As you're settling into your seats, if you join me, please, in Joshua chapter 3.
As you're getting there, recall that we have been and we will be taking some strides to the Old Testament up until Advent season this year.
We've been doing this now for quite a few months, really working at helping you see the larger narrative,
what's happening throughout the entirety of the scripture with this particular focus on the Old Testament, right?
We see in Genesis chapter 1, God creates the world and then he rests.
Things are good and they are completed, right?
And intends to reign in this place with his people.
We see very quickly, beginning of Genesis chapter 3, a disruption of that rest.
And so the rest of the story is bringing us back to that place.
How is it that God then reestablishes, restores all things and brings his people back into relationship with him forever, right?
It's a big, grand narrative.
And it's really easy to get lost in the details.
And so we've been hoping as we just kind of jump through the Old Testament narrative to bring you back to that redemptive story.
What is it that God is accomplishing?
And we're looking at some of these very major events in this storyline.
Now, we have attempted to do it in 14 weeks.
I used up one of them last week with something else, so we're trying to do it in 13 weeks.
So we've skipped some significant things, like we talked about the creation story, Genesis chapter 1 and 2,
the fall of man in Genesis chapter 3,
but then we skipped all the way to Genesis chapter 12 to talk about the calling of Abraham and the Abrahamic covenant.
So we skipped over the flood as an example.
We went on to talk about the call of Moses to deliver Israel from bondage to Egypt in Exodus chapter 3,
the Mosaic covenant of Exodus chapter 19,
so the giving of the law as an extension of the Abrahamic covenant.
And we talked about the rebellion of the Israelites in Numbers chapter 14.
So to give us some immediate context for this morning,
I want to read to you from Numbers chapter 14,
where the people have sent into the land spies.
There's 12 of them.
They have come back and given the report that the people of the land are too great.
They cannot be conquered.
Ten of them say this, two do not,
and God punishes this generation who believes those who say that God won't fulfill his promise
because of the might of the people of the land.
So beginning in Numbers chapter 14, verse 26 and following,
and the Lord spoke to Moses and to Aaron saying,
How long shall this wicked congregation grumble against me?
I have heard the grumblings of the people of Israel, which they grumble against me.
Say to them, as I live, declares the Lord,
what you have said in my hearing I will do to you.
Your dead body shall fall in this wilderness,
and of all your number listed in the census from 20 years old and upward,
who have grumbled against me,
not one shall come into the land where I swore that I would make you dwell,
except Caleb the son of Jephunneh and Joshua the son of Nun.
But your little ones, who you said would become a prey,
I will bring in, and they shall know the land that you have rejected.
But as for you, your dead body shall fall in this wilderness,
and your children shall be shepherds in the wilderness 40 years
and shall suffer for your faithlessness
until the last of your dead bodies lies in the wilderness.
So there's this punishment placed on Israel, right?
That they'll stay in the land for 40 years.
And at the end of that, when that generation passed,
the little ones, the ones that will grow up then in this wilderness,
will be the ones that will go in to the promised land.
It's during this time that most scholars believe
that Moses wrote the first five books of the Old Testament,
often called the Pentateuch, right?
He's telling, retelling, and telling to this generation
that they would know what they need to know to enter into this land, right?
It's believed that Joshua completes the book of Deuteronomy,
records Moses' death,
and then writes this book about these people going into this land.
So there's two spared from this judgment.
They're the two spies that said,
no, let's go and take the land because God has promised.
And they're Caleb and Joshua.
So this 40 years has passed,
and we see at the beginning of the book of Joshua,
the first three verses records,
after the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord,
the Lord said to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' assistant,
Moses, my servant, is dead.
Now, therefore, arise, go over this Jordan,
and you and all this people into the land that I am giving to them,
to the people of Israel.
Every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon,
I have given to you, just as I promised to Moses.
And we see in chapter 2 that spies go in once again.
There's a wonderful story there I would encourage you to read.
And they come back and say,
the people are afraid of us.
And this bolsters the confidence of the Israelites to go into the land.
So let's read our text.
This will be all of Joshua chapter 3.
Before we read, let me remind you, beloved,
that this is God's word to us.
It was written for his glory and our good.
And we would all do well to listen to it
in order to believe its promises and to obey its commands.
Beginning in verse 1, chapter 3.
Then Joshua rose early in the morning,
and they set out from Shittim.
And they came to the Jordan,
he and all the people of Israel,
and lodged there before they passed over.
