Last night at Bible study, we talked about when the Israelites crossed the Jordan River on dry land. This is not to be confused with that other great water dividing -walk -across- on- dry- land event, when God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites as they left Egypt.
Yes, God did it again!
Moses had died and Joshua was the new leader if the Israelites. God wanted the Israelites to know that He was with Joshua just as He had always been with Moses. What better way than to give them a miracle very similar to the great "dividing of the Red Sea" which every Israelite had heard told over and over again throughout the years of wandering in the wilderness.
The Israelites were getting ready to take the land that God had promised their forefathers. God wanted to show them that He was with them, and that HE would make a way, even when there seemed to be no way.
The priests were to go ahead of the Israelites, carrying the Ark of the Convenant - which contained LORD's Presence - into the River. It was harvest time and the Jordan River was at flood stage. I've seen raging rivers during floods. It's a pretty ominous sight. The priests must have been a little nervous about walking into the flooding river, but they trusted the LORD.Joshua 3:14-17
So the people left their camp to cross the Jordan, and the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant went ahead of them. It was the harvest season, and the Jordan was overflowing its banks. But as soon as the feet of the priests who were carrying the Ark touched the water at the river’s edge, the water above that point began backing up a great distance away at a town called Adam, which is near Zarethan. And the water below that point flowed on to the Dead Sea until the riverbed was dry. Then all the people crossed over near the town of Jericho.
Meanwhile, the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant stood on dry ground in the middle of the riverbed as the people passed by. They waited there until the whole nation of Israel had crossed the Jordan on dry ground.
These priests and these Israelites had not witnessed the great parting of the Red Sea. They only heard about it from their fathers. They were just babies or some weren't even born when God rescued the Israelites from Pharaoh. It took faith for the priests to step into those waters. They had to trust GOD, and they had to trust Joshua who was telling what God had said to do. And, as always, GOD was faithful, just as He had been when the Israelites left Egypt.
This was an event that needed to be remembered. The Israelites had a history of forgetting God's faithfulness and then turning to other gods. God wanted them to remember how HE miraculously made a way for them to cross the flooding Jordan River, on dry land.
Joshua 4
When all the people had crossed the Jordan, the Lord said to Joshua, “Now choose twelve men, one from each tribe. Tell them, ‘Take twelve stones from the very place where the priests are standing in the middle of the Jordan. Carry them out and pile them up at the place where you will camp tonight.’”
So Joshua called together the twelve men he had chosen—one from each of the tribes of Israel. He told them, “Go into the middle of the Jordan, in front of the Ark of the Lord your God. Each of you must pick up one stone and carry it out on your shoulder—twelve stones in all, one for each of the twelve tribes of Israel. We will use these stones to build a memorial. In the future your children will ask you, ‘What do these stones mean?’ Then you can tell them, ‘They remind us that the Jordan River stopped flowing when the Ark of the Lord’s Covenant went across.’ These stones will stand as a memorial among the people of Israel forever.”
So the men did as Joshua had commanded them. They took twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan River, one for each tribe, just as the Lord had told Joshua. They carried them to the place where they camped for the night and constructed the memorial there.
This story reminded me of a song, "Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing". The second verse is:
Here I raise my Ebenezer; Hither by Thy help I've come;
And I hope by Thy good pleasure safely to arrive at home;
Jesus sought me when a stranger, wand-d'ring from the fold of God;
He to rescue me from danger interposed His precious blood.
When I was younger, everytime we sang that verse, I wondered what in the world I was raising! What was my "Ebenezer"?
1 Samuel 7:12-14
Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Jeshanah, and named it Ebenezer; for he said, "Thus far the LORD has helped us."
Samuel had set up a stone as a memorial to remind the Israelites how God had delivered them from the Philistines. This stone was called "Ebenezer".
An Ebenezer is a "stone of help," or a reminder of God’s deliverance. For me, spiritually speaking, an Ebenezer is anything that reminds me of God's promise to always be with me, to be my Deliverer in every circumstance I face.
In our discussion last night, my friend, Brent, noted that the Cross is our Ebenezer because it represents God's faithfulness and His love. Isn't that so true? When I see a cross, whether it's a picture, a sculpture or piece of jewelry, I don't fall down and worship the cross. The cross didn't save me. I fall down and worship Jesus who died on that cross. The cross is just my Ebenezer, my reminder.
I have other Ebenezers, too. Robert, our teacher, asked us to think about times in our life when God has shown up in powerful ways; times when there didn't seem to be any way out a bad situation, but there HE was, faithfully walking and sometimes, carrying us through it. Those times, those very special times when He made a way when there seemed to be no way, those, too, are our stones of help, our memorials, our Ebenezers.
http://youtu.be/1zo3fJYtS-o - God Will Make A Way - Don Moen
I'm afraid I'm forgotten some of those special moments when God showed up with power. At the time, I thought I'd never forget, but life goes on, and just like the Israelites, I forget what all He's done for me. I think I need to start writing those special "Ebenezer" moments down in a journal so that when I'm feeling defeated and discouraged; when I have no hope, I can lift up my Ebenezer and thank God for how He always delivers me. He is my Stone of Help! As long as I have Him, I don't need anything else.
Holy God, You are my everything.
King of kings, the One for whom nothing is impossible, the One who guards my children and friends. You are merciful, faithful, slow to anger, Mighty, an ever-present help in my times of trouble, compassionate and loving.
You are my Provider, my Protector, my Strength, my Savior, my precious Redeemer, Almighty God, Creator of the Universe, Sustainer of all things, and You, GOD, are my Peace.
You aren't just wise; YOU are Wisdom; You don't just love; YOU are Love.
You are Sovereign over everything and everyone! Jesus, You are the Lion of Judah and the spotless Lamb of GOD - all in ONE. You are my Healer, my Defender, my Friend, my wonderful Counselor, my Rock, my Anchor, my Teacher, my High Priest, my Lord and Master, the Lifter of my head, my Encourager, my Helper, and my loving gracious Father.
Holy God, You alone are All-knowing, Ever Present, and All Powerful. And You love me. You call me Your child.
What more do I need?
I praise You, Almighty GOD, for You are my Everything.
http://youtu.be/gkLh-D-esxQ - All I need is You LORD - Hillsong United
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