorial; and we’ll read more about that in Chapter 4.

III. THE PEOPLE OF GOD MUST CROSS OVER (vv. 14-17).

A. Unless God Himself stopped the waters at that time of year, the people could not cross. And it’s interesting that we’re told how the waters were stopped at ‘Adam’ (v. 16). No one is sure where this place is today; but its symbolic significance is clear. It was our fallenness in Adam that has made our access to God’s rich blessings impossible to us in our own power. But our Lord Jesus Christ has stepped in to that fallenness for us and has broken the curse of sin for us.

B. So long as the ark—the symbolic presence of God—stood in the midst of the Jordan, the people were able to cross over on dry ground and into their inheritance. And today, we are absolutely reliant upon the Lord Jesus in crossing over our impossibilities and into the victorious Christian life. But we must cross over in union with Him! As Paul wrote; “What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:1-4). He has stepped into the river of our human fallenness for us—our river of ‘impossible’—and has made it possible for us to cross. And we will cross over in victory, so long as we are united to Him.

* * * * * * * * * *

There was a land from God awaiting the people. He was giving it to them; and they had but to rise up and take possession of it. But they could not do so until they crossed that river. And they could not cross the river until God Himself stepped in, stopped the flow, and made their crossing possible. What was impossible for them in their own fallen humanness was possible with God.

Similarly, you and I cannot enter into the fullness of the victorious life God wants us to experience in Christ until we have ‘crossed the river’. We have to die to self, cease relying on the powers of our own fallen humanity, and be completely united to Jesus Christ. We must die to self and live by Him; ever keeping our eyes on Him, ever depending on Him alone.

And once we do, there is nothing in our lives that He cannot conquer for us!