At the end of three days,
the officers went through the camp
and commanded the people,
As soon as you see the ark of the covenant
of the Lord your God being carried by the Levitical priests,
then you shall set out from your place and follow it.
Yet there shall be a distance between you and it,
about 2,000 cubits in length.
This is about a half a mile.
Do not come near it,
in order that you may know the way you shall go,
for you have not passed this way before.
And Joshua said to the people,
Consecrate yourselves,
for tomorrow the Lord will do wonders among you.
And Joshua said to the priests,
Take up the ark of the covenant
and pass on before the people.
So they took up the ark of the covenant
and went before the people.
The Lord said to Joshua,
Today I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel,
that they may know that as I was with Moses,
so I will be with you.
And as for you,
command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant,
When you come to the brink of the waters of the Jordan,
you shall stand still in the Jordan.
And Joshua said to the people of Israel,
Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God.
And Joshua said,
Here is how you shall know that the living God is among you,
and that he will without fail drive out before you
the Canaanites,
the Hittites,
the Hivites,
the Perizzites,
the Girgashites,
the Amorites,
and the Jebusites.
Behold,
the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth
is passing over before you into the Jordan.
Now therefore take twelve men from the tribes of Israel,
from each tribe a man.
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.
So when the people set out from their tents
to pass over the Jordan
with the priests bearing the ark of the covenant
before the people,
and as soon as those bearing the ark
had come as far as the Jordan,
and the feet of the priests bearing the ark
were dipped in the brink of the water,
now the Jordan overflows all its banks
throughout the time of harvest.
The waters coming down from above
stood and rose up in a heap
very far away at Adam,
or Adam probably,
in our English.
The city that is beside Zerathon
and those flowing down from the sea of the Arabah,
the salt sea,
were completely cut off,
and the people passed over opposite Jericho.
Now the priests bearing the ark of the covenant
of the Lord stirred firmly on dry ground
in the midst of the Jordan,
and all Israel was passing over on dry ground
until all the nation finished
passing over the Jordan.
Right?
So there's a lot going on in this chapter,
right?
A significant episode in the life of Israel,
right?
Speaking to the faithfulness of Israel
in this moment,
to the promises of God.
So we have an opportunity this morning
to observe the faith of the Israelites
and to have our faith increased.
So we'll look at the text
in the following three points.
I promise I won't satisfy
every answer you may have about this text
because we just don't have time this morning.
But we'll structure it this way.
Number one,
the order of faith.
Number two,
the obedience of faith.
And number three,
the object of faith.
Order,
obedience,
object.
And I am always so proud of myself
when I alliterate.
Three points.
So for a moment,
let me gloat.
I did it.
Three points.
Order,
obedience,
object.
Number one,
the order of faith.
We will not spend much time
on this first point,
but I believe that it is important
to see that God makes promises
and his people believe those promises
in that order.
If you go and do a search for sermons
on Joshua chapter three,
you're going to see lots of sermons
with the prominent point being obedience.
And it's there.
It is in the text, right?
We must note that yes,
in fact,
the Israelites obeyed.
That is important for us today.
We must also obey.
But I don't think we see that
as the main point.
We don't want to miss what's happening
as God is redeeming a people.
We will lose sight of the entire narrative
if we don't recognize
that the Israelites
were not deserving people.
We are not deserving people.
God chose them
despite their faithfulness, right?
This people that came from Abraham,
We find out that Abraham
was an idolater.
Abraham had done nothing
to deserve God's favor,
and yet God made a covenant with him.
He promised to bless him
with a land, right?
With seed,
a great people, right?
That would be a blessing
to all nations.
And he did this
before Abraham had done anything.
He had only been an idolater
up until that point.
So he chose a people
for his glory.
He's chosen us
despite our faithlessness.
If we are in Christ this morning,
not a single one of us
did anything to merit
God's favor for us.
If you don't believe this,
you need to be humbled
by your sin, right?
We do not deserve
God's grace
and his mercy.
He does this very act,
the saving of a people, right?
So that he can put on display
his mercy and his grace.
That he would have a people
who say, right,
if it were not but for
the mercy and grace of God,
I would be utterly destitute.
I would be cut off from him.
I would not choose
to follow God in Christ,
but because he saved me,
I follow him willfully.
So you want to note
in our text, right?
Joshua is saying to them,
he's reminding them
of what God has promised
he would do.
He's saying to them,
you are God's people.
