Word of Salvation – Vol. 24 No. 38 – June 1978

 

I am The Way

 

Sermon by Rev. W. F. Van Brussel, B.D. on Joshua 3:14-17

Scripture reading: Joshua 3

Psalter Hymnal: 306; 194; 192; 249; 378; 210:9, 10.

 

Through the events as recorded in Joshua 1 and 2, the new leader, Moses’ successor, had received tremendous encouragement. What a beautiful start for a leader among God’s people! In Chapter 3 we find that not only the leader, Joshua, but the whole nation of Israel were greatly encouraged as they set out entering the promised country, west of Jordan.

GOD MADE A WAY WHERE THERE WAS NO WAY!

And how miraculous a way that was!

After the two spies, who had been sent into Jericho on a mission to find out about the condition of the city with regard to the forthcoming attack, had returned to Shittim, vs.1 tells us that the whole nation broke up and travelled to the river where they stayed for three days. Let us think about that first. The Jordan was not a wide river, but at times it could be quite deep and fast-flowing. It could only be crossed at fords. We are told in vs.15, that the Jordan overflows all its banks all the days of harvest. This happened to be harvest time, you know.

Now, just imagine, here is a nation which is supposed to cross that river at the most unfavourable season of the year. At its lowest the Jordan would be 20 metres wide. But at this particular time of the year it would be 1 kilometre and on top of that, fast- flowing. Here was the whole nation sitting with that wide river right down under their noses: men, women, children, all their possessions and what have you. For three days in a row, just to see how impossible that situation was! Evidently this was exactly what the LORD wanted them to become deeply aware of: it was impossible for such a crowd of people to cross that river then and there. Full stop!

The scene reminds us of what had happened under Moses, when Israel had come to the Red Sea after they had left the house of bondage. We read in Ex.14:15f.: “Then the LORD said to Moses, ‘Why are you crying out to me? Tell the sons of Israel to go forward! And as for you, lift up your staff and stretch out your hand over the sea and divide it, and the sons of Israel shall go through the midst of the sea on dry land….!’”

You can imagine what must have gone through the minds of Israel during those three days of camping near the river. Boy, how shall we ever get there!? But again, the LORD revealed Himself to Joshua and told him JUST LIKE THAT: HE, God, was going to pave the way, a miraculous one, one that nobody had ever trodden on before. A totally NEW way. And the result of this – God said – (once again for Joshua’s encouragement) “This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, that they may know that, just as I have been with Moses, I will be with you!” (vs. 7). So, what did Joshua do? He told the people to get ready, as if there was nothing unusual about it. Vs.5: “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you.”

Yes, if we want to see God doing things in our lives, we must be ready for them. How? By consecrating ourselves. We cannot say: Let us first wait and see and consecrate after. No, get organized NOW. Get ready to travel, for the action will be on tomorrow. God is going to do great things. He has done that before, has He not? They simply had to expect God to do great things and be ready for them. See, this is what is lacking so much among us in today’s situation. We would often take that attitude of: Let us wait and see what God is going go do. We do not expect much from God most of the time. But then we should not be surprised that things indeed do not happen at all. We must be spiritually ready for God to come and do things. We must KNOW Him, TRUST Him, EXPECT Him to act. And WORSHIP Him beforehand. We tend to put things back to front.

Anyway, Israel acted as they had been told. Fine! The next day, at the command of the LORD, Joshua told the priests to pick up the Ark of the Covenant, and to carry it ahead of the people in the direction of the river. Just as if there was nothing wrong. Just as if there was no water at all!

By the way, you all know of course, congregation, what this Ark, this special wooden box of Israel was for. This box, lined with gold, had been the symbol of God’s own presence, ever since it had been constructed and dedicated in the days of Moses. Whenever the people of Israel saw this Ark, they would know: GOD IS HERE! HE HIMSELF IS WITH US. EMMANUEL!

Yes, we all know, do we not, that God Himself is present in the Lord Jesus Christ wherever His people are? And it is in Him, in the Lord Jesus Christ, that God has come to us in the most surprising and effective way! Yes, this is what must happen, at least when we as New Testament believers consider this story and watch this scene. When we see this picture of those priests with the Ark of the Covenant, our New Testament eyes recognise our Lord Jesus Christ as He goes ahead of His people whenever they take the course pointed out to them by God.

We read in vs.4 that there was to be a distance between the Ark and the people. A distance of at least 1 kilometre. The main reason for this command was that everybody (not only those in the front) could watch it as it moved towards the river. All the people had to see the Ark and look at it with the eyes of faith, as this Ark was the visible sign of the promise that was to come true one day: the appearance of the Lord Jesus Christ on this world’s scene. For this is what we must keep doing all the time, is it not, keep watching Jesus, all of us?

