June 16, transition (part one – “never been this way before”)

Joshua told the people, “Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the Lord will do amazing things among you.”

Joshua 3:5 

The Book of Joshua gives the history of God’s people getting to their promised homeland.  

Joshua told the people, “consecrate yourselves today, because the Lord will do wonders among you tomorrow.”

Let’s make this simple. “Consecrate yourselves today” – this represents one being set apart.  “The Lord will do wonders among you tomorrow” – this represents the promise.   “Separate yourselves,” is another translation, “for God will do marvelous things in your presence.”  

Who would not desire such a promise for his or her future?  But, what about this idea of being set apart, or consecrated?  

Entering the Story

 Beginning with Joshua 3:1, we step into that period of history in the lives of God’s people when they were completing their 40-year excursion in the desert under the leadership of Moses.  The time had come for them to take the land God had promised centuries earlier; their first goal was the Jordan River.   So, Israel journeyed some 7 miles from Shittim (the Acacia Grove), the place of their previous encampment, and arrived at the shore of the Jordan.  

Israel remained on the eastern shore for three days to prepare for crossing the Jordan and entering Canaan.  There was a well-organized system of leadership (Joshua 3:2), as Joshua would give instructions to the commanding officers and then the officers would liaise with the people (such as in Joshua 1:10). A significant instruction passed on was that Israel should keep their eyes on the Ark of the Covenant (Joshua 3;3) as they crossed the Jordan.[1]  

The ark represented God’s presence with His people.  This story relates such a clear picture of the divine presence of God meeting the practical needs of His people:  keep your eyes on the ark some 1,000 yards behind (approximately ½ mile), so that “you can see the way to go, because you have never been this way before.”  This was the message from Joshua to Israel:  keep your eyes on the ark of the Covenant. 

After this instruction, Joshua then unveiled the promise to which they were to be set apart: consecrate yourselves today, for God will do something incredible (new) tomorrow.  Before dealing with the enemy, before the victory, and before the enjoyment of the Promised Land, God spoke this simple statement:  set yourself apart today, for God will do something great among you tomorrow.  As it was for Israel, so the truth exists for you and me: this promise offers three perspectives for moving in your faith: looking back, looking around, and looking ahead. Today, we focus on the first:  looking back.  

Look Back (Joshua 3:2-4)

The Problem Israel faced? You have never gone this way before.  “This is new because it doesn’t exist in your history.”  And you and I constantly face such new turns in our lives.  But Jesus came to “shine light in darkness and guide our feet in the way of peace” (Luke 1:79).  

Sometimes, you are faced with the unknown, and the way seems so unclear.  The doctor gives you a diagnosis never before faced, and you are at a loss on how to react.  Sometimes your children go through phases in life, and you feel at a loss on how to continue to raise them. Sometimes your career takes an unexpected turn.  Relationships develop in ways not expected.  Current events of our present culture seem more depressing than ever before.  Sometimes new chapters opens in front of you, but the excitement gives way to uncertainty as your step through the new door of opportunity to experiences that are overwhelming and frightening.  All such circumstances are normal, common, and should be expected at some point in life.  And, when you find yourself on the east bank of the river awaiting what God has promised, understand how important it becomes to keep your eyes on God, and to trust His presence when you cannot see His plan.  

 The Resolve:  Israel was told to keep their eyes on the ark, because the ark represented some key facts of their past history as God’s people.  The contents within the ark – the tablets of the commandments, the piece of manna, Aaron’ rod having budded, all signified that God had a very special covenant relationship with His people.  The ark signified a divine witness in the midst of God’s people (Deuteronomy 31:24-26), the constant presence of Yahweh in the times of transition (Numbers 14:40-45), and a divine guidance for physical direction (Numbers 10:31-33).  The ark caused Israel to look back at the faithfulness of God to better embrace the present transition with confidence.  So, when you face a “you have never been this way before” moment, look back to understand how faithful God has been all along.  

A certain American Indian tribe has a unique way of training their young brave by placing the young in a dense forest all night alone.    Blindfolded, the young brave is carried to a remote location, the blind fold is removed, and he is to remain all night. The sounds of the dark forest, the cold, and many other uncertainties bring an unthinkable challenge. But the young brave stays all night. When he awakens, he notices a lot of the beauty of the forest, but then immediately in the new light of day he notices the silhouette of his father with bow and arrow drawn, standing to protect him all night.  This is God for us.  We look back to His constant presence over us (Read Psalm 121:5-8).

  To make certain we do not reduce looking back to God’s faithfulness as merely nostalgic, consider the perimeter of the instruction to keep eyes on the ark: stay back 1,000 yards.  This could represent the ocular (stay back so that you can see which direction the ark turns).  But this also represents the spiritual, which should be the primary application.  The Holy presence of God should be honored and revered as His people follow Him with every step.  So, Israel looked back to the faithfulness of God by watching the covenant so that they would not forget God’s holiness among His people, among the nations, and even among the land into which they were about to enter.

This represents the essence of looking back to be reminded of God’s faithfulness for new steps ahead.  

Join the devotion tomorrow as we consider a second perspective of transition: looking around. 

Blessings.  

     [1] The ark of the Covenant was a beautifully constructed furnishing for the wilderness tabernacle; the lid or top of the alter like construction was known as the mercy seat where upon the high priest would sprinkle the blood of bulls and goats once per year for the atonement of God’s people.  Upon this lid were 2 cherubim where between symbolized God’s enthronement (the Lord spoke to Moses form between the cherubim).