Participants: Pr. Doug Batchelor
Series Code: EG
Program Code: EG002706
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00:09 It's been 2000 years since the glorious light of the cross
00:12 illuminated the world veiled in darkness and confusion about the 00:15 character of God. And still today the greatest need of 00:19 mankind is a revelation of God's love as revealed in the life of 00:23 Christ. Amazing Facts presents the Everlasting Gospel with 00:26 Pastor Doug Batchelor coming to you each week from Sacramento 00:30 Central Church in sunny California. Discover hidden 00:34 treasures in God's word today. 00:36 Morning. Praise the Lord! God is good. I wasn't even expecting 00:47 that. That's right all the time. There you go. For our friends 00:56 who may be visiting or if you were not here last Sabbath, we 01:03 have just begun a series on Bible hero of Joshua and we are 01:09 doing part two in that series today. Don't know how long it'll 01:13 go but we're not going to finish this Sabbath. I can just about 01:18 tell you that, dealing with one of the great characters, Joshua. 01:22 Our message today is more specifically Joshua Part Two, 01:25 From Jordan to Jericho. Now you notice it doesn't say from 01:29 Jordan through Jericho because we're just going to get to 01:32 Jericho today. In our next study we'll probably be talking more 01:36 about the walls of Jericho and that whole adventure. So where 01:40 we take up our story today is a good place because we've sort of 01:44 given the introduction from the experiences of Joshua that we 01:48 found in the wilderness with Moses. Now Moses is passing 01:52 away and we get to the book of Joshua. The book of Joshua is 01:57 really a bridge between the Law and the books of the Judges that 02:02 you find. So we're going to enter into Joshua chapter one. 02:06 Most of our study is going to be going through Joshua 1-10. A lot 02:11 of it then breaks down into some 02:12 of the specifics of the divisions of the promised 02:15 land, but the best stories are going to be found in the first 02:18 six or eight chapters in the book of Joshua. In Joshua 02:22 chapter 1 we find where he really takes over as now the new 02:27 commander of God's people. He is given a mandate to have courage 02:33 and that was in our scripture reading this morning. You 02:39 remember that Moses told Joshua be strong, be courageous. 02:43 Now we get into chapter 1 of Joshua. The Lord tells him again 02:48 to be strong and be courageous. Why? Can you imagine trying to 02:54 fill Moses' shoes? Joshua even with the evidence of God in the 02:59 camp must have felt some apprehension. Moses had some big 03:03 sandals to fill so to speak. Here he had stood before the 03:07 Pharaoh and all the plagues, the mighty miracles and Moses was 03:11 not deemed worthy to lead them over and God said Joshua you do 03:14 it. Joshua is thinking I was Moses' servant. How can I be 03:17 worthy? What about the apprehension that Elisha felt 03:21 when Elijah is going to heaven and Elisha feels like how can I 03:24 fill Elijah's shoes? This is a man who prays and fire comes 03:28 down from heaven. And Elijah says to Elisha, before I leave 03:31 is there something you'd like to request. He didn't feel fit for 03:34 the job did he? What did he ask for? A double portion of your 03:38 Spirit. How can I do your work without your Spirit? So Joshua 03:41 is feeling this element of apprehension. Moses is dead and 03:46 they mourned for him 30 days. And God reassures him. He says, 03:50 I am going to give you courage. You be strong. I am with you. 03:55 That's a wonderful promise, Amen? What is courage? 03:59 According to the dictionary courage is the state or quality 04:05 of mind or spirit that enables one to face danger, fear or 04:10 vicissitudes with self- possession confidence, 04:13 resolution and bravery. 04:16 Karen lent me a tape I was listening to this week. 04:19 I haven't found it in the book anywhere but Pastor David Gates 04:23 described courage as someone who runs to do the right thing even 04:27 though it looks like the impossible. Running towards the 04:32 right thing. It's like David running to fight Goliath. 04:35 That takes courage to run to fight a giant even though it 04:39 looks like it's impossible that you might win. I know that 04:43 sometimes there's a very thin line between courage and 04:48 insanity and many heroes are called crazy first and heroes 04:53 later. Isn't that right? When you step out in faith sometimes 04:57 you're called crazy. When you succeed you're called spiritual. 05:02 So now God says to Joshua, I want you to cross the Jordan. 05:07 He hasn't told him how he's going to do it because the river 05:12 is flooding at this point. And as they're moving in that 05:15 direction, you remember Moses died and was buried near Mount 05:21 Nebo so they're not too far away from that place. He realizes 05:25 that it would probably be a good idea to send a couple of 05:28 individuals over in advance to sort of scout the area. Now they 05:34 did have guarded crossings that were crossed by ferries where a 05:39 few people and their oxen could get maybe get on a raft and they 05:43 were pulled across the Jordan. The Jordan used to flood during 05:47 the harvest time. The snows of Mount Lebanon were melting, they 05:51 were running down and it's not a mighty river like the Missouri 05:55 but it's a pretty formidable stream this time of year and you 05:58 can't get across it. There's no bridge. But a couple of spies 06:02 could make it. And you couldn't have sent 12 like Moses did 40 06:06 years earlier for a couple of reasons. One, it's too obvious 06:10 when you got 12 spies traveling together to spot them. They sort 06:15 of stand out. The other thing is Joshua did not want a repeat of 06:19 the wrong men getting discouraged by obstacles and 06:22 bringing back an evil report. So he handpicked two 06:26 individuals based on their faithfulness. Now there's some 06:30 speculation. We don't know who one of them is but there is 06:34 speculation that one of the spies, his name was Salmon. 06:39 Salmon was the father of Boaz. He was the son of Naashan. 06:44 Naashan was one of the 70 elders that had been chosen or one of 06:49 the 12 princes rather that had been chosen by Joshua to 06:54 represent the tribes. So this was a man of dignity, young, 06:59 trustworthy and he had a partner who is unnamed. They cross over. 07:03 Now given the charge of courage in chapter 1, go with me to 07:07 chapter 2 and one of my favorite stories, I'm glad that I get to 07:11 address it again here, is the story of Rahab and the two 07:17 spies. Go with me to chapter 2 verse 1. Now Joshua the son of 07:22 Nun... You remember we talked about Nun. Do you remember what 07:26 the Hebrew interpretation of Nun is? A catholic woman who's not 07:30 married. No! Nun represents perpetual or eternal. So here 07:36 Joshua's name is Jehovah is Savior the son of the Eternal. 