Get your feet wet
Series: Welcome home | Bible text: Joshua 3:1–17
God miraculously led Joshua and the Israelites through the Jordan River into the Promised Land. With the crossing of the Jordan, something new began and the promises of God began to be fulfilled. What can we learn from this moment so that we too can dare something new and thereby experience more of God’s promises in our lives? It needs a new focus, a cleansing and in the end also wet feet.
In a few days, a new year begins. Something new is just around the corner. Some 2500 years ago, the people of Israel were also facing something new. They were about to end their wanderings in the desert and come to their promised homeland. Only the Jordan River separated them from God’s promises. «Welcome home!», our theme for the year.
God’s people, in God’s land (Canaan), in God’s presence. That was the understanding of salvation or home in the Old Testament. We who believe in Jesus are also on the way. Not like the Israelites on a long journey to Canaan, the Israel of today. Our whole life is directed towards a future goal. The Bible says: «…for we have no lasting city here, but the future we seek»(Hebrews 13:14 TO). All who believe in Jesus Christ have their real home in the future city, the heavenly Jerusalem, in the heavenly Canaan. Paul says in Philippians 3:20: «Our home is in heaven…» And that is why Paul writes in Ephesians 2:22 (Hfa): «So you are no longer strangers and homeless; you now belong as citizens to the people of God, even to his family.» As Swiss in Moldova, we live in Moldova and yet our Swiss culture always comes through. We bring a piece of Switzerland with us to Moldova. And in the same way, we are called to bring a piece of this heavenly Canaan, where God reigns, to earth. Kingdom of God here and now, on the way to Canaan.
On their way to Canaan, the Israelites did many things wrong. Many examples show us how not to be on the road. But of course there were also good moments. Today I would like to look at a moment when the Israelites did everything right. This opened up a path to the Promised Land. What can we learn from this moment so that heaven, our homeland, opens up more and more a way into our lives, into our families, into our surroundings! Let us look back to the shore of the Jordan. The Israelites have just pitched their tents.
The way home
40 years earlier, Moses led the Israelites out of Egypt. There they were in slavery. After they fled Egypt, 2 million Israelites came to the Red Sea. And God parted the sea and the Israelites were able to pass through with dry feet. After passing through the Red Sea, it was actually only a 2‑week trip to Canaan, the promised homeland. That’s how long it takes to walk from the Red Sea to the land of Canaan. But the Israelites, in less than 2 weeks, got hard hearts because it was difficult in the desert. They complained about their leaders, about Moses, and they were unfaithful to God because they wanted to go back to their old life, back to slavery. That’s just not the way to do it. But I ask us this morning. Don’t we know this too? What about our faith when things get difficult? Many times my heart has become hard when things get difficult. Sometimes we are disappointed by people. Or there are things that we know are not good in the eyes of God, and yet we do them. The Israelites were not allowed to enter the Promised Land because of this. They did not experience God’s promises on earth. And also today, such things disturb us on our journey and can be an obstacle for heaven to find its way more and more into our lives.
Far away and yet so close!
But now the Israelites are finally on the banks of the Jordan. They could see the promised land, the homeland! So close and yet so far. Why? It was high water, the Jordan was a raging river! No chance for the people to get across the river.
What is your Jordan? Probably every one of us on the way to Canaan stands somewhere in front of a Jordan. An obstacle that stands between you and God’s promises. Sometimes it is so clear what we should do or change, but we don’t manage it. We fail to do the simplest things like reading the Bible regularly, spending time with our children, finally stopping pornography, living healthier, stopping blaspheming etc… The Promised Land where we want to go is so close and yet so far. The Bible has a word for these things: sin. Sin means missing the mark, God actually wants us to walk differently. We are not walking as we should! And sin stands like a wall between us and God (Isaiah 59:2). That is why heaven cannot make its way into our lives.
AVAR – one moment changes everything!
But there is hope. The people of Israel crossed the Jordan. I will tell you how in a moment. I would like to point out one more exciting thought. When we read Joshua 3, we read several times the word combination «pass through» or «pass through» the Jordan. The Hebrew word for this is AVAR. AVAR does not only mean to simply pass through, but also means change, transformation or change. For the Israelites, crossing the Jordan was an AVAR experience. After 40 years, finally! A change took place, a change, a tremendous change. They came to the homeland, the Promised Land.
