Joshua 3:1-4 - The Word of Faith

In Joshua 3 and 4, God illustrates for us three essentials for moving ahead by faith and claiming all that He has for us: the Word of faith, the walk of faith, and the witness of faith. If we are to cross the Jordan’s in our life, face the Jericho’s, and defeat the giants, those obstacles and mountains that stand between us and the place of victory, we must learn to live by faith! In 2 Corinthians 5:7, the Apostle Paul said, “For we walk by faith, not by sight.” We cannot walk and live by our feelings because they change depending on the circumstances and situations around us. And usually our “sight”, our feelings will usually take us down the wrong path and cause us to make bad decisions and choices for ourselves.   First, in Joshua 3:1-13, we find that God has given us the Word of faith. In this paragraph, you find five different messages, all of them based on the Word of God, which is the "Word of faith" (Rom. 10:8). The people obeyed these messages by faith, and God took them over the river. Joshua received his orders from the Lord, and he obeyed them by faith. "So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God" (Rom. 10:17). After Joshua got his orders from the LORD, he gave them to the officers or leaders of the twelve tribes, who then in verses 1-4, gave them to the people.   Joshua was an early riser (Joshua 6:12; 7:16; 8:10), who spent the first hours of the day in communion with God (Joshua 1:8). In this, he was like Moses (Ex. 24:4; 34:4), David (Ps. 57:8; see 119:147), Hezekiah (2 Chron. 29:20), and our Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 1:35; see Isa. 50:4). It's impossible to live by faith and ignore the Word of God and prayer (Acts 6:4); for faith is nurtured by worship and the Word. The people God uses and blesses know how to discipline their bodies so that they can give themselves to the Lord in the early morning hours.   Joshua ordered the camp to move ten miles from The Acacia Grove to the Jordan; and no doubt the people in Jericho watched this march with great apprehension. It probably took Israel a day to make this journey; they rested another day; and on the third day, the officers gave them their orders: The people were to cross the river, following the Ark of the Covenant.   The Ark is mentioned sixteen times in chapters 3 and 4. It's called "the Ark of the Covenant" ten times, "the Ark of the Lord" three times, and simply "the Ark" three times. It was the "throne of God," the place where His glory rested in the tabernacle (Ex. 25:10-22) and God sat "enthroned between the cherubim" (Ps. 80:1). The Law of God was kept in the Ark, a reminder of God's covenant with Israel; and the blood of the sacrifices was sprinkled on the mercy seat on the annual Day of Atonement (Lev. 16:14-15).   The Ark going before the people was an encouragement to their faith, for it meant that their God was going before them and opening up the way. God had promised Moses, "My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest" (Ex. 33:14). When the nation had marched through the wilderness, the Ark had gone before them (:33); and Moses would say, "Rise up, O Lord! May Your enemies be scattered; may Your foes flee before You" (Num. 10:35). On that occasion, the presence of the Ark was a guarantee of the presence of the Lord.   Each of the tribes had an assigned place in the camp and an assigned order in the march when they broke up camp (Josh. 2). When the leaders of the tribes saw the priests bearing the Ark and moving toward the river, they were to prepare their people to follow. Since the people had not traveled this way before, they needed God to guide them. But they were not to get too close to the Ark, for this was a holy piece of furniture from the tabernacle; and it was not to be treated carelessly. God is our companion as we go through life, but we dare not treat Him like a "buddy."   Today, are you in the Word of faith and walking by faith and not by “sight”?   God bless!