07:42 All right. So Joshua the son of Nun sent out two spies, two men, 07:45 from the acacia grove. They're camped at this grove that's not 07:49 very far from Jericho. Jericho's right by the Jordan River. We've 07:54 been there. And they came to the city and they came to the house 07:59 of a harlot... Some of you might be thinking, Pastor Doug, aren't 08:03 these supposed to be godly men? What, has this turned into a 08:07 business trip? What's going on here? They came to the house of 08:11 a harlot named Rahab and they lodged there. Well before you 08:14 jump to conclusions about what these spies were doing, in 08:18 Bible times it was just a very common practice that the inns, 08:22 the hotels, were operated by families and it was something 08:25 like a mom and pop operation with a bed and breakfast and 08:29 sometimes there was a little more emphasis on the bed part 08:32 because that was the oldest profession and it was just the 08:36 way of life back then. People who operated these inns were 08:39 automatically labeled as harlots and it didn't necessarily mean 08:43 it's what they did, it meant that happened in their house. 08:47 You understand? But she is called, you can't escape it, 08:51 several times in the Bible Rahab the harlot. So of course Mary 08:55 Magdalene was given that reputation as well. One reason 09:00 they went there is first of all when you go to one of those 09:04 houses of ill repute or a bordeleau, it's a place where 09:07 nobody asks questions because someone might ask you what 09:11 you're doing there. You understand? It's a good place to 09:14 mix in. How nervous were the people in Jericho at that time? 09:19 Think about this. Right then the people who were in the city 09:24 of Jericho could stand on the massive walls, look right across 09:28 the river and they could see at night this glowing pillar of 09:32 fire coming up from the tabernacle of God's people. 09:35 The evidence of God's presence among his people was visible 09:39 from their city on the other side of the Jordan. Would that 09:42 make you nervous? Had they heard the story over the last 40 years 09:47 of the miraculous deliverance of Israel and all the plagues 09:50 that fell on the Egyptians. How they were being fed. Can you 09:54 imagine looking from your windows, suppose you had a nice 09:57 vantage point in the walls of Jericho and you see every 10:00 morning the children of Israel, as soon as the sun comes up, 10:02 there they are fanning out picking up bread off the ground. 10:05 Would it be evidence to you that God is with them? And everybody 10:09 knew that they had been told the land of Canaan was theirs and 10:13 they were coming to take possession. That would make the 10:17 people of Jericho very nervous. So they are on what do you call 10:22 it; we've got orange, yellow, red alert in North America 10:25 for our security levels. They were on red alert. Would you 10:29 agree? The microphone is popping here a little bit. 10:33 And so here the guards are carefully watching the gates. 10:37 So these spies try to come in, they mingled. The other thing 10:41 they're wanting to do is the caravans that went from Europe 10:46 to Africa and India, through Asia often went through the 10:50 Jordan valley specifically Jericho. Jericho was one of the 10:54 oldest cities in the world because it was by a great spring 10:57 called the spring of Elisha. It's by a river and it was in a 11:02 valley that was an easy natural trail through these continents. 11:05 If you went too far one way you had the ocean. If you went too 11:08 far the other way you had a desert. It was the natural place 11:11 to go and so caravans, great commerce, came through Jericho. 11:14 People from all over the world came through Jericho. If you 11:18 wanted to know what was happening in the news room, you 11:21 went to Jericho. And if you wanted to know especially, you 11:26 would go to the hotel in Jericho So these men went there to do 11:30 reconnaissance. They would sit there quietly, eat their food 11:34 and listen to what people were saying and they could hear all 11:38 the chatter of what was going on. But evidently something 11:42 happened to blow their cover. Somebody noticed; didn't I see 11:46 them cross the Jordan? Weren't they on the ferry with me? 11:50 They're dressed a little unusual They've got that glow about 11:54 them and they look suspicious. Their clothing, something. 11:57 Somehow someone said I detected when we asked them a question 12:01 they had an accent that sounded like Hebrew. In any event, 12:06 people became suspicious. It was told the king of Jericho saying 12:12 behold men have come here tonight from the children of 12:16 Israel to search out the country Now by the way, if Joshua 12:21 represents our Jesus, who is it that had unrightfully taken 12:25 possession of the Promised Land? What king? Who is called 12:31 the prince of this world? Satan. Does Satan know what God's 12:35 representatives are doing? Does the devil have his eye on God's 12:40 messengers. Is he threatened? The devil knows who God's 12:45 messengers are and he is on high alert. He's watching what they 12:49 are doing and so report came to him right away. So the king of 12:54 Jericho sent to Rahab saying bring the men out who have come 12:57 to you and entered your house for they have come to search out 13:00 the country. Now the reason the soldiers didn't go marching 13:03 right into Rahab's house is because in Bible times the 13:07 person's house was their sanctuary. Even if it was a tent 13:11 you said bring them out. Remember the men of Sodom. 13:15 They said to Lot send those two angels out. In the book of 13:23 Judges the man from the Levites stayed in that house 13:26 in Benjamin, the men of the city came and said send him out. Send 13:30 the wife out. They didn't go in because there was a very strong 13:34 taboo to invade the sanctuary of someone's home. You had to send 13:37 them out. So he said to Rahab, send them out. She said, well 13:40 you know the house is full of guests. Let me go find them. 13:44 So she runs and she's a very quick thinker. She runs in the 13:49 house. She took the two men, I'm in verse 4, and she hid them 13:54 and she said to them, Yes the men came to me but I didn't know 13:58 where they were from and it happened as the gate was 14:01 being shut and it was dark that the men went out. Where they 14:04 went, I don't know but go after them quickly and you'll overtake 14:07 them. I understand they just left. Now she's thinking very 14:10 quickly. You know what else Rahab is doing. What would it 14:13 be called if you fraternize with the enemy and you betray your 14:18 country. Aren't you called a traitor? Isn't that treason? 14:21 What is the punishment usually for treason? Even in America we 14:27 have executed spies and traitors She is putting her life on the 14:33 line to deliver God's messengers. She is willing to 14:37 die to preserve the two messengers. Now you've maybe 14:42 picked up on it. I believe these two messengers represent the 14:45 word of God. The word of God is compared to two witnesses. You 14:49 get to Revelation chapter 11 and there are two witnesses, right? 