Remember these promises
that we've been waiting
for 40 years.
Your parents have been telling you,
you will not go into the land
or we will not go into the land,
but you will, right?
This is what he's reminding them of.
Verse five, he says,
consecrate yourselves
for tomorrow,
the Lord will do wonders among you.
The Lord will work.
He will act to bring you
into the land.
And then verse 10 and verse 11,
here is how you shall know
that the living God is among you
and that he will,
without fail,
drive out from before you
the Canaanites,
the Hittites,
the Hivites,
the Perizzites,
the Girgashites,
the Amorites,
and the Jebusites,
right?
Will they be agents
in that driving out?
Yes.
God will use them
to drive out these people,
to bring judgment upon
these peoples.
But it's very clear here,
Joshua says,
that it will be the Lord's doing.
And then the guarantee of this,
he says in verse 11,
is the ark of the covenant
of the Lord of all the earth
is passing over before you
into the Jordan, right?
God is about to put on display
his power so that you will believe
that he will act
as you are faithful to him.
So we have to get this order correct,
right?
We must be very,
very careful about this.
Many of us who are in Christ
can err in this way, right?
Thinking now that we're in Christ,
somehow we continue
to earn his favor
by our works.
May it never be, right?
We work because we're saved,
not the other way around.
Some of you may think
that if I just do enough,
there's enough of a Christendom
injected into you
in your upbringing.
If I just look just so,
so, right?
If I have the faith
of my parents,
then I will be accepted by God.
We must be accepted
by God in Christ.
It's an important order
to get correct.
So I want to show you that order.
They're riding the coattails,
right,
of this order of faith
that began with Abraham.
So I want you to turn back quickly
to Genesis chapter 15.
You can mark us here.
We will be back
in Joshua chapter 3.
We're most certainly
not done with it,
but kind of in a rushed way,
I'm going to read
quite a bit of Genesis chapter 15.
Connecting you
to the bigger narrative, right?
So after these things,
verse 1 of chapter 15,
after these things, right?
Much time has passed
since the original covenant
was given to Abraham.
Roughly 25 years.
He's fought a war
to rescue Lot, right?
Lots of stuff has gone on.
After these things,
the word of the Lord
came to Abram in a vision.
Fear not, Abram.
I am your shield.
Your reward
shall be very great.
But Abram said,
O Lord God,
what will you give me?
For I continue childless,
and the heir of my house
is Eleazar of Damascus.
It would seem
that Abram has appointed an heir.
If I should die,
this Eleazar of Damascus
will be my heir.
Verse 3,
And Abram said,
Behold,
you have given me
no offspring,
and a member of my household
will be my heir.
And behold,
the word of the Lord
came to him,
this man shall not be your heir,
for your very own son
shall be your heir.
And he brought him outside
and said,
Now, I think there is
an element of faltering faith.
We're going to read
in a little bit
that Paul magnifies
the faith of Abraham.
And I think he's right to do so,
but I think we're seeing
this transition happen
here in the text right now.
He seems to have
some faltering faith.
He says to God,
what will you give me?
I don't have a son.
I've made this guy Eleazar a son.
He's trying to accomplish
kingdom through his servant
rather than through a son
because he's 100 years old
at this point.
99 years old.
He has no son.
So God,
in his loving kindness,
brings him outside,
verse 5,
and says,
Look toward heaven
and number the stars
if you are able
to number them.
It's a rhetorical question.
He can't.
Then he said to him,
So shall your offspring
be, right?
And here in verse 6,
we see this really key phrase.
And it's repeated again and again
throughout the Bible,
particularly the New Testament.
And he, being Abram,
believed the Lord
and he counted it to him
as righteousness.
So he believed the Lord
and he counted it to him
as righteousness.
His belief itself
was not righteousness,
right?
This was a righteousness
from outside of himself.
The Lord counted it to him,
credited it to him,
right?
So he believed God
and God declared him
righteous.
And he said to him,
I am the Lord
who brought you out
from Ur of the Chaldeans
to give you this land
to possess.
But he said,
O Lord God,
how am I to know
that I shall possess it?
He said to him,
Bring me a heifer
three years old,
a female goat
three years old,
a ram three years old,
a turtle dove,
and a young pigeon.
And he brought him
all these,
cut them in half
and laid each half
over against the other.
But he did not cut
the birds in half.
And when the birds of prey
came down on the carcasses,
Abram drove them away.
