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 “After the death of Moses, the Lord said to Joshua, ‘Moses My servant is dead. Now therefore arise and cross this Jordan.’” (Joshua 1:1, 2)
In 1985 I visited Muir Woods for the first time. The California Redwoods grow there. They are the largest living things in the world, reaching a height of 378 feet and a diameter of 23 feet.
While walking in the woods my guide pointed out what naturalists call a “fairy ring.” Just off the path, there were eight or nine redwoods standing like living sentries around a fallen tree. Fascinated, I sought the explanation for this unusual phenomenon. The literature informed me that when a redwood dies, it regenerates a row of new trees out of the dead trunk. Out of death, comes new life.
Joshua must have felt like that. Moses was dead; a giant redwood had fallen. There was a big change, and the burden was now on his shoulders. Out of death, new life must come.
God’s abrupt remark to Joshua, “Moses My servant is dead,” always seemed a bit insensitive to me. After all, Joshua certainly knew Moses was dead; this was not new information. Joshua must have been deeply grieved by Moses’ passing, and maybe there was a more gentle way to talk with Joshua.
But sometimes God has to get our attention. Sometimes He has to shake us out of complacency so that we face the difficult situations that confront us. Perhaps that is why He said it like He did. But regardless, God was announcing to Joshua that a change had taken place. Life would not be like it was before.
After God announced the change, He gave Joshua a challenge: “Arise and cross this Jordan.”
The problem with this challenge was not that it was difficult, it was impossible. The lower Jordan where Joshua was to cross is normally around 90 feet wide and between 3 – 10 feet deep. However, at flood stage it is considerably wider and deeper. But as soon as the priests reached the Jordan and their feet touched the water's edge, the water stopped flowing upstream. It piled in a heap at a town called Adam, while the water flowing to the Salt Sea was completely cut off. (Joshua 3:15, 16)
So the people crossed over to Jericho, and Joshua completed God’s challenge.
God extends the same challenge to you: to do the impossible. What is the Jordan in your life?
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