14:52 And they're a symbol of you can say the Law and the prophets, 14:55 the New and the Old Testaments. The word of God is often given 14:59 in the context of something dual. It's a sword with how many 15:02 edges? A double edged sword. This is the word of God. These 15:06 two messengers that came from Joshua represent the word of 15:09 God. And what does she do? She hides them. Thy word I have hid 15:14 in my heart that I might not sin, Amen? And she's doing it 15:18 where she's willing to die to preserve it. We all must be 15:22 willing to take up our cross and to die. Now people always take 15:26 issue with the part; they say well she lied. Yes she did. 15:31 She was also a harlot. So give her a break. I mean this is a 15:36 pagan woman. God meets us where we're at. Isn't that right? 15:40 By the way in war, I'm not saying the Bible condones it, 15:45 but it is a fact that deception was frequently used for the 15:49 enemy in war. Even Joshua later on uses deceptive tactics. 15:53 He looks like he's retreating from the city of Ai and then 15:56 they come in and they charge. I mean it was just a common 15:59 practice back then. So not that God's endorsing lying and don't 16:04 ever use Rahab as your excuse. She's not the perfect example 16:09 for you to use. But still God blessed her for that and he said 16:14 that it took faith, she was willing to die to protect them. 16:18 She brought them up to the roof and had hidden them with the 16:22 stalks of flax which she had laid in order on the roof. 16:25 Now it was a common practice in Bible times that many families 16:28 often had a cottage business. They used to do different things 16:31 to make ends meet. She not only had a bed and breakfast, she 16:35 probably was making some kind of cloth on the roof. The fine 16:38 part of the flax was made into clothing. The course part of the 16:42 flax was made into cord or rope. In the same way Lydia was a 16:46 seller of purple, Rahab was probably a seller of scarlet 16:50 because later she ends up hanging a scarlet rope or cord 16:54 in the window. They were taken on the roof, they dye it, they 16:57 dry it and the roof was the place to do that. She's got this 17:02 big pile of loose fabric on the roof and she hides them in it. 17:08 Scarlet colored fabric. Thy word I have hid in my roof. This is 17:13 where you hide it, right? That I might not sin. It's in the 17:18 roof. You don't hide it in your foot. You do want to walk with 17:22 the Lord. You can hide it in your hand and you can do the 17:26 deeds of the Lord. But this is the holy of holies. The very 17:31 fact that they are probably hidden in scarlet fabric is a 17:36 symbol for the blood of Christ, right? In that context. So the 17:41 men locked the gates. There's no way of escape. They are scouring 17:44 the city looking for them. They probably got a platoon that's 17:48 heading for the Jordan River trying to catch them before they 17:52 escape with their secret reconnaissance information that 17:55 they had gained. And it says in verse 7, the men pursued by the 18:00 road to Jordan the fords. As soon as those who had pursued 18:03 them had gone out, they shut the gate. There was no way out. 18:07 So before they lay down she came to them on the roof and she 18:12 said to them... Now listen to this speech. I know the Lord has 18:16 given you the land and the terror of you has fallen on us 18:19 and all the inhabitants of the land are faint hearted because 18:23 of you, for we have heard how the Lord dried up the waters of 18:26 the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt and what you 18:29 did to the two kings of the Amorites who were on the other 18:32 side of the Jordan, Sihon and Og who you utterly destroyed. 18:35 And as soon as we heard these things our hearts melted, 18:38 neither did there remain any more courage in anyone because 18:42 of you. For the Lord you God, she uses the word Jehovah there, 18:46 for the Lord your God he is God in heaven above and the earth 18:50 beneath. Now therefore I beg you swear to me... You know what 18:54 she's asking for? She saying make a covenant with me. I have 18:58 put my life on the line. I'm willing to die to protect you. 19:01 Make a covenant with me. These are the terms of salvation 19:05 friends. We hear the word of God we receive the word of God, we 19:10 are willing to lay our lives down and accept the covenant 19:14 that is made. She says, make a covenant with me, swear to me, 19:18 she says I have shown you kindness that you will also show 19:22 kindness to my father's house and give me a token, give me a 19:25 sign, and spare my father, my mother, my brothers, my sisters 19:29 and all that I have and deliver our lives from death. We are 19:32 under a death penalty because Joshua is coming, he's going to 19:36 blow the trumpets and we'll be doomed. Now is our Joshua 19:41 coming? Are there going to be trumpets blowing. Those who are 19:46 not in covenant with him, what is their fate? They'll perish. 19:50 You see how important it is for us to make a covenant now? 19:54 Did Rahab know exactly when Joshua was going to cross the 19:58 Jordan? So you better make a covenant when you find the 20:02 messengers. When you hear the word, you better be willing to 20:07 receive the word and make your covenant now. Verse 14: So the 20:13 men answered her, Our lives for yours. You know this is called 20:17 substitution in the Bible. It's like when David said, Absalom, 20:21 my son, my son, would God I had died for thee. Moses said Lord 20:25 let me perish that Israel might be saved. Paul said I am willing 20:29 to die that all Israel might be saved. Here is the substitution 20:33 of Jesus dying in our place. They said, our lives for yours. 20:36 You put your life on the line to save our lives. We're going to 20:40 do all we can now with our lives to save yours. If you 20:43 tell none of our business, it shall be when... You notice they 20:48 don't say if. Joshua has chosen two men of faith. Some of those 20:52 first spies doubted. When the Lord has given us the land... 20:57 Did they have faith? That we will deal kindly and truly with 21:03 you. There'll be truth and there'll be grace. Then she let 21:08 them down by a rope through the window for her house was on the 21:12 city wall. Where's her house? What's going to happen to those 21:16 walls later? All right I want you to pay attention to that 21:19 because you have to remember that for when that subject comes 21:25 And she said to them, get out to the mountains lest your pursuers 21:30 meet you. Hide three days. When Jesus died how long was it 21:35 before he rose? You often find that three days there in these 21:39 gospel stories somewhere and these allegories of salvation. 21:43 And hide there three days until the pursuers have returned. 