As the sun was going down,
a deep sleep
fell on Abram
and behold,
dreadful and great
darkness fell upon him.
Okay, now there's a lot
of strange things
happening here.
We won't have time
to talk about each
and every one of them.
But this was an old
covenant keeping method,
right?
If you and I were to make
a promise with one another,
we might take an animal
and we would tear it in two.
And we would put it
on the ground
and we would pass together
between that.
And it was a way of saying,
if I don't keep
my end of this bargain,
like let what happened
to this animal
happen to me.
It's a very serious,
somber way
of making the covenant,
right?
Even as this is being
recorded here in Genesis,
Moses assumes
everybody knows,
right?
He doesn't give a lot
of textual explanation
as to why this thing
happened because
in his thinking,
everyone knows,
understands what's
happening here
as the Lord
does this.
But something very
significant happens
in verse 12.
As the sun was going down,
a deep sleep
fell on Abram.
And the previous place
that we see this
deep sleep,
same Hebrew phrase
used,
is when Adam
was put to sleep
and a rib was taken
from his side
and the woman
was made.
The point being,
Adam was entirely
passive in that process,
right?
He is asleep
and so was Abram.
Abram has nothing
to do
with this covenant
that's being made.
This is entirely
a promise being made
and therefore
kept by God.
Verse 13,
Then the Lord said
to Abram,
Know for certain
that your offspring
will be sojourners
in a land
that is not theirs
and will be servants
there and they will
be afflicted
for 400 years.
He's talking about Egypt.
But I will bring judgment
on the nation
that they serve
and afterward
they shall come out
with great possessions.
As for you,
you shall go to
your fathers in peace.
You shall be buried
in a good old age
and they shall come back
here in the fourth generation
for the iniquity
of the Amorites
is not yet complete.
When the sun had gone down
and it was dark,
behold,
a smoking fire pot
and a flaming torch
passed between
these pieces.
These two things,
smoke and fire,
represent God on earth,
his presence itself.
So think about
the burning bush,
think about Mount Sinai
on flame
and with smoke.
So these two things
represent God's very presence
making this covenant promise
as it passes
between these pieces.
Verse 18,
On that day,
the Lord made a covenant
with Abram saying,
to your offspring
I give this land
from the river of Egypt
to the great river,
the river Euphrates,
the land of the Kenites,
the Kenizzites,
the Kadmonites,
the Hittites,
the Perizzites,
the Rephaim,
the Amorites,
the Canaanites,
the Giggishites,
and the Jebusites.
You notice some of those names
that are familiar
to Joshua chapter 3.
So Abraham believed
and it was counted to him
as righteousness.
He did not act.
He merely believed.
Paul picks this up
in Romans chapter 4.
He writes,
In hope,
Abraham believed against hope
that he should become
the father of many nations.
As he had been told,
so shall your offspring be.
He did not weaken in faith
when he considered
his own body
which was as good as dead
since he was about
a hundred years old
or when he considered
the barrenness
of Sarah's womb.
No unbelief made him
waver concerning
the promise of God
but he grew strong
in his faith
as he gave glory to God.
Fully convinced
that God was able
to do what he had promised.
That is why his faith
was counted to him
as righteousness.
Right?
He's quoting there
from Genesis chapter 15.
But the words
it was counted to him
were not written
for his sake alone
but for ours also.
It will be counted
to us who believe in him
who raised from the dead
Jesus our Lord
who was delivered up
for our trespasses
and raised
for our justification.
We're going to talk
a bit more
about the typology
of Joshua chapter 3
if you'd like to turn
back there.
But you see
God's people
having been promised
an inheritance
that they've not yet
entered.
They've not yet
entered into it
and yet they're going to.
Right?
We're about to see that happen.
We've read it already.
We're going to talk a bit
about it here
in just a moment.
Right?
They're obedient
from faith
that God
will
accomplish.
And we approach
God in the very
same way.
Right?
The promise made
to us.
The inheritance
that is ours.
The eternal rest
that is promised us
that is found
in Christ.
Right?
This is not because
we work
to do it.
Right?
It's because
God makes a promise
we believe
and that is counted
to us
credited to us
as righteousness.
Right?
So the order
of faith
matters.
It matters
quite a deal.
Now
secondly
the obedience
of faith.
We're actually
not going to spend
a whole lot of time
here.
We see that the people
obey.
Right?
They believe
in God
and they believe
what God said
will come
to pass.
We are astute
learners of our
Bible.