So, everybody was in the position to see what was going to happen next. And what happened? The very moment the people saw those priests, carrying the Ark, reach the water of the Jordan River and dip their feet into the water, the waters stood and rose up in one heap over a long distance, some 30 kilometres, even as far as the city called Adam. The result of this was that the river-bed further south started falling dry, opening up a NEW road, a miraculous path for the people of God to cross the river. Surely, the LORD was there, was He not?

The Lord Jesus Christ paved the way for Israel by the miracle of His power.

And not only that, He also made it stay that way till every single member of the Israelite nation had crossed over the river-bed. This is the beautiful, impressive message of the closing verse of this chapter: “And the priests who carried the Ark of the Covenant of the LORD stook firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan while all Israel crossed on dry ground, until all the nation had finished crossing the Jordan.”

And as the people came past the spot where the priests were stationed with the Ark, all of them could see, from close by, that it was the LORD, their God, Who had miraculously paved the way for them into the promised country.

The people of Israel entered Canaan by way of a divine miracle. They walked by faith, faith in the LORD Who was so close to them in Jesus Christ, Whom they – Old Testament people – did not know as yet. But we know Him, do we not? Thus the whole nation was enabled to go into the country concerning which the LORD had told them that He Himself would come and live with them there.

As we consider the meaning of this impressive and well-known story which was recorded in the Bible for the instruction of the people of God of all ages, we must come to see that it has been that way for God’s people all along. All believers, you too, actually are in the process of travelling a similar road through this life.

The Lord Jesus Himself, when we want to think of Him in the first place, has travelled a most unusual road, has He not? He has travelled the road of crucifixion and resurrection before finally entering the ‘Promised Land’, the state of everlasting, unbroken . communion with God the Father. That surely was a most miraculous way for Him to travel. And yet, that particular road, and no other, led Him ultimately into that state of glory that the Father has been sharing with Him ever since.

And we…? Well, we are told clearly in the Bible that, in order to reach our eternal home, we must abandon our old way of life. We must start travelling a different road, and leading a different life altogether, if we really are desirous to finish up living in. the blessed presence of God forever and ever. That is what Canaan, the promised country, very often stands for in the New Testament, as you all know so well, the Canaan above, the life of everlasting glory with Christ in His completed Kingdom.

We must die to self, the Bible teaches, and live to Him Who has loved us so tremendously dearly. And then we do start living that different, that NEW life, here and now already in the fellowship of God and His people. No, it is by far not as yet as it is meant to be as long as we live here. Yet, through faith in Jesus Christ we receive a foretaste alright of what it is going to be like – to live in the eternal Canaan of God. Although it is true that a new Jerusalem has been promised us, we do not have to wait till we are there, before we can start living as people redeemed by Christ’s blood and renewed by Christ’s Spirit. As Jesus has put it so clearly in that most encouraging word of John 3: “He who believes in the Son HAS eternal life!” We do not have to wait for that anymore, when once we believe in Jesus Christ. We then have it, right here and now.

The point in connection with our story then is: How did we arrive at that new condition? The only appropriate answer would be: By travelling the NEW way, the God-given, miraculous way which looks absolutely impossible, even non-existing; the way paved by the blood and the Spirit of Christ. There was NO way leading us back to God, was there? If Christ had not become man, if He had not accomplished His great Ministry of reconciliation, if He had not made His unique sacrifice for sin, there would never have been a way for us to come to God and to the promised country. But He has opened up the NEW way by Himself becoming the WAY for us. I AM THE WAY, He stated. What was impossible with us, men, was accomplished by Him!

When we were faced with that impossible river of our sins and God’s wrath against them, we would still have been standing there not knowing what to do. But our Lord Jesus Christ has performed the miracle of making that big river fall, so as to make it possible for us to cross the river-bed, thus to come to God and to stay with Him forever. This is how the situation is for all who believe in Jesus Christ as their ONLY Saviour. And if YOU want to come to a good, restored relationship with God and to rejoice in it today and tomorrow, you must go home and some time later today pick up your Bible once again. Turn to this story of Joshua 3 and read it as you perhaps have never read it before. In this way for instance: So when I set out from my old life according to my own nature to cross over the river that separated me from God (because of my sin and His wrath against it), with Jesus standing there I passed over. And while I was passing over on dry ground, JESUS indeed stood there until I had finished crossing over. And not only I, but together with me ALL the people redeemed by Jesus’ blood and baptized with His Spirit.

And as you do that, pray to God that this may not only be your life’s story for today and tomorrow, but also, and in particular, the story of your life’s end, when you come to the point of crossing the river of death. Because, when we have read and believed this story of the crossing of the Jordan the way it ought to be read and received, God wants His people to rejoice and to praise His Name! And be sure of your eternal salvation on the basis of what Christ has done and of what His Spirit keeps doing until all is completed.

AMEN.