21:46 After that you may go your way. And the men said to her, we will 21:50 be blameless of this oath of yours which you have made us 21:53 swear unless when we come to the land you bind this line, the 21:58 word line there is cord or rope, scarlet rope, in the window 22:02 through which you have let us down. What was the token to be? 22:07 A scarlet cord in the window. And unless you bring your father 22:11 your mother, your brother, your sister, all of your father's 22:15 household into your home. So it shall be that whoever goes out 22:18 of the doors of your house into the street, his blood shall be 22:22 on his own head and we will be guiltless. And whoever is with 22:26 you in the house, his blood is on our head if anything happens 22:30 to him, if any hand is laid upon him. Oooo, this is such a good 22:33 story. It's the story of salvation. What was the criteria 22:37 during the Passover if people wanted to survive that angel of 22:40 death? They had to be in the house with the token. What was 22:44 the token? The red blood on the door or on the window of the 22:48 house. And in this case only those who were in the house 22:54 with the red cord will survive. All right. What is the Lord 22:59 trying to teach us through this story? The allegory is very 23:03 powerful. Some people dream things up and they just don't 23:07 match. I'm not dreaming this up friends. This fits. This is 23:11 truth. Our Joshua is coming, he is coming to judge those who 23:16 wrongly possess the land that God gave to Abraham. This world 23:19 was made by Jesus, it belonged to him. It's been kidnapped. 23:22 Trumpets are going to blow. There's going to be miraculous 23:25 power. He's coming with the ark, the law. Only those who are in 23:31 the house in Christ. Jesus said my body is the church. Only 23:36 those that are in the house where that token is, that is the 23:39 blood of the covenant that covers our sins. It's not only 23:42 talking about the church, it's talking about your hearts. 23:46 They will be saved. Everyone else was doomed to destruction. 23:50 Everybody else. And if they went out of the house they were 23:53 doomed. We'll get to that more when we get to Jericho but I 23:56 just want you to be thinking about this because I don't mind 23:59 you hearing it twice. I want it to sink in. Now what would you 24:02 do if you were Rahab and you don't know exactly when they're 24:05 coming back but you know that they're are coming back and you 24:08 know that only those that are in your house when they come are 24:11 spared. Would you say, you know one of these days I'm going to 24:14 tie that cord in my window. And it says if you tell this 24:19 business of ours, I'm in verse 20, we'll be free of your oath 24:23 which you made us swear. She said according to your word so 24:28 be it. And she sent them away, she let them down by this rope, 24:32 and she bound the scarlet cord in the window. How soon after 24:36 they left did she tie the scarlet cord in the window? 24:39 Right away. She wanted the sign of that covenant right now. 24:43 The best time to do God's will is when you know his will. The 24:46 best time to listen to his voice is when you're hearing his voice 24:49 Friends, if you have not yet tied that scarlet cord in your 24:54 window do it today. Amen? Make a covenant. Joshua is coming. 24:58 And the walls are going to fall. And they departed. They went to 25:03 the mountains, stayed there three days until the pursuers 25:06 had returned. Now the pursuers sought them all along the way 25:09 but did not find them. God protected them. Now suppose that 25:14 you were Rahab and you know that when Joshua comes only those 25:18 in your house are going to survive. How motivated would you 25:23 be to get people in your house? I think that she probably went 25:27 to all of her family members and all of her friends and she said 25:32 look. You need to come to my house. I've got something to 25:34 tell you and it's top secret but I can't tell you till you're in 25:38 my house. And she brought them all together and she said when 25:42 Joshua comes we better be here when it happens. We don't know 25:45 exactly when it's going to happen. I bet they spent a lot 25:48 of time at Rahab's house. I also think she probably changed her 25:53 occupation. Can't prove that but I bet that there was a lot of 25:58 change that came into her life. I'll talk more about this when 26:03 we get to Jericho. So the men returned and they descended from 26:07 the mountain. They crossed over and they came to Joshua the son 26:12 of Nun. You notice it always mentions who he was the son of. 26:15 It doesn't just say Joshua. We would have known who it was, but 26:18 it always says Joshua the son of Nun. Why because he's a very 26:23 powerful type of Christ and it's telling us Jehovah is salvation, 26:27 he is eternal and that's the name of Christ. Remember what 26:32 Deuteronomy 18 says? God said to Moses, I'm going to send a 26:37 prophet like unto you. Hear him. He is the Angel of the Covenant. 26:42 And my name is in him. Did you hear that? The Angel of the 26:48 Covenant in whom is his name. That's another name for Jesus. 26:52 Verse 24. Now we're at the last verse of chapter 2. I'd like to 26:56 have spent more time here. And they said to Joshua, truly the 27:01 Lord has delivered all the land into our hands for indeed the 27:05 inhabitants of the country are faint hearted because of us. 27:09 You know there's a number of major components to win a battle 27:14 One of them they say is the element of surprise. Another one 27:18 is confidence and courage. I mean, even in a football game 27:21 what does the coach try to do during half time if they're not 27:26 playing well? Inspire them with faith. Give them confidence. 27:31 And here they came back and they said, they have lost faith. They 27:35 are defeated in their own minds. Their hearts are faint hearted. 27:38 They're going to run. It will be the mother of all surrenders 27:43 when we get there. And God is with us. How different was the 27:49 report of Joshua's messengers the two spies, than the ones who 27:53 40 years earlier had gone out on their own volition at the 27:57 request of the people. They came back and brought a negative 28:01 report. There were only two positive reports among the 12 28:06 spies, Joshua and Caleb. There were only two positive reports 28:09 that came back later. This is the symbol for the word of God. 28:14 All right. Now we go to chapter 3 of the book of Joshua and this 28:18 deals with crossing Jordan. The Jordan River in the Bible, the 28:23 Jordan means descending. It's because it is one of the most 28:28 radical rivers as far as highs and lows in the Bible. There's 28:33 no river geographically like the Jordan, anywhere like the Jordan 28:38 anywhere in the world. It starts in the mountains of Lebanon 28:40 thousands of feet above sea level, up where there's snow 28:44 line and it goes down to the hottest and lowest point on 28:47 earth, the Dead Sea in a comparatively short span of 28:51 space. And so you can understand why they called it descending. 