The Crossing of the Jordan [Joshua 3.9-17]

As Yogi Berra once said,” it’s like deja vu all over again”. At the beginning of their exodus, God, through His chosen servant Moses, opens up the Red Sea so the Israelites can cross over on dry land. Now, at the conclusion of their journey to the Promised Land, He repeats His power over the forces of nature through His new vessel, Joshua. One commentator put it this way. “God brought them out of Egypt’s bondage with a miracle, and He brought them into the Promised Land with a miracle”. This act solidifies Joshua as “THE man” in the eyes of Israel and shows His steadfast love and faithfulness to keep His promises to the people of Israel.

Chris Adomanis

Before the Jordan [Joshua 3.1-8]

In today’s reading, we find the Israelites finally arriving at the banks of the Jordan, the last thing stopping them from crossing into the Promised Land. In Exodus when the Israelites were fleeing Egypt the Red Sea blocked their escape, but God performed a miracle, parted the seas, and led them out. Now their descendants (for everyone who was in Egypt has died except Joshua and Hebron), are barred from the Promised Land by another body of water. Joshua tells the people to get ready, God is about to do wonders again. He’s about to fulfill the promise he made to Abraham hundreds of years prior when He told Abraham his descendants would inherit the land of Cannan. It might take a while, but God always fulfills His promises.

Zach Sarver

Faith Like Rahab [Joshua 2.1-24]

Rahab believed and she received what she was promised. Protection from the spies Joshua had sent. A life for a life. I find it interesting how in verse 16 Rahab instructs the spies to hide for the days just as Jonah was in the whale for three days and Jesus remained dead for three days before he rose. Isn’t it beautiful that every bible story somehow weaves in the message of our Lord Jesus and each story points to him? Such a mighty God we serve.

Michelle Hammer

Joshua Leads the Finale [Joshua 1.10-18]

Here, we see the beginnings of a beautiful fulfillment of God’s promise to the Israelites: the Promised Land. A long, exhausting, and challenging journey for God’s chosen people is finally concluding with the entering of their prize granted to them by the very hands of God. And it is Joshua who is the one to lead the Israelites into this Promised Land, the land that God provided to them as a “place of rest” [v. 13].

Luke + Lydia Wildermuth