If you have read
the book of Joshua
before,
we're going to see
all sorts
of failure
to faithfulness.
Right?
Just chapters
later,
we already see
them not obeying
God's commands.
But in Joshua
chapter 3,
right,
praise God,
we see an example
of their obedience
to what God
has asked
for them
to do.
Right?
We do not
become God's
people by our
works,
but our
works show
us to be
God's people.
Verse 6,
Joshua said
to the priest,
take up the
Ark of the
Covenant and
pass on before
the people.
And simply
recorded,
so they took
up the Ark of
the Covenant
and went
before the
people.
Right?
I love these
instances in the
scripture where
we merely get
the command and
the obedience to
the command.
No dialogue in
between,
no resistance at
all.
They just
did what
they were
told to
do.
Last part
of verse 16,
and the people
passed over
opposite Jericho.
Right?
They did the
very thing
that they were
commanded to
do.
They followed
the Ark
at a distance.
It went
into the
water.
The water
was parted
and they
passed over.
Verse 17,
now the
priest bearing
the Ark of
the Covenant
Lord stirred
firmly on
dry ground
in the midst
of the Jordan
just as they
were commanded
to do.
Right?
They stayed
there and
all Israel
was passing
over on
dry ground
until all
the nation
finished passing
over the
Jordan.
Right?
So they did
the thing
that they
were commanded
to do.
They did
the thing
that their
parents'
generation
had failed
to do.
Right?
They rightly,
properly feared
God over
the inhabitants
of the land.
Right?
Their parents
had done
quite the
opposite.
The parents
had feared
the people
of the land
instead of
fearing
God.
On your
bulletin
this morning
I always
try to put
these historical
quotations.
This is
William
Gurnall
a Puritan
preacher.
He said
we fear
men so
much
because we
fear God
so little.
One fear
cures another.
When man's
terror scares
you turn
your thoughts
to the wrath
of God.
Right?
If the
previous generation
had done
this they
would have
gone on
over.
Right?
The story
would have
been told
differently.
Right?
They feared
the armies
of the
land but
if they
had instead
feared what
would happen
had they not
obeyed they
would have
gone over
and instead
they stayed
as a judgment
in the wilderness
for those
40 years.
Each of them
perished in
that place.
Here's a
generation
that fears
God more
than man
and so they
go over.
Right?
So if we
have faith
it's going
to be
evidence.
Right?
James speaks
about this.
This is his
very point
in his
letter.
Right?
If we
have faith
it will
have
evidence.
It will
bear
fruit.
So we
must be
obedient but
we must
get the
order of
that
faith
correct.
Finally
and we're
going to
spend a
little more
time here
so I'm
going to
speed up
a little
bit.
The
object
of
faith.
We
cannot
just
have
faith.
There's
a
declare
I
have
faith.
Right?
The
object
of our
faith
matters
immensely.
What is
it that
you believe?
If you
say you
have
faith,
what is
it that
you
believe
or have
belief
in?
And this
text helps
us to see
who we
must place
our faith
in.
And it
does so
typologically.
Okay?
So I'm
going to talk
a little bit
about typology
in just a
moment.
But it's
important to
know that
the Old
Testament is
written in
an Eastern
way of
thinking.
most of
us
naturally
have a
very
Western
way of
thinking.
Our
logic
is
extremely
linear.
It moves
along like
this.
This is
not the
typical way
that Eastern
thinkers
think.
So they
will do
things like
not this,
but this.
Leave you
wondering,
wait, if it's
not that,
if it's not
that,
if it's not
that,
then what
could it
be?
And they
help draw
the conclusion
in that
way.
The
scripture
does that.
A way
that it
does that,
a simple
example,
is the
law making
us right
with God.
No,
not that.
It helps
point to
our
insufficiency
to keep
the law,
so it
leaves us
saying,
so then
what?
I can't
keep the
law,
and there's
a curse
that accompanies
with the
breaking of
the law,
that is
death,
then what?
What
must we
do?
And the
Bible
answers
that
question.
So,
not this,
but this.
another way,
also,
like this,
but not
quite this.
And we
see that in
some of our
literature,
our western
literature will
foreshadow
things.
scripture does
this quite
often,
right?
This is
called
typology.
An example
of that
is the
sacrifice
on the
day of
atonement,
right?
A particular
day,
high priest
went in,
one day
a year,
made this
sacrifice,
right?
It wasn't
sufficient to
forgive the
sins of
Israel.