28:55 Because it goes whoosh. In the Bible the Jordan River is a 28:59 symbol of death. It's a symbol of death and if you think I'm 29:04 making that up look through your hymnal some time. Every time 29:07 you find the word Jordan you'll know that the great hymn writers 29:11 had great theology. They understood that as Israel 29:15 crossed the Jordan it was a symbol of death. Let me see if I 29:19 can illustrate. The exodus experience is a type of 29:22 salvation. Slaves of the Pharaoh in Egypt. You go through the Red 29:26 Sea; that's kind of like baptism then you enter the wilderness. 29:32 Justified by the Lamb in Egypt, sanctified in the wilderness, 29:36 and then you cross the Jordan River. How do most people get 29:40 from this life into Canaan? Don't they die? And so it's a 29:44 symbol of that. Baptism is a symbol of death, burial and 29:47 resurrection. Oh, and don't miss this point. Before the children 29:52 of Israel could leave Egypt there was a death. Not only was 29:56 it the death of the first born, but there was the death of the 30:01 Passover lamb and they began their journey following a death. 30:06 How does the book of Joshua begin. It says after the death 30:10 of Moses. They now began a new journey to a new phase. You know 30:15 it's often true in our lives. Sometimes a death marks a whole 30:19 new phase. Sometimes it might be the death of a parent. Some 30:24 of us realize after our last parent dies we are now the 30:27 patriarch in the family. Feels kind of weird. After my mother 30:30 and father died I sort of thought, I'm now the oldest of 30:33 the clan. And it's like a new chapter in your life. Some of 30:37 you have lost a spouse. It represents a new journey, a new 30:40 chapter. Death is one of the more traumatic things in life 30:43 but it also begins a new journey Think of it that way and you 30:47 might find some encouragement from that. So the Jordan River 30:51 is a symbol for death. They're getting ready to cross. God 30:55 instructs them before they cross to prepare. He has not told them 30:59 how it's going to happen. How are we going to march this one 31:04 and a half to three million people across this flooding 31:07 river. There's no ferry that's going to do it. But God said to 31:12 Joshua, Go forward and he said, Okay Lord. You know I remember 31:15 when you parted the sea. I don't know what's going to happen but 31:18 we're going to trust you and we're going to go forward. 31:21 They're given instructions to gather provisions for three days 31:24 because this was going to be a process. They were also told 31:29 that the ark must rise up and go before them. As always they 31:32 follow. And they said you don't know where we're going this time 31:36 and so it will lead the way. They go forward and the ark is 31:41 being carried by 12 priests. And they said maintain a distance, I 31:46 think it's called a thousand cubits or something in the Bible 31:50 It's the equivalent of half a mile. The people were to stay 31:55 half a mile behind the ark. So 12 priests... Someone ought to 31:59 if you're any good at math, calculate what the ark might 32:04 have weighed and figure out how that weight would be distributed 32:08 among 12 priests because those priests had to hold that ark a 32:12 long time that day. What they had is the ark had two long very 32:16 strong poles that went through sticking out from the four 32:20 corners and there would be three priests at each corner carrying 32:25 it and so it was divided among them. And what was it made of? 32:30 It was wood overlaid with gold with we don't know what kind of 32:34 stone. Some believe it was jasper stone that the 10 32:37 commandments were written on because that was like a blue 32:40 stone or was it sapphire? Sapphire stone, sorry, that the 32:43 10 commandments were written on and so you have the gold and all 32:48 that. It was probably a pretty good load. They go out ahead of 32:52 them and as the priests go forward, you got your Bibles 32:56 here? God says in verse 7, well let's read verse 6. And Joshua 33:00 spoke to the priests, I'm in chapter 3, take up the Ark of 33:04 the Covenant and cross over before the people. So they took 33:07 up the Ark of the Covenant and went before the people. And the 33:11 Lord said to Joshua, This day I will begin to magnify you in the 33:14 sight of all Israel that they might know that as I was with 33:18 Moses so I will be with you. You shall command the priests who 33:22 bear the Ark of the Covenant saying, when you come to the 33:25 edge of the water of the Jordan you shall stand in the Jordan. 33:28 So Joshua said to the children of Israel, Come here and hear 33:32 the words of the Lord your God. And Joshua said by this you 33:35 shall know that the living God is among you. They needed that 33:39 confidence. Here was this nation that was still basically unarmed 33:43 they had probably picked up some arms from the Egyptians that 33:46 washed up on the sea shore and the people they conquered. Now 33:49 they're getting ready to go against seven nations that were 33:53 mightier than them. He will without fail drive out from 33:57 before you the Canaanites and the Hittites and the Hivites 34:01 and the Perizites and the Gergashites and the Amorites 34:04 and the Jebusites. Behold the Ark... Some of you have probably 34:10 have wrestled with the intimidation of the ites in your 34:12 life, huh? Behold the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord of all the 34:17 earth is crossing over before you in the Jordan. Now therefore 34:20 take for yourselves 12 men from the tribes of Israel, one man 34:24 from every tribe and it will come to pass as soon as the 34:27 soles of your feet of the priests who bear the Ark of the 34:30 Lord of all the earth shall rest in the waters of the Jordan 34:34 that the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off and the waters 34:37 that come down from upstream, they will stand up as a heap. 34:40 So it was when the people set out from their camp to cross 34:43 over the Jordan with the priests bearing the Ark of the Covenant 34:46 before the people. As those who bore the Ark came to the Jordan 34:51 the feet of the priests who bore the ark when they dipped in the 34:57 edge of the water, for the Jordan overflowed its banks 35:00 during the whole time of harvest it was a flooding river, that 35:04 the waters which came down from upstream stood still and rose up 35:09 in a heap very far away at Atam, there was a town or village up 35:13 the river named Atam miles up the river, and the city... 35:16 it was kind of like a beaver dam it just stopped and it just 35:20 created a lake that went up. The waters coming down that were 35:23 flooding God performed his miracle. You notice he didn't 35:27 wait until it was the lowest time. God often does his miracle 35:31 at the times of greatest extremity. It's not just the 35:33 furnace. The furnace was heated seven times hotter. You know 35:36 what I'm saying. He often performs these miracles in times 35:39 of great extremity. It's flooding. The waters coming down 35:42 all of a sudden begin to congeal and they pile up higher and 35:45 higher and then they begin to back up. Now remember when the 35:49 children of Israel crossed the Red sea the waters created a 35:52 wall on the right and the left. Now when they're crossing the 35:56 Jordan it is just creating a wall. Think about which way 35:59 they're going. The waters run from the north, Lebanon, down to 36:03 the south. The waters are just walled up on the right hand 36:06 because they're crossing over from the east to the west into 36:09 the Promised Land. Isn't that right? You know basic geography 36:12 you'll know that's true. They've just got one big wall of water. 