When it came time to cross over the Jordon, God did amazing things that terrified the enemy. These signs and wonders not only terrified the enemy, they showed the people He is God and there is no other. It is interesting that when Jesus came he also performed signs and wonders just as God did in the Old Testament. Now obviously those signs and wonders did not stop at the river and the enemies continued to be defeated and as long as the people feared God, they would be victorious. The same happened when the disciples went out and the same will happen once we return to fearing God once again. Before they crossed the Jordon Joshua sent out spies but this time it was different and they prepared to take the land. The first time the spies brought back a bad report except for Joshua and Caleb who said they should take the land. Numbers 13:31 “But the men who had gone up with him said, “We can’t attack those people; they are stronger than we are.” 32 And they spread among the Israelites a bad report about the land they had explored. They said, “The land we explored devours those living in it. All the people we saw there are of great size. 33 We saw the Nephilim there (the descendants of Anak come from the Nephilim). We seemed like grasshoppers in our own eyes, and we looked the same to them.” But here is what really happened. The description the spies gave was wrong. Joshua sent two spies who ended up in the house of Rahab where she protected them. She then said to them Joshua 2:8 “Before the spies lay down for the night, she went up on the roof 9 and said to them, “I know that the Lord has given you this land and that a great fear of you has fallen on us, so that all who live in this country are melting in fear because of you. 10 We have heard how the Lord dried up the water of the Red Sea for you when you came out of Egypt, and what you did to Sihon and Og, the two kings of the Amorites east of the Jordan, whom you completely destroyed. 11 When we heard of it, our hearts melted in fear and everyone’s courage failed because of you, for the Lord your God is God in heaven above and on the earth below.” God’s grace is truly amazing as this prostitute Rahab became part of the lineage of Jesus and she and her family were saved on the day of the attack. Joshua 6:17 “Only Rahab the prostitute and all who are with her in her house shall be spared, because she hid the spies we sent. She also ends up as an example of faith in Hebrews and an example of righteousness in James. After the spies returned Joshua 2:24 “They said to Joshua, “The Lord has surely given the whole land into our hands; all the people are melting in fear because of us.” Not only were the people of Jericho melting in fear, the whole country was. Joshua 5:1 “Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.” This could have been the way it was the first time if they had only believed.
Joshua 4:19 “On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. 20 And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. 21 He said to the Israelites, “In the future when your descendants ask their parents, ‘What do these stones mean?’ 22 tell them, ‘Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.’ 23 For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. 24 He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God.”
As we prepare to cross the Jordon into the land God has for us do not be afraid for God goes before us to make a way but we must trust him. As Proverbs 3:5 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” If we will obey God’s word, he will fulfill in us His plans. Paul said Acts 13:2 “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors 33 he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm: “‘You are my son; today I have become your father.’ 34 God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said, “‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’ 35 So it is also stated elsewhere: “‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’ 36 “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. 37 But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay. 38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. 40 Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 41 “‘Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.”
The good news is God always makes a way where there is no way Isaiah 43:1 “But now, this is what the LORD says— he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: “Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. 3 For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior; 16 This is what the LORD says— he who made a way through the sea, a path through the mighty waters, 17 who drew out the chariots and horses, the army and reinforcements together, and they lay there, never to rise again, extinguished, snuffed out like a wick: 18 “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. 19 See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland.”
