Home

Weekly Devotional

June 29, 2009

God’s Peace be with you all.

Joshua 3:5-17   ⁵ Then Joshua said to the people, "Sanctify yourselves; for tomorrow the LORD will do wonders among you."  ⁶ To the priests Joshua said, "Take up the ark of the covenant, and pass on in front of the people." So they took up the ark of the covenant and went in front of the people.  ⁷ The LORD said to Joshua, "This day I will begin to exalt you in the sight of all Israel, so that they may know that I will be with you as I was with Moses.  ⁸ You are the one who shall command the priests who bear the ark of the covenant, 'When you come to the edge of the waters of the Jordan, you shall stand still in the Jordan.'"  ⁹ Joshua then said to the Israelites, "Draw near and hear the words of the LORD your God."  ¹⁰ Joshua said, "By this you shall know that among you is the living God who without fail will drive out from before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites, and Jebusites:  ¹¹ the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth is going to pass before you into the Jordan.  ¹² So now select twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe.  ¹³ When the soles of the feet of the priests who bear the ark of the LORD, the Lord of all the earth, rest in the waters of the Jordan, the waters of the Jordan flowing from above shall be cut off; they shall stand in a single heap."  ¹⁴ When the people set out from their tents to cross over the Jordan, the priests bearing the ark of the covenant were in front of the people.  ¹⁵ Now the Jordan overflows all its banks throughout the time of harvest. So when those who bore the ark had come to the Jordan, and the feet of the priests bearing the ark were dipped in the edge of the water,  ¹⁶ the waters flowing from above stood still, rising up in a single heap far off at Adam, the city that is beside Zarethan, while those flowing toward the sea of the Arabah, the Dead Sea, were wholly cut off. Then the people crossed over opposite Jericho.  ¹⁷ While all Israel were crossing over on dry ground, the priests who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD stood on dry ground in the middle of the Jordan, until the entire nation finished crossing over the Jordan.

            Yesterday in Sunday School our lesson (for the adults) was about the Israelites crossing the Red Sea (or the Sea of Reeds) on their exodus out of Egypt into the promised land.  This is a familiar story for most people, especially if you have seen the Charlton Heston movie.  Moses raises his hands in front of the water, and a strong wind causes the water to move and the Israelites cross on dry ground.

            However, this is not the only story like this in the Bible.  As you see above, the Israelites also cross the Jordan River as they enter the Promised Land from east to west.  However, instead of Moses holding up his hands this time at the water’s edge (because he could not enter the Promised Land), the Ark of the Covenant leads the Israelites through the water.  For a second time, the Israelites have gotten their freedom by the power of God and his use of water.

            Today, God still uses water to give us freedom.  In our baptisms, we are reminded that we are children of God.  Every time we have a baptism at the church, we are reminded who and whose we are.  It is also through baptism that we can remember the saving acts of God, as well as the ultimate goal:  God saving God’s people.  Many of you have heard me say that it is my opinion that Salvation History begins with Exodus, not Genesis.  Today, we are still a part of that history, and it is through the waters of baptism that we are continually linked with everyone else and all the blessed saints of God.

In our prayers this week: 

Ann, Doris, Mary Netta, Jane, Norm, Irene, Joseph, all our members who are traveling, The Varners, Michael (back in Iraq), and St. John’s Lutheran Church.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Judson