36:16 Before they were looking at salt water fish on both sides, now 36:19 just fresh water fish on the right. Before it was tuna and 36:23 now it's bass. I wonder if it was clear where you could look 36:27 right into it or if it was a little murky. Not only does it 36:32 say that, keep reading here. It says, the priests who bore 36:36 the Ark of the Covenant of the Lord stood firm on muddy ground. 36:41 Dry. Not only did the water stop God did something miraculous for 36:47 it to be dry. And the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 36:53 Now the rest of the water just flowed down to the Dead Sea and 36:59 just stopped. That must have been a sight to behold that the 37:04 people would never forget. The 12 priests, they got down in the 37:09 middle. Can you imagine being one of the priests? You're 37:12 carrying something that's a lot heavier than a car battery. 37:16 I mean you're going to sink if you're carrying a great big old 37:19 golden box with rocks inside. It's like an anchor. And you're 37:23 being told to walk out into the water. Those priests needed 37:27 faith. They did not wait until the waters parted before they 37:31 went forward. They went forward and once their feet touched the 37:36 waters then they parted. Please don't forget this very important 37:40 point. Hear me now. This is how God often performs miracles for 37:44 us. You know how many miracles you missed because you didn't 37:47 put your feet in the water. You'll never know. There's the 37:51 story of the 10 lepers. They came to Jesus and they shouted 37:55 Son of David have mercy on us, have mercy on us. They had 37:58 leprosy, full of leprosy. Jesus said go show yourself to the 38:01 priest and make the offering for cleansing from leprosy. And they 38:05 looked at each other; we still got leprosy, why would we give a 38:07 thank-you offering for cleansing when we still have leprosy, but 38:10 he said do it and it says in going they were cleansed. 38:16 As they went to do what God told them to do the miracle happened. 38:20 Jesus went to the man by the pool of Bethesda and he had not 38:23 walked for 38 years and he said get up. He could have argued 38:27 with the Lord and said you know I can't get up. I haven't walked 38:30 in 38 years. But he made an effort to do what he was being 38:32 told to do and suddenly his limbs received strength 38:35 miraculously. Now God say's to the priests cross over. They 38:38 could have said well we're waiting for the waters to part 38:40 and then we'll start. We're not going to carry this heavy old 38:44 box down there and drown. I mean let's not be crazy. God said go. 38:47 You've got the word of God with you. Isn't that what was in 38:51 the box? You've got the command of Joshua, Go. And so they put 38:55 their feet in the water. Can you imagine being on the front end? 38:58 I would have wanted to be on the back probably. If these guys 39:01 start to bubble, I'm dropping it and going back on the shore. 39:05 Ah don't say that. Hopefully I'd have enough faith to go forward. 39:09 But the first ones they really had to... You'd probably want 39:12 the most faithful guys on the front of those poles, right? 39:16 And they put their feet in the water and all of a sudden it 39:20 stopped and began to back up and it dried before their feet. 39:23 You know the Bible tells us... There's a couple of miracles, 39:25 I've got about four miracles I could think of around the 39:29 Jordan River. Of course, the baptism of Jesus is one where 39:32 the Holy Spirit came down. You've got where Elisha and 39:36 Elijah crossed the Jordan. And what made the Jordan part for 39:41 Elijah and Elisha? The robe, it parted for the robe. That robe 39:45 of Elijah is a type of the grace of God, the robe of Christ's 39:49 righteousness. Now the Jordan river was parting for the Ark. 39:54 What's in there? The Law. You've got it parting for the Law and 39:57 you've got it parting for grace. You've got it for the word of 40:00 God and you've got it for the robe of Christ's righteousness. 40:04 Then you've got Elisha, an axe head fell off in the Jordan 40:07 River. He threw a stick in. A stick is a type of the cross in 40:11 the Bible and it does the impossible. The axe head now 40:14 begins to swim or to float like a cork, an axe head in the 40:17 water. Naturally the gravity of sin in our carnal natures brings 40:23 us down but through the cross we can walk on water, Amen? 40:26 We can swim when we ought to sink. Isn't that what happened 40:29 with Peter? When he kept his eyes on Joshua, he was able to 40:32 walk on water, isn't that right? So there's a lesson here for 40:36 us that God will work miracles for us. Not only did they cross 40:40 on dry ground. Elisha when he struck the water it says the 40:44 same thing. They went over on dry ground. Why dry? Did you 40:47 ever slog through a muddy river? It gets you dirty. They came up 40:52 clean on the other side. You know sometimes we go out riding 40:56 in the hills with these four wheelers and if you go riding 41:00 after a rain or if you go riding up a wet river bed you're just 41:04 covered with mud. But it's so much nicer when the water has 41:08 been dried up but it's not dusty yet. Now God did that for them. 41:12 You can come up clean on the other side. The only way that 41:15 you and I can cross the Jordan, what does the Jordan represent? 41:19 Death. Thank you for the six of you who were listening. Jordan 41:23 represents death. How do we get on the other side clean? 41:27 It's through a miracle of grace. For Elisha it was the robe of 41:33 Elijah symbolizing the robe of Christ's righteousness. 41:36 But notice what happens. As they marched off into the Jordan 41:41 River the Ark stops. As long as the Ark is there the waters are 41:47 a wall. And the people march by with the Ark between them and 41:54 the waters. Everybody is passing in review before the Ark of God. 42:00 and what is in the Ark? The Law of God. Is there a day when we 42:06 will all pass by that wall? You can read here in James chapter 42:14 2 verse 12: So speak and so do as the people who will be judged 42:19 by the Law of liberty. And he specifically mentions two of the 42:25 10 commandments when he says that. Does the Bible tell us 42:29 that before our Joshua comes back another river is going to 42:33 dry up? Have you read in Revelation that one of the last 42:37 plagues is the Euphrates River dries up to make the way for the 42:41 kings of the east? Christ our King, our Joshua, is coming in 42:45 the glory of the Father, the King of the universe, of the 42:49 cosmos and the Euphrates River is going to dry up to make room 42:53 for our King to come. Revelation is best read in the context of 42:57 some of these Old Testament stories. So they go across the 43:01 river finally. I don't know how long it took but it was a 43:04 multimillion man march and all these people went across. 