It was
meant to
show us
like this,
but not
quite like
this,
right?
Another
example would
be the
Passover,
the lamb,
the spotless
lamb that
had to be
killed.
The
Israelites
painted the
blood on
the doorpost
so that
the angel
of death
would pass
over him.
Again,
like this,
right?
A sacrifice
had to be
made,
but not
quite,
right?
There's a
type,
like the
spotless
lamb that
was killed
for that
reason.
Then there's
what's called
the anti-type,
right?
The fulfillment
of the
actual thing
that it's
being pointed
to.
So the
Old Testament
is full
of this.
Graham
Cole,
a contemporary
scholar,
defined
typology,
in this
way.
Typology is
the idea
that persons,
events,
and institutions
can,
in the
plan of
God,
prefigure a
later stage
in that
plan and
provide the
conceptuality
necessary for
understanding the
divine intent.
You know what
that means?
That if the
Old Testament
is in fact
full of these
kinds of
typologies,
that the
New Testament
is going to
be so much
richer to
you as you
read the
Old Testament,
as you come
to understand
that part of
this redemptive
narrative is
going to
become much,
much more
alive to
you.
Our New
Testament
writers quoted
the Old
Testament all
the time.
They're
constantly
pulling from
it.
They're
constantly
pulling it
in.
We shouldn't
unhitch our
faith from
the Old
Testament.
In fact,
our faith
should be
rich with
the Old
Testament
because it
helps us
to understand
our Christ.
It helps us
to fully
realize everything
that he came
and accomplished
and will
accomplish.
And we
want to be
careful with
typology.
It is
possible to
allegorize all
of the Bible.
We don't
want to be
doing this.
This is not
a healthy
thing to
do, but
we can
also miss
so much
of the
richness of
the text
if we don't
examine it
closely.
Jonathan Edwards
encouraged a
typological
reading of the
Old Testament.
He said,
the apostle
himself teaches
us that only
so small a
thing as the
silence of
scripture is
in not giving
an account of
Melchizedek's
birth nor
death was
typological.
This is
Hebrews chapter
7.
The author
of Hebrews
says he had
no beginning
and no end
simply because
the scripture
doesn't tell us
that there was
a beginning
and an end
to Melchizedek.
Of course,
he does that
under inspiration,
but it gives
us some clues
like, wait,
there's some
rich things
happening in
the Old Testament.
Edward goes
on to say,
if so small
things in
scripture are
typological,
it is rational
to suppose that
scripture abounds
with types.
So with
this in
mind, I
want to
show you
three types
from this
text that
speak to
the proper
object of
faith, but
before I can
do so, we
need to
understand the
significance of
the Jordan
crossing.
I think a lot
of us in our
minds have
this very
insignificant
picture of
the Jordan
crossing.
The Jordan
River is not
as large as
the Red
Sea, so
our minds
really ought
to be
hearkening
back to
the Exodus
crossing.
This is
again that
same pattern
being done
again.
This is a
new generation.
They're going
to cross
over waters.
And you'll
see some
people will
argue this
really wasn't
very significant,
the passing
over the
Jordans,
smaller, more
of a creek
than a river,
so to speak.
But there are
some places
that it's
very big,
and there's
something really
specific in
the text that
helps us to
know, no,
this is actually
a pretty substantial
event, and that
is the
parenthetical in
verse 15.
Now the
Jordan overflows
all its
banks throughout
the time of
harvest.
So it's not
just the Jordan
River, it's the
Jordan River
flooded.
It is outside
of its banks.
Anytime a river
floods, we get
big rains like
this and the
water comes up.
I used to be a
whitewater kayaker,
we loved rainy
weather because
water came up.
But I will tell
you when water
comes out of its
banks, it's a
whole other level
of flood.
Things get
dangerous when
that happens.
We had a time
when it rained
and rained and
rained.
I had like a
week of solid
rain, and all
of the big
rivers that we
like to go
paddle were
too big.
I mean,
dangerous,
dangerous.
So me and a
friend went and
got on the
upper Chattahoochee,
which normally
is like a
little class
two river,
not a real
big deal, but
it was flood
stage like.
The parking
lot we normally
parked in was
underwater, and
we just were
young and dumb
and thought,
sure, let's
get on.
And we
weren't too
far downstream
from our
vehicles.
When I looked
over to my
right, and a
tree, its roots
and everything
lifted up out
of the water.
It had been
underwater, so it
got caught on
something.