And my wish is that we will always have such spiritual AVAR moments in the coming year and beyond. Not just in 40 years! Moments that change everything, that take us across the river in a certain area into the homeland so that we can experience God’s promises. The condition for this is that we must be ready for change. We have to be ready to leave the old behind and go new ways. Let us now look at how the Israelites did this in practice.
Focus your gaze on Jesus.
«And after three days the officers went through the camp, and commanded the people, saying, When ye see the Levitical priests take up the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, then depart from your place, and follow it.»(Joshua 3, 2–3 ZU).
When you see the Ark of the Covenant… How is the Ark going to help? The Ark of the Covenant is not a ship! But the Israelites knew that the Ark of the Covenant visibly symbolised the power and presence of God. So the leaders said, «Look at the presence of God and follow it!» Looking at the Jordan River, no one would have moved. But looking to God gave them courage. The Ark of the Covenant no longer exists today, but just over 2000 years ago God became visible in the person of Jesus Christ. God became man. Jesus is the visible image of the invisible God (Colossians 1:15). Wherever we desire change, wherever we want to cross our Jordan, there we must look away from the problem and look to Jesus. He is the foundation of our hope for change. By looking to Jesus we can always have hope. Don’t close your eyes to things you need to tackle. And don’t see these things as big and insurmountable. Looking at Jesus, you will not tell the problem how big it is, no, you will start telling it how big your God is!
2. reveal your position
«And Joshua said unto the people, Sanctify yourselves: for to morrow the LORD will do wonders among you.» (Joshua 3:5 TO). Who of us does not want to see miracles? Changes in life? If you want to see that in the new year, I invite you to sanctify yourself today to see the miracle tomorrow. To sanctify means to call our Jordan(s) by name and ask God for forgiveness. Because they did not do this, the first humans lost their home. When Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, what happened? God set out to find Adam and Eve! He cried out: «Adam, where are you?»(Genesis 3:9). Of course God knew where Adam was. It was not a game of hide and seek. But God wanted Adam himself to reveal his position. Where are you Adam? Where are you, man? Where are you this morning on your way to Canaan? What Jordan is standing in your way? Give God your position! The verb to call from God’s side always has a healing character. He calls with the intention to help, to comfort and to forgive. He wants to put us on the right path. He is happy to forgive. At Christmas Jesus came into the world, why? «For the Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which is lost»(Luke 19:10). If you have lost your way somewhere, if you are standing in front of a Jordan River, Christmas means to you that God has left heaven to look for you. That is the miracle of Christmas: Helmut Thielicke, a German theologian from the last century: «Christmas tells us: God picks us up, no matter where we are.» But you have to tell him where you stand. Communion today is a wonderful opportunity to let God pick you up, tell him where you stand and claim his forgiveness. Look to Jesus! Sanctify yourself and reveal your position and last point:
3. get your feet wet
«Und you shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant: When ye come to the waters of Jordan, stand ye in Jordan.… Then when the feet of the priests who carry the ark of the LORD, the LORD of all the earth, are in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan will be dammed up, the waters that flow down from above, so that they will stand as a dam»(Joshua 3:8,13).
God tells Joshua here that the priests with the Ark of the Covenant must stand in the water while the river is still flowing wildly! When they have dared to take this step, God will stop the water. We too are invited to dare to take a step into the river. The Israelites had to believe and dare to take a step. It seems that God is saying: «Show me your faith by getting your feet wet. If you obey, then I will answer you.«And I also want to invite you today to get your feet wet. Stand in your Jordan. Get your things done, make a New Year’s resolution. My father-in-law formulated an incredibly great definition for New Year’s resolutions: «Positive change, which serves your environment and yourself for the best!»
Jordan crossings are positive change on our way to Canaan. And they will create a way for heaven to make its way more and more into our lives. The home of heaven – can already be experienced on the way there. Through this we will be blessed and we will be a blessing!
Amen