43:08 Probably first Joshua and the army came and in the van guard 43:11 after that came the people across the river. 43:14 And after everybody has crossed the river. 43:16 the priests are still standing there. 43:18 They've been out there all day with the glory of God sustaining 43:21 them, right? The same way that Elijah went 40 days and 40 43:24 nights in the power of God and Moses stayed on the mountain 43:26 when he got the 10 commandments. I think the Lord miraculously 43:30 sustained those priests. They probably didn't stop and put it 43:33 down and take a coffee break. They stood there sustained by 43:36 the glory of God all day long. And after everybody crossed over 43:39 they still don't come out because Joshua says now we're 43:44 going to do something. We're going to make a memorial. 43:49 And they're told to get the 10 strongest men, build a memorial. 43:55 Joshua is commanding them and he says get 10 strong men and 43:59 we're going to end up with 24 stones. Listen carefully. Start 44:04 with 12 stones that you take from the river. And you know the 44:07 Jordan's like many rivers. There are these great big old water 44:11 washed stones in there. And they picked out some of the most 44:14 attractive and the biggest stones that could be carried. 44:17 People were still living 120 years back then. They were 44:21 probably a little stouter than the average today. And these 44:24 strong men, I mean this is the days of giants, these strongest 44:28 men, they'd pick up these stones that you and I probably couldn't 44:31 even budge. I've seen a few of these contests they've got on 44:35 TV where they've got these strong men and just pick up... 44:38 Probably their backs are wrecked by the time they're 25. 44:43 Big Irish guys; they pick up these great big rocks and I 44:47 think man I couldn't move that one inch if it was on the ground 44:51 They pick the thing up. This is what I picture. These hefty men 44:55 hoisting these great big boulders. They lift them up out 44:58 of the Jordan River and they build a monument. They take 12 45:01 of them and they pile them up on the banks as a memorial so that 45:06 they will remember what God has done for them to deliver them. 45:10 Then Joshua said take another 12 stones and they are piled in the 45:15 river. Some people have read this and said where were the 45:17 stones? Were the stones on the bank or were the stones in the 45:20 river? They're confused. There were two sets so that when the 45:23 waters went down, especially when it was clear, these 12 45:27 massive stones they almost formed an island. Jordan's not 45:30 that big. They could see this monument there in the river. 45:34 The logging industry they call this riff raff. They're rocks 45:38 that you use for creek crossings that will not wash away when the 45:41 river floods. There's a certain size stone that won't move even 45:46 in flooding waters. So they did riff raff in there. They built 45:50 an island. And he did this as a memorial. You know why? Because 45:55 we're inclined to forget. God had just worked a wonderful 45:59 miracle of salvation for them and he didn't want them to 46:03 forget. It's like that man who went to his doctor. He said, 46:07 doctor you've got to do something, you've got to help 46:09 me. I just can't remember any thing from one minute to the 46:11 next. The doctor said, how long have you had this problem? 46:15 He said, what problem? That's how we are with our memory. 46:19 We forget how God has led us and he performed miracles of 46:22 deliverance for us and he supplies our needs and within a 46:25 few weeks we're already crying to go back to Egypt, right? 46:29 We often forget. We need some memorials in our lives. A lot of 46:32 Bible scripture talks about remembering. You know I went 46:36 through Psalm 119 and I found at least seven times just in 46:40 that one Psalm on the word of God where it said, I will 46:43 delight myself in your statutes, I will not forget your word. 46:48 That's verse 16. Verse 83: Yet I do not forget your statutes. 46:52 Verse 93: I will never forget your precepts for by them you've 46:57 given me life. Verse 109: Yet I do not forget your law. Verse 47:01 I do not forget your precepts. Verse 153: I do not 47:05 forget your Law. Verse 176: I do not forget your commandments. 47:09 You know why it says that so often in Psalm 119? Because most 47:13 people do forget. Now what is it that they make this altar out of 47:18 this monument with no chisel lifted on it, the natural stones 47:22 Make it out of rock. What did Jesus compare his word to? 47:25 Like a wise man who builds on the rock. What is Christ? Isn't 47:29 he the rock of ages? And so this was a memorial to help them 47:34 remember God and his deliverance in their behalf. Now after they 47:38 did this and they followed the instructions and they built the 47:43 monument on the side the priests are standing there the whole 47:46 time. Finally the priests are brought up out of the river. 47:49 And what happens as soon as their feet leave the river. 47:54 The waters return. Can you imagine the wave. I mean it must 47:58 have been like a dam breaking. You've got a river at flood 48:01 stage and it's blocked all day long, it's formed a virtual lake 48:04 Can you imagine being in Jericho? They can see this from 48:08 there. It's not that far. They can look from the walls and 48:12 clearly see what's going on. Talk about sweating! I mean it 48:15 was so obvious God was with them They had the waters backing up 48:19 probably waterfront property there by the city of Jericho. 48:22 And when they finally all crossed over and the Ark leaves 48:26 the water, whoosh, the flood comes. By the way, does the 48:30 Bible tell another story of another ark that survived the 48:36 flood? Those in the ark survived We will all pass by that Ark 48:42 someday. We need to be in the word of God, Amen? Now when that 48:46 river returned did they have a way of escape. Suppose they 48:50 changed their mind about taking the Promised Land. Was God 48:54 going to perform another miracle for them to retreat? You know 48:57 when that water rushed back there must have been a sense of 49:00 trembling and commitment and resolution that swept over the 49:04 camp. They said, we're here now, there's no going back. 49:07 It reminds me of that story from history where Cortez when he was 49:12 trying to conquer the new world. Now I'm not trying to condone 49:16 the brutality of some of these conquistadors but still it was a 49:21 brilliant act. After they unloaded the ships he commanded 49:24 some of the servants to set the fleet on fire so they would not 49:28 even think about turning back. For God's people, there should 49:33 be no turning back, Amen? Luke 9:61: No man having put his hand 49:37 to the plow and looking back is worthy of the kingdom. And in 49:41 Jesus' talking about the second coming something for us to 49:45 remember here at the end of time before our Joshua comes. He says 49:50 the one thing, shortest verse in Luke 17 verse 32 but it's in the 49:55 discourse on the second coming Jesus says, Remember Lot's wife. 49:59 What got Lot's wife into trouble? She looked back. 50:02 Don't look back. When you decide to follow Jesus he is going to 50:07 help you go forth and conquer. You know you've got two choices. 