January 24

Joshua 3:15–17

15 and as they that bare the ark were come unto Jordan, and the feet of the priests that bare the ark were dipped in the brim of the water, (for Jordan overfloweth all his banks all the time of harvest,)

16 that the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon an heap very far from the city Adam, that is beside Zaretan: and those that came down toward the sea of the plain, even the salt sea, failed, and were cut off: and the people passed over right against Jericho.

17 And the priests that bare the ark of the covenant of the Lord stood firm on dry ground in the midst of Jordan, and all the Israelites passed over on dry ground, until all the people were passed clean over Jordan.

Biblical Insight

While there are many similarities between the crossing of the Jordan and the Red Sea, two unique distinctions exist. While Moses simply raised his staff to make the Red Sea part (Exodus 14:16, 22), at the Jordan God required the priests to physically enter into the raging current of the river before the waters would rescind: a literal step of faith. Additionally, at the Red Sea the waters stood up as walls on both sides of them (Exodus 14:22). However, at the Jordan only the waters coming from upstream stood up as a heap, while the waters downstream simply dried up as any river would that has lost its source, only at a miraculously accelerated pace.

Daily Devotion

In C. S. Lewis’s Prince Caspian, the youngest of siblings, Lucy, questions Aslan, who represents God in the story. In her innocence she asks, “Why didn’t You show Yourself? Why didn’t You come roaring in like last time and save us?” He gently responds with a simple yet pointed answer, “Things never happen the same way twice, dear one.”

Her childlike faith caused her to ask why. She had seen Him do the miraculous before. She had witnessed His glory on full display in the past, so why did He not come in the same thunderous manner again?

Maybe the people crossing the Jordan felt the same. Even though they stepped out in faith, their feet may have been shaking a bit. They had heard the stories, and seen the victories, so why didn’t God just do it that way again? Perhaps in His sovereign, unpredictable way, He wanted them to navigate the uncharted waters without a map, so He could wholly be their guide. Could it be that He is asking the same of you?