The Crossing of the Jordan
Chapter 3:14-17
“And it came to pass, when the people removed from their tents, to pass over Jordan, and the priests, bearing the ark of the covenant before the people, “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,)
“That the waters which came down from above stood and rose up upon a heap very far from the city Adam,... 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.”
Israel had the pillar of fire to lead them out of Egypt; they had the ark to lead them into Canaan. Both were symbols of the Lord’s presence, and in either case they had but to follow divine guidance. They could not make a way for themselves through the waters of the Red Sea nor through the river Jordan. Both were a barrier to them, but the Lord went before His people and opened up the way.
At the Red Sea God made a path through the waters by the rod of His power, but at the Jordan the ark takes the place of the rod. The ark represents Christ. Its shittim wood speaks of His holy humanity; its gold, His deity, and the tables of stone within, His perfect righteousness as Man. Jesus went through death before us, and we pass over as dead and risen in Him.
“That ye may know the way by which ye must go: for ye have not passed this way heretofore.” v. 4. Israel were about to tread a path hitherto untrodden, and they must have their eyes upon the ark. And so for us; every step of faith is new, and it is only by “looking off unto Jesus” that we can “know the way by which we must go.”
Every believer is seated in the heavenly places in Christ; in fact, one could not be a true Christian and not be there. God Himself has raised us up together and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus (Eph. 2). Yet in following the Lord, the believer will find himself, practically speaking, treading an unknown path. How many of God’s dear people do not know experimentally what it is “to have passed this way”—they think of heaven’s joys as belonging to a future day, after we leave this world, when the truth is that God would have us enter in and enjoy now all the blessings He has given us in Christ the beloved One.
ML-04/10/1977