The current
picked it up out
of the water,
40 feet in the
air.
A tree just
emerged from
the water, and
it came crashing
back down.
And I said to my
friend, Kevin, I'm
not sure we should
be on the river
right now.
And Kevin in
classic form said,
it'll be all
right.
And it was,
praise God.
We survived.
But this is
significant, right?
The Jordan is
flooded, right?
This is a massive
amount of water
that's moving
downstream.
It has overflowed
all of its
banks.
Now, we could
go, okay, so
that's the extent
of that, right?
It's just the fact
that it's flooded.
God's going to
move a lot of
water around.
Wonderful.
God is doing a
mighty work.
But floods and
flooding are used
both in reality,
right?
Genesis chapter
six, God judges
the world with a
flood, puts a
bow in the sky,
promises to never
judge the entire
world through a
flood again.
But floods are
still spoken of all
throughout the
scripture in terms
of judgment,
right?
Judgment and
deliverance from
judgment all over
the text, like
used metaphorically
in many, many
places.
I'm going to show
you a few of
those.
I'm going to
move really
quick here.
Job 27 and
chapter 20.
Terrors overtake
the wicked man
like a flood.
In the night, a
whirlwind carries
him off.
Psalm 69,
verse 1 and 2.
Save me, O God,
for the waters
have come up to
my neck.
I stand in deep
mire where there
is no foothold.
I have come into
deep waters and
the flood sweeps
over me.
Nahum, chapter 1
and verse 8.
But with an
overwhelming flood,
he will make a
complete end of
the adversaries
and will pursue
his enemies
into darkness.
Right?
So lots of this
kind of imagery
exists in the
scripture.
And I believe
that Joshua means
for your mind to
pop off when you
see this flooded
waters.
They're about to
cross over flooded
waters.
What's happened so
far in the narrative
with flood?
Right?
We've got the
Genesis 6 flood,
a judgment of the
world.
Right?
We've got the
deliverance from
Egypt.
And then what
happens after
Israel crosses
over on dry
land?
Someone's judged.
Right?
All the pursuers
from Egypt, the
army gets judged
by the waters
coming back
together, flooding,
covering over
them.
So there's this
picture of
deliverance through
flood.
And our biblical
authors pick this
theme up as well.
Psalm 124,
beginning in verse
1.
If it had not been
the Lord who
was on our
side, let
Israel now say
if it had not
been the Lord who
was on our
side, when
people rose up
against us, then
they would have
swallowed us up
alive when their
anger was kindled
against us.
Then the flood
would have swept
us away.
The torrent would
have gone over
us.
Right?
So David in that
psalm says, if God
had not been on
our side, that's
what would have
happened to us.
But because he
was, we were
delivered.
Psalm 18,
beginning in verse
15 and following,
then the channels of
the sea were seen
and the foundations
of the world were
laid bare at your
rebuke, O Lord, at
the blast of the
breath of your
nostrils.
He sent from on
high.
He took me.
He drew me out of
many waters.
He rescued me from
my strong enemy and
from those who hated
me, for they were
too mighty for me.
They confronted me
in the day of my
calamity, but the
Lord was my support.
He brought me out
into a broad place.
He rescued me
because he delighted
in me.
So you see this,
this is the kind
of things, the
imagery that should
be popping off in
our brain as we're
reading this account.
And yet, God
delivers them safely
through.
Safely through.
Verse 15,
So picture this flood
plain.
It got pushed way
back upstream.
And as far as we can
tell, right, from
historical maps to
this city.
I mean, I think it's
probably properly
pronounced Adam, but
we say Adam.
So five miles upstream.
So significantly
upstream.
And it's piled up in a
massive heap.
Not divided like the
Exodus waters from
Egypt, right?
But in this case,
piled up upstream and
everything else is
dried out down below
them.
Right?
I think this is
because God is
declaring to the
peoples that they're
about to cross over
into, here comes
Israel, right?
Could he have walled
it off right there
where they were?
Of course he could
have.
But he pushes it
way upstream to
dry up the land.
And there's all these
cities in the land that
have seen something
miraculous is happening
here, right?
You have to imagine
that they would have
heard that this great
group of people has
now crossed into this
land because those
waters were dried up,
right?
They were completely
cut off, it says at
the end of verse
16, and the people
passed over opposite
Jericho.
Okay, so this is
what's happening in
this story, right?
It's really happening,
but it's also meant
to help us understand
something greater,
right?
