Faith and Obedience

 DEVOTION

JOSHUA

FAITH AND OBEDIENCE

Josh 3:14-17

14 So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them. 15 Now the Jordan is at flood stage all during harvest. Yet as soon as the priests who carried the ark reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, 16 the water from upstream stopped flowing. It piled up in a heap a great distance away, at a town called Adam in the vicinity of Zarethan, while the water flowing down to the Sea of the Arabah (the Salt Sea) was completely cut off. So the people crossed over opposite Jericho. 17 The priests who carried the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood firm on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, while all Israel passed by until the whole nation had completed the crossing on dry ground.

NIV

The people had consecrated themselves, setting themselves apart for God, and were expecting the Lord to do amazing things among them. We learned that lesson already that if we set ourselves apart for God, we could see God do amazing things among us. This narrative continues telling us of the amazing thing God did in their midst. We have already researched and found pictures of the Jordan River at flood stage and it is a raging torrid of water spilling over rocks and maybe even its banks at places. We cannot be sure of the exact location of the crossing but it was close to where the city of Jericho lies on the other side. Nevertheless, here are the priests carrying the ark of the covenant which through research of theologians it was determined it must have weighed about six hundred or so pounds. Just thinking how the front priests must have felt holding onto that heavy sacred ark and stepping into that raging water, gives us an example of both faith and obedience. Maybe they could tell the exact place where their feet touched the water, which was very shallow, but then if the river was at the flood stage and raging along, carrying with it mud and debris, it would have been difficult to see anything through the water. Faith and obedience had to be the key to their stepping into the water's edge, and their faith and obedience were rewarded for God did that amazing thing that only God could do, holding back all the water, much the same as he did for their parents at the Red Sea, except there he divided the waters. Our lesson for us is to be a person of faith and obedience and we just might see God doing another amazing thing in our lives. Of course, how amazing is the fact he sent Jesus to pay the price for our sins? How amazing is the fact Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to dwell within us and give us power from on high? How amazing is the fact that God has given us so many blessings we do not have room enough to contain them? Speaking personally, if I were to give an account of all the amazing things God has done for me, it would take a book to fully explain them all. Can we say that we have always been a person of faith? Yes. Can we say we have always been obedient? Not so much, no matter how much I want to. However, that should be the goal of all us believers, to be people of faith and obedience. Trust and obey for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus than to trust and obey.