Good morning friends,

Every day this month we will be looking at a new chapter of Joshua. Remember that this is only one person’s thoughts and in order to gain the most out of scripture you should always make sure to read it for yourself!

If you want to jump in and start your own personal bible study, I made a little booklet for you to gather your thoughts about Joshua. It’s easy to print and you can go at your own pace.

>>Printable SOAK Bible Study <<

Now on to the good stuff… Joshua 3

Scripture

The Israelites are finally ready to begin taking over the promised land and must cross the Jordan River. In another display of his power, God made the water rise up again, and allowed the people to cross over on dry ground. God did this to show them that he was with them.

Observation

God has always wanted to be close to His people, but because He is holy he cannot come into contact with sin. This is why the Israelites are warned not to come nearer to the Ark of the Covenant than 1.5 miles (3:4) and even then they had to be purified.

When Jesus comes later (as fully man and fully God), he is able to be close among us. It is only because of Jesus that we are able to go directly to God without the help of Jewish ritual law. Instead of priests who offer temporary atonement, Jesus is the ultimate Priest who has already provided the payment.

Application

Here we see God acting on behalf of his people through a miracle. I don’t know about you, but I’ve never been in a situation where I needed to cross a river and God commanded the water to move aside. Even so, God is always present working out the details of our lives for our good. How has he shown you his presence in the past?

Prayer

Thank you Jesus,  that I do not have to stand back a mile and a half in order to experience God’s presence. Thank you for daily raising the flooding waters and providing me a dry path to follow. You never abandon me even when I can’t see the way.