50:12 Overcome, or be overcome. Isn't that right? What you do not 50:16 overcome will overcome you. We have made a decision to follow 50:20 Christ. By his grace we must be overcomers. And the Lord can 50:24 help you to do that. Amen friends? You've just got to 50:28 remember how he's led you in the past. He's worked miracles for 50:32 you. He's parted oceans, he's stopped the flooding rivers and 50:37 he will do that for us. This is really a relevant message for us 50:40 because we are on the borders of the Promised Land right now. 50:44 Some of us, you may not know it, the Jordan's not far away either 50:48 We don't know how much time we've got in this life and we 50:52 want to be ready to cross the Jordan, to follow our Joshua 50:56 with the word of God before us as our guide. That's what was in 51:00 the Ark. And God will work miracles for us. He will help us 51:04 to do the impossible if we trust him. Satan knows that his days 51:08 are numbered just like the king of Jericho. Christ is with us. 51:11 Do we have that red token, do we have that scarlet rope in our 51:15 window? Have you accepted the blood of Christ to cover your 51:18 sins? If you haven't, you can make that decision right now. 51:22 And decide to be in the house when Joshua comes and you can 51:26 can have total deliverance and victory and salvation. I'd like 51:30 to encourage you to turn in your hymnals to number 620. I thought 51:34 this would be a good hymn for us to close with. It's an 51:37 encouraging song. I want you to sing this with vigor. Now we're 51:40 soldiers that are marching to the Promised Land and we're 51:43 right there on the banks, the flooding banks, of the Jordan. 51:46 Let's stand together as we sing 620, On Jordan's Stormy Banks. 51:49 ¤ ¤ 51:58 On Jordan's stormy banks I stand And cast a wishful eye 52:08 To Canaan's fair and happy land, Where my possessions lie. 52:18 I'm bound for the Promised Land, I'm bound for the Promised Land, 52:27 O who will come and go with me? I am bound for the Promised Land 52:37 Keep doing that. That sounds good. I like that. I plan on 52:42 being there. Don't you friend? By his grace I'm going to be 52:47 there. What are the alternatives You want to perish in the 52:51 wilderness or do you want to make it all the way? And I like 52:54 what it says here in the chorus. O who will come and go with me? 52:58 I want you to picture Rahab going up and down in the streets 53:01 of Jericho talking to her friends and family saying 53:04 you want to survive in Canaan land? You've got to be in the 53:07 house with the scarlet cord. You've got to be in that place 53:10 where the covenant is made with Joshua and you'll survive. 53:14 That's my desire friends. Make your covenant with him right now 53:18 Let's sing verse 2 together. 53:25 O'er all those wide extended plains, Shines one eternal day; 53:35 There Christ, the Sun, forever reigns, And scatters night away. 53:45 I am bound for the Promised Land I am bound for the Promised Land 53:55 O who will come and go with me? I am bound for the Promised Land 54:05 When shall I reach that happy place, And be forever blest? 54:15 When shall I see my Father's face, and in His kingdom rest? 54:25 I am bound for the Promised Land I am bound for the Promised Land 54:36 O who will come and go with me? I am bound for the Promised Land 54:44 We have one verse left and I'm going to make an appeal. Have 54:50 you made your covenant with Joshua? You know that you're in 54:56 that house. Are you determined to bring others with you. There 55:00 may be some here today, maybe you've wandered, maybe you've 55:04 lost faith. Sometimes the giants look too big and you wonder. 55:08 Maybe you've been thinking of going back sometimes or you get 55:12 discouraged and you want to say by his grace I want to be ready. 55:15 There may be some here who have just some special burdens on 55:18 their heart that you'd like to bring to the Lord and you need 55:21 special prayer. As we sing this last verse, I'd like you to come 55:24 to the front. We'll have prayer together. And for the rest of 55:27 you, it's hard to sing you're bound for the Promised Land 55:30 while you're frowning. Have you tried singing while you're 55:33 smiling? I want to see you, I'll be watching, I want to see you 55:37 sing while you're smiling. You can watch me, okay? Verse four 55:40 together. Come if you need special prayer. 55:41 Filled with delight, my raptured soul Would here no longer stay; 55:54 Though Jordan's waves around me roll, Fearless I'd launch away. 56:05 I am bound for the Promised Land I am bound for the Promised Land 56:17 O who will come and go with me? I am bound for the Promised Land 56:29 All right. Who's going with me? Let's pray together. 56:33 Loving Father in heaven and Lord, we come to you in the name 56:38 of our Joshua, Jesus, our savior our general, our commander. 56:42 We want to thank you Lord and praise you for the miracles 56:46 you've performed in the past. Forgive us for forgetting. Help 56:50 us to establish memorials in our lives that we might remember the 56:54 great things that you have done believing that you will also 56:58 lead in the future. Lord, we know that you will finish the 57:02 work that you've started in our lives. Help us to capitalize on 57:06 the offer you have made, that covenant of salvation. I pray 57:11 that each person here will make sure that we have that scarlet 57:15 rope bound about our hearts that we are covered by the blood 57:18 of the lamb and live a life where we know that we can pass 57:22 in review before the Ark that contains your 10 commandments 57:26 because by your grace we are new creatures. Lord I pray we'll 57:29 also have the faith that's required to put our feet in the 57:32 Jordan while it's still at flood stage and be willing to move 57:36 forward trusting in you to work miracles. Bless each of these 57:39 people. Be with those who have come. If there are some who are 57:42 accepting Christ and want to be part of this church for the 57:45 first time. Bless them Lord, with your Spirit and help them 57:49 to begin the journey and finish it faithfully. Also Lord 57:53 whatever the needs might be for healing and for families work 57:57 miracles there as well. Bless this church. We thank you and we 58:00 pray that we will all be found in the house when Jesus comes. 58:04 In his name we ask, Amen. |
Revised 2014-12-17