Not by Sight
Reading the story of God’s people crossing the Jordan to enter the promise land reminds me of moving sermons I’ve heard on stories in Joshua, like how the river was raging when the priests, carrying the Ark of the covenant, stepped into it. God stopped the waters miles upstream when they stepped in in faith, so it likely wasn’t apparent to the priests right away. The priests had to step into the turbulent waters in faith, obeying God and trusting Him regardless of what they could or couldn’t see.
Josh 3:13 -in most translations- says the LORD would stop the waters when their feet RESTED in the water. "And when the soles of the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, shall rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan shall be cut off from flowing, and the waters coming down from above shall stand in one heap." (Josh 3:13 ESV) I love this because it reminds me of knowing He's with us; these priests aren't jumping around in fear or searching for a rock to stand on but waiting on the LORD. Paul touches on this rest in Philippians 4:11: "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content." It's not the situations we come into by sin or selfishness, but the stuff of trials and tribulations that Jesus said we'd endure in this world.
At the Red Sea crossing, God parted the waters before they entered. The law requires obedience alone, and just as Moses, representing the law, could only take Israel to the border of the promised land, entering it requires faith; we are saved by grace through faith in Jesus's redemption work. Therefore Joshua (whose name means "The Lord is my salvation/deliverance") delivers them into the promise land and represents faith in our Redeemer.
The priests had faith that God was with them and going before them, and after two miles-worth of waves rushed by, they were standing on a riverbed that had been flood-stage moments before. As the priests stood in the middle with the Ark, the people of Israel crossed to the promise land. At God’s command, Joshua ordered one man from each of the 12 tribes to heft a stone from where the priests stood at the center of the riverbed to their camp on the other side. There, Joshua built an altar with those stones. “And Joshua set up twelve stones in the midst of the Jordan, in the place where the feet of the priests bearing the ark of the covenant had stood; and they are there to this day.” Joshua 4:9
We always focus on the first altar- in fact, I named my blog “Stones on the Shore” after our Pastor Aaron Hughes spoke of the importance of sharing our stories of faith to encourage others. But today, I’m considering the 12 stones Joshua put in the middle of the riverbed. In his study Bible, Dr. David Jeremiah comments: "it’s highly doubtful that any stones placed in the middle of the Jordan as a memorial would be visible year after year, because the annual flood stage would scatter them.” But sir! Isn’t the fact that those stones are not visible the whole point of them being mentioned in Scripture?
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the certainty of things not seen,” Heb 11:1 tells us. Knowing that the stones were put there to commemorate the miracle, under the waves, and trusting what Scripture says: that the stones were still there when the book of Joshua was written, are examples of faith. Does it matter whether they are still stacked or visible?
Rahab and the people of Jericho only heard about the God who parted waters, rained down food, gave His people water from a Rock, guided them with a cloud and a pillar of fire and handed their enemies over to them, and yet they believed in His power; their hearts melted in fear of a Mighty God who so loves and provides for His people (Joshua 2:9-11). Rahab was spared by the scarlet cord “Passover” (Joshua 2:18) because she believed Israel’s Lord was God of the heavens and earth, and this belief prompted her to assist the spies. Rahab’s faith-prompted action makes her one of the few women listed in the bloodline of Jesus. Oh yeah, and she’s also a harlot- a sinner, like the rest of us.
“Now faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God” (Rom 10:17 NJK). While God’s own people had seen and experienced His mighty miracles firsthand, the enemies who’d only heard of God’s power and provision seemed more inclined to believe in His power and fear Him.
The altar on the shore is a vital visual reminder that prompts us to share stories about God’s power and provision with our children and those around us, but to me, the stones under the water represent a deeper, more certain, inner faith. I don’t need to ponder whether they stayed stacked or lie scattered all the way to the Dead Sea. People go into graves broken, scarred, missing limbs, cancer-ridden and/or cremated to ashes, and if they believe in their hearts that Jesus paid for their sins with His own life and Blood, and was resurrected on the third day, defeating death and making a way for believers to have eternal life with Him in heaven, one day their broken, burned and buried bodies will be replaced, made new. This is faith. It makes no sense to those who don’t accept it, but I need no proof beyond what the Bible says to believe and trust with all my heart.
The stones under the water represent the elements of faith that prompted priests to walk into raging waters and inspired Rahab to risk her life to rescue a couple of enemy spies.