“The LORD Will Do Amazing Things Among You”

Early in the morning Joshua and all the Israelites set out from Shittim and went to the Jordan, where they camped before crossing over. After three days the officers went throughout the camp, giving orders to the people: “When you see the ark of the covenant of the Lord your God, and the Levitical priests carrying it, you are to move out from your positions and follow it. Then you will know which way to go, since you have never been this way before. But keep a distance of about two thousand cubits between you and the ark; do not go near it.”

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

Joshua said to the priests, “Take up the ark of the covenant and pass on ahead of the people.” So they took it up and went ahead of them.

And the Lord said to Joshua, “Today I will begin to exalt you in the eyes of all Israel, so they may know that I am with you as I was with Moses. Tell the priests who carry the ark of the covenant: ‘When you reach the edge of the Jordan’s waters, go and stand in the river.’”

Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the Lord your God. This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you.

Joshua 3:1-11

What does the Promised Land look like today compared to the time of Joshua? The current belief is that is looks pretty much the same today as in Joshua’s time. The oasis must have looked like heaven to the Israelites. It had water in the middle of a barren desert that takes four hours to drive through in a bus. The Israelites had spent years wandering in a hot, dry desert. To them, the sprawling patch of pale green in the hazy distance meant refreshing, life-sustaining water. They had spent forty years to get there.

Like an oasis, God’s goodness is found in dry and difficult places. How often do we fail to see His goodness because our spiritual senses have been dulled and we’ve become too comfortable? Sometimes God’s gifts are seen more clearly when we are tired and thirsty. May we always thirst for Him.

Jesus is the only fountain who can satisfy the thirsty soul.

Our Daily Bread – August 11, 2012