A deliverance through
flood is the theme
we pick back up.
And so we see three
types for Christ in
the text.
First, Joshua.
Joshua, his name
means God is
salvation.
In the Hebrew, it's
Yeshua.
That's what the very
name of Jesus is,
right?
So God is salvation.
So this Joshua is a
type for the eventual
Joshua, right?
Jesus Christ himself.
He leads the people
into the promised land,
right?
But Joshua and the land
were typological.
We read in Hebrews
chapter 3, beginning
of verse 7 and
through chapter 4.
And I'm going to
spare you the reading
of it for the sake of
time because I know
I'm running long
today.
But the author of
Hebrews says that
Joshua did not lead
the people into that
final rest.
And he helps us to
understand that there
is a greater final
rest, a way that is
open to us.
And he says,
chapter 4,
verse 3,
for we who have
believed enter that
rest.
As he has said,
as I swore in my
wrath, they shall not
enter my rest.
He's talking about that
generation that did not
get to go into the
promised land, although
his works were finished
from the foundation of
the world.
For he has somewhere
spoke of the seventh
day in this way, and
God rested on the
seventh day from all
his works.
And again in this
passage he said,
they shall not enter
my rest.
He goes on to say,
so then there remains
Sabbath rest for the
people of God.
For whoever has
entered God's rest has
also rested from his
works as God did from
his.
So we're supposed to
see that in this text,
right?
The New Testament
reality is meant to
make this come to life
for us.
It's teaching us
something about the
anti-type, Jesus
Christ.
He's going to lead us
into the inheritance
that is ours in
Christ.
Secondly, the
Levites, right?
These were priests.
These were those who
went before God on
behalf of the people.
Again, Hebrews chapter
10, verse 11, and
every priest stands
daily at his service
offering repeatedly the
same sacrifices which
can never take away
sins.
But when Christ had
offered for a single
time a single
sacrifice for sins, he
sat down at the right
hand of God, waiting
from that time until
his enemies should be
made a footstool for
his feet.
For by a single
offering he has
perfected for all time
those who are being
sanctified, right?
So you have a group
of Levitical priests
standing in the water
that becomes dry
ground on behalf of
the people, right?
The people are carried
safely through because
these men stand in
that place, right?
They're meant to help
us see Christ.
They're the type.
Jesus is the anti-type,
right?
The perfect high
priest.
We no longer have need
for priests, right?
I am not a priest, right?
We do not have an
altar.
We do not continually
make sacrifice, right?
Because Jesus made a
sacrifice of himself
once for all.
And then finally, the
last type is the
ark itself.
The ark itself.
The ark was the most
significant object in
old covenant worship.
It's a box overlaid
with gold.
And when it was
tabernacled or in the
temple, right, it was
located in the Holy of
Holies, right?
Here, they're on the
move.
So it is now moving
with them.
A golden urn holding
the manna and Aaron's
staff that budded and
the tablets of the
covenant were placed
within the ark.
Hebrews 9, 4 repeats
this for us.
The mercy seat covered
the box.
Images of two cherubim
facing one another
overshadowed the mercy
seat.
When God came down,
dwelt in the Holy of
Holies, his glory
rested above the
mercy seat.
This visible glory
rested there between
these two cherubim.
Right?
This was the place that
the sacrifice was made.
The day of atonement
sacrifice was made.
Also meant to point us
to Christ.
But all of this
elaborate picture of
God's dwelling place,
the ark itself,
is a picture of the
person and saving
work of Christ.
Christ.
You remember, if you
hear the telling of
the Holy of Holies,
the temple curtain
torn from top to
bottom, that temple
curtain when Jesus
died that was torn,
granting access to God.
Anybody know what was
on the curtains?
Two cherubim, right?
Standing over that.
When Mary Magdalene
goes and finds Jesus,
he's gone.
He's gone from the
tomb.
What's on either side
of the tomb?
Two cherubim, right?
There's two angels in
that place.
When we see the ark
in the Old Testament,
we're supposed to be
seeing Christ.
So again, carried and
held in the middle of
this river so that the
water is pushed back up.
It's in a heap, five
miles upstream.
This judgment is being
held back by something
that's meant to help us
understand Christ.
So we are saved
through the flood
because of Jesus.
So I hope this morning
that you're finding
yourself in a place
where you can rejoice
with all of this.
You can say yes and
amen to every single
bit of it.
If you're not,
I'm going to pray for
you now.
So let's pray together.